America: The Godfather of Game Development

Can Chapter 324 of "Metal Slug" fill such a huge hole? (3k)

"Is this thing very powerful?"

Seeing Sato Hideki's discomfiture, Nakayama Hayao knew the answer.

He had heard Lin Lixin boast to him about how abnormally powerful this thing was.

But I'm not really an expert in this field, so I never really had a real feel for it.

He doesn't know much about hardware, but he knows Hideki Sato.

"powerful?!"

Hideki Sato shook his head. "To describe it like that is far too simplistic."

"Its architecture is complete and mature, and it was born for video games."

"It's like combining ARM and 86, and then making improvements specifically for games."

"I can say with absolute certainty—"

Hayao Nakayama was stunned, not expecting Hideki Sato to react so strongly.

However, this does indeed prove that Lin Lixin's words were true. Not only were they not false, but it is even possible that he deliberately concealed a little to prevent Lin Lixin from getting too excited.

"President, are we going to replace Genesis's processor with this?!"

Hideki Sato's eyes widened, and his breathing became rapid.

Is the world's top-tier console going to be born in the hands of Sega?

"No----"

Hayao Nakayama remained silent for a moment, then shook his head.

Looking back on Lin Lixin's analysis of the situation, it now seems to make perfect sense.

Sega's collapse was a classic case of a chronic illness leading to complications and ultimately a sudden and devastating defeat.

In order to outdo Nintendo, Sega upgraded all hardware specifications from the original plan to the GAMENOVA level.

However, the complex hardware requirements and various troubles combined made Genesis far more difficult to develop than SFC, and even far more difficult than NovaXeno.

This is the most fundamental problem.

Sega is not Gamenova; they don't have the cutting-edge N language technology, so they can't simplify the development process.

More coprocessors and a completely new memory architecture mean that all their past development experience needs to be scrapped and rebuilt from scratch.

This time, Hayao Nakayama decided to take a completely different path.

According to Lin Lixin, the goal is to make Genesis a device that pushes the boundaries of architecture.

"Keep only the necessary memory, and remove all other coprocessors."

Whether it's 16+8 or 16+16, I don't want either of them.

The audio chip and graphics coprocessor were also completely removed.

"Even the Z80 is being removed? What about our backward compatibility?"

Hideki Sato immediately became anxious.

In his view, the current president is like someone who has gone mad, completely obsessed.

Yes, the 16+8 architecture did indeed make their development work extremely difficult.

But this 8-bit Z80 has a very important task.

It is designed to be compatible with the previous generation of Sega consoles' SMS.

With it, Genesis can easily be compatible with previous generation games.

Yes, remove them all.

Hayao Nakayama's voice was serious and carried an unquestionable tone: "Sega is now a ruin in ruins, and as the saying goes, destruction precedes construction. If we are to reform, then we must be ruthless enough."

After hesitating for a while, Hideki Sato said, "Then let's forget about running any 3D games."

Is it really worth sacrificing 3D acceleration for unparalleled 2D performance?

"Then we should do it too."

Hayao Nakayama nodded.

He already knew this very well when he met Lin Lixin.

but----

He had to consider that this might be Sega's only chance to step on Nintendo's old guard in the 16-bit era.

This is also an opportunity for Sega to regain its top-tier status.

"Okay—we'll do our best."

Hideki Sato eventually gave up on his obsession.

This project won't last long.

Unlike the complex structure of the original Genesis, this new device will be incredibly simple, as requested by the president.

Because the project has just been launched, many supporting facilities have not yet been put in place.

ATHENA's actual production is still being adjusted gradually.

However, the first batch of stock for the developers has been prepared.

Therefore, the entire development department immediately began to integrate resources from all sides and start to put what had previously only remained on paper into practice.

Ultimately, this thing is indeed a next-generation version of Contra.

Side-scrolling shooter games, though varied, all share the same core principles.

-

The development team actually did the least amount of work among all the participants, as they were able to reuse many of the experiences gained from Contra.

Within a week, GAMENOVA's development team officially announced the project's completion.

The only remaining tasks are to wait for Nazca to gather all the art assets and for Sega to produce the Genesis NEO.

After finishing the development work, Lin Lixin didn't rest. He drove straight to Sega North America.

"President Lin."

To protect the machine until its birth, Hayao Nakayama never returned to Japan.

Currently, Sega's business in Japan is mostly handled by Yu Suzuki, the head of AM2, and Yuji Naka, the head of AM8, who have the highest reputations.

It just so happens that the two leaders of the arcade faction and the home console faction have barely created an environment of mutual checks and balances.

With Ash watching over them, they were unlikely to cause any trouble.

