He's here, he's finally here!
Inside the offline game store, numerous players set down their magazines.
I knew Atlas would eventually make a move! Given how Atlas and Sega are always colluding and working together, it made no sense for Atlas not to have a corresponding game ready now that the GG handheld has been released.
So this is what they were waiting for!
Shimayose Yosuke's game store had always been crowded lately, but today it was exceptionally packed.
Everyone within a hundred miles of Tokyo knew that Shimayose Yosuke was Sega's "Great Uncle." His store even displayed a sign authorized by Atlas, and he was known for frequently obtaining first-hand information from Sega Corporation and Atlas.
"Uncle, is the Pokémon thing true?"
"What's the game actually like? Is it good?"
"When can we buy it?"
Shimayose Yosuke cleared his throat.
"As for Pokémon, it's not finished yet. I was just lucky enough to play a demo version during the Atlas Carnival. It's a role-playing game released on the handheld, and from what I've seen, it's a standard RPG with dungeons, battles, character development, and so on. But keep in mind, this is a handheld game—you can take it anywhere..."
"Play it anywhere!"
"Also, I've got a secret. I'll let you all in on it, but don't tell anyone else."
Shimayose Yosuke grabbed the megaphone and shouted, "I heard Pokémon has multiplayer!!!!"
To be precise, it was multiplayer battles. Multiplayer exploration wasn't possible yet—the hardware just couldn't handle it.
The crowd exchanged glances, gasping in a Pikachu-sized shock.
Multiplayer? A multiplayer RPG? Doesn't that mean you can conquer dungeons with your friends and family?!
Shimayose Yosuke didn't know much more about Pokémon. He only knew that the team developing it didn't belong to any of Atlas's internal development groups. Instead, it was a team called "Game Freak," which shared its name with a certain magazine. They had recently moved into a rented studio in Adachi City and officially begun development.
"Now that we're done with Pokémon, let's talk about Persona."
Shimayose Yosuke spat twice and ran a hand through his hair.
Persona was the one he was in!
The big news was coming.
The moment he saw the name Pokémon, Miyamoto Shigeru shuddered. He felt as if his divine power were being stolen from the void, and the chance of him ascending to godhood had just slipped further away.
Of course, he had no idea what kind of relationship he and this game would one day share. As a professional game developer, a member of Nintendo's senior management, and the Manager of the Fourth Development Division—Nintendo's core development department—Miyamoto Shigeru immediately noticed the most critical point.
A handheld game with online connectivity.
"The GG and GB handhelds are similar in terms of functionality. Based on the publicly available data, only their design and materials differ slightly. The accompanying games are all still in development. Kobayashi Blocks really is more suited for a handheld release after all."
Miyamoto Shigeru frowned, extracting the key points about Pokémon.
Handhelds naturally had inferior performance compared to home consoles. Even with identical hardware specifications, differences in component scale would lead to performance disparities. In terms of raw hardware power, the two handhelds were comparable. However, the GG currently held a sales advantage over the GB because it had ported several games that were better suited for handhelds.
Miyamoto Shigeru decided to create a game centered on these core elements.
Porting Super Mario wasn't the hard part—Nintendo had plenty of developers. The real challenge was optimizing it for the handheld's hardware.
Ultimately, Miyamoto wrote a single phrase on a piece of paper and drew two horizontal lines beneath it for emphasis.
Platformer!
He didn't have a concrete idea yet, but a developer's intuition told him that platformers were a perfect fit for handhelds. He needed to release a game with platforming elements—perhaps even one built entirely around exploration and platforming.
As for the current project...
Pokémon.
Without seeing the game in action, Miyamoto couldn't judge its quality. But he had absolute faith in Kobayashi Tetsu's taste.
If Nintendo could get its hands on a game like this... maybe we should send someone to contact Game Freak?
At the very least, they needed to find out exactly what kind of game Pokémon was.
The interview had already aired, and Kobayashi Tetsu had held nothing back in his praise.
Unfortunately, this had left Tajiri Satoshi feeling immense pressure.
"President Kobayashi," Tajiri Satoshi said, sitting across from Kobayashi Tetsu, his fingers fidgeting incessantly.
"I'm under so much pressure right now. If this keeps up, I'm going to lose all my hair!"
Sensitive people are more prone to stress. Tajiri was grateful for the level of importance placed on the project, but now he was even more terrified that he might fail to deliver.
Kobayashi Tetsu spread his hands.
