Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 191 New Game Conference

Saturday, May 20, 1978, California, sunny.

In the lounge next to the Stanford Auditorium, Ethan was standing in front of a floor-length mirror, letting Evelyn fiddle with the tie around his neck. Ballmer, with a shiny head, stood by, reporting to the two with a palm-sized notebook.

"Chairman Johnson, President Jones, our company has invited 187 guests to today's new product launch. As of 8 o'clock last night, 176 guests have confirmed their attendance."

"Among them, we invited 150 buyers, and 141 actually showed up. There were 37 special guests, and 35 actually showed up."

"According to our communication and understanding, the nine buyers who were absent were all hindered by their own personal affairs. So far, there is no particularly obvious external factor. The special guests who were absent were Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Lucas. They were unable to come from London due to the development of new film projects, but they also sent representatives to attend the meeting."

"In addition, the Attorney General of Arkansas and his wife, who President Jones specifically instructed, arrived in San Francisco yesterday accompanied by Professor Barbara Babcock. We sent a vehicle to meet them at six this morning. Chairman Johnson, some congressmen and the former governor of California invited by your father also arrived in San Jose yesterday. We wanted to meet them in person, but they said no, they will come with your father today."

Ethan nodded slightly at the news.

"Okay, you go out and keep an eye on it first, we'll come back when we're done."

Ballmer didn't hesitate and walked away.

In fact, when Evelyn said that there were clear rules of the game in the ecosystem of American politicians and financiers, Ethan felt like ten thousand bees were buzzing in his head.

Firstly, he had never experienced these things in his previous life, so he had no experience to refer to;
Secondly, the rumors he heard were all well maintained on weekdays and would only be used when it was critical;

Once these ideas took hold, Ethan began to keep his distance from those guys.

But who knew...

Is this idea wrong?

At least it's not right in America?

In North America, do politicians and financiers need to establish a special tacit understanding that they have been in the same school together, carried guns together, visited prostitutes together, and shared the spoils together?
When these things were put in front of Ethan, a lot of names suddenly emerged in his mind, such as Weinstein, Epstein, and so on. At that moment, he even wanted to refute, saying that a milder contact than making money together was ahem…

But he didn't want the words "died in 1978, at the age of 23" to be engraved on his tombstone, so he swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

After leaving Evelyn's office, he asked his personal secretary Ballmer to check the information of Arkansas to see if there was any gold that could be seized in Arkansas.

When Ballmer compiled the collected information into a book and gave it to Ethan to read, Ethan realized that the help Arkansas provided to his business was almost zero, if not zero.

Because this is a small southern state whose main sources of income are primary and secondary industries.

The production of rice, cotton and soybeans here ranks among the highest in the country, and the output of meat and poultry is also outstanding in America. Not only that, among the mined minerals, the production of bauxite ranks first in the country. It is also one of the few states in the United States that produces diamonds.

When these facts were placed in front of Ethan, his instinctive reaction was to buy bauxite and stockpile gallium, but the next second he threw this stupid behavior out of his mind. It's okay to say that buying land to grow rice for cooking is a joke, but if you really do it? What's the difference between that and a story that starts from the time when Pangu created the world? Even if he didn't have a smart coral brain, he wouldn't do it.

However, after leaving aside the industrial distribution in Arkansas, Ethan still found some business opportunities here. For example, due to its superior geographical location and cheap wages, the manufacturing industry here is relatively developed. Many food companies, electrical companies, furniture, plastics, and clothing companies have built production plants here to better ship goods to Florida, New York, and Texas.

This situation gave Ethan the idea of building a factory there.

When they officially sell home consoles in the future, they will not be able to produce them in California and then sell them to the East Coast. Simply letting Michael Blanco Manufacturing Company build a factory in Arkansas, a central state with a relatively developed transportation industry, will definitely help them distribute their products better.

This discovery made Ethan feel relieved, and when he told Evelyn what he wanted, Evelyn revealed their needs to Barbara and asked her if it was feasible. When Barbara learned of their idea, this magician who specialized in law but played with legal provisions was immediately very happy, because if their demands were expressed in another way, it would be that the gubernatorial candidate in Arkansas would be able to attract outside investment and help local people solve employment problems.

If this happened in normal times, it wouldn't even be on their resumes, but in an election year, this is something that can be written about! This intention is even more valuable than the 200,000 donation, because now everyone knows about the game of fate! Everyone knows that they make a net profit of 100 million a year!

What if a non-polluting, high-profit company wants to set up a factory in Arkansas?
Even if they are anti-intellectual, they can't vote against it!
Therefore, after confirming that Destiny Game did have investment intentions and was preparing to hold this year's new product launch conference at the end of May, the couple from Arkansas wanted to participate.

