The first thing Arakawa Minoru did upon returning to Nintendo was to clash with his father-in-law.
While Arakawa certainly wouldn't dare slam his fist on the table in front of Hiroshi Yamauchi, he maintained a silent, non-cooperative, and non-violent stance.
"Why are you so quiet now? You were so talkative in America!" Yamauchi weighed the folder in his hand, barely restraining himself from hurling it at Arakawa's face.
"What kind of ridiculous idea is this? High-value warranties and free returns? At this rate, Nintendo will become a charity organization!"
Arakawa raised his head, meeting Yamauchi's gaze, and remained silent.
Knowing Yamauchi's stubborn nature, Arakawa understood that any argument would be futile.
But this stubborn silence only fueled Yamauchi's anger.
"Arakawa, you need to give me and the company a full explanation right now!"
After a long silence, Arakawa finally spoke.
"Sega has already seized a significant portion of the market. If we don't catch up quickly, it will be too late by the time we launch our marketing campaign in North America. Sega's predecessor was an American company, giving them a first-mover advantage. Without unconventional tactics, we won't be able to secure the North American market."
Hiroshi Yamauchi frowned deeply. "You should have at least consulted me! Making an overseas call isn't difficult!"
Arakawa Minoru tugged at the corner of his mouth, a hint of mockery in his eyes, but he restrained himself. "Father-in-law, would you have agreed if I'd called? I doubt it."
With a *whoosh*, a thick stack of documents slammed into Arakawa.
"Get out! Go back and reflect on your actions!"
Arakawa bowed his head in a silent farewell and turned to leave.
As he stepped out of the office, Arakawa couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
*What am I supposed to do now?* The weight of Nintendo's two divisions and thirteen departments rested entirely on his shoulders. He was Nintendo's weightlifting champion, after all!
After dismissing Arakawa, Hiroshi Yamauchi wasn't as furious as he appeared.
His anger was merely a mask for the panic churning beneath the surface.
In truth, if Yamauchi had been in charge of North America himself, he would have done the same. What terrified him was this act of defiance, this slip from his iron grip.
*By now, Sega's products should be hitting the market. Simultaneous releases in North America and Japan—America even gets them a day early. I hope they don't sell too well!*
Sega's consoles didn't require ID registration, and Japanese citizens didn't even have national ID cards. Anyone who wanted one could still get their hands on one.
Unlike overseas markets, Japan didn't have a trial launch. Hundreds of thousands of game consoles were stocked on the first day, and Hiroshi Yamauchi naturally secured one for himself.
After dismissing everyone, he deliberately connected the console in his office and began playing alone.
Fifteen minutes later, Yamauchi set down the controller, letting the game continue. He rested his chin in his hands, lost in thought.
Based on his years of experience, the game's quality was outstanding—he even believed it rivaled Nintendo's upcoming *Super Mario Bros.*
This first title bearing the *Super Mario Bros.* name featured Mario as the 1P character and Luigi as the 2P character. After numerous internal playtesting sessions, Yamauchi had unwavering confidence in the game's success.
"North America... what's going on there?" Yamauchi pressed his temples, a hint of worry creeping into his expression.
A few days later, Yamauuchi received the first-day sales report.
Of the 150,000 Sega Master System (SMS) units released in North America for the trial launch, only about 70,000 had been sold.
This figure brought Yamauchi a slight sense of relief.
Given the scale of the American gaming market, such low first-day sales after a major promotional push likely spelled doom for the console.
"Even a high-quality game can't save a failing console platform!"
The next day, Hiroshi Yamauchi received the estimated sales figures for North America's second day.
"150,000 units already sold out. The factory has received orders to begin production of new consoles, but the exact quantity is unknown."
Yamauchi instantly sprang to his feet.
In that brief moment, countless possibilities raced through his mind.
Just then, Miyamoto Shigeru entered with bad news.
"Sega is holding a celebration at the Akasaka Prince Hotel and—they've sent Nintendo an invitation. They're celebrating 500,000 pre-orders for the MS Series in North America."
Pre-orders weren't actual sales, but that didn't stop Yamauchi from instantly looking up at the news.
Because Sega had access to first-hand reports, they undoubtedly received the information sooner than he did. In other words, while Yamauchi had only just learned about the situation from two days ago, the MS Series had already secured nearly 500,000 pre-orders in the past week.
This meant actual sales had likely already surpassed 200,000 units.
From mid-1983 until now, Sega and Nintendo had each only managed to sell 4 million units in Japan. Yet in just one week, 500,000 consoles had been pre-ordered in America.
Compared to Japan, this market was a vast blue ocean!
"Arakawa—"
Hiroshi Yamauchi took a deep breath.
It seemed Arakawa Minoru had been right all along. They should have used the most ruthless methods to promote the console from the start, seizing market share at any cost.
But now that things had come to this, Yamauchi couldn't possibly bring himself to bow to Arakawa. Even if he realized Arakawa had been right, he would never lower himself to apologize.
They were a step behind, but it wasn't too late yet.
"Reassign the North American leadership. Stick to the original plan—the NES must launch in the United States within a week! Start by selecting the most popular titles from the FC library. And what's the progress on *Super Mario Bros.*?"
Miyamoto Shigeru hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.
