Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 132 I, Ethan Jones, act steadily

At nine o'clock the next morning, after washing up, the brother and sister had breakfast in the Biltmore's restaurant. This luxurious hotel built in 1923 is one of the historical landmarks of Los Angeles and even America. The magnificent lobby, golden pillars and murals vividly display the gold rush in the west in the middle of the last century. However, the luxurious decoration could not attract Ethan's attention now, because at this moment, a stack of newspapers provided by the hotel was placed in front of him.

Today, the front-page headline of the Los Angeles Times is: [Star Wars is the best fairy tale movie since The Wizard of Oz! Ethan Jones's creativity in games is unmatched!]

The front page headline of the New York Times is: [Star Wars is a movie full of surprises and thrills, which takes us to a wonderful world we have never seen before! Ethan Jones's game is a high-level summary of the movie plot, and the dark deep space also makes me deeply fascinated! ]

The front page of the Chicago Tribune even wrote directly: [The Star Wars movies and games dazzled me. I only remember one sentence until now: 'May the Force be with you!']

Ethan smiled at the dog-licking words.

Oh no!
In fact, he has never closed his mouth since yesterday!

"Wow~ Ethan~ Are you so happy?"

As Ethan grinned, a white hand appeared in front of him and kept waving.

Looking up, Evelin, who had already finished her breakfast, was looking at him with a smile.

"Although I know that the success of Star Wars is exciting, I also think that you should be used to this kind of success, right? Ever since Snake, our games have been selling like hot cakes, and we have been successful for three consecutive years! Even if this success can be called a miracle, after a night of digestion... can't you have a good meal?"

"Ok?"

Evelyn folded her hands together, resting her chin on the back of her hands, and tilting her head slightly.

The beautiful eyes staring at Ethan were filled with smiles at this moment.

She admitted that the success of "Star Wars" did make her excited, and the popularity she saw with her own eyes yesterday made her extremely happy. But after returning to the hotel and taking a nap, she had accepted the fact of success and could return to normal life. But Ethan...this guy who experienced the same thing as her, how could he still laugh like the landlord's stupid son?
Although everyone has vanity and likes to gain success and praise, and Ethan is actually more handsome when he smiles, but smiling all the time? That's a bit too stupid, right?
"Oh Evelyn, you don't understand--" Ethan twisted his body at his sister's curiosity, "Our success this time is different from the previous two times, because its name is "Star Wars"."

"This name alone will benefit us for the rest of our lives."

That's right!

The happiest thing for Ethan Jones is that he has taken advantage of Star Wars!
As the world's second largest IP with a global total revenue second only to "Pokemon" with hundreds of billions, and the largest IP in North America that can crush Marvel and Mickey, it is a once-in-a-century opportunity even in the tide of the times.

When he successfully hit the golden legendary level of the times, he was equivalent to having a golden body! A golden body that could be mentioned by the public anytime and anywhere!
Although last year's "Pac-Man" has the same effect, because it is the first artificial intelligence in the field of video games, even decades later, they will be active in front of people, because it will become the training object of major AI companies again and again, and papers related to artificial intelligence will cite their works everywhere, but that is all academic affairs.

For the general public, space operas like "Star Wars" are more understandable.

Besides, when it comes to golden bodies, the more the better. When most people in the world live for fame and fortune, how can Ethan Jones ascend to the altar again and again?

wow~
This kind of thing makes people more excited, right?
It's a pity that this kind of popularity that can only be proven by time cannot be explained in just a few words. If Ethan hadn't had the memory of his previous life, he would definitely think that "Star Wars" was just an ordinary success like Evelyn. And it was precisely because Evelyn couldn't understand the cultural effect brought about by "Star Wars", so when Ethan repeatedly said that he was happy only because of the name "Star Wars", Evelyn's face could only show helplessness and pampering.

“Okay, okay, okay…” Evelyn took the initiative to admit defeat, “I don’t understand your thoughts, but I support your emotional catharsis.”

"After all, living every day happily is the most important thing, right?"

