Chapter 167: I, Ethan Jones, Act with Prudence - Part 2

Ethan chuckled and shook his head at the situation. Apart from Barbara and the others, Ralph Baer, Arnold Spielberg, Chuck Peddle, and MOS Corporation, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, as well as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, had also visited the company or called to express their joy.

The most amusing was George Lucas. This bearded man indeed fled to Hawaii like an ostrich to avoid the bad news. Due to the time difference, while the theaters on the East Coast of the United States had already been overwhelmed by "Star Wars," he was still asleep in Hawaii. He was actually awakened by a joyful call in his sleep, and then...

He hastily caught a flight back to Los Angeles, still pulling up his pants.

His call to Ethan was the final action before boarding the plane.

He hoped Ethan would keep his evasion a secret, not mentioning his behavior to the media. He wanted to bask in the glory of "Star Wars" success, while also...

"I want everyone to know that those who think 'Star Wars' is rubbish are idiots!"

Ethan found this record incredibly amusing. George Lucas's behavior, shrinking when criticized and boasting when praised, was truly entertaining.

After "Star Wars" movies and games swept across North America, the care from friends flowed incessantly like a river.

Ethan noted these kind gestures, intending to reply later. Then he returned to reviewing the documents.

Compared to business invitations, these personal interactions seemed insufficient. In the past twenty-four hours, the administrative department of Destiny Game had received over five hundred calls, with numerous past collaborators eager to purchase the "Star Wars" arcade machines. The total order quantity had even reached thirteen thousand units.

At two thousand and one per unit, the total order amount here had reached twenty-six million!

If added to the eight thousand units from North American theaters, "Star Wars" arcade machines could bring Destiny Game a revenue of forty-two million!

And this...

Was a peak even "Pac-Man" couldn't reach!

Ethan certainly wanted to engage in this mass business, but he didn't immediately decide. He checked the news from North American theaters. Like what he heard last night, after the game's explosion, North American theaters had hurriedly placed orders, aiming to directly take away the two thousand arcade machines ordered from Ethan and even added six thousand more. They hoped Ethan would deliver as soon as possible.

Perhaps they themselves understood how urgent these orders were, or maybe they all realized they couldn't handle the frenzy caused by "Star Wars" alone. Therefore, while increasing orders, they also took the initiative to declare that the previous protection agreement was void. As long as Destiny Game could provide eight thousand arcade machines to them as a priority, the eight-week limit would automatically expire.

When this fax appeared, Ethan's face immediately lit up with a smile.

Actually, when he signed the protection agreement with North American theaters, he didn't care about such terms.

Because business was business, and breach of contract was just part of it.

Initially, he did sign the contract for the movie screenings.

But when signing, he knew very well that after the movie exploded, it would be impossible for him to continue to abide by the terms on the contract.

Tearing it up directly and selling externally was what he needed to do!

And what about North American theaters?

They could sue and compensate for some losses.

As for whether such behavior would rupture relations?

Don't be ridiculous.

The bosses of North American theaters wouldn't dare to do such a thing.

Because historically, Hollywood has always been a seller's market!

When "Star Wars" ignited North America, as sellers of arcade machines, they had the right to sell to anyone. If North American theaters wanted to refuse? Fine! Don't expect any arcade machines in the future!

When such places relying on content encountered unbeatable content—

They kneel!

Only then can they make money!

"Previously, we had delivered six thousand arcade machines to North American theaters. Now they want six thousand more, while other merchants in North America want thirteen thousand. In other words, our current sales volume is twenty-seven thousand units?"

Ethan calculated mentally, then looked at Eulise Noble.

"Yeah," the administrative supervisor nodded, saying, "That's how it looks currently."

"Okay, if there are no issues with North American theaters, then accept these orders. Coordinate with Michael to provide the factory with the necessary production quantity within a month to ensure that the workers receive full wages. Then hand over the remaining quantities we can't fulfill to another factory for subcontracting."

"In the order of theaters first and then merchants, arrange the delivery time for those merchants according to the order sequence. If they accept, have them deposit the advance payment into our company's account. If they can't accept, then it's regrettable but goodbye."