Ethan naturally agreed to such a desire. As the link of this relationship, the great wizard also took leave to accompany them. According to the description of the staff who went to the airport to pick them up, they even invited the Arkansas media to accompany the report. In the words of the staff, the two of them had the idea of destroying their opponents with thunder and lightning, because if they could win this time, he would be the youngest governor of the United States.

Since these things can be made public, well-informed people can know them directly. When someone from the Donkey Party came to attend the new product launch, Thomas's connections also became active. After some communication, the former governor of California who claimed that he liked video games and "Star Wars" also decided to come and take a look. After a brief thought, Ethan agreed.

"Snapped!"

"Okay! Done!"

With Evelyn's snap of fingers, Ethan withdrew his thoughts.

Looking at himself in the mirror, the outfit of black suit, black trousers and black bow tie made him feel helpless.

"No, do you really have to make me dress like a restaurant waiter?"

“This outfit makes me feel like a dollar-an-hour waiter!”

If Ethan remembered correctly, he bought this suit when he went to Los Angeles to attend a concert during the 100th anniversary. It was at the bottom of the closet and he didn't know where Evelyn found it.

"Today is a new product launch event. Of course we have to dress appropriately for such a formal occasion."

Evelin thought it was perfect. "Don't worry, it's very handsome—"

"Of course, if I stand with you, people will still look at me."

"Because of me, Miang?"

Today she wore a white dress, and the princess sleeve design made her look very dignified.

After turning around in front of the floor-length mirror and confirming that there were no flaws on her body, Evelin pushed Ethan, who looked embarrassed, out and said, "Let's go, let's go out."

"It's almost ten o'clock. Someone should be here."

Since Evelin was happy, Ethan didn’t say anything, and with the girl’s push, the two came to the door of the auditorium, exuding a standardized smile, ready to greet the guests attending the meeting.

So far, Ethan has participated in three new product launches in total.

The feeling is different every time.

The first press conference was held for Snake. The location of the press conference was still Atari, and Steve Jobs was the host again. He was sitting at the bottom at that time, looking very relaxed.
The second time he introduced Pac-Man, because the guests at the conference were all from his own family and what they wanted to learn was the application of artificial intelligence, so he spoke very casually at that time;
The third product launch was held at Fox, in order to promote "Star Wars" to the owners of North American theaters. He showed his strength because he was confident in both the movie and the game.
But this time...

He was actually a little nervous.

Because none of the four games launched this time were made by him.

Not only that, four competitors from Hollywood are also eyeing the market.

With fog all ahead and a ferocious tiger behind, it would be a lie to say you are not worried.

Perhaps because he was unsure, he deliberately added a welcome segment for himself this time, trying to use his "sincere" performance to trick merchants into buying goods crazily. As the press conference time approached, one figure after another appeared in front of him.

Ballmer, who had already obtained the participants' information and had even met with more than 100 people in the past three days, kept introducing the identities of the guests to Ethan.

Whenever the bald guy used his strong memory to tell where those people came from, Ethan would smile and extend his right hand, shake hands with them in a friendly manner, and say -

"Wow, Mr. or Ms. XX, thank you for your continued support for our Destiny game. I'm very glad that you can come to our new product launch conference for Destiny game."

For Ethan, this might be a simple sentence.

But after hearing this, the guests burst into laughter and hugged him.

Many people even showed their joy.

"Mr. Jones! You are so polite!"

"We all make money under your leadership! Of course we will come to your new product launch!"

"What new products will you have this time? Can you reveal them in advance? Really! After receiving your invitation call, I was immediately excited! Because I have been looking forward to it for a year!"

The reason these bosses are happy is actually very simple.

When a guy who earns 100 million a year greets his partners personally at the door, his flexible figure will make everyone feel extremely honored.

This is like Ethan’s previous life, when Bill Gates personally promoted Microsoft in the 1990s.

No matter how rich you are, as long as you still want to make money, you should not keep looking up at the sky.

Keep smiling.

This will allow you to earn more.

Since Ethan covered the food and lodging for all the guests and directly let the staff connect with them, all the guests had already entered the venue ten minutes before the press conference.

Among them were not only the Arkansas Attorney General and his wife accompanied by the Grand Wizard, but also the former Governor of California brought by Thomas, the former president of Stanford, the good old man Ralph Baer, and Roy Disney, a non-partner who might be a partner.

When the first two parties arrived, Ethan shook hands, hugged and took photos with them.

