After returning to Tokyo, Kobayashi Tetsu found no time to rest, not even to spend with his girlfriend.
He delivered lectures at several universities in Tokyo, filmed a commercial for the Atlas Carnival, and finally visited Sega Headquarters.
At the Sega R&D Headquarters, Kobayashi Tetsu and Kobayashi Kentaro examined the device before them.
It was a handheld console with a deep blue shell and an oval shape, reminiscent of a PSP. A battery pack protruded from the back, but the overall design cleverly concealed it, making the protrusion visually unobtrusive.
The controllers on either side had been improved, upgrading from the Mega Drive's three-button layout to a four-button configuration: A, B, C, and D.
The right side retained the D-pad.
There was no analog stick, as miniaturizing one at the time would have been too expensive and cost-ineffective.
The overall design was flatter and more futuristic than the Game Gear Kobayashi Tetsu remembered.
For some reason, the first thing that came to his mind was the Game Boy.
The design was an absolute classic. After it entered the domestic market, a countless number of game consoles copied the Game Boy's look. Many people had played tanks, racing games, and boat games on consoles with that same design during their childhood.
Kobayashi Tetsu fiddled with the device for a moment, then looked up at Kentaro.
"A monochrome screen?"
"Exactly. We initially planned to use a color screen, but tests revealed it consumed too much power. Although some argued that two or three hours of battery life was sufficient, I still believed that you, as game developers, should have a greater say in this matter. That's why I insisted on a monochrome screen. There's some internal dissent within Sega, but I'm the manager, and my word is final."
Kentaro explained simply, "This is an STN screen manufactured by Sharp. It can only display one color, but it can render different images through varying shades of gray and brightness. Our tests show that this screen extends battery life to over eight hours—even longer, depending on whether you're playing continuously or letting the screen go dark intermittently."
Kobayashi Tetsu nodded silently.
The STN screen was an early type of LCD with a distinct color palette. For example, the screen before him featured a yellowish-green background with black text and images.
Early domestic knock-off game consoles and phones all used this "fly-colored" STN screen.
The biggest flaw of the STN screen was that it required a bright external light source to be visible; otherwise, you couldn't see a thing.
That's why the earliest Game Boy models didn't have a backlight. Later models added one so the console could be played at night. As STN technology evolved to support color screens, color games also appeared on the Game Boy.
But the Game Gear was designed with a backlight from the start, so that wasn't an issue.
Kobayashi Tetsu didn't ask about the specific hardware specs, nor did he need to. At this size, the hardware specs were bound to be roughly the same as the Game Boy's. Current hardware performance wasn't powerful enough to stuff a Mega Drive into such a small machine.
Like the later Game Boys, the GG could also connect via a cable for data exchange—in simpler terms, multiplayer. Two people could play the same game or trade items.
This meant trading Pokémon would also be possible.
After a brief test play, Kobayashi Tetsu set the handheld down.
At least the design was sleek enough, lacking the bulkiness of the original version. Kentaro had also adopted Tetsu's suggestions regarding battery life and other minor design details. As for whether this final handheld console could compete with the Game Boy, only time would tell.
Tetsu had done all he could. The rest was now in the hands of fate, beyond his control.
With the inspection complete, the two men walked out of the lab, both feeling a sense of relief.
Kentaro teased, "Still, I never expected Atlas to skip the GG's launch lineup. While licensing Kobayashi Blocks gives us a huge confidence boost, not having a first-party Atlas title is truly worrying."
"It can't be helped," Tetsu replied. "Atlas has its own development schedule now; they can't just change it on a whim. But I've prepared a game of my own. Once it's released, it's guaranteed to be a nationwide hit across Japan."
Kentaro couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright, I'll take your word for it!"
The Atlas Carnival was fast approaching. Tetsu had already secured the venue: the Tokyo Wanteng Convention and Exhibition Center. This massive space could accommodate over ten thousand people for large-scale events. The venue was semi-indoor, shaped like an 'L'. The longer side was an indoor hall, while the shorter side was an outdoor area covered by a canopy, with windows offering a view of the sea. It was one of Japan's older construction-era venues.
Further out, the area that used to be a polo ground had been completely converted into a parking lot, roads, and other related facilities.
Wanteng had once been a polo ground where the Tokyo Kazoku played matches. However, after the war, the Kazoku naturally ceased to exist, and the site's operational nature changed accordingly.
Soon, this area would be completely demolished to make way for what would later become the Tokyo Big Sight, with another portion serving as its supporting parking lot.
At present, however, the land was still in the planning stages, and the venue was temporarily closed.
Kobayashi Tetsu's desire to rent this place was more than enough to make the owner of the convention center overjoyed.
Kobayashi Tetsu had initially hoped to rent a place like the Budokan or the Tokyo Dome. However, after the author's painstaking research, it turned out the Budokan was unavailable in September, and the Tokyo Dome, which had just begun operations, couldn't accommodate so many people. Moreover, the Tokyo Dome's layout wasn't suitable for a high-traffic event like a carnival.
Overall, Kobayashi Tetsu was quite satisfied with the entire venue. The indoor section could be divided to host the Video Game Tournament on one side and display game merchandise on the other. The outdoor area could be used for accompanying performances and the voting for the game tournament.
As long as it didn't rain heavily on the day of the event, this place would be absolutely perfect.
After finalizing all the arrangements, Kobayashi Tetsu made separate calls to Koyakawa and Tajiri Satoshi, asking them to create a small, scene-based project using the Persona Engine to showcase their creativity.
These projects would then be displayed at the Carnival. Kobayashi Tetsu planned to pull a few strings behind the scenes to ensure both games were among the winners of the 20 million Yen sponsorship in the competition.
If the players' feedback was positive, he wouldn't need to do anything. If the feedback was mediocre, he would intervene.
But if the players didn't react at all—
Then Kobayashi Tetsu would be too embarrassed to manipulate the results. He would have no choice but to tell Koyakawa regretfully:
"Rinko, you're just not cut out for game development!"
As for why Tajiri Satoshi wasn't included in this scenario—Kobayashi Tetsu didn't even need to think about it. Tajiri Satoshi was definitely cut out for game development. He could solve the problem without any need for rigging the results.
This way, at least two works were guaranteed to emerge from the Carnival's lineup.
One would be a niche, high-quality title, and the other a mainstream entertainment hit. Combined with the works other creators might release, this would pave the way for the successful launch of the Persona engine and establish the Atlas Carnival brand.
Kobayashi Tetsu clasped his hands together and let out a sigh of relief.
Alright then.
Now, he could simply wait for September to arrive and officially hold the Atlas Carnival!
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