In the conference room, hands were raised one after another.
There wasn't much suspense.
In the face of rational business analysis, the plan that maximized profit always garnered the approval of the vast majority.
Enix, that great ship, had chosen the safest route amidst the tumultuous waves of the console wars.
They did not lean completely toward any one side, but instead made themselves a bargaining chip that all parties needed to vie for.
That afternoon, Keiji Honda's secretary called the Third-Party Liaison Office at Sega Headquarters to confirm the itinerary for the technical team's visit to Ōta Ward.
At the same time, a rejection letter, worded politely but firm in its stance, was delivered to the desk of Nobuyuki Idei at Sony's headquarters in Minato Ward.
On the chessboard of the console wars, another heavy piece had been played.
This piece had not captured the opponent's king, yet it occupied a position in the center of the board that no one could ignore.
The perspective shifts back to Sega Headquarters in Ōta Ward.
Takuya Nakayama listened to Hisao Oguchi's report, his face showing little expression.
"Enix's technical team will arrive tomorrow morning," Hisao Oguchi said, flipping through his schedule. "It looks like they've rejected Sony's investment proposal. Based on the information they've provided, they also haven't promised exclusivity on Jupiter. President Honda's exact words were to 'prioritize the development progress of the Jupiter version'."
"Prioritizing it means they still have to balance other things." Takuya Nakayama filed a document. "A multi-platform strategy. Keiji Honda is a smart man; the executives at Enix are very calculating."
"Managing Director, we went through all that trouble to integrate outsourcing resources, only to let them pursue a multi-platform strategy in the end. Isn't that letting them off too easy?" Hisao Oguchi felt like they were getting the short end of the stick. "What if the PlayStation version's sales exceed ours—"
"Don't worry," Takuya Nakayama cut off his concerns. "The Matthew effect in the console market will solve this problem."
"Jupiter's current installed base is three times that of PlayStation. Once Dragon Quest is released, this gap will only widen. By launching first on a platform with an absolute advantage in installed base, the vast majority of players will choose to buy the Jupiter version. By the time they sluggishly port it to PlayStation, there will only be scraps left."
He stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked out at Tokyo Bay in the distance.
"Forcing third parties to sign exclusivity agreements is something the weak do. Sony needs exclusivity to boost their install base; we don't." Takuya Nakayama's tone was filled with the composure of someone in complete control. "What we need to do is make Jupiter an infrastructure that no third party can bypass. As long as they use our tools, our personnel, and launch on our platform, Sega will get a royalty on every cent they earn."
Oguchi Hisao looked at the Managing Director's back, gaining a new understanding of this higher-dimensional business strategy.
"Go and prepare to receive the Enix technical team," Nakayama instructed. "Bring out the latest development kits, and have the leads of those teams willing to take on outsourcing work come to the meeting as well. We're going to show Enix what a true next-gen development ecosystem looks like."
"Understood." Oguchi Hisao turned and left the office.
The nature of the war was changing.
It had upgraded from a simple competition of hardware and software to a battle of ecosystems.
While Sony was still waving their checkbook and throwing money around, Sega had already begun laying the pipes underground.
Once the pipelines were laid, the industry's entire flow would naturally converge into Sega's reservoir.
At Sony headquarters, Nobuyuki Idei sat in deep contemplation, staring at the rejection letter from Enix on his desk.
The letter was worded with extreme courtesy, thanking Sony for their high regard and praising the PlayStation's hardware performance, before politely declining the massive investment on the grounds that "the company's development strategy requires maintaining the current equity structure."
Norio Oga walked in and glanced at the letter on the desk.
"Rejected," Oga said, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.
"They've chosen to go multi-platform," Idei said, putting the letter away. "Intelligence shows that Enix's technical team has already moved into the Sega building and begun assessing outsourcing resources. They haven't completely closed the door, though; they've kept open the possibility of releasing on PlayStation in the future."
"Multi-platform," Oga assessed. "Fence-sitting. But it's understandable from a business standpoint. Since we can't have exclusivity, we'll have to find a way to make it work with port versions. Tell Ken Kutaragi that hardware cost reduction cannot stop. We must put pressure on Sega through pricing."
Nobuyuki Idei nodded. "I will follow up. In addition, we need to find new targets. Since we didn't land 'Dragon Quest,' we must find other titles to fill the gap in our RPG product line."
"Contact those developers struggling on the periphery of the Sega ecosystem," Norio Oga instructed. "No matter how big Sega's plate is, they can't take care of everyone. There will always be some who don't get a piece of the pie. Round them up and concentrate our resources on creating one or two blockbuster hits."
Sony's adjustment speed was rapid. Driven by capital, this massive machine began to turn towards new targets.
Enix's technical team spent an entire week at Sega.
Keiji Honda's calculations were very shrewd; a multi-platform strategy had become Enix's protective talisman in this console war.
Sega accepted everything, and the integration and coordination of outsourcing resources went very smoothly.
Hisao Oguchi walked into the Executive Managing Director's Office holding a memo.
"The Enix people just left this morning," Oguchi said, sitting down at the desk. "They were very satisfied with the development kits and the list of outsourcing teams we provided. Their lead technical director hinted privately that they would begin building the foundational architecture for 'Dragon Quest' on the Jupiter platform as soon as they get back."
Takuya Nakayama was flipping through a thick financial dossier and didn't even look up when he heard this.
"Since Keiji Honda has given the word to prioritize the development progress of the Jupiter version, his subordinates will naturally follow suit," he said, turning a page. "As long as the launch version remains in our hands, Sony is welcome to pick up whatever scraps are left. Keep a close eye on the quality of the outsourced team; don't let them drop the ball at a critical moment."
"Understood." After Hisao Oguchi finished his business report, his gaze fell on the dossier, the cover of which bore the PricewaterhouseCoopers logo. "Is the financial audit coming to an end?"
"Wrapping up," Takuya Nakayama said, picking up his fountain pen and signing the end of the dossier. "After five months, we've finally managed to sort out the old accounts buried underneath."
After Hisao Oguchi left, Director Hoshino came in with several documents.
"Managing Director, the final audit report and internal control optimization proposal from PricewaterhouseCoopers have arrived." Director Hoshino placed the documents on the desk.
Takuya Nakayama opened the proposal and glanced at it.
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