If nothing goes wrong, the photos will be published in newspapers within a few days, and he will also display the developed photos in his office.

After asking the company's administrative staff and An to guard the door, Ethan and his sister went into the auditorium. After waving to everyone present, they sat down in the center of the left side of the first row.

Yes, unlike in the past, he will no longer be the host of this press conference.

This job was given to the bald guy Ballmer.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I am delighted that you have come to the Summer 1978 New Product Launch of Destiny Game! I am Steve Ballmer, the host of this launch event."

When the time approached eleven o'clock, the big bald man came onto the stage to a lively tune.

"As a newcomer who had been in the company for less than a year, I was terrified when I received this job because I didn't know why my boss would give me such an important task."

"But when our boss said that the new people and new products were a good match, I instantly understood that the boss might think that I was not good enough at work and wanted to sell me as well."

"So, all the guests here, if you like me, you can make an offer to me directly, and I will sell myself to you, so that there will be no middlemen to make a profit from the difference."

As he spoke, Ballmer winked at the crowd below.

Then he made a big loop on the spot, as if showing off himself.

"Ha ha ha ha--"

The humorous words and funny actions caused the audience to laugh.

“This guy is really full of energy.”

Evelyn clapped along with the crowd while tilting her head to whisper in Ethan's ear.

"Yes, he is a master at creating atmosphere."

Ethan responded while laughing.

Although Ballmer has only been at Destiny for eight months, his enthusiastic work attitude is already well known to everyone. Many times, when Ethan encounters troubles, he will feel very tired like a normal person, but this bald guy can always maintain his enthusiasm and passion when encountering problems.

That kind of enthusiasm is indeed worthy of the title of the most passionate boss in the NBA.

Under his rendering, the atmosphere on the scene became very warm. At this time, Ballmer naturally opened the opening segment and started introducing new products.

The first game introduced is the shooting game "Taken".

When the confirmation button was tapped, the game interface instantly enlarged, and the crosshairs suddenly appeared. The smooth simulation of the sniper rifle aiming made the buyers below open their eyes wide.

Tap the adjustment button and the bullet will shoot out instantly. A cracked circuit effect will appear on the arcade screen. The bang sound is like a gunshot during a race, which caused the guests to talk a lot.

"Wow, this shooting game is so innovative!"

"Yeah! I've never seen a gameplay where you shoot enemies with a sniper rifle before!"

"Yes! This gameplay seems to be very immersive, because previous shooting games used a light dot to represent the bullet, and the person who was hit flashed and disappeared. There is no such thing as a direct sniper kill like this!"

"This game reminds me of the shooting games Atari made before. Compared with Taken, the shooting feeling of those Atari shooting games is too weak!"

The sudden discussion made Ethan, who was sitting in the front, breathe a sigh of relief.

The joy of buyers is his greatest honor.

He actually had some impression of the Atari shooting games that those people mentioned, because shooting games were proposed by Ralph Baer decades ago. After Nolan Bushnell plagiarized Ralph Baer's inspiration, he also copied all of the latter's concepts.

As early as 1974, shooting games were popular on the market, but they were just like Contra, where you just held something and shot it. Not only that, those games were also crudely made, with a circle of light representing a gun and a beam of light representing a bullet. When the bullet flew out, the game had a sound effect, but after the bullet killed someone, the effect was not obvious.

Although this type of game performance is still used by manufacturers decades later, with the development of the times, most shooting games have introduced the concept of zoom, with a zoomed-in crosshair setting, such as "Virtual Cop", and this damn sense of reality is the reason why shooting games are so popular. Ethan did not think of all this before, but...

The result is good, right?
Because this thing is in their house now.

After Ballmer followed the previous press conference process and had the staff roll out 20 arcade machines for the guests to experience for half an hour, the occasional cheers and regrets made Ethan think of the Atari they mentioned. As a subsidiary of Warner, they hadn't heard any news for a long time.

The sudden disappearance made Ethan even wonder if these guys were planning some big move.

Of course, their silence may also be related to the bustle of other Hollywood companies.

Because in Hollywood, after two months of disputes, the war between Columbia Pictures and MGM has finally entered a white-hot stage. The owner of MGM has already gained enough support from shareholders and is about to hold an extraordinary shareholders' meeting to demand the reorganization of the board of directors of Columbia Pictures.

Although their chances of success are not high, many shareholders of Columbia Pictures want to sell their shares because they do not want to fight a battle to defend the company with the casino owners.

It’s not a question of whether or not there is a chance of winning, but the fact that the owner of MGM has a bad reputation.

It would not be wise to compete with him for the company.

