Shimayori Yosuke lifted the magazine and began reading its contents aloud.
Editor: "Jörmungandr managed to replicate arcade-level performance. That must've been extremely difficult."
Kitagawa Takeshi: "I'm mainly an artist, so I don't fully understand the programming side. But the president and our programmer spent a long time solving this problem. They even disassembled many games in the process. It seems they used a brand-new method. The president said he'll open-source this technique—completely free for anyone to use."
Editor: "That's an incredible gesture!"
When Yosuke read this part, he slapped his thigh.
"What a generous president! They worked so hard to overcome such technical challenges, and he's just giving it away for free!"
(The truth was: even if Kobayashi Tetsu didn't publish it, once Namco released Iron Grid in October, the technique would spread on its own.)
Editor: "Jörmungandr even released an anime before the game launched. That's quite surprising."
Kitagawa: "Yes. That was the president's decision. He felt the game's setting was far too grand to explain with a few pages of appendix material, so he paid out of pocket to invite the well-known Daicon Film studio to animate Jörmungandr."
Yosuke slapped his thigh again.
"What a saint! All that just for one game!"
The young man beside him recoiled in fear.
"Uncle, you're slapping my leg."
"Ah—sorry! Sorry!"
Yosuke laughed awkwardly and continued reading.
The interview used Kitagawa's perspective to answer many questions and even briefly introduced him: he previously worked at a certain GG company, left because of low pay, and ended up helping create several hit games at Atlas instead.
At the end of the interview, the editor asked him:
Editor: "Kitagawa-kun, do you ever think about the company you used to work for?"
Kitagawa: "It's all in the past. When I think back on my time there, I only feel regret—I should've joined Atlas earlier. You have no idea how free and happy it is to work at Atlas. It feels just like being at home!"
Yosuke closed the magazine with a sigh.
"What an amazing studio… I want to visit it myself!"
He turned around—and found a middle-aged man looking pale.
"Uh… you okay?" Yosuke asked. "You look sick. I've got medicine if you need some!"
"No—no, I'm fine."
The man was Kinoshita Hayato—Kitagawa's former boss.
Previously furious when he saw GG's giant banner hanging on Central Avenue, he now felt nothing but regret.
He should never have let Kitagawa go. Look at him now—successful, respected, thriving!
But it was too late. Kitagawa was long gone, and it was obvious he would never come back.
Atlas was too enjoyable—no amount of begging would bring him back.
Some people just read the magazine.
But others—noticed the crucial parts.
Like Yamauchi Hiroshi.
Kadokawa Game Express didn't only publish Sega content—it contained tons of Nintendo material too.
With only two major game magazines in existence, Yamauchi subscribed to every issue without fail.
But this issue's heavy focus on Atlas truly surprised him.
There were no technical details, yet the interview revealed Atlas's design philosophy.
"'Simple but fun,' eh… Exactly like Nintendo."
The more Yamauchi read, the more emotional he felt.
If only this studio were under Nintendo… Our company culture is free too! Miyamoto and Yokoi say so!
He flipped a few more pages—and suddenly froze.
His eyes locked onto a single line:
Kitagawa: "Recently, an American visitor claiming to be a manager from Hasbro came to us. The president finalized a deal with them—Atlas granted Hasbro the North American arcade rights for Jörmungandr. They also bought the North American rights for the anime and the toys."
Yamauchi inhaled hard enough to choke on a Peach Princess.
North America.
His most coveted, yet unreachable dream.
Ever since Atari collapsed, Yamauchi had been desperate for Nintendo to enter North America—
claiming Atari's vacant territory.
Sega did have an American branch, but US Sega and Japan Sega were practically separate companies.
He hadn't cared much before.
But now—
Considering Jörmungandr's quality, and the fact that Americans loved shoot-'em-ups, Yamauchi frowned.
"Good thing it's only arcade. If it were on consoles… Entering the North American market would turn into a direct confrontation."
He didn't want to fight Sega in Japan and fight Sega in America.
He finished reading and immediately phoned Miyamoto.
"Shigeru. Hurry and find a way to contact Atlas Studio. Pay whatever it takes—recruit them!"
If they couldn't recruit them—
Yamauchi pressed the magazine's cover stiffly.
Then nothing could be done.
Nintendo wasn't a yakuza group, after all—
though they did have a bit of yakuza background.
At most, he could only sigh.
A company so perfectly aligned with Nintendo—and yet not his.
Destroying them would be a waste.
——
In the garage, Kobayashi Tetsu was in the middle of a lecture when he suddenly shivered.
"Huh? It's May. Why is it cold?"
He shook his head.
"Anyway—let's continue discussing the game design."
He explained the plan as always.
This time, besides Nakayuuji, Masuko, and Kitagawa, two additional listeners sat in: Kezaki Nene and Kobayakawa Rinko.
Though they understood almost nothing of what he said, they enjoyed watching Kobayashi speak so confidently.
"In short, the game doesn't need real AI. Just a subtle sense of pressure. Except for the player's bike, all the other bikes only need to appear to chase at a steady pace."
"As for the environment—the sense of impact when jumping and landing is crucial. Kitagawa, coordinate frequently with Nakayuuji."
Both nodded.
Kobayashi coughed a few times, popped a throat lozenge, and casually tossed the candy wrapper aside.
"For music—Masuko, I'll rely on you again. The sound effects can be rougher, but when the player nears the finish line, the music must feel tense—pressure, urgency."
Masuko nodded firmly.
He had a full audio setup now—he couldn't let the president down.
Kobayashi finished speaking and set down the whiteboard marker.
He wasn't planning to code this game himself.
As Kadokawa Haruki once said: "A boss should slack off every day—otherwise why hire people?"
Seeing him packing up the whiteboard, Kezaki Nene stood.
"I'll clean up. Just tell me what not to touch."
"Thanks, Nene-nee. Just leave this section, everything else is fine."
She nodded and began tidying the room.
When she looked up, Kobayashi had already wandered over to Rinko, joking around as he casually turned on the TV and began playing Jörmungandr.
"…Hmm—"
Her gaze drifted to the crumpled candy wrapper on the floor.
Dried plum lozenges.
A brand she hadn't seen before.
As if guided by an invisible hand, she picked up the wrapper, carefully smoothed it flat, and tucked it into her pocket.
Just one of her many small, unremarkable "collectibles."
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