Another new year had arrived—1985.
This New Year still felt somewhat quiet. Although Kentaro had returned home, there were only the two of them in the house. And not long after the holiday ended, Kentaro had already gone back to Sega, throwing himself once again into hardware development.
Fortunately, after the New Year, Kobayashi Tetsu was no longer alone. One by one, the others returned from their holidays, and the place gradually became lively again.
Atlus Studio.
Kobayashi Tetsu tilted his head back and swallowed a vitamin tablet with warm water.
"President," Yuji Naka glanced at the packaging, "that's a chewable tablet."
Kobayashi Tetsu: "—"
Yuji Naka, fired from Atlus!
Seeing Kobayashi Tetsu sitting there, idly fiddling with a few coins in his hand, Yuji Naka couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"President, even if you just wrapped up something big, you don't need to be this happy, right?"
Kobayashi Tetsu waved his hand.
"Let's not talk about me. Today, I'm formally announcing something important to everyone."
"The office at Shinjuku Mitsui Building has finished renovations! This week is our last week working in the garage. Starting next week, we're moving into the Mitsui Building!"
There was a brief silence.
In the very next moment—without anyone needing to hype it up—all three of them raised their hands and shouted in unison:
"Banzai!"
Starting a business in a garage was nice, but it was about time to step into a new era!
A real company belonged in an office building.
Folding his arms, Kobayashi Tetsu began painting a grand vision for them.
"Right now, we're only renting half a floor. But in the future? We'll build our own building—the Atlus Building! What Namco? What Konami? They'll be nothing!
You, Yuji Naka—you'll be the head of Atlus Development Division One.
You, Masuko Tsukasa—you'll be director of the Atlus Sound Synthesis Lab.
You, Kitagawa Takeshi—you'll be head of Atlus Graphics Division!"
Yuji Naka swallowed the bait without hesitation.
Masuko Tsukasa scratched his head.
Why didn't he get a department?
He wanted one too!
On January 4, 1985, Atlus officially moved into the Mitsui Building in the Shinjuku district.
Completed in 1974, the Mitsui Building had once been called the tallest building in Japan, though it was surpassed several years later.
Even so, in the 1980s, it was still considered a top-tier office building. Floors one through five housed various commercial tenants—restaurants, shops, and other services. Floors six through fifty-four were office space. The fifty-fifth floor was the Mitsui Members' Club, accessible only to members.
The office Kobayashi Tetsu rented was 70 tsubo, or roughly 231 square meters.
However, in Japan, only usable space counts toward floor area—structural columns and load-bearing walls are excluded, as are shared spaces on the floor. As a result, the actual usable office area was close to 300 square meters.
Saying it was an entire floor was an exaggeration. One full floor had over 800 square meters of usable space, meaning Atlus occupied about one-third of the floor.
The rent at Mitsui Building was 45,000 yen per tsubo. That meant the 70 tsubo office cost 37 million yen per year, roughly equal to Atlus's current monthly revenue.
Of course, thanks to internal connections, both rent and property management fees were discounted. In reality, Kobayashi Tetsu paid 28.88 million yen per year.
That number was specifically requested by him.
No special reason—just good luck.
After all, as the saying goes, Chinese people love 666 and 888.
If it weren't inappropriate to set off fireworks, Kobayashi Tetsu would've dragged everyone downstairs to light a string of firecrackers.
Even so—
When Atlus's dozen-plus employees moved into the office, excitement and exhilaration were unavoidable.
From a garage and apartment building to a proper office tower—this was a massive leap forward!
Working in an office building might not necessarily boost confidence, but at least when people asked, they could honestly say they were real employees now. It beat looking like idle freeloaders.
Currently, Atlus had four people at headquarters and eleven in the Second Development Division, for a total of fifteen people. The office space was extremely generous—averaging 15 square meters per person.
Kobayashi Tetsu didn't get anything too special—just a slightly larger workspace and a private room.
"Staffing still needs to expand," he said. "Right now, Atlus's development capacity only supports one project at a time. For a large-scale title like Sonic, we can only make one game per year—it consumes enormous time and energy. We need to reach a point where we can develop two games simultaneously!"
Recruitment ads had to go out.
Clapping his hands to get everyone's attention, Kobayashi Tetsu spoke.
"Gentlemen! I'll keep it short. I don't like pointless speeches—corporate culture nonsense and the like. Completely useless."
"There's only one thing today!"
"Today is a day off. Tonight, we're eating out together. Tomorrow, we officially start work!"
Yuji Naka felt an itch in his throat, wanting to say something—but managed to hold back.
Yuji Naka (internally): Isn't that three things?
Seeing his expression, Kobayashi Tetsu immediately rolled up his sleeves.
Yuji Naka instantly shut up.
Kobayashi Tetsu dragged over the whiteboard, about to start discussing development tasks, when the glass door suddenly opened. Everyone turned toward the entrance.
The man in front was Mitsuhashi, the property manager of the Mitsui Building. Kobayashi Tetsu had only met him once before—during lease negotiations.
Mitsuhashi's son was acquainted with friends from Kadokawa Haruki's club. They weren't close, but there was at least some connection.
The moment Mitsuhashi arrived, he accurately spotted Kobayashi Tetsu and warmly shook his hands.
"President Kobayashi! Welcome Atlus to the Mitsui Building! This was once Japan's tallest and most modern office building—and it's still one of the most prestigious! To be honest, I enjoy games myself. Atlus's works are truly impressive. President Kobayashi is so young—far more capable than my own disappointing son."
After a round of polite exchanges, Kobayashi Tetsu merely nodded along.
Now that Atlus had moved into an office building, there was no longer any point in hiding. Sooner or later, he would have a public presence.
At best, he might avoid being recognized by ordinary players—but industry insiders finding him was only a matter of time.
Since that was inevitable, he decided to stop hiding altogether.
The game of lying low was over.
With limited technical skills but advanced ideas, it was time for him to become a star producer, just like Hideo Kojima.
After seeing Mitsuhashi off, Kobayashi Tetsu turned back to the whiteboard.
"Next, the development of Sonic—"
The glass door suddenly opened again. Everyone looked over.
"Kobayashi-kun! Sorry I'm late!"
Okada Toshio and Anno Hideaki strode in briskly. From afar, Okada spread his arms wide.
"A housewarming this big—you can't forget your friends!"
Kobayashi Tetsu clicked his tongue.
Okada Toshio was here to freeload again!
He decisively put down the marker.
Not for any other reason—he just wanted to see who else might show up next.
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