As for the controversial check counterfeiting case?
This thing came suddenly and disappeared strangely.

"Okay, okay, I know you all love Taken, but now please return to your seats, because we are releasing more than one game this time..."

At Ballmer's call, the new product launch of Destiny continued, and the release of two games in a row surprised the unprepared buyers.

"What? There are still games?"

"Wow - is that so cool?" "I always thought Destiny only released one game a year!"

"Yeah, they did this for the past three years. I didn't expect that they would release so many games this year? Oh oh oh, it looks like players' wallets won't be safe! Hahahaha——"

For buyers, the more new games the better.

After all, that's how they make money.

But after their eager anticipation, the second game introduced by Ballmer, "Need for Speed", did not receive the same applause as the previous "Taken".

“This racing game doesn’t seem to be doing well.”

"It's similar to most racing games."

"Yes! If I remember correctly, Milohua has a racing game? The gameplay is similar to this game? If players can play such a game at home, why would they come to our store to play games? This arcade machine should not make much money."

Such a comment made Ethan, who was sitting in the front, pursed his lips and nodded.

The racing game these people are talking about is actually the "Death Race" launched by Milova last year when it released Apollo. The gameplay of that game is much more violent than "Need for Speed" because when the player is controlling the car to run all the way, there will not only be obstacles but also people on the road.

After hitting an obstacle, the player will lose a life.

But if you hit someone...

The NPCs in the game will die.

Just based on this violent game, Milohua's Apollo sold a lot.

Yes, Mirowa's Apollo is still on the market.

In other words, Atari's new generation is also on sale.

Ethan only learned about this a few months ago.

After Philips sounded the clarion call for attack, Ethan asked Ballmer to collect the latest information on MILO and Atari. Then he found that although MILO Apollo and Atari New Generation were beaten so badly by Darth Vader that even their mothers didn't recognize them, after a year of running-in, their shipments in North America still exceeded 100,000 units.

Although the sales volume was 100,000 units in twelve months, an average of 8,000 units per month and only 2,000 units per week, it is not very impressive in a land as big as North America.

But this steady sales has allowed the two companies to regain their confidence.

After a year of settling down, anyone could see that the previous failures of MILO and Atari were due to the fact that "Star Wars" was too strong.

When the North American people only have the Force in their eyes, no one can defeat the game of fate.

But the problem is that even if "Star Wars" is powerful, there will come a day when its popularity fades.

As long as Destiny Games didn't launch a home console before this, and came up with a big hit product, then Mirov and Atari would still have the possibility of turning around.

Perhaps it was because of this that they tried so hard to step on Ethan.

The emergence of this reason also made Ethan a little helpless, because according to the plan, their console will not be actually released until May 20 next year at the earliest.

In this case, Philips and Warner Communications still have advantages.

Although Ethan could speed up the research and development, he gave up after thinking it over again and again.

The reason is the same as what Roy Disney said before. When Evelyn Johnson is the only core developer of the Destiny game, it is impossible for God to poach her.

When the most primitive business war involves the theft of trade secrets, the poaching of R&D personnel, and recruiting people to improve the home console project, the risk is really too great.

"Okay, here comes our third game—"

"'Windfall'!"

Ballmer seemed to have noticed that everyone was not optimistic about "Need for Speed", so he simply sped up his presentation and pushed the game "Fat Man" in front of the guests.

When the name "The Jackpot" appeared, the guests who had been showing little interest because of "Need for Speed" all pricked up their ears. When they saw the arcade machine that Ballmer pushed onto the stage, their eyes widened at the golden graffiti on the surface.

“The content of this game is very interesting!”

"That's gold nuggets falling from the sky! You have to reach out and catch them!"

"Players control a pocket in the game. All they have to do is to continuously catch the gold that falls from the sky while avoiding the threat of rocks! The original intention of developing this game is to hope that America, this rich land, can bring more wealth to more people! And a better tomorrow!"

As Ballmer gave his presentation, the originally calm conference room suddenly became restless.

“Can I try this?”

“Is this something I can try out?”

"Hurry, hurry! We want to play now!"

Eager words announced their discovery.

They seemed to see the business opportunity in this game.

When the twenty trial machines appeared, more than a hundred people immediately surrounded them.

This scene surprised Ethan.

Because he didn't expect that "Windfall" would be so popular?

So he stood up and turned around, and then he heard -

"Oh! Sxxt! This game is made for my bar!"

"MFxxk! This thing would be perfect for my nightclub!"

"Ohh! I love this game so much! Oh no! Those gamblers will definitely love this game! There is nothing more satisfying than picking up money while drinking!"

