Chapter 159: The Second Wave of Publicity! - Part 2
While Atari and Magnavox were caught off guard by the project, the offices of Warner Brothers and Philips were in an uproar.
Despite their years of experience in managing public opinion, swinging it in their favor or against it as needed, and despite the ups and downs they've faced in past operations, being directly insulted by a competitor was something new to them. And something they had never encountered before was...
"MFxxk!"
"How dare Ethan Jones say we look down on ordinary people???"
In the Warner office, the CEO, Steve Ross, raged at his subordinates, "Doesn't the world know how the movie industry developed? Don't they know that without the support of the masses, the movie industry might not exist?"
Indeed, just like in the world of video games with arcade machines, the movie industry initially relied on coin-operated viewings.
The world's first movie projector was Edison's 'Kinetoscope,' a telescope-like device that allowed viewers to watch images on a film through a small hole.
Due to the limited window, it could only accommodate one viewer at a time. Thus, the original business model was to start the device after inserting a coin.
It was the public's curiosity about this simple form of entertainment that propelled the rapid development of the movie industry. And because the industry had to operate on a low-margin, high-volume profit model, the vast revenues depended on massive foot traffic.
In this context, Ethan accused Warner Brothers of despising the common people?
Oh—
How is that any different from undermining their own livelihood?
Such remarks were akin to a mortal enmity, utterly intolerable.
"Deny! Sue! Gather information!"
Steve Ross, the CEO of Warner Brothers, bellowed at his subordinates—
"Quickly hold a press conference to deny all of Ethan Jones's accusations!"
"Have our legal department sue Destiny Game directly, claiming that their founder, Ethan Jones, has slandered and defamed Warner Brothers and our subsidiary, Atari!"
"Oh, and!"
"Send legal notices to NBC, ABC, and Fox! Who allowed them to report these things? Demand a public apology from them and compensation for our reputational damage!"
"Lastly, find out what Ethan Jones's new game is!"
"If we've chosen to step on them, then we step hard!"
"We absolutely cannot allow his new game to make waves across North America!"
While Warner Brothers on the West Coast was busy in emergency mode, Philips on the East Coast was also engulfed in flames of anger.
If Warner Brothers' fury stemmed from Ethan's precise provocation, Philips' anger was due to all their products being aimed at the mass consumer market.
Whether it was energy-saving lamps, televisions, razors, or laser discs, or the various music products released by PolyGram, all were consumer goods targeting the general public, with only medical equipment being sold in bulk purchases.
In such a situation—
Ethan accused them of looking down on ordinary consumers?
Specifically, in producing home consoles, maliciously disparaging arcade machines?
Oh! My! God!
"Sue! Sue directly! Go sue Ethan Jones right now!"
"We cannot let these accusations continue! We produce consumer goods for the masses! We absolutely cannot let the public harbor resentment towards our brand!"
"Then, get in touch with those arcade machine purchasers and find out exactly what Ethan Jones's new game is! Since he has unapologetically attacked us, we'll fight him to the end!"
Amid these roars, two of North America's globally renowned companies on the East and West coasts made almost identical decisions. On the afternoon of April 9th, Warner with its subsidiary Atari, and Philips with its subsidiary Magnavox, held their press conferences.
At the conferences, they expressed strong protest against Ethan Jones's false accusations and informed all media to stop spreading misinformation. They repeatedly claimed they would take legal action to protect their image and reputation.
By Monday, April 11th, they decisively filed lawsuits.
When Ethan received the summons from the San Jose court, a radiant smile spread across his face.
"Feeling bad? Good!"
"If you dare urinate in my face, don't blame me for defecating on your heads!"
Handing the summons to Eulise Noble to seek help from Stanford's startup mentoring office, Ethan then dived back into the company's development office, focusing on the final packaging of the game.
Yes!
Ethan didn't care about these lawsuits at all!
Or rather, when Ethan Jones received the promotional plan set by Fox, he was clear that following their plan would inevitably lead to lawsuits from Warner Brothers and Philips, but Ethan didn't mind.
Because verbally blasting his competitors...
That was the most wonderful thing in the world!
And, getting both companies hopping mad was precisely the first blow they had hoped to achieve in their marketing campaign.
As for the second blow...
On April 14th, the arcade version of 'Star Wars' was officially completed.
Ethan personally affixed the classic poster featuring
Luke Skywalker raising his lightsaber, with Princess Leia in front of him and Darth Vader in the background, onto the machine, then called Fox.
In the afternoon, receiving the news, the corpulent executive from Fox appeared at Destiny Game with a group of colleagues to inspect the product's final effect.
Once they discovered that the actual effect of the game matched their expectations, the second step in their promotional campaign officially began. They contacted the planned parties and notified Ethan Jones to bring the 'Star Wars' arcade machine to Century City, Los Angeles, on April 23rd.
Ethan had no objections to this arrangement.
And when he arrived at the designated location with the specified product at the designated time...
He was greeted by a parade of luxury cars.
And George Lucas, dressed in a suit and bow tie, greeting him with a smile.
As they embraced, Ethan once again entered Fox's screening room. Though he had already reached a cooperation agreement with Fox, there were still unfamiliar faces in the room.
But that didn't matter because Fox's executives and Lucas would introduce him to everyone.
As they narrated, Ethan also greeted several key figures.
They were Richard Smith, the boss of GCC; Ted Mann, the boss of Mann Theatres; and Stanley Durwood, the boss of AMC.
Yes!
The second step in Fox's promotional plan was for Ethan Jones to bring the 'Star Wars' arcade game to a screening organized by the North American cinema chain for the 'Star Wars' movie!
And at the same time, what Fox wanted to do, and what Ethan Jones needed to do, was to sell the 'Star Wars' arcade game into thousands of commercial cinemas across North America!
Note:
1. GCC is the General Cinema Corporation, founded in the United States in 1935. By 1976, there were nearly 1,500 screens nationwide.
2. Mann Theatres, which originally inherited theaters from Fox due to the Paramount Decree, acquired the National General Corporation (NGC) in 1972, bringing the number of theaters close to one thousand.
3. AMC is the one President Wang's dad bought.
4. The reason arcade games became popular in North America, as described in the text, is due to their own industry summary. The prosperity of the North American electronic arcade industry followed the pulse of the times. The impact of the economic crisis made people need affordable entertainment, and games cheaper than movies naturally took the stage in history. Subsequently, the success of Atari's machines was also due to the gradual recovery of the North American people's living standards. In fact, gamers as a large group have always been rational; they flock to wherever they get the best value for their money.