Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 102 Be Cautious
However, even if Ethan discovered the inspiration for Space Invaders, he had no intention of creating it right away. Because it was only mid-June, and it had been more than a month since Pac-Man was officially released. Although developing new products before the huge profits have been fully reaped can keep a company competitive, releasing new products on the wave of the times is the fundamental rule for reaching the top of the industry.

So, when Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Star Wars were both in production and still far from being released...

Ethan, that's not a hurry at all~
After realizing that he was not interested in making movies, Ethan stopped bothering Spielberg and went shopping in Los Angeles with his sister.

I went to Santa Monica Beach first. While enjoying the beautiful sunshine, I also saw the crowded scene. Fortunately, there is an amusement park there with Ferris wheels and roller coasters. Otherwise, it would be like a special forces tour, and I would be off work as soon as I clocked in.
We also went to the Walt Disney Concert Hall and listened to a performance by the Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the famous Zubin Mehta. It happened to be a Tchaikovsky special when we went there that day, and they performed everything from the fantasy overture "Romeo and Juliet" to "The Lance of Sorrow" in B minor. Although Ethan had never appreciated these things before, it was a different feeling to spend money and rely on people, right?

In order to listen to the musical, Ethan even bought a suit on the spur of the moment. Although he kept complaining about the trouble during the process, he was really surprised when he found that there was a Pac-Man near the Westfield Century City shopping mall in Los Angeles!
You know, this is where high-end brands come from!

Tiffany, Gucci, these brands all have stores here!
When Pac-Man, a popular entertainment, appears next to these brands that always talk about style...

Ethan found it unbelievable no matter how he looked at it!

At a certain moment, he didn't know whether he was being awesome or the boss here was just too good at playing!

When this happened, Ethan, who had originally found listening to the drama troublesome, suddenly became happy again.

Musicals are serious?

It doesn't matter!
As time goes by, video games that become classics will eventually be performed on stage.

After staying in Los Angeles for half a month, the two abandoned their car, bought tickets, and flew to New York at the end of June.

Because the upcoming Fourth of July is the bicentennial of the founding of the United States of America.

Although there were celebrations in Los Angeles, the one in New York was even more grand. In addition to the exquisite fireworks floating over the city, a large international fleet of tall ships gathered here to celebrate with the people in the port.

After arriving here, Ethan not only saw the Amerigo Vespucci, which was built with black canvas and belonged to Italy, but also the Juan Sebastian de Elcano from XBY, the world's longest sailing sailing ship, and the weathered Krusensten, which was built by Hans the Cat and finally compensated to the Russians because of defeat in the war.

When sixteen sailing ships with medieval sailing style lined up on the blue sea, the scene was quite spectacular;

When the 113 supporting ships that accompanied them also appeared, the overwhelming momentum that was like a huge army approaching made Ethan marvel;

Finally, when a powerful laser shot out from the top of the sailboat and displayed the words "1776-1976" to the people on the coast in broad daylight, the thunderous cheers were like a thunderclap, causing Ethan's eardrums to hurt.

"Oh! Sxxt! This is so fucking lively!" Ethan shouted.

"It's normal, right?" Evelin laughed in response, "Who said this kind of thing is rare?"

While speaking, she also raised her newly bought Polaroid camera and pressed the shutter button frantically, recording the history that was within her reach.

Since this fleet would depart from New York and sail all the way to Boston, Ethan, who had never been on a sailboat, wanted to experience it.

This proposal also made Evelin's eyes light up, as she had never experienced it before, and she jumped up in support.

Although this international fleet did not sell tickets or carry passengers, this did not pose a problem for Ethan. After making a number of phone calls, he found a connection with Professor Ralph Bell and boarded the Eagle, a sailboat named Horst Wessel that was once built by Hans the Cat but now belongs to the American Coast Guard as war reparations.

Because the big guy had greeted him, as soon as he got on the boat, Ethan looked around like a curious baby and turned the whole sailboat upside down. In the following days, he also learned to climb the mast and lie on the mast under the guidance of the crew. The former is like the little Leo in the big ship, climbing to the top of the mast and cheering, while the latter is to open your arms on the bowsprit and embrace the world.

When the ghost-like roar appeared, the Polaroid camera in Evelin's hand also made a banging sound. When Ethan got his photo, he immediately shook his bangs proudly and said with a big laugh: "I'm right, right? I'm handsome! I'm handsome everywhere!"