"Don't be so nervous. Of course, I know words of comfort aren't always helpful, but think about it—you've done so much preparation. What is there to be afraid of?"
Kobayashi tapped the table.
The old saying went "Golden September, Silver October." Although those dates had already passed, the Pokémon anime had already been booked by various TV stations. They would broadcast the anime first to build up a wave of hype.
Kobayashi Tetsu specifically instructed, "Pikachu will be the protagonist of the anime, so the Animation Team is one thing. But in the game, you must not make Pikachu too strong, nor too weak. He should be at a level where he can become very strong after training, but not stand at the very top of the game."
Tajiri Satoshi nodded in agreement.
He didn't have any strong opinions about the Electric Rat himself, so since Kobayashi Tetsu had said so, he would just do as he was told.
Kobayashi Tetsu had actually always been quite critical of this particular design choice.
Despite Pikachu's immense popularity in the anime and its massive fan base, no one used Pikachu in the games. Unless you were a die-hard fan, you'd never touch it.
It was pure trash.
At best, it was only slightly better than Magikarp.
Every fan who came for its reputation would excitedly catch a Pikachu and spend dozens of episodes painstakingly training it.
But instead of Pikachu saying, "Get out of the way!" upon meeting an opponent, it would often be knocked out immediately. Before the Poké Ball could even cool down, the even colder Pikachu would be sent flying back into it.
In contrast, the Starter Trio from the same generation, while perhaps not rivaling the top-tier Pokémon players trained later, could at least clear the main story without any issues.
Kobayashi Tetsu had played the games before watching the anime, so he hadn't felt the sting as deeply. But if someone experienced the anime first and then played the games, he could only imagine the disappointment!
They'd enter the game with a sense of pilgrimage, only to discover that the Pikachu they caught was a total waste. It was understandable if it lost to Onix due to a type disadvantage, but it couldn't be this much worse than every other Pokémon in the game! It was like the difference between the "seller's photo" and the "buyer's reality"!
So, Kobayashi Tetsu gave Tajiri Satoshi a piece of advice.
Pikachu and its evolved forms didn't need to be overpowered.
But they couldn't be as weak as they were in the game! At the very least, players who came specifically for Pikachu should feel it's a worthwhile catch and want to use it immediately. With a bit of focused training, it should be strong enough to clear Gyms.
Of course, the core gameplay of Pokémon is about training various Pokémon and using type advantages in battle. From that perspective, it wasn't strictly necessary to beat the game with just Pikachu. Learning to strategically train different Pokémon to counter specific Gyms was the most practical way to play, and experienced players wouldn't cling to a single Pikachu anyway.
Still, its usage rate couldn't be that low.
Tajiri Satoshi ran a hand through his hair.
He felt even more pressure now!
This strength balancing was just too difficult!
Kobayashi Tetsu grinned like Hidetaka Miyazaki.
"Actually, there's a very simple solution. You can introduce a separate set of attributes in the game. We can call them 'Base Stats' and 'Individual Values'!"
"A king has the talents of a king, a chef has the talents of a chef. What determines a Pokémon's strength, besides its innate Base Stats, is the difference in Individual Values. Even siblings have different physiques, let alone Pokémon of the same species. As developers, we just need to set a general range of values, and the Pokémon players catch will fluctuate up and down within that range."
"Someone might catch a very weak Pikachu, but someone else might catch one with extremely high Individual Values. Even among top-tier species, there will be a gap if the Individual Values are stronger. However, figuring out how to set these values without breaking the game is a major challenge. You can consult more with Iwata Satoru; he should be able to help you find the right person to work with on setting the values to avoid game-breaking issues."
Let Satoru carry the burden. Let Satoru bear the weight.
At Tokyo Tech, you could throw a brick and hit ten geniuses in math, physics, and chemistry. Finding someone skilled in numerical calculations was definitely not hard. And as an outstanding alumnus of Tokyo Tech, Iwata Satoru was absolutely brimming with connections!
Tajiri Satoshi instantly leaned back.
This setting was even more ingenious than he had imagined!
When comparing Pokémon of the same species, how do you determine their strength? Of course, it's decided by their Individual Values and Base Stats!
If both values are very high, it's even possible for an Electric-type to defeat a Rock-type!
Tajiri Satoshi snapped back to his senses and gripped Kobayashi Tetsu's hands tightly.
"What a great setting! You truly are the sun of our Atlas!"
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