Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 146 I sprained my waist
Although Ethan raised the corners of his mouth to reveal a smile, his creepy expression with a fake smile still made Arakawa shudder. He stared at COLOR TV GAME 6 and COLOR TV GAME 15 on the coffee table for a few times and took a deep breath, as if he was confirming something, but it was more like he was giving himself confidence.

After a moment, he turned his gaze back to Ethan and looked him in the eye.

"Mr. Jones."

Arakawa Minoru's Adam's apple moved and his tone was steady.

"As you said, I know what kind of conflict there is between you and Milova. You worked at Milova for a while, and then you were forced to leave because of Milova's internal reasons. Later, Milova sued you because of the popularity of Snake. Although you finally reached a settlement, you have been clashing with each other in the following years. Until the middle of this year, you completely defeated Milova with Star Wars. Milova's parent company could not bear the tens of millions of losses and fired all of Milova's original management. The friction between you has come to a temporary end..."

Arakawa pursed his lips, looked at Ethan with a serious expression, and said, "I know all this, so I can understand your feelings at the moment. When a partner who is relatively pleasant to cooperate with in business suddenly takes out a similar product from his competitor, this kind of thing is unacceptable to anyone."

"Not to mention that the competitor's product that the business partner is currently showing is still an old product from several years ago. That kind of close cooperation that spans a long period of time can really make people angry."

"Heh—" Ethan laughed.

He thinks Arakawa Minoru is quite funny.

Analyze things in a rigid manner?

Wow!

This guy is really calm——

"Mr. Arakawa, are you doing academic work?" Ethan crossed his fingers and placed them on his legs.

He stared at Arakawa Minoru with a smile, "Mr. Arakawa, I personally think that if you don't do business, it would be good for you to be a teacher. You can teach law, because they are best at deceiving people."

The slightly sarcastic words made Arakawa Minoru smile and nodded.

He didn't seem to be affected much, and continued, "Mr. Jones, although I have no right to advise you to be magnanimous, and I can honestly say that I personally don't know why the COLOR TV GAME product was launched, but I want to say that at Nintendo, or in other words, with my father-in-law and you working so well together, launching this product is actually not in our interest."

"You've seen the report I just brought. Under Nintendo's management, Snake has sold a total of 65,000 units in our country. Of these, 37,000 units were sold at $2,000 each, and the remaining 28,000 units were sold at $1,500 each. This project alone has brought Nintendo 116 million in operating income."

"Of this, your share is 16.24 million. The production costs, sales costs, and some management and financial expenses add up to about 60 million. After excluding these, the revenue that belongs to us, Nintendo, should be 39.76 million."

"Although this money is what Nintendo deserves, because my father-in-law did find a lot of connections to promote this product. He used tough measures to make Snake appear in electronic stores in major cities in our country at the same time, and he made all major TV stations in our country play Snake ads, but...if Snake is not a good product, even if my father-in-law is tough, it would be impossible to make a profit of nearly 40 million US dollars in a year and a half, right? This is a success that we have achieved through our joint cooperation."

Having said that, Arakawa Minoru forced a smile at Ethan.

"Mr. Jones, why would we want to piss you off when Snake is selling so well, when Pac-Man is a much better project coming up, and when we know Star Wars is making more money?"

"That makes no sense, right?"

"If I were the president of Nintendo, I would definitely kill the COLOR TV GAME project. Even if this project has cost us 5 million, 10 million, or 20 million US dollars, it doesn't matter - because cooperating with you can make us earn more!"

Arakawa Minoru gave Ethan a sincere look.

Those wide-open eyes showed sincerity, and the sparkling pupils were full of seriousness.

At this moment, he even wanted to take out his heart and show it to Ethan!

He couldn't wait to prove to Ethan...

"Mr. Jones, could this be a misunderstanding?"

Arakawa Minoru raised his eyebrows and asked for Ethan's opinion, "What do you think?"

"Clap clap-"

Ethan clapped.

Leaning on the sofa, the smile on his face widened.

To be honest, he actually knew who Arakawa Minoru was.

In his previous life, this guy was the president of Nintendo of North America.

If Gunpei Yokoi, Masayuki Uemura, Genyo Takeda, and Shigeru Miyamoto were the four great men who supported Nintendo's R&D work, then Arakawa actually single-handedly opened up Nintendo's market in North America. That kind of real ability cannot be erased in a few words.

