By the time Takuya Nakayama arrived, Sega's convoy of vehicles had just finished lining up in the designated area.
He walked over and asked the materials manager standing nearby, "Have all the supplies been checked?"
The manager flipped open his notebook and ran his finger down the lines. "We did a full inventory yesterday and checked again just now. Everything's accounted for."
Nakayama nodded and didn't disturb them further.
On June 6th, construction workers officially began the setup.
The sounds of sawing, electric drills, and hammers filled the air from morning till night, audible even across the exhibition halls.
Workers bustled through the corridors, pushing carts and occasionally squeezing past with display panels held sideways, shouting "Excuse me" to anyone in their path. Those addressed would step aside and resume their work without looking up.
Sega's booth was located in Hall B, one of the largest among all exhibitors.
Oguchi Hisao had already surveyed the site the day before. Upon arriving today, he led the construction team directly to the core area, comparing blueprints with the site supervisor and pointing out any details that deviated from the design. He demanded immediate rework for anything that didn't align with the original vision, cutting through the usual pleasantries. If it didn't match the design, it had to be changed.
Takuya Nakayama circled the exhibition area, confirming there were no decisions he needed to make. He handed the walkie-talkie to his assistant and headed for the exit.
He planned to get a general overview of how other manufacturers were setting up their booths.
The other areas weren't as smooth.
At Nintendo, the main structure of the booth was only half completed when they discovered a batch of connectors had the wrong specifications. They had to order replacements from outside and halted work for nearly two hours.
The construction crew stood by waiting. The team leader made a call in Japanese, speaking faster and faster. It was unclear what he'd negotiated, but after hanging up, he turned to the crew and told them to revise the plan. Once the changes were made, work resumed.
Progress at 3D0 was even slower.
Half the materials had arrived, but the other half still hadn't shown up by noon.
The person in charge stood at the booth entrance, glancing toward the entrance periodically.
When someone asked about the progress, he replied, "On its way." He gave the same answer three times.
As Takuya Nakayama passed by, he overheard them confirming that the materials had only been confirmed to be shipped from San Francisco the day before.
Takuya Nakayama continued walking.
The Sony booth was located directly opposite the main entrance to the central walkway. The frame of the exhibition space was already in place, and several engineers were running cables along the main screen's support structure.
The booth area was quite large and open in its layout.
As Takuya Nakayama walked by, he happened upon two Sony engineers arguing over a minor detail.
After circling the entire venue, it took Takuya nearly an hour, and his feet were starting to ache.
In June, the Los Angeles sun baked the asphalt of the parking lot, making it blisteringly hot outside the Convention Center.
Takuya stood at the entrance for two minutes, but no breeze came. He got into the shuttle car and headed back to his hotel.
By June 8th, the atmosphere at the Los Angeles Convention Center had changed.
The previous days had been filled with a mixed aroma of sawdust, paint, and quick-drying glue, with workers coming and going and machinery clattering from dawn till dusk.
On the 8th, the noise had diminished significantly. The construction crew scattered across the exhibition areas was sparse, most of them merely touching up corners of the booths with their tools—patching seams here, replacing screws there. Compared to the frenzied activity of the days before, it was much quieter.
The exhibition setup was nearly complete.
Takuya Nakayama emerged from the Sega Exhibition Area and walked down the main corridor of the South Hall, glancing at the progress of each company's booth as he passed.
At Nintendo's booth, the overall structure was complete, and engineers were performing final equipment tests. Several machines stood side by side, their screens aglow.
Takuya Nakayama glanced at them twice, unable to discern the specific games being showcased. He only knew they had brought new hardware. Industry rumors had circulated since the IDSA's inception that Nintendo would announce information about their next-generation console at E3.
Whether these rumors were true would be revealed tomorrow.
Sony's booth, directly opposite the main entrance, had a remarkably tidy frame and was the largest at this year's E3.
What was interesting was the deliberate circular partition around the booth's perimeter. From the aisle, one could see the screens, but not clearly—you had to step inside to get a clear view.
Takuya Nakayama paused for a couple of seconds as he passed, but didn't enter. He turned and continued walking.
3D0's booth seemed rushed. From a distance, one could tell the panels on either side weren't perfectly symmetrical. Whether this was an intentional design choice to express individuality, or simply a hasty finish, it ultimately looked somewhat sloppy in this context.
Takuya Nakayama stood there for a moment, then turned and walked away.
Returning to the Sega Exhibition Area, he found Oguchi Hisao standing with the construction supervisor in front of the booth, reviewing the final completion checklist.
Takuya approached, and the supervisor closed his notebook. "Everything's done," he said. "No outstanding items."
"Did you get the signature?" Takuya asked.
"Just signed," Oguchi replied, folding the checklist and tucking it into a document bag. "The booth is ready."
Takuya walked around the booth, inspecting it.
The display units were positioned as planned, the background panels had good color accuracy, and the lighting on the main stage was slightly better than anticipated from the blueprints.
He stood there for a minute without saying anything, then turned and walked out.
Just after 10 AM, the IDSA fax arrived.
In Sega's temporary office, an assistant tore the stack of papers from the fax machine and hurried to the desk. Oguchi Hisao took them, scanned them quickly without comment, then read them again. He pulled out the third page and pushed it toward Takuya.
"The final schedule for the press conference is here. No changes from the lottery we held two weeks ago."
Takuya Nakayama took the document; it was a complete media day agenda.
The IDSA had scheduled the press conference times for all exhibitors, allotting five minutes per game. The schedule ran from morning to evening, packed tightly across two full pages.
He first scanned the overall order, then located Sega's slot.
3:15 PM.
"This time slot..." Takuya tapped the table with his finger, "was it determined by the lottery?"
"Yes, the IDSA said they drew lots by manufacturer for fair scheduling, with all companies submitting their applications uniformly."
Takuya reviewed the agenda from beginning to end, noting the order of exhibitors: Nintendo at 10:00 AM, Sony at 11:30 AM, Atari at 1:00 PM, and Sega immediately after Atari at 3:15 PM.
"Nintendo and Sony will grab the media's attention first," Takuya said, turning to the next page. "But it doesn't matter. With Sega's rich lineup and such a long presentation time, we'll definitely draw enough attention."
Oguchi Hisao glanced up but remained silent. Instead, he opened his notebook and jotted down the press conference time.
"If Nintendo and Sony's announcements are strong enough, they'll build the media's excitement to a peak. By 3 PM, the audience will be eager for something to focus on." Takuya added, "This timing isn't bad."
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