Takuya found Team Leader Shimizu and Suzuki Yu and said, "Help me connect the test machine to a video signal for recording."
Shimizu connected the wires, wondering, "What else do you need this for? The anime PV has already been released, hasn't it? And the animation for the game PV has already been sent to Tatsunoko Production."
Takuya smiled slyly and said, "Do you remember the joystick button display I added separately later? I'm going to record that this time."
Suzuki Yu suddenly realized something and exclaimed, "You're going to make videos of all the moves and release them?"
Takuya snapped his fingers: "Bingo! I'm going to add a character's move list at the end of each anime episode."
Shimizu was still a bit confused: "We only have eight characters, and the ninth, Geese, is a hidden character. What about the later episodes?"
Takuya spread his hands: "Simple. In episode 9, we'll announce Geese's activation conditions: the arcade machine must have completed a playthrough with all eight characters. Then, on the character selection screen, press A, B, C, and D simultaneously to select Geese's frame." Takuya clearly didn't intend to make character selection difficult for players.
"Then episodes 10 and 11 will be demonstrations of Terry and Andy's move combos, respectively."
"The last two episodes…" Takuya paused, looking at Shimizu and Suzuki Yu. "It will be the preview for the first Sega Tournament!"
Hearing this, Shimizu and Suzuki Yu were already wide-eyed with shock. This was too grand a plan.
"You two didn't think that what I said about esports before was just a pipe dream, did you?" Takuya smiled faintly.
Shimizu and Suzuki Yu also recovered, followed by excited shouts. "That's amazing! This plan is perfect! Takuya, how did you come up with this?"
Takuya gave a look that suggested it was a secret, so the two urged him to start recording the moves.
On the screen, characters from fatal fury were smoothly demonstrating various special moves.
Below the screen, a special small window displayed the joystick direction and button inputs in real-time.
Every precise operation corresponded to a dazzling move performance on the screen.
"Alright, Terry's 'Power Geyser' is recorded." Takuya nodded with satisfaction, motioning for Suzuki Yu to switch characters.
Team Leader Shimizu watched from the side, a lingering shock in his eyes.
"Takuya, your joystick button display is a genius idea! This way, players can understand how to perform moves just by watching once!"
Suzuki Yu was completely immersed in the operation and recording; he felt that his fighting game design ideas were being broadened daily under Takuya's influence.
Especially this approach of directly integrating tutorials into promotional materials, it was simply unheard of.
They efficiently recorded each character's basic moves, special moves, and super moves.
Even the hidden character Geese's moves were recorded, just temporarily stored away.
Next were several core combo demonstrations for Terry and Andy.
Takuya personally took over, showcasing several combos that were both visually appealing and practical, leaving Shimizu and Suzuki Yu dumbfounded.
"Can these… really be used in actual combat?" Shimizu couldn't help but ask.
"Of course," Takuya replied easily, "These are just basic combos. More complex techniques are for players to discover themselves."
After two days, once Takuya's recording work was complete, Takuya immediately arranged for someone to send these carefully edited video materials to Tatsunoko Production.
He personally communicated the insertion details with the animation production team over the phone.
"Yes, at the end of each anime episode, insert a character's move demonstration."
"Keep the duration within two minutes, and ensure the picture is clear and the operation commands are explicit."
"Right, the goal is for viewers to finish the anime and immediately want to go to the arcade to try and perform the same moves!"
"Episode nine will broadcast Geese's unlock method, and episodes ten and eleven will be Terry and Andy's combo tutorials."
"The last two episodes… are the preview for the first Sega Tournament!"
Director Ooba on the other end of the phone was clearly surprised by this interlocking promotional plan.
Hanging up the phone, Takuya let out a long breath.
The gears of the plan were precisely meshing and turning.
The anime PV ignited the first flame, but this was far from enough.
What Takuya wanted to do was precisely guide this pan-entertainment fervor brought by the anime to the arcade halls, converting it into tangible coin drops and player stickiness.
And those "actual game move lists" and "combo demonstrations" hidden at the end of the anime, which would be revealed one by one, were the most important fuses he had laid. As long as people followed the anime every week, they would naturally see this content, subtly guiding viewers to become players.
Kyoto, Nintendo Headquarters.
Information about Sega's "K Project" anime preview, along with the stir it caused among Japanese youth, had been compiled and delivered to Hiroshi Yamauchi's desk through various channels.
A report with colored screenshots was there, and next to it, even a videotape.
Hiroshi Yamauchi's fingers lightly tapped on the smooth mahogany desk, his gaze sweeping over the exaggerated battle screenshots in the report. The visuals were indeed exquisite, and the movements were too fluid to be a product of this era's technology. He even had someone play the videotape, briefly watching a short segment of Terry using "Flame Punch," the image freezing on that powerful stance.
In the office, several core Nintendo executives sat upright, the atmosphere serious.
"Sega's investment this time seems substantial; the animation production cost is probably not low," a finance executive spoke first, his tone carrying an instinctive concern for cost control.
"Hmph, it's just bluster," the head of the Market Department immediately retorted, a disdainful sound coming from his nose, "No matter how flashy the animation is, a game is a game. Their arcade board, I reckon, can at most support a dozen colors. How could it possibly reproduce this animation effect? When players see the actual product doesn't match the hype, they'll just be full of complaints."
"Exactly," another executive with a technical background added, "Didn't Atari suffer losses from the E.T. movie license back then? The promotion was overwhelming, but the game quality was poor, and it ultimately led them to their grave. Sega is repeating the same mistake."
Someone even whispered, "I heard they also plan to add some game tutorials at the end of the anime… It's ridiculous, who would watch the end of an anime just to learn a few button presses?"
Amidst the murmurs, Hiroshi Yamauchi raised a hand, signaling for silence.
He picked up the illustrated report, pointed at Terry's screenshot, and then casually pushed it aside.
"Animation is animation, and a game is a game," his voice was low, carrying the authority of someone long in a high position, "This level of promotion cannot change the core disparity."
He looked out the window, his gaze seemingly not lingering on the Kyoto streetscape but cast towards a more distant place.
"The foundation of the North America market has been laid, the NES's momentum is unstoppable, and our home console empire is steadily expanding."
"Atari's lesson isn't to make us fear promotion, but to make us realize that what ultimately determines victory is always the quality of the product and the user experience. Especially in the home console market we dominate."
"These arcade games Sega is messing with in Japan are just small-time stuff, trying to snatch a bit of soup from our bowl."
He made the final decision, his tone resolute.
"Maintain the existing strategy. Continue to deepen our roots in North America, expanding our advantage. In Japan, proceed as planned; the breadth of the Famicom software lineup is the key."
"We don't need to waste energy on such trivial matters."
This judgment, based on past experience and absolute confidence, once again unified Nintendo's internal thinking. In their eyes, the fatal fury anime preview, and the subsequent "small moves," were nothing more than a flashy but empty, even somewhat unprofessional, marketing bubble.