And now...

The ability to cope with this guy...

Not bad indeed.

"Misunderstanding?" Ethan sighed with a smile, "What a wonderful term—" He looked at Arakawa Minoru who was neither humble nor arrogant, and nodded continuously, "Mr. Arakawa, do you believe this yourself?"

Although it was a question, Ethan did not give the other party a chance to answer.

He sat up straight again, patted the armrest of the sofa, and said, "Okay, since you said it was a misunderstanding, I'll give you a chance to prove it. Tell me, how many days do you need? How many days do you need to prove to me that the COLOR TV GAME project is a misunderstanding?"

Ethan put the four fingers of his left hand together and simply pointed at the machine on the table.

He made a gesture to Arakawa Minoru to please go ahead.

At this moment, he really didn't believe that Arakawa Minoru could continue to talk nonsense.

And Arakawa Minoru didn't seem to expect Ethan to be so radical.

He stared at the two Nintendo game consoles on the table for a long while, and then...

The palms on the legs tightened.

The next second, he looked up instantly.

"Mr. Jones, as a token of my sincerity, I would like to borrow your company's phone number."

"According to normal procedures, I should contact the agency immediately after returning, find out the problem as soon as possible, and try to give you a satisfactory answer in a short time. But I know that doing so will not calm your anger at all. So I want to stay here for a while and contact the agency directly. I hope you can allow..."

Ethan waved his hand in response to Arakawa's suggestion.

"Please help yourself."

He agreed without even thinking about it.

"I'm waiting for you."

He wanted to see what kind of story this guy Arakawa Minoru could come up with in such a short period of time!

In Ethan's opinion, the fact that Nintendo is a lackey of MILO has long been established. When Philips stabbed MCA in the back in the optical disc cooperation, trying to keep MCA hanging and wait for the patent in MCA's hands to expire, while acquiring MILO, eager to use this well-known American consumer electronics company to embezzle all the profits of optical discs, Nintendo, which appeared in the identity of Spiral, must be related to these plans.

Although he didn't know what role Nintendo played in this, and judging from the current size comparison between Philips and Nintendo, Nintendo was probably also a sharp knife being used, because they were not worthy of being an ally of Philips at the moment, but...

So what?
Just as Arakawa Minoru just said.

If Yamauchi Hiroshi was a smart man, he should have simply killed the COLOR TV GAME project and pretended that everything was peaceful forever!

For the sake of profit, Nintendo should not launch this project with uncertain prospects!

For the sake of profit, Nintendo should not cut ties with Ethan Jones!
For the sake of profit, even if the project has been completed, you have to swallow your pride!
After all, before the COLOR TV GAME product was launched, Ethan Jones had already decided the winner with Mi Luo Hua! He slapped Mi Luo Hua out of the game!

In this situation, does Nintendo dare to jump out and cause trouble?
Isn't that just——

Is there something wrong with your brain?
Following Ethan's response, Arakawa Minoru stood up and bowed, then followed Alan Massey, who was standing by, out of the reception room and went to the administrative department to borrow a phone.

Since there is a time difference of nearly sixteen hours between the west coast of the United States and Japan, when Arakawa went to the headquarters of the Telecommunications Union before ten o'clock in the morning Western Time, Ethan did not think that he could get an answer in a short time, so he returned to the office to deal with his own affairs.

However, only forty minutes later, someone knocked on the tightly closed door from outside.

The words "please come in" attracted two figures and a message.

"Boss, there are results."

As soon as Alan Massey, who had been accompanying Arakawa Minoru, walked into the office, he told Ethan what he wanted to hear, "Mr. Arakawa has contacted Mr. Yamauchi."

As soon as he finished speaking, Arakawa Minoru, who had entered the room with him, bowed to Ethan and said, "Mr. Jones, our president, my father-in-law, Mr. Yamauchi, is eager to communicate with you."

'? ? ? '

This fact made Ethan stunned for a moment.

Although transoceanic telephone calls using radio waves and submarine cables appeared as early as 1915, and in 1927, New York and London had achieved formal intercommunication of wireless telephones. After decades of development, transoceanic telephone calls in America can now reach every corner of the world. However, due to the need for transfer, the actual operation is still not as convenient as in the future. What's more, the call was made at four o'clock in the morning!

At this neither too early nor too late time, Arakawa Minoru actually called Yamauchi Hiroshi?

