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Game Maker 1975

In the bustling year of 2023, Ethan’s life took an unforeseen turn when an unexpected incident catapulted him back to the United States in the 1970s. It was a time when the landscape of game development was still in its infancy, with early pioneers laying the groundwork for the future of the industry. Undeterred, Ethan courageously chose to carve his own legend using games. Support me: https://www.patreon.com/NeverluckySMILE DISCLAIMER The story belongs entirely to the original author.

NeverluckySMILE · RPS同人
分數不夠
204 Chs

Chapter 180: An Unexpected Person - Part 1

Finance was initially a game of interpersonal relationships. The first version, 1.0, was all about getting society's money flowing, increasing its utility, and reaping more benefits.

As time went on, various intermediaries appeared, seeking to profit from interest differentials, turning finance into a game of numbers. Thus, version 2.0 was officially launched.

However, with technological advancements and the advent of the mobile internet era, finance transformed from a game of numbers to a data-driven information war. When version 3.0 launched, traditional financial data could no longer satisfy investors' needs. The sources of this data were largely the same, and the methods used to quantitatively analyze it were similar. When investors realized that everyone had access to homogeneous information, they sought to gain a competitive advantage by exploring new strategies and expanding into new territories, specifically through the collection and analysis of alternative data.

Ethan Jones, in his previous life, was among the first to delve into alternative data. He found it fascinating because they did many things that outsiders might find bizarre.

For instance, they collaborated with a wireless data company to monitor the superfactory of Tesla in Fremont, California. They collected mobile signal data to determine the daily average number of workers at Tesla's North American factory, which helped them estimate real-time production and predict stock prices.

Another example involved collaborating with AI companies to monitor data from e-commerce companies listed in the Americas. They used cutting-edge technology to scrape the prices and sales numbers of every product on platforms, ensuring that the sales data they saw was realistic.

They also worked directly with meteorological departments, using satellite monitoring to obtain the latest weather intelligence. This allowed them to visualize future climate conditions and production volumes of agricultural regions, thus forecasting the price trends of agricultural futures.

Honestly, when they used technological means to collect and analyze alternative data, they were initially mocked by their peers. After all, everyone in finance knew that insider information was the key to success in this industry, and the real "stock gods" were not people like Warren Buffett but rather the entirety of Capitol Hill. Anyone lacking insider information and still trying to make money in finance was considered naïve.

But when a certain food brand was exposed for data falsification, those mockers could no longer laugh. Though insider information was the mainstream way to profit in finance, what if someone lied?

When information meets integrity...

The only thing you can really trust in this industry is yourself.

So, when Ethan wanted to verify whether Magnavox and Atari had truly resorted to despicable tactics against him, his primary approach was to use his expertise to analyze everything. However, gathering information in that era was incredibly challenging.

Even though General Electric had tinkered with network databases as early as 1961 and IBM came up with relational databases in 1970, these had nothing to do with the intelligence on Magnavox and Atari. Finding their data relied on libraries and archives that stored books, newspapers, journals, and documents. Therefore, upon receiving the task, Eulise immediately led two-thirds of the administrative department's staff to various libraries in the Bay Area, tirelessly searching for the intelligence their boss needed.

It took them three full days to gather a general understanding of the news related to Atari.

When Ethan received the nearly four hundred pages of documents, he took a deep breath. After sitting down and thoroughly reviewing them, he found no useful information.

Since its establishment in 1972, Atari's operations had been very transparent. They became North America's hottest game company by copying games and then were outperformed by others who copied games in a superior manner... Heh, irony.

However, one piece of news did catch Ethan's attention.

After Nolan Bushnell was fired, Warner Bros. sent a man named Redmond Kasar to be the president of Atari. This individual, a former executive vice president and board member at Burlington Industries, had extensive management experience in the industrial sector. The San Jose Mercury News commented after his appointment that this man, who had been hugely successful in the towel sales industry, would surely bring his successful experiences to Atari. His first goal might be to revive Atari's arcade production line, potentially following in the footsteps of successful collaborations like those between Ethan Jones and George Lucas to create a game that integrated with movies. The project was likely to be "Superman."

"Superman?"

"DC + Movies + Games?"

"Wow... this newspaper really dares to guess!"

Despite this, Ethan noted the possibility.

After all, in his previous life, DC's IP had been turned into games by Warner Bros. multiple times.

When it seemed that Atari might actually be operating normally, Ethan was slightly relieved. But when he started reviewing the five thousand pages of intelligence related to Magnavox that Eulise had brought him three days later, his brow was furrowed not because of the sheer volume of data, but because the data on Magnavox also seemed to have no issues.

Ethan briefly reviewed their business data before

 the release of the Odyssey because he felt that their sixty-one-year history offered little insight. However, he was well aware of the story after the Odyssey's launch. The release of the Odyssey game console caused a sensation in North America, but unfortunately, all gamers were drawn away by Atari, which led to a lawsuit over copyright issues. During this time, Magnavox was acquired by Philips, and according to The Wall Street Journal, Philips's reason for the acquisition was simple: to ensure the smooth promotion of their VLP Videodisc technology in North America...