The game was originally scheduled for completion in August, allowing for a marketing push in the US by October. But seeing Yamauchi's expression, Miyamoto quickly changed his tune.
"July! Mid-July at the latest! We'll definitely have it finished by then! Absolutely no later!"
Tokyo, Akasaka Prince Hotel.
***
Sega had deliberately convened a celebratory conference, and video interviews from the event would soon be circulating.
Kobayashi Tetsu was present, flanked by Iwata Satoru and Naka Yuji.
Formal attire was mandatory for the occasion; one had to appear human. Eccentric or outlandish appearances were strictly prohibited.
*If Arakawa Minoru doesn't return to Japan immediately and continues his antics in the US, we'll lose the market entirely. Now that he's been urgently recalled, Hiroshi Yamauchi's reaction might be delayed, but given Nintendo's unified front, he'll undoubtedly respond soon.*
Kobayashi mused that Nintendo's response had been delayed by at least two weeks—a potentially fatal delay during this blue ocean phase of market competition.
Historically, Sega's Sega Master System (SMS) officially launched in the US through distribution channels in 1986, while the FC's explosive popularity had begun in October 1985.
This two-month head start resulted in Nintendo capturing 95% of the North American market, leaving Sega with less than 5%.
To close this market share gap, Sega later resorted to every possible strategy, finally turning the tide during the Mega Drive era.
Now that Nintendo was two weeks behind, the market share gap wouldn't be as wide. Kobayashi Tetsu knew all too well that the combination of the FC and Mario couldn't be suppressed with mere words.
But with this head start, at least they wouldn't be on the defensive for the rest of the game!
Iwata Satoru suddenly spoke up: "It's starting."
Kobayashi Tetsu looked up.
The lights in the hotel ballroom dimmed as Nakayama Hayao, president of Sega Japan, took the stage to deliver his speech. Every eye in the room turned toward him.
"Before we begin—first, allow me to express my deepest respect to all of you!"
"Over the past few months, Sega has united as one, pouring all our efforts into overcoming unimaginable challenges. This success would not have been possible without your tireless dedication."
"Now, we can proudly announce to all our media friends here today:"
"Pre-orders for the Sega MS Console in North America have already reached 500,000 units!"
"In Japan, we have already sold 300,000 units!"
A thunderous applause erupted.
Kobayashi Tetsu joined in the applause, inwardly cursing.
*That old fox.*
In Japan, they were talking about actual sales—300,000 units in the first week was reasonable.
But in North America, they were touting pre-orders, conveniently avoiding mentioning actual shipments.
Still, Kobayashi Tetsu kept clapping. After all, he'd be getting a cut from those hundreds of thousands of sales!
*Sonic* and the MS Console were bundled together at launch, meaning players had to buy the console to play the game. In other words:
This meant that shipments in Japan had already reached 300,000 units, and North America had exceeded 200,000 units!
That translated to 200,000 cartridges billed in US dollars and 300,000 cartridges billed in Japanese yen.
Ignoring the US dollar revenue for now, let's focus on the domestic market. Atlas had outsourced cartridge production to Bandai. After deducting Bandai's manufacturing fees and other expenses, each cartridge yielded a profit of approximately 800 yen, including both the production margin and the original sales royalties.
300,000 cartridges meant one thing:
240 million yen.
Kobayashi Tetsu tilted his head slightly.
Atlas had taken a year and a half to achieve 200 million yen in revenue, and then just one month to double that figure.
"At this rate, we could start planning to build a skyscraper! But building a skyscraper now would be premature. We need to think about other ways to spend this money."
As Kobayashi Tetsu was pondering this, he suddenly saw Nakayama Hayao pointing in his direction.
"However, the greatest contributor to this success is undoubtedly Atlus Studio! They conceived the concept of AAA-level gaming and delivered the first—and most brilliant—title for the MS Console! Please welcome Atlus President to the stage for a speech!"
Kobayashi Tetsu smirked.
"Are you trying to flatter me to death? But... whatever!"
Ignoring the stares of the crowd, he strode to the podium and took the microphone from Nakayama Hayao.
Nakayama Hayao gave him an encouraging nod.
The audience consisted of Sega executives, middle management, and, further back, reporters, cameras, and flashing lights.
Kobayashi Tetsu brought the microphone to his lips.
"I'm Kobayashi Tetsu, president of Atlas. It's an honor to have led the team that developed Sonic, a game that delivers the experience players deserve. If you ask what Atlas did, I can only say it was the result of the tireless efforts of our twenty-odd employees, and the passionate dedication of producers Naka Yuji and Iwata Satoru."
The spotlight finally found and locked onto the two men, and the cameras zoomed in.
Naka Yuji, who had just smoothed his hair, instantly straightened up.
Iwata Satoru smiled, adjusted his glasses, and bowed politely to the camera.
"Of course," Kobayashi Tetsu suddenly shifted his tone. "None of this would have been possible without my guidance and oversight! I'm delighted to share this historic moment with all of you today."
Kobayashi Tetsu turned to the camera and pointed dramatically.
"Starting today, Atlas, Sega, Sonic, you, me, him—all of us will become the saviors of the American gaming industry!"
Please Support me by becoming my patreon member and get 15+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon