Remember Lunch with the President, where president Minami treats employees who have a birthday that month to lunch? Well, it got a big upgrade.

Responding to requests for “more time to talk” and “alcoholic beverages”, Minami decided to make it a party with wine and appetizers this year. Instead of lunchtime, it starts at 5:30, so that everyone can fully enjoy their food and drink and then head right home.

On the day of the party, everyone who had a birthday that month gathered together, joined by the management. From veteran employees to new grads who just joined the company this April, everyone raised their glasses for a toast.

The conversation topics flew, but as you might imagine, the discussion quickly turned to games. Minami told someone, “That pitch for a new game looked awesome! I hope we get to make it!” A veteran employee gave some heartfelt advice to a new game designer who was worrying about his game designs: “Stressed out? Well, it’s just gonna get worse from here on. Keep thinking of ideas, and don’t give up!”

Later on, a certain individual started demanding birthday cake! Minami handed a 10,000 yen bill (approx. $80) to company executive Sato and told him to run, not walk, to a cake shop.

From what I hear, the party lasted late into the evening. 🙂