Chapter 33: Savage Era!

Ethan found Steve Jobs' story quite intriguing.

Because he wasn't clear on how Atari dominated all of North America in an era when logistics were underdeveloped.

When Magnavox sued Atari, according to the court-approved sales figures for "Pong," they were only 8,000 units.

Wanting to become a sensation in North America with such a number, in any era, seemed like a pipe dream.

But after following Steve Jobs' team for a while...

He was genuinely surprised!

After collecting fees from the merchants, Steve Jobs directly took out two bags from the car.

One bag contained game circuit boards, and the other had three iron plates and a pile of spray paint.

After replacing the circuit boards, Steve Jobs began his own bold operation.

First, he took out white spray paint and wildly sprayed the already replaced motherboard evenly in front of him.

Then, he took out two iron plates, one in the shape of a snake and the other resembling an apple.

He fixed them on the top of the machine, directly applying color with green and red spray paint.

Next, he sprayed the words "Snake Game" under the pattern.

As for the snake's two eyes...

He drew them directly with a marker!

Finally, Steve Jobs took out a bottle of deodorizing cleaner and sprayed it on the machine.

In just a moment, the machine emitted the fragrance of apples.

Honestly! Ethan was dumbfounded by this whole process!

There was no skill involved; it was all pure emotion!

"Not... not... Is this how you replace game motherboards?" Ethan's tongue was at war with surprise.

"Yeah! Any problem?" Steve Jobs smiled and said, "Why do you think our circuit board replacement service costs thirty dollars? It's because it's troublesome!"

Ethan was speechless at Steve Jobs' words.

But at the same time, he had a question: "But... the machine you just replaced doesn't seem to be from Atari, right?"

Exactly! If Ethan didn't misread it just now, the racing game machine that Steve Jobs had just replaced had the logo of another company!

And his inquiry received a straightforward answer.

"Yeah, that's why I like riding motorcycles!"

Steve Jobs smiled at Ethan, quickly packed up all the tools, and then ran off with his bag.

Shouting as he left, "Hurry up! Although the bosses who buy games don't care which company's machine it is, as long as it makes money, the companies that sell machines care! We can't be caught by those guys, or we'll get beaten up!"

"???"

"WTF!!!"

Watching the increasingly distant figure, Ethan cursed.

He never expected that selling a game could give him a damn feeling of love?

He clearly was doing legitimate business!

Why did Atari make it look like a bandit's den!

Damn it!

It's absurd!

...

Although Ethan felt that Atari's selling methods didn't seem very legitimate, at the same time, he admitted that in the wild era, this unconventional approach was indeed effective. When America's logistics industry was not highly integrated by the internet, this nimble method could allow a company to gain a significant market share in a short time.

Although rival companies might suffer, it didn't really matter, did it?

Because only a dead rival was a good rival!

As for saying that other rivals could also do the same...

Before, when Magnavox didn't bring up the lawsuit and the whole industry was copying, they could indeed emulate Atari's operations.

But not anymore.

As Steve Jobs once said, whether it's the owner of a bar, a dance hall, or a bowling alley, they really don't care which company produced their arcade machines. They only care about money! Constant cash flow!

As long as it makes money, whether it's Atari or Magnavox, it doesn't matter to me!

So, unless the competitors can come up with solid games, those bosses won't consider switching machines!

And driven by this demand, the business of door-to-door motherboard replacement is like a gentle angel!

Taking Ethan for a walk and satisfying the outsider's curiosity, Steve Jobs brought up business with Ethan. "Ethan, what do you think of the business of going door-to-door for motherboard replacements?"

"It's quite exciting, what's up?" After running away once again, Ethan said, panting, "You could get hit at any moment. This life is really damn interesting!"

"Well, can you do me a favor?"

"You say."

"In the coming time, could you take me out to replace motherboards?"

"???"

Steve Jobs' proposal puzzled Ethan, but soon, he was told the reason.

"Ethan, you may have noticed that our service of replacing circuit boards is very suitable for cross-state sales. Because replacing the motherboard of a machine takes at most ten minutes, adding paint together takes twenty minutes to complete. A store has at most a few machines, and in one day, you can cover a small city, or even a big city, with no problem."

"It's because this service is very efficient that Nolan and the others don't let us ordinary employees participate."

"Because every time we go out, we can carry at least a hundred circuit boards."

"The cost of a single circuit board is $150, so a hundred is $15,000. After selling them, you can get $40,000."

"This figure is a huge sum."

"Nolan doesn't trust us, so he personally goes out every time."

Ethan understood Jobs' meaning.

In an age with underdeveloped communication, how companies could securely gather funds from employees was indeed a problem.

Without effective means of constraint, relying solely on the morality of employees, it was impossible to do business.

For companies selling high-value but low-volume items, it was either fear of employees running away or fear of employees falsely reporting losses, undermining the company's interests.

After all, even in the internet age, there were instances of zero-cost acquisitions.

In business, in the face of absolute interests, only those who could gain more interests were likely to restrain their greed.

"So, is this the real reason you brought me here?" Ethan smiled at Jobs.

"Yeah." The long-haired hippie nodded, "Nolan said before that out of the $30 cost of the motherboard replacement service, only $9 is the material cost, and the remaining $21 is a bonus."

"In the past, a team was composed of three people, which means that every time a circuit board was sold, the seller could get $7."

"I want this money, so..."

Jobs rubbed his hands, very candidly expressing his desire.

And Ethan, curious, asked, "Do you need a large sum of money?"

"Yeah." Jobs nodded very sincerely, "If possible, I want to earn this money."

"I need it, my parents need it, and my little ideas need it."

Ethan stared at him for a while, and when Jobs was somewhat uneasy, Ethan finally smiled.

He patted Jobs on the shoulder and said, "Sure."

"Anyway, I have nothing to do at home."

"If you really need me, I would be honored."

"Because my family taught me that the best satisfaction is to give satisfaction to others."

"Oh! — Yes!!!"

Jobs was very happy, opened his arms, and gave Ethan a big hug.

"Thank you! Thank you, my friend!"