"Of course!" Ethan nodded with a smile.

But before he could continue muttering, Evelin said, “However, I personally think that while we are happy, should we also consider the situation at the company?”

"Normally our absence from work may not have much impact on the company, but now..."

Evelyn pursed her lips.

"I guess our company's phone may have been flooded with calls?"

"Or maybe there are a lot of people looking for us all over the world right now?"

She spoke words of affirmation in a skeptical tone.

Yes!

This is the key reason why Evelin thinks Ethan is a little crazy!

On the first day when the product became a big hit, the two bosses of the company disappeared as if they had evaporated from the face of the earth?

This company opened...

This is just a joke, isn't it?
But Ethan didn't think it was a problem, "Oh Evelyn, don't worry about these little things."

"We are not here for fun. We are here to research the market feedback of our company's new products."

“This is laying a solid mass foundation for better research and development of the next product.”

“I believe those people can understand.”

Evelin didn't know whether to laugh or cry after hearing these shameless words.

"Oh Ethan - would you please have some shame? -"

The girl looked at her brother helplessly.

Ethan pretended to be confused with a straight face, but after he and the girl looked at each other for a while, he couldn't hold back any more and burst out laughing. He picked up his knife and fork and quickly started eating.

Of course he knew that what Evelin said was true. As the head of a company, the most important thing he should do when a product is launched is to sit at the base and give remote control, but at the same time...

He is also a human being!

He likes flowers and applause!

I prefer the public's boasting and praise!
Because it would make him very happy!
Of course, after enjoying the splendor, Ethan did not forget his business and drove all the way back to the company. When the two of them appeared in front of Julis Noble again, the company's executive director's eyes turned red and he almost cried.

"Oh my God! You guys are finally back!"

"If you don't show up, I'm going to call the police! No - if you don't show up, I think the president of our country will personally issue a missing person notice for you!"

The little girl, Julis, looked as if she had not slept all night, her face was greasy and she looked very haggard.

After complaining twice, she directly moved Xiaoshan Gao's files in front of the two of them, letting the unreliable bosses deal with the difficult issues at hand immediately.

After a quick look, Evelyn raised her fist and hit Ethan's arm twice in anger, because in the past 24 hours, they really became missing persons -

Professor Barbara Babcock, who was far away in Washington, called to congratulate them. She said that Darth Vader, the dark lord of the Galactic Empire, had already killed through the DoJ at noon that day. From the DoJ minister who was connected to the commander-in-chief to the ordinary staff in the office, no one knew that Washington's surrender speed was faster than the Gallic rooster. Since everyone knew her relationship with the game of fate, and many people had children at home, the professor asserted that those people might ask her for an autograph in the near future. If this really happened, she hoped that the two of them could come to Washington to play to satisfy the curiosity of some children.

Professor Vinton Cerf in Virginia sent a fax because of his hearing problems. The professor was "angry" because he did not get the latest "Star Wars" arcade machine. He "requested" Evelyn, the "bad student", to send him fifty machines immediately. The delivery address was in Arlington, near Washington. As for the cost, he said that the DoD was willing to fund their research with $5 million. At the same time, he told Evelyn not to be surprised because the toilet seat there cost $10,000 each.

If the two professors were unable to attend the event in person because they were not in California, then President Fred Terman came directly by car. Accompanied by Julis Noble, the old president witnessed the busyness of the Destiny Game headquarters and the efficiency of the factory with his own eyes, and smiled and said that after Evelyn and Ethan were done with their work, they could visit him, because he felt that the Destiny Game headquarters was a bit small, and when they began to form a research and development team, it would be inevitable to move to a larger venue.

When Evelyn quickly caught this information, the girl glared at Ethan fiercely.

Then he stood up and ran to the communications room to call the professors back.

Ethan smiled and shook his head. In addition to Barbara and the other three, Ralph Baer, ​​Arnold Spielberg, Chuck Petrus and MOS, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas also visited the company or called to express their joy. The funniest one was George Lucas. This big beard really ran to Hawaii like an ostrich to avoid the bad news. Because of the time difference, the theaters in the eastern United States had been hit hard by "Star Wars". He was still in Hawaii and hadn't gotten up yet. He was actually awakened by a happy phone call in his sleep. Then...

