Players who originally couldn't play this game because they only had a PlayStation and not a Jupiter console started looking forward to the release of the PS version.
In Sony's home appliance stores, the PlayStation experience zones were updated with posters for "Resident Evil."
Columbia Pictures' European distribution channels began to operate, carrying out preliminary promotion for the game's European release.
By late April, the temperatures began to warm up.
Located on Chuo-dori in Tokyo's Akihabara Electric Town, "Nishimura Electric Appliances" was one of the oldest video game retail stores on the street.
At 8:30 in the morning, the manager, Masakazu Nishimura, stood on the sidewalk, holding a roll of wide adhesive tape and directing two young clerks in dark blue uniforms.
The two clerks, standing on aluminum step ladders, were struggling to tear down a huge poster for Sega's "Sakura Wars" from the wall.
The glue on the back of the poster wasn't completely dry yet, and the tearing sound was grating, causing passing office workers to glance over frequently.
The newly replaced GG Brand poster had a pure white background, with no extra decorative patterns.
In the center of the image was a black, square console, paired with a strangely shaped blue controller that looked a bit like Sega's Jupiter controller, though the joystick design was not symmetrical like Sega's.
In the bottom right corner, that plumber in the red and blue overalls was raising his hand in greeting.
At the very bottom of the advertisement, there was only one line of bold text.
June 23, Nintendo 64.
There was no lengthy introduction of hardware specifications, no list of launch game lineups.
Nintendo couldn't even be bothered to write extra promotional copy.
The name Mario, in the Japanese game market, was in itself the best pass.
Masakazu Nishimura directed the staff to roll up the old poster and toss it into the trash can, then turned and walked into the shop.
In the most conspicuous spot in the window display, the stand that previously held the Sony PlayStation demo unit had been cleared out.
Replacing it was an N64 prototype connected to a 29-inch Trinitron color TV.
This machine had been delivered personally by a special envoy from Nintendo's Sales Department yesterday afternoon.
This was a privilege exclusive to the most prominent Shoshin-kai store locations.
On the screen, a demo of Super Mario 64 played in a continuous loop.
In the footage, Mario stood on a green grassy field made of three-dimensional polygons.
Instead of being restricted to side-scrolling left and right as he was on the SFC, he ran directly into the depth of the screen.
He ran to a tree, jumped, climbed it, flipped down to the ground, and then leaped into a nearby pond, splashing water made of polygons.
By the time school let out in the afternoon, high school students passing by the display window stopped in their tracks.
At first, there were only two or three, but within ten minutes, a crowd of over a dozen had gathered outside the window.
Some pressed their faces against the glass, eyes fixed on the plumber's movements in 3D space.
This was completely different from the pseudo-3D graphics seen on the SFC.
A boy wearing a black stand-collar school uniform pointed at the screen.
The polygons weren't distorting, and the camera angle rotated smoothly.
"Look at where he lands when he jumps; the shadow on the ground tracks perfectly."
His companion, carrying a shoulder bag, nodded in agreement.
"When I looked at Sega's Virtua Fighter before, the characters still felt a bit blocky."
This Mario model is much more rounded.
That controller with the analog stick looks like it feels great to use, though I wonder if it gets tiring after a while.
Masakazu Nishimura stood by the door, listening to the buzz of conversation outside.
He had been in game retail for twenty years, having witnessed the queues for Dragon Quest during the Famicom era and having survived the pincer attack from Sega and Sony over the past few years.
Judging by just those ten-plus minutes of demo footage, he was certain that Akihabara would see another wave of mania at the end of June.
At the same time, in Kyoto, at Nintendo headquarters.
The annual Shoshinkai dealer conference was being held in the second-floor conference room.
By eight in the morning, there wasn't a single empty spot left in the headquarters' outdoor parking lot.
The aisles were packed with luxury sedans bearing license plates from Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and other places.
Security guards directed traffic at the entrance, the backs of their uniforms soaked with sweat.
Those stepping out of the cars were all heavy hitters in the Japanese game distribution channel.
These wholesalers and representatives from large retail chains, carrying briefcases and calculators, gathered in twos and threes in the hallway, whispering to each other.
They all had only one topic on their minds—how many units they would be allocated for the first shipment.
At the front of the conference room, three N64 consoles were lined up, each connected to a large monitor. A demo version of Super Mario 64 was running on the screens. In the Bob-omb Battlefield level, Mario was busy dodging a giant black Bob-omb.
A few big wholesalers, who had been chatting in the front row, fell silent as their eyes swept across the screens.
A wholesaler from Osaka stood up, walked over to one of the monitors, and stared at the screen for a long time.
"This isn't the same kind of graphics as the SFC," the Osaka wholesaler turned and said to a colleague.
The person beside him snorted.
"Duh. Why else would President Yamauchi have kept quiet for so long?"
"No matter how well Sega's Jupiter sells, as long as Nintendo brings this out, our financial reports for the second half of the year will be saved."
At nine o'clock sharp, Fumihiro Imanishi, head of the Sales Department, walked up to the podium.
The room went quiet.
Hiroshi Imanishi didn't bother with pleasantries; he opened his folder and got straight to the point.
"The initial shipment in Japan will focus primarily on large toy stores, electronics retailers, and core gaming shops."
"Traditional channels within the Shoshinkai system will have priority."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the major distributors in the front row.
"However, there is a strict requirement this time."
"You must cooperate with setting up in-store demo stations."
"The consoles cannot just be placed in glass cabinets as display pieces for sale."
"Customers must be allowed to get their hands on them."
However, there was a strict requirement this time.
It must be coordinated with in-store demo areas.
You can't just put the machines in a glass display case to sell them as exhibits.
Customers must be allowed to get their hands on them.
Only by holding the controller will players understand the significance of Nintendo's design for the joystick.
This is the bottom line.
Retailers without a demo area will have their launch allocation cancelled.
A rustle of papers sounded from the audience.
Someone raised their hand to ask a question.
"Department Head Imanishi, can the initial allocation be increased a bit? Our pre-order list in Kansai is already backed up to August. At the current distribution ratio, I can't even fulfill orders for my regular customers."
Fumihiro Imanishi closed his folder, his tone firm.
"Factory production capacity is already at its limit. But the initial shipment must account for both the Japanese and North American markets. Please execute according to the allocation list issued."
"One more thing: private price gouging is strictly prohibited. Nintendo does not want to see the storefronts turn into a chaotic market on launch day, and we certainly don't want to see players having to pay double to buy a machine."
Someone in the front row let out a laugh.
"That should be posted on the shop door for the scalpers to read."
A few hushed laughs rippled through the conference room.
Laughs aside, everyone present knew the score.
The prestige Nintendo had established within its Japanese distribution channels wasn't built overnight.
The rules set during the Famicom era, even in 1996, were still enough to make this bunch of old hands listen obediently to their orders.
Hiroshi Yamauchi did not attend this distribution conference.
He sat in his office on the top floor, reviewing the pre-order reports compiled from various regions.
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