Namco—one of Japan's most renowned arcade developers, a name every gamer knows.
Back in the eighties, Namco was a mid-sized Japanese game company. They had once acquired the Japanese branch of Atari, which had collapsed from mismanagement, and through that acquisition formally entered the video game business. Before that, Namco primarily built large amusement park machines—carousels and the like.
Later, they were purchased and merged by Bandai, forming Bandai Namco, wholly owned by Bandai, responsible for developing a wide range of Bandai's tie-in games.
The Dark Souls series, for example, was published by Bandai Namco.
But now—
The summer of 1984.
Inside Namco's headquarters, the executives sat in heavy silence.
They were late—just one step late.
But that single step meant far more than losing ten or twenty thousand units in sales.
President Masaya Nakamura sat with his fingers interlocked, gaze cold as it moved across the meeting room.
"Why is everyone quiet?" he finally asked.
He pointed casually at one of the producers.
Producer Nakamura—though he shared a surname, he wasn't responsible for the Iron Plate Formation port.
Producer Nakamura bowed slightly. "According to the information gathered, Sega's Jormungandr has already exceeded one hundred thousand units shipped. Actual first-week sales are likely between seventy and eighty thousand. If nothing unexpected happens, the first-month sales could reach three hundred thousand—or more. At that level, the game already qualifies as a classic. Lifetime sales will easily break one million."
In other words—
A game developed in only three months had earned nearly thirty million yen in its first week.
Even SG-2000 console sales saw a noticeable boost.
Because the SG-1000 simply couldn't run the game smoothly, and even the SG-1200 struggled—
Consumers had to buy at least the SG-2000 to ensure smooth gameplay.
Masaya Nakamura nodded, then abruptly asked a seemingly unrelated question.
"How many SG units have shipped total? And how many Famicom units?"
Producer Nakamura bowed again. "Because of the winter recall incident, the Famicom has fallen slightly behind, but still has sold around eight hundred thousand units. Sega's SG line is a little ahead—several SG models have already surpassed one million."
Nakamura tapped the table with his knuckles, thinking deeply.
"And Nintendo—have they brought up the royalty system again?"
This time, the producer shook his head.
"They mentioned lowering the percentage once, but no new updates recently."
Only then did Nakamura speak.
"Continue the Iron Plate Formation port. It will still release on Famicom. Nakamura-kun, assign it to a reliable subordinate. For now, our focus needs to shift elsewhere."
As the head of a company, weighing profits and risks was essential.
Nintendo's licensing fees were too expensive—choosing a side required serious caution.
Sega or Nintendo?
He needed to wait and see.
Historically, after Namco committed to porting Iron Plate Formation to the Famicom, they supported Nintendo for five years and even received special permission to self-publish cartridges outside the royalty system.
But a few years later, Namco clashed with Nintendo's rigid policies and defected to Sega.
Now, in this altered history—
With Famicom sales showing cracks, Namco decisively chose a third path:
Sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight.
Help neither side.
Of course, the Iron Plate Formation port still had to continue—but since they had already lost the title of "first," they could afford to slow down.
After the meeting, Producer Nakamura relayed the news to the development department.
"The port must continue, but someone else will take the lead. Anyone interested?"
Silence filled the room.
With a competitor having already shown their hand, whoever took over risked being blamed if the port failed.
No one wanted their career on the line.
But suddenly, a hand rose.
"Sir, I'd like to try. I want to lead the remaining porting work."
Nakamura turned toward the voice.
A young man: Masanobu Endō, twenty-five years old, only one year into his Namco career. Among eight hundred employees, he was hardly remarkable.
Nakamura wasn't very concerned anymore about the port's outcome, so he nodded casually.
"Very well. Endō-kun will lead the port."
Failure would bring blame, yes—but success would open doors.
Endō clenched his fist.
In real history, Namco's engineers initially believed Iron Plate Formation couldn't be ported to the Famicom. Endō took on the task, succeeded brilliantly, and became known as the Father of Iron Plate Formation.
Now again, taking up the responsibility, Endō immediately retrieved an SG-2000.
With fewer than ten people left in the porting team, Endō issued his first order:
"Pause all porting work. For the next few days, focus entirely on playing Jormungandr. You must clear it. I believe its design will greatly assist our port."
This was called—
learning from the wisdom of predecessors.
…
Meanwhile, inside the Atlus garage studio, Tetsu Kobayashi lounged on the sofa, phone to his ear.
It was a direct call from Bandai.
Yamashina Makoto was barely suppressing his excitement.
"Kobayashi-kun, you won't believe how well the Salamander fighter toys are selling! In just one week, pre-orders plus shipments have already passed two hundred thousand units! With the game and the anime both peaking—especially with the anime nearing its finale—the timing is perfect!"
Kobayashi Tetsu chuckled.
Naturally.
If the anime weren't driving sales, hiring Hideaki Anno would have been a waste.
With Salamander plus Anno, if a toy line couldn't sell, they might as well grab a big rock and jump into Tokyo Bay.
Of course—
Anno would jump first.
Kobayashi would consider it later.
Just as Yamashina was about to hang up, Kobayashi suddenly spoke.
"Speaking of which—Bandai, are you interested in sponsoring another event? Last year we held the Tokyo Game Tournament. Why not make it a tradition? This year's lineup could include Kobayashi Puzzle, Jormungandr, and Tank Battle—all highly competitive and fun to watch. Atlus and Bandai can provide the prizes together. It will boost Bandai's toy sales significantly."
Yamashina nearly burst out laughing.
"And Atlus' sales too, I assume! But yes—this is worth considering. This kind of GG works far better than our previous GG."
Last year's Shimaori Game Tournament had been sponsored by Sega.
This year, Bandai could take over.
The scope could also expand—last year the event covered only Tokyo. This year, they could reach the entire Kanto area—ideally both Kanto and Kansai.
As for actual funding?
Tetsu Kobayashi had no intention of sponsoring anything.
He was responsible for talking, and that was enough.
With anime and toys selling strongly, it was the right time to push games, consoles, and toys all upward together.
Everyone won.
A perfect triple victory.
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