Ajal.

Chapter 102: Bringing in Sony

Chuta paused, his tone casual, as if commenting on an inconsequential street deal. “This way, Bandai’s board and shareholders would be thrilled, pocketing an extra dividend by year’s end.”
He gently placed his teacup back on the exquisite rosewood table, the cup’s base producing a faint but distinct sound as it met the surface. His usually mild eyes now fixed on Takuya unapologetically, carrying an air of probing intensity that brooked no argument.
“But, Takuya-kun,” Chuta...

Chapter 101: The Bandai Strategy

A week passed in a blur of poring over documents and discreetly tapping into personal networks.
Takuya practically buried himself in data about Bandai and Sunrise, his office lights often burning through the night. Interviews, industry analyses, shareholder annual reports, even outdated business magazines and news clippings piled higher than his head. The preliminary data gathered by the marketing department was, to him, merely the tip of the iceberg. What he needed was the massive structu...

Chapter 100: A Glimmer of Hope

In the evening, the dining room of the Nakayama family mansion glowed with warm light.
The crystal chandelier cast a soft radiance over the elegant tableware.
Typically, at this hour, Takuya was the liveliest at the table, his wit and laughter infusing the serious family atmosphere with levity.
But tonight was different.
He sat quietly in his seat, mechanically picking at his food, responding to family conversations with minimal engagement, his mind clearly elsewhere.
His chops...

Chapter 99: Setback

The next day, Takuya drove to Technosoft’s office.
Technosoft was a company specializing in shoot ’em up games, with their Thunder Force series boasting a loyal fanbase on both arcade and console platforms. While this genre was relatively niche, its players were fiercely dedicated and had high expectations for quality.
Technosoft’s office was located in a Tokyo suburb, housed in an industrial-style building. Unlike the previous two companies, the atmosphere here was rugged and dir...

Chapter 98: Second Party

Tokyo’s summer evening air was thick with heat and humidity. Takuya Nakayama drove his RX7 back from Osaka, his mind swirling with thoughts. While his meeting with Konami hadn’t yielded an immediate commitment, he knew he had planted a seed in Kagemasa Ueyama’s mind.
The scenery outside the car window shifted from the monotony of the highway to Tokyo’s familiar sea of neon lights. Takuya loosened his tie, feeling the cool breeze from the air conditioning. Over the next few days, he...

Chapter 97: Waiting for the Best Offer

Osaka’s streets carried less of Tokyo’s frenetic bustle and more of a grounded weight.
Takuya Nakayama drove his RX7 through the commercial district, the engine’s roar echoing between high-rise buildings.
Outside the window, the scenery shifted from vibrant shopping streets to an industrial park, where Konami’s twelve-story modern headquarters gleamed under the sunlight.
In stark contrast to Square’s faded, aging office, this building radiated prosperity.
The glass curta...

Chapter 96: The Temptation of the New Console

The photograph depicted a never-before-seen console prototype connected to a television, its screen prominently displaying Tetris.
But this was no version known to the market.
The image showed four distinct color-coded and shaped block areas, indicating a multiplayer mode for four simultaneous players!
Even more astonishing, despite being just a photograph, the vibrancy and detail of the game’s visuals were palpable.
The graphical quality far surpassed anything available on exis...

Chapter 95: Square in the Doldrums

After reaching an agreement with Masao Suzuki, the head of the marketing department, on the key strategies for the copyright battle surrounding Super Robot Wars: The First, Takuya Nakayama swiftly shifted to his next battlefield. Time was his most precious resource.
While copyright negotiations were critical, toppling Nintendo’s industry dominance required more than a single game. Sega needed to build a robust coalition of third-party developers to not only bring more high-quality games ...

Chapter 94: The Prelude to the Copyright Battle

The atmosphere in Masao Suzuki’s office, the head of the marketing department, was heavy with tension.
Unlike the fervor that had filled the meeting room, this space felt like the nerve center of a strategic command post on the eve of a major battle.
On the wall, a newly hung whiteboard was covered in dense text.
It listed all the robot anime IPs mentioned in the Super Robot Wars: The First proposal, along with the formidable copyright holders behind them.
Sunrise, Toei, Tohokus...

Chapter 93: Starting Lineup Preparation (5)

Takuya keenly sensed the lingering doubts in the expressions of Development Team 9.
Shifting his tone, he began to elaborate on the deeper considerations behind choosing Ace Attorney.
“I know that Team 9 has accumulated extensive experience in developing games for home consoles,” he said.
“Compared to many teams focused on arcade games, you have a deeper understanding of home console users’ habits and preferences.”
His affirmation was like a warm current, soothing the he...