Because this fleet stops and goes along the coast, it is equivalent to a boat tour.

You can walk for a while during the day and go ashore to rest at night. It feels so good.

As expected, the journey that should have taken them a few hours took them four days.

When they finally arrived in Boston, the spontaneous sense of relaxation made Ethan feel that this was life!
After having enough fun, Ethan did not forget his business. He bought some gifts and went to Nashua to visit the old man who helped him.

While chatting with the old man, Ethan also heard a piece of news.

"It seems that there have been some changes in the internal operational thinking of Milova, because their recent reactions are very strange. As far as I know, they made several deals around the anniversary celebration, and all of them were large-scale acquisitions of external game companies."

"Midway Games, Expedia, and Ramtek's video game division were all bought by them."

"The total cost was almost 20 million."

"What?" Ethan was stunned by the news.

But the next second, he laughed, "Oh, it seems that Milova has realized that in the gaming field, content is king. Even if they make the best machine in the world, they still can't sell it without good content to sell."

What Ethan said was actually the escort masterpiece theory that countless companies shed blood for.

Why doesn't Microsoft's XBox sell as well as Sony's PS?

The core problem is that there are too few exclusives.

When Sony is able to pull out a bunch of IPs, isn't Microsoft's XBox just a large-sized player?

The current situation of Mirowa is actually similar to Microsoft in Ethan’s previous life.

Although it holds the title of the world's first commercial home game console, ordinary games do not really have much appeal to the general public. In other words, if they do not start with games, no matter how they sell the machines, they will eventually exit the market in disgrace.

As for the game...

Ha ha.

"So you're not nervous at all?" Ethan's reaction made Ralph Bell ask with a smile.

"Oh Rudolph, why should I be nervous?" Ethan shrugged and said, "You should have heard a saying that when enemies spontaneously unite together, it's not because they have figured something out, but because their opponents are very strong."

At this point, Ethan pointed his index finger at his chest and said, "I'm very strong."

Then, he spread his hands again and said with a smile: "Since I am very strong, why should I be nervous?"

"Hahahaha~~~~" Ethan's words made Ralph Bell burst into laughter.

He clapped his hands and said, "Very good, very good... young people should be full of confidence."

Although Ethan said he was not in a hurry, he still called the company's number after returning to the hotel in Boston. After he asked Julis Noble who answered the phone, he learned that during his vacation, the gaming industry had undergone an earth-shaking transformation.

First, Milova paved the way by acquiring three game companies with US dollars. Later, Atari was ready to make a move and contacted a game maker called Kee Games, and successfully acquired it under the control of Warner.

To be honest, the reactions of Milova and Atari were actually within Ethan's expectations.

After all, circuit board games and CPU games are the products of two generations, and small companies cannot afford to support them.

Acquiring some companies at this time is indeed a good way to take advantage of the situation.

But the coordinated behavior of these guys was beyond his expectations.

Because these guys all made their acquisitions around the Bicentennial of America.

When all major media were reporting on the grand celebrations in various regions of America and countless people's attention was attracted by the programs at the celebrations, the voices raised by these two companies became extremely limited.

Just like now, only some stakeholders will know because of their attention. If only one company is timing the acquisition, then Ethan can still understand, but when the two companies play a tacit game at the same time...

This kind of thing is weird no matter how you look at it, right?

After all, both of these companies have criminal records!
So, Ethan decided to be cautious. "Any other news?"

As he asked, Julis Noble said, "Yes, and there are two."

'? ' Ethan frowned slightly.

Before he could urge her, Julis Noble said, "The first one is the news from Chuck Pete Company."

"Their general manager came to the company to look for you. Because you were not there, they left the message. They said that Atari contacted them and wanted to purchase about one thousand to three thousand MOS 6502 chips. Milova also asked about the price and sought a cooperation of less than ten dollars. If it was other buyers, they could negotiate on their own, but Atari and Milova..."

“They’re not ready to sell until you give them the nod.”

This fact made Ethan nod secretly in his heart.

"What about the other one?" he asked again.

"The other piece of news came from Mr. Jobs," Julis Noble said. "Mr. Jobs said that Nolan Bushnell of Atari contacted him and wanted to buy ten Apple 1s from him."

After hearing what Julis Noble said, Ethan felt relieved.

"Is it possible that these two guys have learned to keep a low profile?" he muttered to himself.

In his opinion, if Atari and MIRO were really hiding something, they would not have purchased MOS 6502 at all.