Wow--

I’m afraid these people came prepared!
It was so fast that Ethan felt that he might have been fooled by those people at Nintendo!

Minoru Arakawa repeatedly stated that he had no idea about the COLOR TV GAME product and kept stating that it was a misunderstanding, but what was the result?
It only took him forty minutes to get in touch with Yamauchi Hiroshi at four in the morning?
This speed is even faster than Barry Allen's super speed force!

If he had not been prepared, would Yamauchi Hiroshi have talked to him at this time?
oh--

"Okay, bring it in." Ethan didn't want to continue watching this clumsy performance.

Following his instructions, Allen Massey came out again. Not long after, the landline in Ethan's office rang. Ethan, filled with anger, picked up the receiver directly. At this moment, he really wanted to transform into the merciful Maxim Bodhisattva and vent his anger to Yamauchi Hiroshi with his mouth, but...

The words came to his lips, but he held them back.

He was very angry, but he didn't want to curse like a madman.

Especially the guy who was scolded...

It could also be a villain.

Driven by this emotion, he took a deep breath and said with a smile: "Mr. Yamauchi?"

"Mr. Jones." A familiar voice came from the other end of the phone.

That steady voice made Ethan want to punch it, and he said sarcastically, "I didn't expect that Mr. Yamauchi was still not resting at four in the morning? It seems that Nintendo's business is really good recently!"

"Oh - Mr. Jones - Arakawa has told me everything, so I want to apologize to you here first." The old man on the other end of the phone did not pick up Ethan's words, but said directly: "As you guessed, I really didn't dare to come to North America because of the COLOR TV GAME product, because I was afraid that you would be very angry when you saw me..."

‘Clang! ’

Ethan only felt a loud noise in his ears!
Yamauchi Hiroshi's words were like the hammer that sealed the coffin, hammering a sharp nail into his heart!
Although Ethan had already guessed the outcome of the matter, he really didn't expect that Yamauchi Hiroshi didn't even try to struggle and directly admitted what he had done!
And when all his guesses came true...

What was the previous collaboration like?
'Special!'

'I am a clown?'

Ethan's eyes were red.

Just when he was about to lose control of his emotions and curse out loud, Yamauchi Hiroshi on the other end of the phone changed the subject and said, "Of course, there is another reason. That is, I am afraid of being beaten to death by Milova's people. Or, I am afraid that Philips will block me in North America and I can't go home..."

This turn almost broke Ethan's waist!
"What do you mean?" he asked in a deep voice.

"It's very simple." Yamauchi Hiroshi said, "Mr. Jones, the product that is making you angry now, COLOR TV GAME, has not been authorized by MILOWA. It is an infringing product, or... it is a plagiarized product similar to Pong."

What the fuck? ? ?

This result surprised Ethan!
He never expected that Yamauchi Hiroshi could actually say such words!
"Mr. Yamauchi, are you kidding me?"

Ethan laughed in anger, "Do you think I'm that kind of kid in kindergarten?"

“Is COLOR TV GAME an infringing product?”

"You didn't get authorization from Mirohua?"

"Then what about your previous cooperation with Mi Luohua?"

"They gave you dividends after using your light gun patent, right?"

"In this case, you tell me that you don't have a patent for Odyssey?"

"Do you think I will believe your nonsense?"

"what?"

At this moment, Ethan felt that Yamauchi Hiroshi was even funnier than his son-in-law Arakawa Minoru!

In his opinion, what Yamauchi Hiroshi said about the COLOR TV GAME project not obtaining patent authorization from Milova is even more ridiculous than what Yamauchi Hiroshi said about himself being the sharp knife sent by Milova!

Who in North America doesn’t know that the cooperation between Nintendo and MILO began as early as 1972?

The boxes of light gun accessories sold by Milova even have the Nintendo logo painted on them!

in this case……

COLOR TV GAME is not authorized?

This is simply rubbing his IQ on the ground!

Does Ethan Jones look that stupid? ! ! !
Ethan Jones is going crazy!

On the other end of the phone, Yamauchi Hiroshi laughed helplessly, "Mr. Jones, I know my words sound outrageous, but this is the reality. Because——"

"COLOR TV GAME, this project was not ours from the beginning."