Chapter 92: Starting Lineup Preparation (4)

Takuya keenly sensed the shift in the room’s atmosphere, but he was well aware of a critical concern lingering in everyone’s minds.
His tone calmed as he proactively addressed it.
“I know that integrating so many robot anime IPs, each owned by different animation studios and copyright holders, into a single game will involve extremely complex—perhaps even daunting—licensing negotiations.”
The atmosphere in the meeting room grew momentarily heavier, a slight hush falling o...

Chapter 91: Starting Lineup Preparation (3)

Takuya projected the first page of his proposal onto the meeting room’s screen.
What immediately caught everyone’s attention was not a dense wall of text but a series of robot designs, each radiating the cold, metallic sheen and formidable power that defined them.
“Mazinger Z!”
“That’s Getter Robo!”
“And Gundam!”
The meeting room erupted in a chorus of surprised and excited murmurs.
The developers, particularly the male ones, had a childlike gleam in their ...

Chapter 90: Starting Lineup Preparation (2)

Following this, Takuya’s gaze shifted to another corner of the meeting room.

Seated there were team members responsible for Pokémon-related peripheral products, along with a few core members of the arcade development team who were currently not tasked with arcade porting projects.

“Regarding the Pokémon IP,” Takuya began.

The moment he spoke, the slightly relaxed atmosphere in the meeting room froze once again, and everyone’s ears perked up. After all, the stagg...

Chapter 89 - Launch Lineup Preparation (1)

The fervor from the mobilization meeting, like a summer afternoon thunderstorm, came quickly and faded fast.
Takuya Nakayama allowed himself no pause, moving swiftly to pull Yuji Suzuki along.
Team leads from each development group were summoned, kicking off a meticulous review of arcade games slated for porting to the new console.
The meeting room’s long table was strewn with game proposals and data.
“Fatal Fury.”
Nakayama’s fingertip tapped the table, his tone carryin...

Chapter 88 - Dormancy

February 14th, Valentine’s Day, carried the scent of chocolate and anticipation.
But for countless Japanese players, the day dropped a “sweet bombshell.”
Konami released their latest Famicom masterpiece—Contra.
Explosive battle scenes.
The thrill of cooperative two-player mode.
And adrenaline-pumping, high-difficulty challenges.
The game swept the nation. After school, kids no longer just debated Dragon Quest II’s toughest dungeons or Zelda II’s hidden spots. New...

Chapter 87 - National RPG

“Sold out nationwide.”
“Urgent alert: All stores’ stock depleted on launch day!”
Before noon, the news spread like wildfire through TV, radio, and word-of-mouth, sweeping Japan like a tsunami.
Major TV stations interrupted broadcasts, anchors reporting the sales miracle with disbelief. Newspaper offices buzzed, editors slamming desks over timid headlines: “Make them bolder! Special editions! Print more!”
“Birth of a legend! Loto’s heirs conquer the archipelago ag...

Chapter 86 - Trump Bombs

Meanwhile, at Sega’s headquarters.
Takuya Nakayama gazed through his office blinds at Tokyo’s overcast sky.
Nintendo’s every move reached his desk as expected.
He knew the weight of The Legend of Zelda and Dragon Quest’s golden brands all too well.
Yet a faint smile played on his lips.
Pokémon’s ecosystem, like a finely tuned gear system, churned out profits relentlessly.
The System-16 board’s dominance in arcades provided Sega a solid foundation.
“Let them...

Chapter 85 - New Year Counterattack

In Nintendo’s headquarters meeting room, the air felt frozen, stiflingly oppressive.
Hiroshi Yamauchi’s knuckles tapped the polished mahogany table, each “tap, tap” like a drumbeat on the attendees’ hearts. His usual commanding presence was heavier than ever.
On the projector screen, a market analyst concluded their report. A stark chart revealed a gaping chasm between Nintendo’s Famicom cartridge sales and Christmas expectations. The actual sales curve looked dragged down, ...

Chapter 84 - Second Set of Electronic Pets

The initial batch of store owners granted “Pokémon Center” licenses weren’t entirely confident at the outset.
Sega’s requirements for the Pokémon Center’s unified decor were near-draconian.
From signboard fonts and colors to shelf arrangements and even the size of wall posters, everything was meticulously specified.
The hefty costs for signage and renovations, plus a substantial “good faith” deposit, weighed heavily on their minds.
What if this craze was just a fla...

Chapter 83 - Moon Stone

The promo ended, and the TV screen returned to regular program previews, but the excitement in children’s hearts couldn’t be quelled.
Kids erupted, shattering the calm of homes with joyous shouts, turning them into oceans of delight.
Restoring Pokémon health sounded practical—not every player could keep their Pokémon in top shape.
The link cable was thrilling.
But what set their hearts racing was the mysterious “evolution stone,” especially the Moon Stone, fresh from t...

