The bell above the coffee shop door chimed softly as Ito Ryoji's figure disappeared behind the glass window.
Takuya Nakayama stood up, finishing the last sip of his slightly cool Blue Mountain coffee, the residue at the bottom of the cup like un-dried ink stains.
He had no intention of lingering; waiting was never his style, especially in this era full of uncertainties.
He wouldn't passively rely on vague news from his senior.
After all, what he carried in his mind were decades of gaming treasures from the future.
The apartment in Meguro-ku wasn't largeand it was even a bit messy, a stark contrast to the orderly and solemn Nakayama Family mansion.
Several books on geology and programming were casually stacked in a corner, emitting the unique scent of old paper.
This was the apartment the original owner rented during university, and he hadn't moved out after graduation; after all, the apartment's location wasn't far from Sega Headquarters and the Nakayama Family mansion, allowing him to retain his independent space.
He skillfully removed the dust cover from a cream-colored computer, pressed the power button, and the screen hummed softly as it warmed up.
Pale green characters lit up line by line on the black background, announcing the boot-up of the MS-DOS system.
This machine's performance was considered good in 1985, but compared to the equipment he used in his previous life, it was an antique.
However, it was enough.
His fingers danced across the keyboard, the clicks crisp and rhythmic, exceptionally clear in the quiet room.
Assembly language, a low-level language that was incredibly dry for many, now came alive under his fingertips.
The original owner's solid foundation as a Tokyo Institute of Technology academic prodigy awakened like memories etched in DNA, intertwining with the game functionality of tetris from his previous life.
On the screen, lines of instructions scrolled rapidly, building the core logic of falling, rotating, and clearing blocks.
tetris.
This simple yet infinitely magical game was his first chosen target.
He needed a sufficiently convincing 'work' to prove himself to his father, to Sega, rather than just empty talk.
His request for Ito Ryoji to find the Soviet Union version was merely to inform Sega that the game had an owner and Sega needed to pay to acquire the copyright.
Simply replicating it wasn't enough. Takuya Nakayama's lips curved into an almost imperceptible smile.
He needed a true 'surprise,' enough to make his steady father's eyes light up and enough to make those experienced veterans at Sega take notice.
In his mind, the prototype of a mode popular in later generations gradually became clear.
What if... clearing blocks on one side could create obstacles on the opponent's field?
He stopped typing, his fingertips hovering in midair, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Yes, it's 'garbage lines'!
Every two lines cleared would cause a line of difficult-to-handle gray obstacle blocks to rise from the bottom of the opponent's screen.
This instantly transformed a single-player puzzle game into an arena full of variables and confrontation!
In this era, no one had played like this yet! He immediately threw himself into developing the new feature.
A few days later, an MS-DOS version of tetris, including a basic mode and an innovative Versus mode, began to take shape.
He repeatedly tested it, clearing blocks, creating 'garbage' for the virtual opponent, adjusting difficulty and balance, ensuring the logic was error-free and the operation smooth enough.
Just as he was engrossed in debugging, the doorbell rang.
It was his elder sister, Saiko Nakayama Family, carrying an exquisite gift box, a gentle smile on her face.
As Saiko took off her shoes, she said, "When I returned from the United States to visit father, he said you were going to Sega to develop games, but you hadn't reported immediately. I knew you were holed up in here."
Saiko walked into the room, placed the gift box on the table, her gaze curiously falling on the constantly falling, monochromatic blocks on the screen.
"What is this? A computer game?"
"Hmm, a... little gadget." Takuya Nakayama wiped the sweat from his brow, feeling a bit expectant, "It's a program I wrote myself, called tetris. Would you like to try it, Big Sister? I added a two-player Versus mode."
"Me?" Saiko hesitated; she wasn't particularly interested in these boyish things.
"Just try it, it's very simple," Takuya invited enthusiastically.
Initially, Saiko sat down with the intention of indulging her younger brother, clumsily operating the keyboard under Takuya's guidance.
The blocks moved clumsily, rotated, fell, occasionally clearing one or two lines.
Gradually, Saiko became engrossed, and although her upbringing as a young lady prevented her from exclaiming loudly, her concentration and the excitement she felt with each block cleared were palpable.
However, after a few rounds, especially when Takuya switched to Versus mode and repeatedly flustered her with 'garbage lines,' filling her screen with blocks until the game ended, her eyes changed.
It was a focused look mixed with annoyance, unwillingness to lose, and intense interest, so much so that she forgot to introduce the gift she brought to her brother.
"One more round!" Saiko quickly pressed the restart button, her usually gentle cheeks slightly flushed, her tone tinged with eagerness, "This time, I definitely won't lose to you!"
Watching his sister completely immersed, Takuya Nakayama felt relieved.
The magic of this game indeed transcended gender and era.
His sister's reaction undoubtedly proved the potential of tetris and its Versus mode.
But Takuya Nakayama was not carried away by temporary success.
After dinner, and after seeing his sister off, he leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the dark night sky outside the window, the city's Japan lights reflecting on his profile.
Nintendo's Famicom cast a giant shadow over the entire home console market.
The classic game mechanics of super mario bros. were like a standard answer in a textbook for side-scrolling games of this era, overshadowing all competitors.
Sega's SG-1000 and Mark III, though trying hard to catch up, seemed so powerless in such a market landscape.
Rashly pushing tetris or any new game to the home console platform now would be like throwing precious ammunition into a bottomless abyss.
The investment would be huge, the risk too high, and the returns hard to guarantee, resulting in more effort for less gain.
But... what about the arcade market?
Takuya Nakayama's eyes sharpened again.
That was another battlefield; although equally competitive, Sega was not without its ability to fight back.
Sega had deep roots in the arcade sector, possessing significant advantages in both technical strength and distribution channels.
Those arcades scattered across the country were the best testing grounds and promotional fronts.
A successful arcade game could not only bring immediate cash flow and brand reputation but also refine core gameplay, build player Word of mouth, and validate the IP's value.
Yes, the focus should first be on arcades.
Using one, or even several, sufficiently stunning and lucrative arcade games to reignite players' enthusiasm for Sega.
By next year, when the 1EGA DRIVE, which carried Sega's hope of a counterattack, was released, these successful arcade titles, tested by the market and boasting a large following, would be the most solid and reliable first-party launch titles!
This was the safest and most effective strategy. Then, adding a few new games whose mechanics could only be perfectly showcased on a 16-bit console would lay the foundation for console ownership.
The strategic direction was set. So, what type of arcade game should be developed next?
Puzzle games already had tetris as a trump card option; perhaps... something more fitting for an arcade atmosphere, more 'hardcore,' and more capable of showcasing Sega's technical prowess?
His fingers tapped rhythmically and unconsciously on the slightly cool tabletop, his brain like a high-speed CPU, beginning to search the vast ocean of games in the depths of his memory for the names that had once stirred up huge waves in arcades.