"If we could apply this texture mapping technology to Mario..." Shigeru Miyamoto muttered to himself, "or Link... and combine it with that analog stick..."
He suddenly stood up, the relaxed, observer-like expression gone, replaced by a fervent gleam of inspiration.
"Mr. Uemura, let me borrow this machine for a couple of days," Miyamoto said, patting the bare circuit board. "I need to test some ideas. Also, contact SGI and ask if this texture compression algorithm can be ported to our new architecture. Do they hold the patent for this instruction set, or Sega? If it's SGI's, maybe our chip can use it too."
Gunpei Yokoi watched the energetic Miyamoto with a smile and a shake of his head. "I never thought our console would end up using Sega's technology someday."
"Perhaps many technological advancements naturally converge to some extent," Masayuki Uemura said, watching Miyamoto busily resume his work. A slight smile played on his lips. "At least Sega showed us that, even with such tight hardware constraints, the path to 3D isn't quite so daunting."
Just as Virtua Fighter 2 completed its nationwide rollout of 20,000 units, raking in a fortune from fighting game enthusiasts, Sega launched a new offensive.
In Akihabara, the massive electronic billboard on the exterior of Sega Building No. 1 suddenly cut off the looping demonstration video of Akira Yuki.
The screen went black, then the roar of an engine, like a wild beast's roar, instantly drowned out the street noise.
The image lit up.
It was the Capital Expressway Bayshore Route late at night, streetlights stretching into long ribbons of light.
A silver Nissan Fairlady Z (Z32) weaved through traffic, its taillights leaving streaks of red light. The hyper-realistic live-action footage made passersby instinctively stop in their tracks.
"Is this a movie trailer?" someone muttered.
The next moment, the screen flickered without warning.
The live-action Bayshore Route instantly transformed into a world of polygons.
Though the guardrails still had sharp edges and the distant buildings were merely simple textures, the Z32 remained instantly recognizable.
The Model 2's incredible texture mapping capabilities were on full display at that moment—the reflections on the car body and the dynamic motion of the tires created an eerily harmonious transition from the live-action footage of the previous second.
Although the "road cars" being overtaken were merely a few crude blocky shapes, this only served to highlight the terrifyingly detailed rendering of the protagonist vehicle.
Before the audience could react, the scene abruptly changed.
California State Route 1, the sunset painting the ocean surface in golden-red hues.
A red Chevrolet Corvette C4, its V8 engine growling low, raced along the coastline.
Sunlight spilled across the hood, and as the car turned, light and shadow flowed across its body in real-time.
With another whoosh, the live-action footage transitioned to computer graphics.
Except for the slightly paper-like coconut trees by the roadside, the C4 still looked utterly formidable in the game's visuals, even faithfully replicating the heat distortion effect from its exhaust pipes.
Next came the third scene.
Monaco Monte Carlo, the narrow city circuit.
A Porsche 911 (993), its iconic "frog-eye" headlights leading the way, executed a perfect drift around a sharp corner.
The piercing shriek of tires burning rubber tore through the air, and white smoke billowed up.
The scene shifted to a polygonal rendering of the Monte Carlo Circuit. Though simplified, it perfectly captured the sense of speed and pressure.
The camera suddenly pulled back.
The view was no longer the racetrack, but the back of a player intensely gripping a steering wheel.
He sat in a wildly styled red single-seater cockpit, his foot pressed to the floor, his body instinctively leaning into the car's curve.
The camera continued to retreat, revealing the Sega Akihabara Building No. 1 and a long queue of people at its entrance.
The screen went black. With the sound of a sudden brake squeal, golden letters slammed onto the center of the screen:
[ The Fast and the Furious ]
Smaller text followed: The second wave of the Model 2 board, launching simultaneously across Japan.
This GG advertisement wasn't just in Akihabara; it was broadcast around the clock on giant screens in Shibuya 109, Shinjuku East Exit, and even at the most expensive intersection in Ginza.
The roar of the V8 engine echoed through the concrete jungle, sending shivers down the spines of passing office workers.
His colleagues were baffled.
It's just an arcade racing game. Why are they burning through so much money?
They didn't know that this was exactly the effect Tetsuya Mizuguchi wanted.
From the very beginning of the project, the producer had burst into the Managing Director's office, slamming a thick stack of proposals onto the table, his eyes blazing with fanaticism. "Sir, this can't just be a game that makes people drop coins and leave. I want it to become a cultural icon! I want Ferrari and Porsche—those arrogant car manufacturers—to come begging for partnerships! In the future, when Hollywood makes a racing movie, our IP will be the first thing they think of!"
Takuya Nakayama, who had been idly spinning a pen in his hand, listened to this audacious declaration. He immediately crossed out the working title Sega Super Racing on the proposal's cover and wrote a single line of English.
"Then don't limit yourself to just 'games'," Zhongshan said, pushing the paper back. "Call it The Fast and the Furious."
Compared to buying the rights to Wangan Midnight, confining themselves to the narrow roads of the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway, this name was clearly more aggressive.
Tetsuya Mizuguchi stared at the line of text for a long time, then grinned. This name is wild enough to match his ambition.
To live up to this name, Mizuguchi's subsequent request was nothing short of brazen.
"A physics engine can't just be calculated; we need real-world testing." That afternoon, Mizuguchi pointed at the car keys Takuya Nakayama had just placed on the desk, his eyes burning. "Managing Director, could I borrow your RX-7 for a couple of days? We need to collect suspension compression data during extreme cornering."
"Borrow my car?" Takuya Nakayama raised an eyebrow. "Is the Development Department so broke they can't even afford rental car fees?"
"A rental car won't be in as good condition as yours," Mizuguchi said, rubbing his hands together and seizing the opportunity. "And one RX-7 isn't enough. I have a list here—a Porsche 911, a Ferrari F355, and ideally, a newly released Supra."
Zhongshan glanced at the list filled with luxury car names and laughed in exasperation. "Do you think I run a car dealership?"
"You have a lot of friends," Tetsuya Mizuguchi replied, clearly prepared. He pulled out his trump card. "In return, we'll make the license plate numbers of these cars exclusive in the game. From now on, when your friends take girls to the arcade, they can point to the rear of a lightning-fast sports car on the screen and say, 'See? This car's stats were based on my actual ride—even the license plate is the same.' This is a globally released game, you know. Such a subtle way to show off is priceless."
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