Yamauchi Hiroshi didn't commit.
"What about the other one?"
"Saikyo Habu Shogi," Genyo Takeda said, switching the image. "Licensed by the Japan Shogi Association and endorsed by Yoshiharu Habu. It targets the domestic adult market. The AI algorithm utilizes the floating-point arithmetic advantages of the 64-bit processor, making its playing strength several levels higher than any Shogi game from the SFC era."
Yamauchi tapped the table.
"One for the young, one for the old; one quiet, one active. The combination is reasonable enough," he said, looking around. "What else do we have in the ammunition depot for later?"
Shigeru Miyamoto took over.
"The Information Development Department has two projects running in parallel."
He wrote two names on the whiteboard.
"Wave Race 64. The focus is on mastering dynamic physics effects for water surfaces. The N64's capabilities allow us to calculate the undulations and collisions of water waves in real-time. When players ride jet skis across the water, they will feel realistic buoyancy and resistance. It's a unique experience that no other current home console can offer."
"The other is Mario Kart 64," Miyamoto said, circling the name. "The first one on the SFC sold extremely well. This time, it's fully 3D. The advantage of the console having four built-in controller ports will really shine here. There's no need to buy an extra multitap; just plug in the controllers for four-player split-screen battles. This is the living room party scenario that Nintendo excels at."
Hiroshi Yamauchi leaned back in his chair.
"Keep the schedule tight. Don't let the gap after launch be too long. That bunch at Sega is best at seizing any opportunity."
The air in the conference room grew heavy with Yamauchi's words.
Genyo Takeda closed the slide presentation and sat back in his seat.
Yamauchi shifted his gaze from Takeda to Gunpei Yokoi, who was sitting at the other end of the long table.
"We have the N64 holding down the fort for consoles," Yamauchi began. "What about the handheld situation?"
Yokoi opened a green folder at his side.
As the creator of the Game Boy, his authority in the handheld sector was unrivaled.
"Game Boy shipments have indeed been suppressed by Sega's Game Pocket," Yokoi said bluntly.
This statement made several executives in the room lower their heads.
Since Sega's surprise entry into the handheld market and their preemptive launch, they had kept the Game Boy under tight pressure.
"But we aren't out of the game yet." Yokoi pushed a data report to the center of the table. "The installed base of the GB is still worth us continuing to develop games for, and besides, we cannot abandon our presence in the handheld market just because our installed base is lagging."
Hiroshi Yamauchi looked at the data on the report and tapped the table. "Tell me about your plans for the coming period."
"For the second half of the year, we have prepared three major titles." Gunpei Yokoi pulled three project proposals from his folder and handed them to the executives present. "Yoshi's Magic Stones, Shiren the Wanderer GB, and Donkey Kong Land. These three games cover different player demographics."
Shigeru Miyamoto picked up the proposal for Yoshi's Magic Stones.
"A match-three puzzle game," Miyamoto said, flipping through the gameplay design diagrams. "Yoshi as a character has a solid audience base after the success of Super Mario World. This type of puzzle game has low development costs and a high margin for error. Sega relied on Tetris to let Game Gear seize the initiative back then; this mode of play for fragmented time is the most suitable for the handheld ecosystem."
"What about Shiren the Wanderer GB?" asked Genyo Takeda. "Chunsoft's Mystery Dungeon series is highly acclaimed on the SFC. Can the hardware handle it on a handheld?"
"Koichi Nakamura's team optimized the code to the extreme," Gunpei Yokoi replied. "They retained the core randomized dungeon and turn-based movement mechanics. For a game with such high replayability, once players get hooked, they'll spend hundreds of hours on it. We gave Chunsoft a significant discount on licensing fees, and they also want to use the GB's large install base to expand their young player demographic. It's a win-win partnership."
"As for Donkey Kong Land," Yokoi pointed to the final proposal, "it's about bringing the action experience from the arcade and SFC to a handheld device. The British studio Rare is in charge of development. They've put a lot of effort into the graphical modeling, creating a highly three-dimensional visual effect on the GB's monochrome screen. This also proves to players that even old hardware can still be squeezed for stunning visual results."
Hiroshi Yamauchi nodded slightly after hearing the report.
"The GB must not be discontinued," Yamauchi set the tone. "It won't be that easy for Sega to monopolize the handheld market. As long as we have new games to fuel it, this machine will live on. Approve the budget for the development teams; these three games must be released on time in the second half of the year. Tell those third-party developers that Nintendo hasn't given up on the GB, and have them bring out whatever inventory they have."
With the defensive lines for the handheld market set, Yamauchi Hiroshi steered the topic back to the N64.
"The promotional strategy." Yamauchi Hiroshi looked toward Imanishi Fumihiro, who was in charge of advertising and PR.
Imanishi Fumihiro stood up and walked to the whiteboard in front.
"The official promotional campaign will roll out this month." Imanishi Fumihiro picked up a marker and wrote down a few time milestones on the whiteboard. "We have less than two months until E3. We need to use these next two months to drill the name 'N64' into every player's mind around the world."
"Sega and Sony's ads are already everywhere," Genyo Takeda reminded him. "Our space in traditional print media has been severely squeezed. Especially Sega—they've bought up all the spring issue magazine covers with Sakura Wars and Ghost in the Shell."
"Then we'll change tactics," Imanishi Fumihiro said, pulling a thick proposal from his briefcase. "TV commercials. We've secured prime-time ad slots on TV Tokyo, Fuji Television, and several major television networks in North America. We'll focus on the visual impact of 3D graphics. Sony is hyping up their polygon count; we'll show them what true 3D without texture warping looks like."
Imanishi flipped to a page in the proposal and showed it to everyone.
"The protagonist of GG is Mario. We don't need a complex plot; just show him moving freely in every direction within a 3D box-garden world. Gliding, triple jumps, diving. Playing these visuals on TV screens will be more persuasive than any text. We need to show players what a true next-gen game looks like."
Yamauchi Hiroshi flipped through the budget sheet.
The numbers on it were astronomical, consuming the vast majority of Nintendo's liquid assets for the current quarter.
He picked up a pen and signed his name at the end of the document.
"For the E3 booth setup, we need to outshine Sega," Yamauchi Hiroshi said, tossing the document to Hiroshi Imanishi. "Miyamoto, what's the status of your demo?"
"Ready to run," Miyamoto Shigeru replied. "We'll have 100 demo units set up at the E3 venue, all running the first level of 'Super Mario 64,' Bob-omb Battlefield. Once players get their hands on that analog stick controller and run Mario around in that three-dimensional space for a couple of laps, they'll never be able to go back to the era of the D-pad."
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