Chapter 187: I've Arrived! - Part 2

"Oh! No! Is this a 'Jaws' videotape? Why is it circular? It's not a tape? This is... a CD?" Steve Jobs screamed in succession. 

"Oh Steve—how did you get here?" 

Looking at the guy who seemed to be cosplaying Liu Lao Lao, Ethan was bewildered. 

He had indeed notified his friends before moving, but due to the sudden nature of the relocation, he decided not to throw any party to celebrate and repeatedly instructed not to bring any gifts. Those people respected his wishes, offering their congratulations verbally, and Little Joe was naturally among them. 

If Ethan remembered correctly, this guy had promised not to join the hustle, but now... the figure looking here and touching there, why did it feel like he was scouting the place? 

"Ethan, you're not saying you're unwelcoming me, are you?" 

Jobs said sorrowfully, "As a brother, can't I witness the process of your headquarters moving?" 

"Oh—this really makes me feel so bad!" 

"Also, isn't this thing a gift from Steven?" 

"He can give you gifts and you tell me not to give any?" 

"Ah—my heart hurts—" 

Jobs covered his chest and fell backward, his antics resembling someone having a heart attack. 

Seeing this, Ethan was full of black lines, twitching at the corner of his mouth, and waving his right hand continuously, "Steven, you tell me, what have you taken a fancy to?" 

"Help yourself, okay?" 

"Really?" Jobs, sprawled on the couch, squinted his eyes. 

"Of course!" Unable to bear his exaggerated performance, Ethan surrendered. 

"Can I borrow this building? Let me also experience the feeling of working in the Stanford Research Park?" 

"..." 

Ethan stared at this genius for a few moments. 

Then squeezed out two words, "Get lost." 

"Oh—this really makes one feel so bad!" Jobs yelled out. 

Sticking out his tongue, he fainted on the couch. 

Just when Ethan thought the guy would continue causing a scene, he got up from the couch. 

"Alright, alright, no more playing. I came today to see you, to satisfy my curiosity and see what the Stanford Research Park is really like." 

"By the way, I brought you Apple's semi-annual report." 

Jobs, smiling, sat down in the chair in front of the desk. 

Then he pulled out a rolled-up document from behind his waist and handed it to Ethan. 

After the previous commotion, the document looked somewhat like spoiled pickles. 

"Fxxk you!" Ethan helplessly cursed him. 

"If the report looks bad, you're dead!" 

"How could that be!" 

Jobs was full of confidence, "With me here, Apple's reports will definitely not be bad!" 

Jobs spoke the truth. Although the APPLE 2 had only been on sale for two weeks in the first half of the year, its sales were skyrocketing. By June 30th, its shipment had already surpassed 6,000 units, with pre-orders also exceeding 4,000 units, bringing in more than 7 million in revenue. 

Based on the current momentum, the company's market director estimated that Apple could sell at least 40,000 APPLE 2 units this year, with the annual revenue expected to reach 50 million. 

And the biggest contributor to this was Ethan Jones. 

As Evelyn said, if Ethan hadn't constantly mentioned that the Destiny Game's machines were Apple, that Apple computers could do video games, that Apple computers had no threshold for use, providing a game code manual with every purchase to let you fall in love with programming from the ground up... then these machines definitely wouldn't sell as well. 

"50 million?" 

Ethan was truly shocked by this number. 

"Damn, my 'Star Wars' has only sold 60 million now!" 

He was a bit sour. 

Jobs, however, laughed heartily, "Oh Ethan—don't be like that, APPLE 2 and 'Star Wars' are completely different products, APPLE 2 aims to enter American households, while 'Star Wars' aims to dominate all public spaces it can." 

"Households are definitely greater than spaces." 

"So 'Star Wars' might start fast, but APPLE 2 can catch up quickly." 

Ethan was, of course, aware of these facts. His complaints were just spur of the moment, lamenting that no matter how well a game sells, it can't compare to computers. As he continued flipping through the documents, he also discovered a problem. 

