Console Wars (2015)

PART FOUR

CIVIL WAR

45.

UNACCEPTABLE

Hayao Nakayama looked closer at the final prototype of the Sega Pico. As he turned it over in his hands, inspecting it with a piercing look that was half glare and half stare, the R&D team members who had gathered in the conference room anxiously awaited his response. This portable edutainment device was scheduled to be released in Japan by early summer, so by this point in the process gaining Nakayama-san’s approval was more formality than necessity. The parts had already been ordered and the molds had already been made; the Pico was happening whether the president of Sega liked it or not.

But oh, how much they wanted him to like it, to see Nakayama-san give them a smile. He was stingy with those smiles, that was just his way, but when they came, it was well worth the wait. And as he put down the prototype the room filled with a collective surge of hope.

Nakayama-san, however, was not yet ready to deliver either a smile or a frown. Clearly the R&D team had done well, for the device looked impressive. This was a very important thing, because Tom Kalinske believed this product would be a winner. But the product also looked expensive, and he wanted to know how much it would cost to make. Better yet, he wanted to know what the retail price would be. A sequence of stares around the table finally led to an answer. Someone suggested 15,000 yen, maybe 20,000—somewhere in that range (about $150 to $200).

As Nakayama-san processed this information, he picked up the Pico once again. Fifteen thousand yen? For this? But why? Tom Kalinske had said that it needed to sell for $100, for at that price he could make it into a sensation. Tom had said that very clearly, and these employees had been there when he said it. There was no excuse to be made, none.

Suddenly Nakayama-san smashed the device against the table. This was unacceptable. He lifted it up and smashed it again. Unacceptable. Another smash, louder this time. Unacceptable!

Over and over, until the silly blue thing was busted to pieces. And still he continued, smashing the machine until the message was made abundantly clear.