"President!"
Kobayashi Tetsu had just entered the Atlas office when Naka Yuji hurried over to report.
"That guy sent the stuff back again!"
Naka Yuji pointed to the large box in front of them, which a logistics company had delivered to the Atlas office that morning.
Kobayashi Tetsu nodded casually.
This was to be expected. A smart person would understand what he was trying to do, and it was precisely because he understood the plan that he would repeatedly refuse.
If Matsuoka Satoshi ever agreed, even if it was just to accept a free meal with Kobayashi Tetsu's help, then the deal would be considered done.
"It's fine, don't worry about it. Have someone send it back to him tomorrow, exactly as it was returned. No matter how many times he sends it back, we'll keep sending it back to him. And each time we send it, we'll upgrade the gift."
Naka Yuji scratched his head.
How are we supposed to upgrade it? The next step up would be a full-sized computer, and a regular Japanese household wouldn't have room for something like that.
Don't be fooled by the fact that many Japanese families live in detached houses; those houses don't have that much space. In reality, they're just trying to maximize the limited land they have. Fitting a room-sized computer into one is practically impossible.
This mid-sized computer was already at the absolute limit.
Kobayashi Tetsu patted Naka Yuji's shoulder with grave seriousness. "Good luck! I know you can do it."
Naka Yuji would have to handle these matters. He had a lot on his plate, and lately, he needed to focus his energy on developing the 2D game engine and the upcoming Atlas Developers Conference.
Kobayashi Tetsu glanced around. Seeing that Hideo Kojima had just arrived, he casually waved him over.
"Kojima-kun, a word."
Hideo Kojima instantly recoiled.
No way! Am I being thrown under the bus again?
He took a deep breath, then quickly ran over and followed Kobayashi Tetsu into the office.
"I'll make this brief," Kobayashi Tetsu said. "I'm organizing a special conference soon. It'll primarily showcase game development and behind-the-scenes production, with some simple interviews. The goal is to get as many individual developers as possible to participate. From Atlas, I want you to be the one interviewed."
Hideo Kojima ran a hand through his hair.
Why is a producer suddenly going on TV? But the President had already spoken, and his decision was final: it would be him.
Actually, Hideo Kojima thought making games was perfectly fine, but appearing on TV would open up a whole new world of possibilities!
Kojima immediately recited a haiku.
"Don't start with the poetry," Kobayashi Tetsu said. "I'm leaving the preparations for the shoot to you. Just tell me who you need—which stars or actors—and I'll coordinate it. I'm sure most people in the industry will grant me this favor."
(Parentheses: They'll grant the Yen this favor.)
Celebrities are always short on cash because of their high expenses, and Japanese entertainers don't earn much anyway.
Kojima's eyes instantly lit up. "Will there be many male stars like Sanada Hiroyuki or Nakadai Tatsuya?"
Kobayashi Tetsu nodded.
There should be plenty.
"Wait a minute!" Kobayashi Tetsu pondered. "Why are you only asking about men?"
He grabbed the nearest person, Masanobu Endo. "Endo-kun, Atlas is planning to hold a Developers Conference soon, and we're looking to invite some stars to film a commercial. If it were you, who would you invite?"
Masanobu Endo looked up instantly.
"Matsuda Seiko, I guess. Actually, Nakamori Akina is great too. I love Akina-chan."
Kobayashi Tetsu glanced at Hideo Kojima.
That guy wants Matsuda Seiko, but you're asking for Sanada Hiroyuki!
Kobayashi Tetsu immediately kept his distance from Hideo Kojima.
Rumor had it that Hideo Kojima was a closeted gay man—
Kobayashi Tetsu suddenly felt a wave of sympathy for the people who would be filming GG in the future.
Hideo Kojima wouldn't take the opportunity to sexually harass them, would he?
After sitting in the office all morning, Kobayashi Tetsu planned out the Developers Conference.
The GG was a must, and of course, the scale had to be grand enough.