"This project was originally born in 1974, and its real leader was another company in our country, Mitsubishi Electric. The original purpose of this project was because Mitsubishi Electric saw the broad prospects of the electronic game market and wanted to enter this industry to grab crazy profits."

"Since they only knew how to make motors and didn't understand game creativity, they looked for a partner to make a home console together. The company they chose was called Systech."

"But unfortunately, not long after the project was launched, Systech went bankrupt due to the computer wars. Their disappearance almost caused the COLOR TV GAME project to go bankrupt."

"According to normal procedures, what Mitsubishi Electric needs to do is to find another partner to carry out this project, and this is also the case in reality, and then..."

“They picked us.”

"You are not from our country, so you may not know what Mitsubishi means in our country. When they chose us, we at Nintendo had no right to refuse."

"We accepted it, and then we learned that they needed a console similar to the MILO Odyssey, and then... the COLOR TV GAME product appeared."

"After we worked together to complete this project, we found that Mitsubishi had no intention of obtaining the patent rights, nor did they plan to sell the product under their own name. They also repeatedly stated that this product would only be sold in our country, so there would be no problems..."

“That’s why this product is sold so cheaply.”

"So cheap...I can't even afford the patent fee..."

At this point, Yamauchi Hiroshi paused.

Then, a helpless voice came from the receiver:

"Mr. Jones, I know you are angry and you feel that you have been deceived by us, but what I want to say is that I, Yamauchi Hiroshi, am not a fool."

“I have worked with a playing card company in your country.”

"Very happy."

“I’ve worked with Disney in your country.”

"So far, Disney has not sued us for any friction in cooperation."

"When I took over Nintendo from my grandfather decades ago, I took business seriously. If I wanted to play, I would only play Monopoly."

"Because other methods not only make money slowly, but are also boring!"

"And in this matter, I want to say that I had contact with MILOVA before the release of MILOVA Odyssey, and that was before 1972!"

"If I really wanted to make this kind of circuit board game console, why didn't I get the license from MILO in 1972 and immediately launch a product like COLOR TV GAME, instead of waiting until 1977, when arcade games were everywhere, to launch a circuit board home console?"

Hiroshi Yamauchi on the other end of the phone asked a question.

Then, countless question marks followed -

"Mr. Jones, 1972 to 1977 is five years, right?"

“How much can you accomplish in five years?”

"That can make Atari rise and Atari fall!"

"When you repeatedly prove to the market that the Odyssey product is not a good product, are we, who have made a lot of money with you, crazy? Do we have to make a product that disgusts you and has been proven by the market to be unsuccessful?"

"I, Yamauchi Hiroshi, may have many problems, but——"

"I'm not mentally ill!"

"I really didn't do you any wrong!"

A roar came from the telephone receiver.

This development made Ethan look confused and even more troubled.

After Yamauchi Hiroshi finished yelling, he really couldn't understand why COLOR TV GAME, the machine that prints the Nintendo logo, was suddenly related to Mitsubishi Electric?
And what the hell was Systech? Why had he never heard of it?
'What the hell is going on here!'

"What a mess!"

Ethan mentally scratched his head.

Really, he felt like he was going bald.

Note: ① There are actually two opinions about whether COLOR TV GAME was produced by Nintendo or Mitsubishi. The first one is published on the English Wikipedia, saying that it was produced by Nintendo. The source is the book "Game Over" written by David Schaeffer. I have this book, and it is indeed written on page 99 of the Chinese version. But this statement may be a little problematic, because Professor Naoki Fujita of Kyoto University, the hometown of Nintendo, mentioned in his book "The History of the Development of the Electronic Game Industry" written in that COLOR TV GAME was a project of Mitsubishi, and the situation was the same as what was written in the article. Mitsubishi's partner collapsed, and then they found Nintendo. This also led to a new follow-up, that is, COLOR TV GAME did not get the authorization from Milova, but Milova had paid dividends to Nintendo because of the light gun, so Milova hated Nintendo's behavior. When Nintendo promoted arcade games and FC in North America, Milova directly relied on the patents he had written before to sue Nintendo to death. Yamauchi Hiroshi had no choice but to counter-sue MILOVA and ask the US court to rule that Ralph Baer's patent was invalid. The feud between the two companies was forged over the COLOR TV GAME. The statement in the book "Game Over" that Nintendo got the patent was actually correct, because when the book was published, Nintendo had already lost the case and they had already paid money to resolve the matter.

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(End of this chapter)