CH35 - Striking it Rich

"If, three years ago, I asked you what electronic games were, many might not have known because the majority hadn't seen such a thing. But now, three years later, I believe anyone can answer this question. Those big machines with strange music placed at the entrance of bars, dance halls, and pool rooms – inside them are electronic games."

"When it comes to electronic games, we have to mention Nolan Bushnell. The founder of Atari used his engineering wisdom to bring electronic games from major university labs to each of us, adding a lot of colour to our daily lives. However, I'm sure most have heard about Magnavox's lawsuit against Atari. Nolan Bushnell, despite changing the world, indeed used unethical means to plagiarize Magnavox's games."

"We thought that the out-of-court settlement two months ago would trap Atari because, for the next year, they couldn't release their own creative games. We even speculated that the settlement with Magnavox would mark the beginning of their decline. But no one expected that, within half a month after the lawsuit ended, Atari would release a new game - 'Snake Game.'"

"When we first heard the name of this game, the entire editorial team of the 'Los Angeles Times' was puzzled because the name was so abstract, so abstract that we couldn't guess the game's content at all."

"So, after the game was released, curious as we were, we went to experience it at the game console."

"To be honest, watching others play, we found this game very boring. Because it's not a competitive game; it's a single-player game where the player controls a snake capable of moving on its own. All the player can do is manipulate the joystick, change the snake's direction, and make it eat things on the screen, watching it gradually grow longer due to feeding."

"This game, without interaction with friends, without intense competition, seemed meaningless to us."

"But when we tried playing it ourselves, we discovered that it was a charming game!"

"Although the snake in the game moves on its own, it also dies when it touches the boundaries or itself."

"Although the snake in the game gets longer by eating, its movement speed also increases after consuming a certain amount of food."

"This discovery shocked us!"

"And after continuous attempts, we even had an illusion in our minds that we weren't playing a game; we were actually controlling a life!"

"The snake we played with seemed to have intelligence! After discovering that eating could help it grow, it would eagerly accelerate, searching for more!"

"The snake we played with seemed to have a soul! Because it knew it couldn't eat itself!"

"Seriously, we're not sure where the inspiration for this game came from! But we know that this might be the best electronic game of the year! Or perhaps, it's the best electronic game since the birth of electronic games!"

"Because it perfectly portrays greed within human nature!"

"The game design, aligned with human nature, is full of fun! The increasing difficulty that makes people want to achieve success attracts them to challenge 'Win' again and again!"

"Perhaps because the design of 'Snake Game' is too captivating, since its release, in just a month, it has dominated the entire West Coast! If the previous 'Pong' almost occupied the entrances of all bars, dance halls, and pool rooms, then 'Snake Game' completely rules them all!"

"We don't know how many copies Atari has sold of 'Snake Game'! But we know that it might not be long before 'Snake Game' breaks all records and becomes the best-selling electronic game in the entire United States!"

"Because it's so interesting!"

"It's precisely because all the editors of the 'Los Angeles Times' are fascinated by this little snake that we contacted Atari to interview Nolan Bushnell. But due to their busy sales schedule, we didn't get in touch with him."

"However, Atari's staff did answer our questions. They told us that the inventor of 'Snake Game' has two people, and they live near Atari. One is named Evelyn Johnson, a student at Stanford School of Engineering, and the other is his brother, Ethan Jones, a former employee of Magnavox."

"When we heard about Stanford and Magnavox, we weren't surprised because they are both places that nurture miracles."

"And before the article was published, we didn't contact these two people, which left us regretful."

"If given the opportunity, we would like to interview the inventors of 'Snake Game.'"

"We want to know how 'Snake Game,' the game that has already dominated the West Coast, was born."

...

Honestly, when Ethan finished reading this article, his hands were shaking! This is the 'Los Angeles Times,' the largest daily newspaper in the western United States, with influence second only to the 'New York Times' and the 'Washington Post' nationwide! Such media writing a sub-headline for 'Snake Game'?

Oh! Damn! This is too fantastic!

Especially those extremely flattering words made him break into a happy smile!

What does it mean for a snake to have intelligence?

What does it mean for a snake to have a soul?

He had no idea!

But these overinterpretations—

*Cough, cough, cough.* Ethan straightened his face, and coughed twice.

Pretending to say, "Well... the writing style of the 'Los Angeles Times' is not bad; it's well-written."

"Oh!—Damn it! Ethan! If you want to laugh, just laugh out loud!"

Steve Jobs gave him a shove and yelled, "I know you're excited! Your face is tense as hell! Just look in the rearview mirror! Damn, you look constipated now!"

Ethan couldn't hold back anymore.

"Hahaha—"

In the deserted gas station, laughter echoed.

He was just an ordinary guy!

He loved this kind of praise!

"Oh, I'll treasure this newspaper because they've keenly discovered a good game."

After the laughter, Ethan neatly folded the newspaper and put it in his pocket.

Steve Jobs couldn't stand his arrogant look.

"I shouldn't have bought this newspaper," he grumbled.

Then, he swung open the door of the driver's seat. "Get out, get out!"

"What are you doing?" Ethan was puzzled, shouting, "Oh, my dear Steve! Are you jealous of me? Jealous because I'm famous? So, you want to leave me here and make me walk back?"

Steve Jobs almost choked on Ethan's words.

His eyes went dark, and he shouted, "Fxxk! Ethan! Are you out of your mind? I'm afraid of dying! You're so excited now, what if you accidentally weld your foot to the gas pedal while driving for thrills?"

"We're not far from Los Gatos; I don't want any accidents!"

"Oh, really? Thanks!" Ethan chuckled as he got out.

In his view, someone willingly driving was a good thing!

Because in the past month, he was almost sick of driving!

After he got back into the passenger seat, he tapped the window and shouted, "Let's go! Head home!"

In a roar, Ethan returned to Atari.

According to his plan, the first thing to do after coming back was to tally the sales of "Snake Game."

But Nolan Bushnell was more anxious about this matter than him.

He, who came back earlier, had already calculated the total sales.

The game had been on the market for six weeks, and the electronic arcade machines had sold a total of 1,121 units, earning $1,345,200.00.

The game circuit boards sold 2,715 pieces, earning $1,086,000.00.

The two added up to $2,431,200.00.

Although compared to the billions in revenue from blockbuster games in the future, this number seemed insignificant, in this era, nearly two and a half million dollars could drive people crazy!

Among these, Ethan and Evelyn's share, fifteen percent of the electronic arcade machines, $201,780.00, and eighteen percent of the game circuit boards, which amounted to $195,480.00.

After splitting it in half with Evelyn and deducting $7 for each board, Ethan and Jobs earned a total labor fee of $5,124 for the 732 game boards they swapped...

In just over a month, "Snake Game" brought Ethan a profit of $203,754.00!

Mind you, this was in 1975, a whopping two hundred thousand!

"It's here, it's here!"

Ethan grinned from ear to ear.

"If we work a bit harder and sell the game to the East Coast, we should make half a million in shares this year, right?"

Nolan Bushnell chuckled at Ethan's idea.

While smoking, he coughed twice and said, "Ethan, I understand your enthusiasm, but the time for making a killing has passed."

"Next, we can't continue selling like we did before."