In the document Jobs handed over, not only was there Apple's semi-annual report, but also the current status report of the personal computer market, mentioning that the hottest personal computer was not APPLE 2 but Tandy Corporation's TRS-80. According to data compiled by computer dealers nationwide, they currently hold a 40% market share, with this year's shipments expected to reach 100,000 units. 

The reason for such a result is simple—they sold it cheap enough, with a price of $399 that truly undercut all competitors. 

Moreover, APPLE 2 had another enemy, Commodore International's PET. Compared to APPLE 2, their price was also cheap, currently only $799... 

These facts made Ethan nod in agreement. 

Although he wasn't clear about the initial development of the personal computer industry, he knew that in the early days of home computers, Apple, despite being the most expensive, was not the market leader. 

They were remembered by people because, despite being the most expensive, they gathered a group of fans and successfully went public. When Apple was listed on NASDAQ, Jobs, who came from humble beginnings, truly became the living American dream. This was the biggest reason people were impressed with him. 

What made Apple a legend afterward was the story of Jobs's return to Apple and its resurgence. Placed in a Hollywood movie, it would be even more inspirational than the modified story of Forrest Gump. When the world-changing iPod and iPhone appeared, Apple became the ultimate Apple in people's memories. 

Of course, there were also their stories with good neighbors like Microsoft and Xerox. 

Knowing all this, Ethan didn't mind that Apple still hadn't become the market leader with his support. After all, as long as Woz was still in the company, they all had time. 

After returning the report to Jobs, Ethan said with a smile, "Steve, selling to second place in the market at over a thousand dollars per computer, you guys are already amazing." 

"And I, believe you can be even more amazing." 

"Hahaha—" Ethan's words made Jobs' eyes squint with laughter. 

"Oh Ethan, I knew you would understand me—" 

"Of course, I also believe we can be even more amazing!" 

"Stephen is researching the 5.25-inch floppy disk. If he can incorporate that into our computer, then we can really promote a mature application tool to the outside world!" 

"And not just provide them with codes like now!" 

After a small chat with Jobs, the guy keeping an eye on Apple sales decisively took off. 

Before leaving, he also took the CD player and CD that Spielberg had given to Ethan, saying he'd study it and return it in a few days. 

Ethan could only shake his head helplessly at this reality. Shortly after sending him off, Ethan welcomed another old friend, the general manager of Chuck Peddle's company. 

Just like Jobs, this genius also came to submit the semi-annual report. 

And unlike Apple's second place in the market, MOS chips had already become number one in America. 

When the Destiny Game alone used over 30,000 6502 chips in the first half of the year, and Apple directly ordered 50,000 chips, with many computer manufacturing companies longing for low-cost options, Chuck Peddle's company sold 150,000 chips in just the first half of 1977. 

With Ethan and Apple's purchase price at twelve dollars and the wholesale price to others at twenty-two dollars, their total revenue was 2.5 million dollars. 

Though this number wasn't as impressive as Destiny Game's 60 million or Apple's 7 million, being the core productivity for major companies, this shipment volume satisfied Ethan. 

After understanding the financial reports of his companies one by one, Ethan finally could take a break. 

He went to Thomas's orchard to enjoy a few days of rare leisure. 

Because he knew, he must rest and recuperate now. 

There was still a tough battle waiting for him. 

And indeed, when July 27th came, Ethan, lying in the orchard, received a call from Aaron Macy, "Boss, Nintendo's people are here with the semi-annual report." 

This made Ethan take a deep breath and ask in a deep voice, "Who came this time?" 

"It's still Hiroshi Yamauchi." Aaron Macy replied. 

This name made Ethan smile, "Alright, let him wait for a bit..." 

"I'm on my way." 

Click, Ethan hung up the orchard phone. 

He also picked up the sunglasses hanging on his collar and pushed them up his nose. 

Looking at the handsome figure in the glass, he hummed. 

'Nintendo?' 

'I'm coming!'