He then took a flight back to Los Angeles with his pants held up.

And his call to Ethan was the last operation before boarding the plane.

He hoped that Ethan could keep it a secret for him and never mention his evasive behavior to the media. He wanted to accept the success of "Star Wars" with an extremely glorious image, and at the same time -

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

This record made Ethan very happy. George Lucas's behavior of shrinking back when being criticized and pretending to be a weirdo when being good is really interesting.

After the Star Wars movies and games caused a double massacre in North America, the concern among friends was like a torrent.

He took note of these people's kindness and responded slowly, then Ethan picked up the business order again.

Compared with business invitations, these personal connections are not so impressive. In the past 24 hours, the administrative department of Destiny Game received more than 500 calls in total. Merchants of all sizes who had cooperated with them called one after another and wanted to buy "Star Wars" arcade machines. The total order volume even reached 13,000 units.

Calculated at 2,000 per unit, the total order amount here has reached 26 million!

If we add the 8,000 machines sold in North American theaters, the "Star Wars" arcade machine can bring Destiny Game an operating income of 42 million!

This……

It is a peak that even Pac-Man cannot reach!
Ethan definitely wanted to do this kind of mass business, but he did not make a decision immediately. Instead, he scanned the news from the North American theaters. Just as he heard last night, the North American theaters placed an order overnight after the game became a big hit, wanting to directly take away the 2,000 electronic arcade machines they ordered from Ethan, and also placed an order for 6,000 more, hoping that Ethan could deliver them as soon as possible.

Perhaps they themselves knew how urgent these orders were, or perhaps they all understood that they could no longer handle the crazy effect brought about by "Star Wars" on their own, so while placing additional orders, they also took the initiative to state that the previous protection agreement no longer existed, and as long as Destiny Game could give them priority in providing 8,000 arcade machines, the eight-week limit would automatically become invalid.

When this fax document appeared, Ethan's face was immediately filled with a happy smile.

In fact, when he signed the protection contract with North American theaters, he did not care about this clause.

Because business is business, and breach of contract is part of business.

At the beginning, he did sign the contract for the film's screening schedule.

But when he signed the contract, he knew that after the movie became a hit and orders came in, he would not be able to continue to abide by it as agreed in the contract.

Tear it up and sell it to the outside world, that is what he needs to do most!
What about North American theaters?
Just file a lawsuit and compensate for the losses and that's it.

As for whether this kind of behavior will tear the relationship apart?

Do not make jokes.

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

Because since ancient times, Hollywood has been a seller's market!
When Star Wars had already ignited North America, as arcade sellers, they had the right to sell arcade machines to anyone. North American theaters wanted to refuse? Sure! Just don’t take the arcade machines anymore!
When a place that relies on content for its living encounters unbeatable content——

Kneel!

That’s how you can make money!

"We have already delivered 6,000 video arcade machines to North American cinemas, and now there are still 2,000 units to be delivered. In this case, they still want 6,000 units, and other merchants in North America want 13,000 units. In other words, the current sales volume of our game is 27,000 units?"

Ethan did some mental calculations, then turned his gaze to Julis Noble.

"Yeah." The administrative director nodded and said, "That's what it looks like at the moment."

"Okay, since there's no problem with the North American theaters, let's take these orders." Ethan put the documents down and said, "You talk to Michael and reserve enough production quantities for the factory according to the delivery schedule within one month, ensure that the workers there can get full wages, and then hand over the remaining quantities that we can't complete and find a factory to do the work for us."

"We will arrange a delivery time for the merchants according to the order of their orders, first the theaters and then the merchants. If they can accept it, we will let them transfer the deposit to our company's account. If they cannot accept it, we will have to say goodbye with regret."

At this point, Ethan paused, thought for a few seconds, and then made a decision, "By the way, since the North American theater chain said they don't want exclusivity, then give them the $400,000 storage fee."