Lin Lixin nodded, his gaze falling on the bustling Sega Hardware Department.

"President Nakayama, how's the stuff going?"

"Sato, bring the prototype over here."

Upon receiving the order, Hideki Sato immediately brought the machine from the table to the two of them.

Its appearance is almost identical to the Sega Mega Drive that Lin Lixin remembers.

If we had to point out a difference, it would be that the machine is significantly smaller in size due to the substantial reduction in the number of components.

"President Lin, apart from 1MB of memory and the processor, it contains almost no unnecessary components. The current cost estimate is approximately—"

Hayao Nakayama gave Hideki Sato a wink, signaling him to pull up a watch.

However, Lin Lixin preemptively said, "Around $190 to $200."

"Well----"

Hideki Sato looked at the form he had just pulled out and twitched his lips.

Even the range is exactly the same.

Seeing his expression, Hayao Nakayama knew there was no need for him to waste any more time.

Come to think of it, why would I bother with cost accounting?

Apart from the outer shell, everything inside this machine was obtained from Lin Lixin.

When it comes to cost accounting, the other party has the most accurate first-party data.

"Um----

Lin Lixin rubbed his chin, pondering if there was any room for adjustment.

The production price is this, but after shipping it to the other side of the Pacific Ocean, another tariff must be paid.

This includes warehousing and transportation costs, as well as various miscellaneous expenses at the sales terminals.

Ultimately, the actual cost per unit will increase by another ten or twenty dollars.

Without Lin Lixin needing to say anything more, Nakayama Hayao already knew what he was thinking, so he took the initiative to speak up: "Nintendo's new console SNES is priced at $199. If we control costs to the limit, we can also reach that number."

"No—we can—go to an even more extreme position."

Lin Lixin quickly went through the data in his mind, then looked up at Nakayama Hayao, "$150 per unit."

"What?!"

Hayao Nakayama and Hideki Sato both exclaimed in surprise.

At this price, they're literally losing money to make a profit.

For every unit sold, Sega incurs a loss of tens of dollars.

This is blatant bloodletting.

Even if it's just to fight a price war with Nintendo, this is suicidal.

Before they could bring down Nintendo, Sega had to be unable to hold on.

"Don't rush, there's still Metal Slug, isn't there?"

A first-party flagship title, whether priced in Japan or the United States, generally costs around $50 to $80.

Those with reinforced chips are usually more expensive.

If you exclude the cost of NAND flash memory chips, this product is actually extremely profitable.

"But—in that case, we have to make sure that the sales of Metal Slug can fill this huge hole."

"Yes, so what?"

Lin Lixin shrugged.

If you don't even have this much self-confidence, how can you make a good game?

early december.

An exhibition hall in Tokyo.

The logos of SEGA and GAMENOVA were prominently displayed outside the exhibition hall, announcing to passersby what was happening there.

Public testing of new models and brand-new masterpieces.

【Arcade Destroyer SEGAGenesisNEO】

[First public test!]

[One-tenth the price, ten times the performance!]

We've crammed arcade games into home consoles!

Exaggerated posters were plastered all over the curtain wall in front of the door.

-

This "GG" term seems to be used to criticize arcade games three times in one sentence and still not be satisfied.

But the meaning it wanted to express was already clear enough.

GenesisNEO, more powerful than arcade machines, cheaper than arcade machines!

For just 22000 yen, you can experience arcade-level video games at home.

Unlike the North American market, which has been well-established by Gamenova, arcades remain the most mainstream gaming medium in Japan.

This kind of GG term is indeed concise, derogatory, and clearly derogatory.

This time, it truly is "Genesis Does What Nintendo Can't" in every sense of the word.

Eighteen-year-old Masahiro Sakurai had just finished his classes for the day and eagerly packed his things to rush out of high school.

He wanted to get home as soon as possible so he could continue tinkering with his FamilyBasic.

This is a programming tool specifically for the Famicom (FC) developed by Nintendo and Hudson.

However, Masahiro Sakurai himself is not a fan of FC.

Neither the FC nor the recently released SFC had any particularly exciting or memorable titles for him.

For him, the fun of playing games is far less exciting than the thrill of making games.

Even Masahiro Sakurai harbored a very immature idea.

That means you shouldn't waste your precious youth in school anymore.

"If I can win awards in game development competitions and be featured in major game publications, why can't I make games?"

Masahiro Sakurai firmly believes that if he drops out of school now and applies for a job at a game company, he will be able to get a job and make a name for himself in the future.

"Huh? SEGA—and GAMENOVA?"

He suddenly stopped in his tracks. "New device? New game?"

It looks like my schedule for today will be delayed a little.