"Wait a minute!"

"VLP Videodisc?"

When the term "laser disc" appeared, Ethan felt as if something had struck the back of his head. In his memory, Philips was known for selling discs. The VCD player his family used in his previous life was produced by Philips.

Or rather, it was because of that projector that he had opened the door to a new world!

And now, Philips's purpose in acquiring Magnavox was to sell discs?

Ethan felt he had grasped something significant. He frantically searched through the pile of documents for reports related to Magnavox's Apollo, and when he discovered that the Apollo product had a disc interface...

He instantly remembered his evaluation of the Apollo product half a year ago.

At that time, he thought, this machine is so damn similar to the future Xbox!

"MFxxk! Are these people guarding against me because of this?" Ethan muttered to himself.

The next second, he immediately picked up the handset on the desk and dialed Professor Ralph H. Baer's number, "Rudolf, I need a favor."

"I want to know what Magnavox's current plans are? Or rather, how Philips plans to handle the Apollo product after taking over Magnavox?"

"Oh! Yes! I know they've completely cut off contact with you. But I really need your help now, I've encountered some difficulties, possibly related to Philips..."

"Yes, yes, please help me inquire about it! Alright, alright... Thank you, thank you..."

After hanging up the phone, Ethan leaned back on the sofa in his office, waiting for news.

He lay back, staring at the stark white ceiling.

Though it bore no markings, Ethan felt as if he saw a lot.

Perhaps after about an hour, the phone in the office finally rang.

Ethan, startled, picked up the handset and quickly answered, then he heard Professor Ralph H. Baer say, "Ethan, I asked a few friends and got a rough idea of how Philips is handling Magnavox's Apollo."

"After taking over Magnavox, Philips decided to keep the Apollo product..."

"Ah, no, 'keep' isn't quite the right word because it seems Philips is currently negotiating with Walmart. They want to continue promoting the Apollo product, hoping it can be as ubiquitous in Walmart's shelves as their light bulbs, razors, and kitchenware."

"As for the reason..."

"According to a friend of mine in New York, Philips is very satisfied with the video interface of the Apollo product. They think it's an excellent design. If it weren't for your presence, they might have already secured a significant share of the potential disc market..."

"Those shares could have compensated for their losses in the videotape market."

"I think you're probably aware of these things, right?"

"They've been fighting over these issues since 1972."

Ethan Jones, of course, understood what Professor Ralph H. Baer was talking about!

Because in his memory, the battle over video storage formats had begun as early as 1972!

Speaking of the video storage format wars, most people probably think of the Blu-ray by Sony and HD DVD by Toshiba that occurred after the millennium. But in reality, these companies had already fought countless battles before that, and at their most ferocious, they went as far as to "knock each other's brains out."

The cause of the conflict in 1972 was Philips's introduction of a product named the Philips N1500, the world's first home video recorder.

Its debut shocked the world because it signaled a new dawn for the film industry.

Before its arrival, people could only entertain themselves by watching television programs at home or going to the cinema to watch movies. But with the N1500's introduction, videotapes carrying movies could enter millions of homes, allowing people to watch their favorite films at home. This revelation meant that all entertainment giants could earn a significant profit.

Because this product could generate immense wealth, many electronics manufacturers joined the fray, eager to claim a piece of the pie. In 1975, Sony launched the Betamax format video recorder. Despite its high price and only one hour of recording time, its excellent picture and sound quality earned it widespread acclaim and good sales upon its debut.

Unfortunately, the success was short-lived. In 1976, JVC appeared with a new product, a Video Home System (VHS) format video recorder.

JVC addressed the

 recording length issue by extending the standard length of videotapes from one hour to two hours, matching the length of most movies. When JVC's product hit the market, it was welcomed by countless companies.

They dominated the entertainment market, stepping on the toes of industry veterans like Philips, the former darling Sony, and other competitors like Sanyo.

At that time, JVC's HR-3300U was the dominant product in North America's videotape market, with a market share of even sixty percent!

And its peak was actually in the 1980s. By the late '80s, they had captured more than ninety percent of the global market share, achieving a true monopoly!

It was precisely because JVC hammered Philips and Sony in the videotape field that they decided to switch tracks and enter the disc market. In Ethan's memory, this move allowed them to successfully take down JVC. However, both sides also struck hard at each other due to the format wars.

And that was actually the second video format war.

This battle is more commonly known because Philips thwarted a collaboration between Sony and Nintendo, which, infuriated, led Sony to dominate with the PlayStation. This war propelled the PlayStation to historical prominence and caused Nintendo, the once-dominant force in the gaming industry, to fall from grace.

Ethan heard these gossips while playing games in his previous life.

So his understanding of the industry was actually quite superficial, more like an outline.

But that's not important anymore, right?