If we look at Ethan's company from the perspective of future generations, we will definitely question the production capacity of the Destiny Game, because too slow a production speed may lead to the loss of orders.

But in fact, the productivity of the Destiny game is already quite high. If it is any higher, there may be problems. This is because arcade machines are a seasonal product and there must be a time interval between the launch of games. At the same time, arcade machines are a product that can easily reach the sales ceiling. The maximum demand in a market is generally constant and rarely fluctuates. In this case, hiring workers at the maximum quota for a long time would be a considerable cost burden for the company.

After all, Destiny Game is not a contract manufacturer like Foxconn. When it only produces its own products all year round, how to control the number of people in the factory has become a most troublesome problem.

Ethan’s original plan was to cut off the factory’s business after becoming famous.

Just learn from Apple in its previous life, find OEM factories to produce products, and reduce operating costs to the extreme.

But after Thomas's teachings and the disruptions of Warner and Philips, he now feels that his company's production capacity must not be lost, because this can ensure that he can always produce products and also ensure that he will not be out of stock due to external reasons.

As for how to stop the factory from running idle?
As for this kind of thing, we can only consider it slowly after the home console is launched.

"Okay, I see." Julis Noble took note of her work.

"Boss, shall I go out and arrange the tasks first?" she asked tentatively.

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

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

After solving the two important problems of interpersonal relationships and business orders, the rest of the things were actually very easy. For example, his old friend, the Los Angeles Times, and his arch-rival, the New York Times, invited him to do an exclusive interview and asked him to talk about his development process over the years.
For example, Time Magazine and Newsweek sent him invitations, wanting him to shoot a cover. If Ethan didn't have time, they could come and shoot.
For example, The Tonight Show, which was born in 1954, couldn't wait to invite him to appear on the NBC stage. The current host Johnny Carson even sent a handwritten invitation letter, which showed his strong expectations...

When Ethan found out that these media couldn't wait to get in touch with him, a sense of pride instantly appeared on his face. He liked the media's tactful behavior! But -

After a quick flip, Ethan threw them aside.

Because he doesn't want to show his face in public for the time being.

There's nothing I can do about it, because he's so handsome.
If after the exposure, countless people start to pay attention to his stunning looks and ignore the game itself, then for someone who makes a living by his talent, wouldn't it be a loss?
Okay, okay, this is all bullshit.

The real reason why he refused the interview was that he wanted to know the sales volume of his competitors' products first.

After he had already thrown out the trump card, he really wanted to know, how many people in the American continent would buy home consoles from MILO and Atari?

If not, then he will naturally open the door to the media and show off as much as he can!
And if there is still...

If he hadn't made such harsh remarks in advance, he wouldn't have slapped himself in the face.

That's right!

He, Ethan Jones, is such a steady person!
Hehe ~
Note: ① George Lucas actually went to Hawaii to avoid bad news before the movie was released, this is what he said. ② I will not make any notes about the eight-week exclusive game in the theaters because I need to make it clear here. In fact, North American theaters have always been suppressed by Hollywood or content creators. Disney required a 65% share of the first four weeks of "The Last Jedi", and required the largest hall of each theater to show the movie for four consecutive weeks. North American theaters dared not say a word. The share of "The Force Awakens" was also 64% in the first four weeks, and the theaters dared not say anything. When Lucas decided to sell "Star Wars" peripherals in theaters, he authorized other stores to sell them in order to make money. As a result, other shopping malls stole the money, and the theaters dared not say a word. Since the birth of the theaters, they have really only been drinking soup. The profit of popcorn and soda is really as high as % to %. In recent years, they have also opened restaurants in movie theaters, trying to make money in this way. In reality, they really don't dare to bargain with the real content providers, because they need the movie screenings more than Hollywood does. And the game companies like the protagonist who can survive well without movie theaters are the content companies that North American theaters fear the most in reality. So whether they are exclusive or not is just a matter of grabbing the first release right, which has no other practical significance.

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(End of this chapter)