Because in this way, he can figure out what these guys are doing.

For example, Atari needed one to three thousand CPUs, which was actually the normal demand of an arcade company.

As a normal arcade company, they had no idea whether the game would be a big hit when they were developing it. Therefore, when it was first produced, they would only stock a maximum of one thousand units, just like how they did with Snake Game.

For another example, Milova is negotiating on the purchase price of the CPU, which clearly shows that it wants to research in the direction of CPU home consoles.

Because the inventory of home consoles is the opposite of that of arcade machines, if they cannot be shipped in large quantities, there is no question of market share.

When these established facts that can be deduced appear, the so-called acquisition behavior timed to celebrate the celebration becomes easy to understand. In Ethan's view, this is a manifestation of the principle that family disgrace should not be made public.

In the past, Milova and Atari were used to being arrogant, and they wanted to announce everything they did to the world, but they always ended up in failure.

If they continue to talk nonsense after suffering a series of setbacks, it will only damage the market's confidence in them.

"Okay, I get it." Thinking of this, Ethan breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, he made a decision. "You should communicate with Chuck Pete and tell them that I have received the news and that I am very grateful for their concern. Then, although I have conflicts with Milova and Atari, I am not a major shareholder in the company. They can make their own decision on whether to sell or not. As long as it complies with business principles, I will accept it."

"Call Steve again and ask them to sell the Apple 1 to Nolan."

“Now that we are officially open for business, we will do business with everyone.”

At this point, Ethan paused again.

After thinking for two seconds, he decided that he still had to have someone keep an eye on these two companies.

Because he always felt that the two guys who could dig such a huge pit for him would definitely be able to do some other weird things.

"One last thing. Keep an eye on Atari and Milova and record their attitudes towards this purchase."

"Although our Destiny game is very successful, it is just a small company with a registered capital of just one million."

"I will stay in Boston for a few days. If there is any unexpected situation, you can call me directly at this number and leave a message for the hotel or ask the hotel to pick me up at my room. If there is no unexpected situation, then wait for me to contact you."

Ethan's orders were faithfully recorded by Julis Noble.

When this order came out, people on the east and west sides had different expressions.

Atari was overjoyed and bought one thousand MOS 6502s and ten Apple 1s for less than $.

Then Nolan Bushnell personally dropped them off at Atari's warehouse.

With a click, the objects all returned to darkness.

Faced with Milova's extreme price-cutting demands, Chuck Petrus Company simply shook its head.

After they strongly refused, Mirowa also left in disappointment with a high face.

At the same time, the thin man who received the report also made a phone call.

"Oh—yes, yes—we have heard of him at last—"

"A week ago, he boarded the US Coast Guard's Eagle sailboat and headed north to Boston. He is currently staying at the hotel..."

"Okay, okay, I think your plan is feasible, but I have to remind you that our low-price purchase proposal was rejected by Chuck Pete Company..."

"Okay, good luck..."

After hanging up the phone, the thin man came to the old man's office and reported the latest situation to him.

Then, both of them started laughing.

The next day, a middle-aged Asian man wearing a floral shirt, black trousers and black leather shoes appeared in the lobby of a hotel in Boston holding the hand of a beautiful Asian woman in a white dress. He went straight to the service desk, took out his ID and wanted to check in a room.

At the same time, he looked around, as if looking at the hotel's decoration and assessing its grade. But when he saw a white young man in a white T-shirt, black shorts and big sandals and a white girl with blond hair wearing a sun hat and a long floral skirt coming out of the hotel elevator, he immediately pulled down his sunglasses and looked at the two people in front of him with surprise.

Perhaps it was because his behavior was too abnormal, but also more like humans can always feel the gaze of their own kind. After a few seconds, the white youth and the white girl turned their heads almost at the same time and looked into his eyes.

Then...

"Oh! Mr. Jones! Is it really you?"

"Wow! I thought I was seeing things!"

The middle-aged Asian man exclaimed and stepped forward quickly.

Halfway through the walk, he felt something was wrong and turned around and waved to his female companion.

Following his movements, the beautiful Asian woman quickly followed with a puzzled look on her face.

After the Asian middle-aged man held the other's hand, he took another step and came to the front of the white young man. Then he bowed slightly and said with great joy: "Mr. Jones, it is really an honor for me, Yamauchi Hiroshi, to meet you here."

(End of this chapter)