Kyoto, Nintendo headquarters.
The president's office, usually cold, held a rare warmth. Hiroshi Yamauchi leaned back, sales report in hand, a faint smile on his lips. Before him, marketing heads sat upright, their faces beaming.
"*Super Mario Bros. 3* is gaining steam," a sales manager reported. "Since week two, our sales curve's climbing, closing the gap with Sega's *Pokémon Park* fast. By next week at latest, we'll overtake them."
Another added, "Sega's MD launch hype is fading; players' novelty is wearing off. Mario's brand has lasting power—our momentum's stronger. Victory's ours."
Yamauchi said nothing, his fingers tapping the report's rising red curve. Everyone knew the president was pleased. *Pokémon* had overshadowed them for too long; now, Nintendo's ace was reclaiming its throne.
The door burst open. A young staffer stumbled in, papers scattering, sweat on his brow. "President! Bad news! The latest—latest data—"
The room's warmth froze. Yamauchi's gaze chilled, pinning the flustered youth. "Pick them up. Explain."
Scrambling, the staffer gathered his papers, voice trembling. "Sega's game sales—they spiked yesterday afternoon! This is Fami magazine's real-time fax—look—"
The sales manager took the crumpled sheet, his face paling to match it. He handed it to Yamauchi, hands shaking. The report showed *Pokémon Park*'s blue curve, after a steady dip, rocketing near-vertically, catching *Mario*'s sales and threatening to surpass.
"What happened?" Yamauchi's voice held no emotion, but backs shivered.
"It's… their game Easter egg," the sales manager stammered, taking another report from the staffer. "Clear the game, and you get a movie teaser—*Mewtwo Strikes Back*."
"A movie teaser?" Yamauchi's brow furrowed. "In the game?"
The manager passed the report, explaining, "Then GALLOP aired *Mewtwo Strikes Back*'s official trailer after prime-time anime. It's a triple-play: pre-launch ads, in-game teaser, and official trailer. Every Pokémon anime viewer, *Pokémon Park* player, and merch buyer is hooked. It's a media frenzy."
"TVs and papers are all over it, calling Sega's 'interactive narrative' a game-changer, making the game a movie prequel. Fence-sitters are rushing to buy it for the teaser."
Yamauchi stared at the report's entwined curves—*Mario*'s red line faltering, *Pokémon*'s blue roaring like a waking beast. Silence smothered the office. The marketing elites, just celebrating, bowed their heads, mute.
Moments ago, victory seemed certain; now, Sega's bizarre tactic reset the board. The whiplash left them dazed, powerless.
Yamauchi set the report down with a soft rustle. "Useless. Nakayama Takuya spins *Pokémon* into a propaganda juggernaut, and you can't keep up?"
His "useless" stabbed like icicles. Marketing and sales elites froze, heads down. The sales manager who'd boasted earlier stepped forward, ashen. "President, it's… worse than we thought."
Yamauchi's eyes stayed on the curves, as if to burn through the blue line. The manager, swallowing hard, offered a second report, its crisp paper and colorful game covers glaringly vivid.
"Sega's not stopping. While we're tangled with *Pokémon*'s sales, they've announced two new games for this week." He paused, then blurted, "*Super Robot Wars*, a strategy game, and *Puyo Puyo*, a party game."
A silent marketing head jumped in. "*Super Robot Wars* targets mecha fans and strategy gamers. Complex games like that were PC-only—developers hated dumbing down for Famicom. MD makes it possible. Are PC players defecting to Sega now?"
"And the other?" Yamauchi's voice was eerily calm.
The sales manager flipped to a page of soft, colorful characters, a stark contrast to mecha grit. "*Puyo Puyo*—by Compile. Cute, multiplayer mini-games, low difficulty with competitive flair. It's for the casuals, women, and families *Pokémon Park* pulled in. They want these players hooked on MD after *Pokémon*, making it a living room staple. It's our 'all-ages' strategy—but they're reaching wider."
Silence returned. Sega's moves were clear: *Pokémon*'s teaser was a surprise haymaker; these games were a relentless combo. Keeping MD prominent, expanding its base, and powering through the low-install-base phase, Sega targeted every niche, uniting them to assault Nintendo's "all-ages" crown.
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