After the release of the two indie games, sales of the Persona Engine did indeed see a slight uptick!
A few developers and small studios who had been on the fence finally decided to purchase licenses.
However, the larger companies were still waiting and seeing.
Kobayashi Tetsu wasn't in a hurry. After all, these were just small-scale operations for now. Whether it was the high-quality clone Metal Shell or the niche gem Deep Sea Girl, although they looked decent thanks to the engine's power and the cartridge technology, industry insiders could see they were utterly broke to the bone.
Beneath the seemingly impressive graphics lay a crude art style. While the assets were passable, most of them were reused over and over again. And although the music was decent enough, the same few tracks played on a loop.
Taken as a whole, there was only one word to describe it: poor.
With this level of poverty, you could still make games that players loved, but achieving real success was still too difficult.
With the Mega Drive's installed base already in the tens of millions, these two cartridges alone weren't enough to convince them.
"It seems we won't be able to truly convince them to commit until Pokémon and Persona are released. Still, this wasn't a wasted effort. At the very least, it's provided a preliminary demonstration of the Persona Engine's capabilities and allowed us to test the issues with the enhanced chips."
According to feedback from various sources, there were roughly a dozen flaws, including overheating caused by manufacturing defects.
These were all minor issues, and fixing them wouldn't be difficult. Kobayashi Tetsu had completely delegated these matters to the Technical Development Department.
Today, Kobayashi Tetsu was visiting Soba Studio.
"The first 10,000 test cartridges have already been sold. The cartridge factory is now working overtime to produce the rest. Based on pre-orders, Deep Sea Girl's current sales are expected to reach 34,226 copies—down to the exact unit."
The girls in front of him exchanged glances before cheering in unison.
According to the previous distribution agreement, they would receive approximately 15% of the sales revenue as income, while the remaining 85% would be split among Sega, Atlus, the cartridge manufacturer, and the distributors.
With each cartridge priced at 6,800 Yen, this meant they had earned 3,500 Yen!
The initial investment of 20 million Yen, after accounting for equipment and venue costs, meant the actual expenditure was only around 10 million Yen. Even after three months, they had spent less than half of that.
In any case, this meant they had taken their first step into the gaming world! They had a successful title!
Koyakawa looked both excited and anxious.
I secretly slandered Nene-senpai in the game... She won't beat me up if she finds out, will she? Senpai is so scary! Not like me, I only ever worry about Tetsu-kun!
Kobayashi Tetsu felt a mix of amusement and helplessness.
They're this happy over just 40 million? If it were 400 million, they'd be flying high!
If Atlas had only sold 40 million, the producer of this game would have been fired on the spot.
"Alright, everyone, settle down—Anyway, you've all done a great job implementing the points I raised earlier. Keep it up. The lifetime sales for this game won't be too high; I doubt it will even break 100,000 copies. After all, the genre itself is niche and slow-paced."
"But this has at least given you valuable experience and earned you your first pot of gold. If you decide to make more games in the future, I suggest you specialize in the horror-puzzle genre."
Koyakawa nodded repeatedly. "But I don't have any new ideas right now."
After all, she had only made that game by drawing from her own experiences and immersing herself in the role. Now that it was over, she had no new ideas.
Kobayashi Tetsu smiled.
"I do."
He cleared his throat. "Let's call this story... The Witch's House."
Kobayashi Tetsu casually began to describe a tale of exploration and twists.
The Witch's House was a classic in the horror-puzzle genre. Though its producer's reputation was absolutely abysmal, the game's twists and hidden content were legendary. Even in 2025, it remained a masterpiece in this niche field, one that was difficult to surpass.
"It's about a young girl—sigh, yes, another young girl, and an elementary schooler at that.
A girl named Viona wanders alone into a forest, gets lost, and eventually finds her way to the home of the witch, Erin.
Inside Erin's house, Viona endures a series of adventures and chases before finally escaping the forest and reuniting with her father. Her father then pulls out a shotgun and shoots the witch, who had been relentlessly pursuing her.
On the surface, it seems like a happy ending. But in reality, it's anything but."
"In truth, Viona is Erin.
Because of her illness and temperament, Erin was never loved by her parents. So, she killed them and continued to live on as the Witch."
Erin lived alone in a grand house. One day, she met Viona, who had accidentally wandered into the forest and found her home. Viona was kind and innocent, and she helped Erin in many ways.
Gradually, a twisted idea took root in Erin's mind.
This girl has a healthy body, a beloved personality, and even a family, she thought. And I have nothing.
If she could only take Viona's place, she would have it all.
So, Erin deceived Viona, and the two swapped consciousness. Erin became Viona, and Viona became Erin.
Before the swap, Erin had poisoned her own throat so she could never speak a spell, and severed her own limbs so she could never move. Anyone whose consciousness entered this body would do nothing but bleed out in agony.
Once the swap was complete, Viona would die in torment, while Erin would be reborn as a brand-new Viona.
However, a witch is still a witch. Viona, now inhabiting the witch's body, still retained a shred of magical power. Before her life faded, she cast a spell with the witch's body, trapping Erin within the Witch's House in a desperate attempt to reclaim her own form.
But this was the Witch's House, after all. Even the traps and monsters within the house served the true witch. Thus, Erin eventually navigated through the countless mechanisms, reached her own room, and broke the spell.
In the end, the father, shotgun in hand, shot the seemingly ferocious Witch—but in reality, he had personally killed the real Viona.
A single playthrough would never reveal the true story. To most, it would seem like just another ordinary horror-puzzle game about adventuring in a witch's house.
However, when players complete the game a second time, they discover this shocking secret.
Erin, a ruthless and cunning witch, had manipulated the nine-year-old girl like a puppet. In the end, she not only let Viona be killed by her own father, dying in agony, but also completely usurped Viona's identity to live on in her place.
One could say the "normal" ending is just a typical horror-puzzle game, while the "true" ending is a profoundly dark and cruel tale.
Given the limited technical constraints of the time, the game's plot is absolutely worth savoring repeatedly.
Kobayashi Tetsu had only briefly described the normal ending, holding back the shocking twist.
Even so, the story still stunned the girls before him.
Several pairs of eyes stared at Kobayashi Tetsu, their gazes filled with admiration and respect.
So this is the skill of an industry veteran! A story he tells off the cuff is a peak others struggle to overcome!
Kobayashi Tetsu made a casual downward gesture with his hand.
"Sit down, everyone."
It's just standard procedure! After all, he's Tetsu-kun!
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