Chapter 82 - Pokémon Center

The marketing director cleared their throat and pressed the projector remote.
A detailed report appeared on the large screen.
“Here’s the sales summary for our first wave of Pokémon licensed merchandise, just one week after launch.”
The air in the meeting room froze for a moment.
All eyes locked onto the scrolling bar graphs and staggering figures.
The report clearly showed that plush toys, toy belts, themed stationery, and even small stickers and keychains had amassed a...

Chapter 81 - Merchandise

As the pedometer craze swept Japan, a new temptation quietly captured children’s attention.
Toy store windows in shopping districts transformed overnight, as if enchanted.
Spaces once filled with traditional dolls and robots were now overtaken by vibrant, varied “new residents.”
Licensed manufacturers like Tomy, San-X, and Mattel, authorized by Sega, rolled out the first wave of Pokémon merchandise at astonishing speed.
Plush Pikachu grinned adorably, Charmander’s tail ti...

Chapter 80 - The Craze

Since his “three-part promise” with Teacher Kinoshita, Kyosuke seemed transformed.
In class, he no longer fiddled with his electronic pet in secret. Instead, he sat up straight, his gaze sharper and more focused.
Even Japanese class, once a source of restless boredom, felt less dull.
The scratch of his pencil on his notebook became his most comforting sound.
Only in the evening, when the sunset’s glow painted the window frames a warm orange, would he carefully finish his las...

Chapter 79 - Even the Teacher Plays Pokémon!

“Kyosuke, you’re here. Sit.” Kinoshita pointed to an empty chair by her desk.
Kyosuke, head bowed like a scolded quail, shuffled to the desk, sat, and mumbled, voice barely audible, “Teacher… I was wrong… I shouldn’t have played with the electronic pet in class… I shouldn’t have disrupted the lesson…”
He braced for criticism, maybe even harsher punishment.
But, to his surprise, Kinoshita didn’t scold or lecture as he’d feared.
She pulled the familiar red-...

Chapter 78 - From Joy to Sorrow

The sound wasn’t loud, but it rippled through the quiet classroom like a pebble dropped in a still lake.
It was as jarring as a thunderclap.
In an instant, every classmate’s gaze snapped toward Kyosuke. A few girls in the front row covered their mouths. Kobayashi, sitting beside him, gaped, eyes wide as bells, his expression screaming, “You’re done for.”
And, of course, Teacher Kinoshita, who had just turned to continue the lesson.
Her chalk-holding hand paused mid-air, ...

Chapter 77 - The Coolest Kid

The Poké Ball opened slowly, and Kyosuke’s breath caught.
A yellow head with pointed ears and red cheeks appeared—a Pikachu sticker!
Kyosuke’s eyes widened like saucers, his mouth forming an “O,” frozen in place.
The next second, he leaped like a cat with its tail stepped on.
“Waaah! It’s Pikachu! Dad! It’s Pikachu! I got Pikachu!”
His voice, high-pitched with excitement, nearly blew the roof off the toy store.
His father, caught up in his joy, patted his ...

Chapter 76 - Grandma’s Pidgey

The car rumbled along the bumpy country road.
Kyosuke cradled his palm-sized electronic pet, his small feet swinging back and forth.
He’d read the manual cover to cover several times, memorizing every icon and button function.
On the screen, a pixelated bird tilted its head, chirping “Pippi!” in an electronic tone.
It was Pidgey.
Though not the coveted Pikachu, Kyosuke had felt a twinge of disappointment at first.
But when he pressed a button to feed the pixel bird a b...

Chapter 75 - Pokémon, Getto Daze!

"Always… by my side?”

Kyosuke’s eyes lit up like twin bulbs suddenly switched on.

He leaped from his chair, abandoning his meal and dishes, rushing like a whirlwind to his mother in the kitchen, who was washing dishes.

His voice trembled with excitement.

“Mom! Mom! I want it! The thing on TV!”

Startled, his mother turned. “What thing? Why the fuss?”

“The Pikachu one! The electronic pet that keeps Pikachu with me!”

Kyosuke pointed tow...

Chapter 74 - Pikachu

Across the globe in North America, the Fatal Fury tournament was in full swing.

Meanwhile, in Japan, a silent campaign had already been meticulously deployed.

Huge corrugated boxes, stamped with a simple “Pokémon” logo and a distinctive lightning-bolt tail silhouette, were quietly delivered by trucks to warehouses of Tokuma Shoten, San-X, and Mattel’s Japan partners.

The sheer volume left seasoned warehouse managers stunned.

“So much stock… are they planning...

Chapter 73 - Reaching an Agreement

Over the next few days, negotiations unfolded.

The process was far from smooth.

The meeting room’s atmosphere swung between tense standoffs and brief harmony when consensus was reached on minor details.

“Mr. Nakayama, about this unit price,” Manager Li said, setting down the quote sheet, his finger tapping a figure.

“We’ve recalculated multiple times. At this price, our profit margin is… quite tight.”

His deputy added, “Yes, raw material costs, la...