Having said that, Ethan paused for a moment, then made a decision, "Oh, since North American theaters have expressed they don't need exclusivity, let's waive the storage fee of four hundred thousand for them."

From a future perspective, Ethan's company might face questions about the production capacity of Destiny Game, as slow production might lead to lost orders.

But in reality, Destiny Game's production capacity was already considerable. When it was too high, problems might arise because arcade machines were seasonal products. There had to be intervals between the releases of games, and arcade machines were products that easily reached their sales limit in a market. The maximum demand in a market was generally constant, with few fluctuations. Therefore, in such a situation, hiring workers at the maximum quota for a long time would be a significant cost burden for the company.

After all, Destiny Game was not a factory like Foxconn. In the case of only producing their own products year-round, controlling the number of factory workers became a headache.

Originally, Ethan's plan was to cut off the factory's business after gaining fame.

Following the footsteps of Apple in his previous life, outsource production to reduce operating costs to the extreme.

But after being educated by Thomas, and facing interference from Warner and Philips, Ethan now felt that the company's production capacity couldn't be compromised. Because this ensured that he could produce products at any time and also prevented him from running out of stock due to external factors.

As for how to keep the factory from idling?

That was something to consider after the home console was launched.

"Okay, I understand," Eulise Noble noted her tasks.

"Boss, can I go out and arrange tasks now?" she tentatively asked.

"Sure, go ahead," Ethan nodded in agreement.

As she left, Ethan picked up the remaining documents and perused them slowly.

After solving the important issues of interpersonal relations and orders, the remaining matters were quite easy. For example, his old buddy, Los Angeles Times, and his arch-nemesis, The New York Times, had extended invitations for an interview, wanting him to discuss the development over the years. 

Similarly, Time Magazine and Newsweek invited him for a cover shoot. If Ethan was unavailable, they could come to shoot.

Moreover, "The Tonight Show," born in 1954, was eager to have him appear on the NBC stage. The current host, Johnny Carson, even sent a handwritten invitation, showing great anticipation...

When Ethan found that these media outlets were eager to get in touch with him, a sense of pride instantly surged on his face. He liked the clever behavior of these media outlets! But—

After a brief look, Ethan pushed them aside.

Because he

 didn't want to reveal his face to the public for the time being.

There was no way around it; he was just too handsome!

If exposed, and countless people started paying attention to his stunning appearance, neglecting the game itself, then for someone who made a living on talent, wouldn't that be a loss?

Okay, okay, this was all nonsense.

The real reason he refused interviews was that he wanted to first understand the sales of competitors' products.

After he had played his trump card, he really wanted to know how many people on the continent of America would buy products from Magnavox and Atari?

If not, then naturally, he would open the door conveniently to the media and show off!

And if there were...

Then he, who hadn't made any harsh comments beforehand, wouldn't slap himself in the face.

That's right!

Ethan Jones was such a prudent person!

Heh heh~

Note:

George Lucas actually ran to Hawaii to avoid the bad news before the movie was released, as he himself claimed. Regarding the previous issue of the game's exclusive eight-week run in theaters, it's not annotated here because it needs to be clarified. In reality, North American theaters have always been suppressed by Hollywood or content creators. 

For "The Last Jedi," Disney demanded a 65% split for the first four weeks and required the largest halls in each theater to continuously screen the movie for four weeks, but North American theaters didn't dare to object. The profit split for "The Force Awakens" was also 64% for the first four weeks, and theaters remained silent. 

When Lucas decided to sell "Star Wars" merchandise in theaters to make money, he even authorized other retailers, but they ended up going behind theaters' backs, and theaters couldn't do anything about it. Since the inception of theaters, they have merely been scraping by. The profits from popcorn and soda alone make up 80% to 85% of their revenue. In recent years, they've even started opening restaurants in theaters, trying to make money that way. In reality, they indeed dare not negotiate with actual content creators because they need movie screenings more than Hollywood does. 

The game developers who can thrive without theaters are the ones North American theaters fear the most. So, the exclusivity they fight for is merely a matter of premiere rights, without any other practical significance.