Although it was called a Developers Conference, most of the attendees would probably be individual developers, who might not even have proper equipment.
"In that case, the organizers could provide a set of equipment and a sum of startup funding."
Writing code was something that could be done on any computer; whether it could actually run was another story, but it could definitely be written. Kobayashi Tetsu planned to provide five sets of computers worth one million yen each, along with ten million yen in startup funds. That would be about fifteen million yen in total, to be awarded to the most capable individual developers at the conference, allowing them to recruit their own teams to create their works.
Ten sets would cost 150 million yen, which was no small sum.
Spending a little more effort would be enough for Capcom to develop another CPS1!
As for the difficult problems in game production or the scarcity of materials, they could also look to Atlas for solutions.
"Aika," Kobayashi Tetsu called out casually. "I've written a proposal. Take a look and tell me what you think, and if there's anything that needs more detailed supplementation."
Takamine Aika took the document as instructed and sat on the edge of the desk, swinging her legs in front of Kobayashi Tetsu as she skimmed through the proposal.
Kobayashi Tetsu clicked his tongue.
She's still a handful!
"The President's plan is already very comprehensive, but I think Atlas could be even more generous."
As she spoke, the landline rang. Kobayashi Tetsu answered it and held the phone to his ear, gesturing with his eyes for Takamine Aika to continue.
She went on, "Of course, we should be even more generous. As it stands, while they're being very magnanimous by covering all funding and equipment, issues like venue and space still need to be coordinated by the individual developers themselves. Although they could follow Atlas's example and start in a garage, since we're already doing so well, why not make it even more perfect? Atlas could provide the venues as well."
She then unfolded a map of Tokyo in front of Kobayashi Tetsu.
The current map was, of course, different from later eras, and the city's development was not yet as vast, but the patterns were already emerging.
"The rent in core areas like Minato City is astronomical," Kobayashi Tetsu thought, "but in more remote districts like Adachi City, it's much more affordable. A single tsubo of space there rents for roughly 30,000 to 50,000 Yen. If a small individual studio needs ten tsubo of office space..."
Kobayashi Tetsu quickly did the math in his head.
Ten tsubo—about thirty square meters—was more than enough for a five-person studio.
Thirty square meters would cost 300,000 Yen per month, totaling over 3 million Yen per year.
Compared to the costs of a Developers Conference, this expense was relatively small, yet it would earn them a stellar reputation.
Kobayashi Tetsu clenched his fist in determination.
We can absolutely afford this.
Using 20 million Yen as a benchmark, Atlas could cover the costs of office space, equipment, and startup funding, providing each individual developer with a 20-million-Yen grant for their work.
Even converted to Chinese Yuan, that was nearly a million Yuan in today's value. In 1989, its purchasing power would be even greater.
Twenty million per person, two hundred million for ten. It seemed like an exorbitant sum, but if even one of them produced a truly exceptional work, it would easily offset the entire two hundred million yen expenditure.
Besides, Tetsuya Kobayashi also planned to use the Developers Conference to launch Satoshi Tajiri and his company, Game Freak.
With an IP like that, he wouldn't blink at spending not just two hundred million, but two billion or even twenty billion yen.
He hung up the phone and gently patted Takamine Aika's hand.
"You've pointed out a real oversight of mine."
Then, Tetsuya Kobayashi smoothly changed the subject. "By the way, that Satoshi Matsuoka is someone we need to take seriously. If we can win over his parents, it will be a huge help in winning him over. Send a small gift to his parents in my name—nothing too extravagant, but something that shows our sincerity. The sooner, the better."
After all, he was a future national treasure-level scientist of Japan; no amount of attention paid to him would be excessive.
After seeing Takamine Aika off, Tetsuya Kobayashi quickly cleared his desk and lowered his head, putting on the appearance of being focused on his work.
Yuji Naka had just called to say that Koyakawa had arrived downstairs.
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