Kadokawa's stock price reached 5,050 yen but began to decrease on 12/02/98. However it is moderate and calm around Kadokawa Hongo Building on 12/03/98. That day it sometimes rained. I have not obtained SEGA's Dreamcast yet. Recently young people that live in Tokyo tend to reserve the most popular goods before their venders begin to sell the goods. Sometimes those people buy the popular goods before their release day.
For example, Japanese edition of Microsoft Windows 98 was released at 0:00 AM in Akihabara, Tokyo. A lot of people gathered there. (As you know, the house rent around Akihabara is very expensive. It takes the people more than one hour to come to Akihabara. Moreover the last train (JR) leaves Akihabara rather early.
Mass media reported the release day of SEGA's Dreamcast (11/27/98). Kadokawa served a lot of titles for SEGA Saturn. Perhaps Kadokawa will serve some popular titles for SEGA's Dreamcast, too.
However I have not obtained SEGA's Dreamcast yet. Of course my income is too little to obtain a Pentium II terminal. But I have 30,000 yen!
Ishimaru Denki at Akihabara, Tokyo, knows the true character of Dr.FangLang. It offered me to sell a set of Dreamcast. I ignored the offer. I decided to obbtain a set for myself. Dreamcast was sold out. Half of the people who reserved Dreamcast cannot obtain the sets yet.
Dreamcast was released at 7:45 AM.
A lot of people gathered there AS USUAL.
Those who reserved and who obtained sets shaked hands with Executive Director Hidekazu Yukawa of SEGA Enterprises.
Executive Director Yukawa gets popular since the Dreamcast commercial films were broadcast. The campaign aroused Japanese people's pity. It was a kind of negative campaign.
Hidekazu Yukawa was born in Osaka on 05/16/1943.
He graduated from Osaka Municipal West Mercantile Senior High School. There he played baseball at the school baseball club in 1962. He studied at St.Andrew's University (Japanese: Momoyama Gakuin University, which was estabished in 1884 by English missionaries and was approved in 1959 as a university). He loved BMWs. (Thereafter he works under a Honda's prince!) He met CSK's owner Isao Oukawa in 1968. He began to work under Mr. Oukawa. Since then he has been the first follower of Owner Oukawa. In 1984, CSK began to control SEGA. Then he worked at SEGA for a while. He appeared at SEGA's TV commercial films then. Thereafter SEGA was pinched by Sony Computer Entertainment. He came back to SEGA in 1997 as an Executive Director. He still works for CSK as an Executive.
Then President stood next to Yukawa. The name of President is Mr. Shouichirou Irimajiri. Formerly he was a star of Honda and the successor of Honda family. When he worked for Honda, he was distinguished. Thereafter he had to leave Honda in 1993. Most of Japanese thought Irimajiri will assume the presidentship of Honda then.
Formerly SEGA made small-sized jukeboxes. Thereafter SEGA began to produce archade game machines. At last SEGA started retail business for youth.
Irimajiri approached SEGA.
Irimajiri began to work at SEGA. Then President Nakayama, one of founders, controlled SEGA. SEGA had often failed the retail business for children then, say, Megadrive. SEGA wanted to merge Bandai, the largest toy manufacturer in Japan. SEGA also failed the project. SEGA failed to promote SEGA Saturn in foreign countries. Then Irimajiri assumed the presidency of SEGA. SEGA is a subsidiary of CSK. CSK's owner, Isao Ookawa began to control SEGA. As I wrote here, Executive Director Yukawa is a follower of Owner Ookawa.
What? Most of the people did not know Irimajiri. Yukawa was so busy that Irimajiri worked as Yukawa's proxy to explain the internal features. But Former Honda's Prince Irimajiri was not so popular.
In fact, Osaka Asahi Newspaer 11/27/98 morning issue reported General Motors hired SEGA's President Shouichirou Irimajiri (58 years old) as an External Executive of GM Delphi Automotive Systems. Irimajiri still wants to work as an automobile engineer.
As you have laughed at troubles of Apple Computer for many years, we Japanese have watched and have laughed at troubles of SEGA Enterprises and Ascii for many years. Both SEGA and Ascii are controlled by Owner Ookawa at present.
However a lot of people gathered at Akihabara for Dreamcast on 11/27/98. I have not obtained a set yet.
Osaka Asahi Newspaper 11/27/98 evening issue reported Dreamcast's release.
In the report, SEGA said, "We provide 500,000 sets in this year."
But I have not obtained one yet.
In the report, a deparment store at Umeda, Osaka, sold out 20 sets in the release day and an agent at Nipponbashi, Osaka, sold out 400 sets in 30 minutes of the release day.
On the other hand, Tokyo Asahi Newspaper 11/27/98 evening issue reported Dreamcast's release at the front page.
Executive Director Hidekazu Yukawa was promoted and produced by Mr. Yasushi Akimoto, who formerly produced Onyanko Club, an idol singer group. President Irimajiri commented on Yukawa's popularity. Of course it is irrelevant. He is still an automobile engineer.
SEGA sold 8,840,000 sets of SEGA Saturn for four years. But Sony Computer Entertainment sold 43,000,000 sets of Sony Playstation for four years and Nintendou sold 20,000,000 sets of N64. SEGA was defeated. Therefore SEGA wanted a new client.
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