Ethan understood.

He returned to his seat with a smile.

The reason why these people like "Money Falls" is that no one can resist getting rich overnight.

When the places that housed arcade machines were the entrances of various entertainment clubs in the streets and alleys, the game meaning of "Windfall" was actually very consistent with the decadent and decadent life that the clubs wanted to show.

Although "Money Drops from Heaven" cannot bring real wealth to people, but using twenty-five cents to fulfill a dream that will last a lifetime... isn't this a great deal no matter how you look at it?

If I have to describe it, the nature of this game is extremely similar to the future promotions of 'you can make money by downloading the express version of something', 'you can make money by slashing', 'you can make money by walking', 'you can make money by breathing', and 'as long as you give me traffic, you can make money'.

"This is really just to please the other party..."

This development was somewhat beyond Ethan's expectations.

The noise at the scene also gave the auditorium, which was supposed to be serious, a bit of a vegetable market feeling.

This situation made Ethan glance towards the VIP seats on the right.

When he noticed that the reporters brought by Arkansas seemed to be shooting wide-angle shots on the side and the former governor was communicating with people there, the corners of his mouth instinctively curled up and he smiled.

"What have you thought of? Why are you smiling so happily?"

Evelyn, who caught the change in expression, came closer.

Ethan didn't hide it, leaning over and whispering, "I'm wondering what might happen in Arkansas in the next few days. The news that 'the Attorney General is heading to California to build a factory for Destiny Game in the future', and in California in the next few days there might also be news headlines like 'the former governor cares about the people and has fun with them at Stanford'. In those articles, they'll probably say, 'our young people are using video games to train their reaction and hand-eye coordination, and these skills will make them more competitive in various fields in the future'. Anyway, it's just a bunch of praise, after all, these things are good for them..."

'…' This teasing made Evelin's face darken.

"If you can't speak, then shut up!" She glared at Ethan.

Ethan happily twisted his body and made faces, "Lululu..."

Perhaps it was because "Fat Millionaire" showed buyers a great way to make money, or perhaps it was because the enthusiastic response on the scene made Ballmer realize that this game might become a big-selling product for the company, so the trial session that was supposed to last half an hour was dragged out to forty-five minutes before it was declared over.

When the buyers returned to their seats with satisfaction, Ballmer on the podium cleared his throat and said with a smile, "Perhaps many people don't know why we, Destiny Game, held the new product launch at 11 a.m. Now I can tell you responsibly that we just want to take advantage of the lunch break to quickly finalize the contract with you."

"When you are starving and being dragged by us to sign the contract, you will most likely sign the contract with your eyes closed in order to have a meal. In this way, we will make a lot of money. The dance halls in Arkansas and the bars in Florida will all be ours."

"It's a pity that your willpower is simply too strong, strong enough to resist hunger. It's already two o'clock in the afternoon, but you haven't noticed it yet."

“This is really a pity for me!”

"I'm actually ready to be wanted by the federal government!"

"Hahaha..." Ballmer's little joke made everyone laugh.

Some people even said directly, "No, it's your game that's interesting!"

Ballmer bowed and thanked him for these words.

The scene also became a sea of excitement.

This situation made Ballmer pause for a few seconds, then he raised his right hand.

"Okay, okay, thank you for your likes."

"Your likes are our greatest honor."

“I know that many people may think that today’s press conference will end with the release of three games, but I want to say, no! We still have one last game!”

"Next, I'd like to invite my boss, Ethan Jones."

"Because the fourth game will be introduced by him personally!"

The intonation of the words caused everyone at the scene to open their eyes wide!

Just as Ballmer said, no one expected that they would launch four games at once!

More importantly, the fourth game seems to be the real finale product!

As they watched, Ethan, holding the microphone, also appeared on stage with a smile. He waved to the audience below, and Ballmer, who was ready, immediately pushed the fourth machine to the center of the stage.

Like the previous three machines, the outside of this arcade machine was also covered with black cloth. When Ethan, who was looking down from above, discovered that more than a hundred pairs of eyes below were filled with curiosity, he immediately put his hand on the machine, then tightened his five fingers and grabbed the curtain.

"I know everyone is curious about what this final game is."

"According to convention, I should introduce it, but I think this game doesn't need an introduction."

"The next half hour will be your trial time."

"And the name of the game you're playing is very simple, just three words."

"It's called—"

"Snake!"

"Game!"

"Two!"

"Wow--"

Ethan pulled the curtain down with force.

When he said the name of the last game with a smile on his face——

Every time a word is uttered, the eyes of the guests on the scene light up!
After waiting for the curtain to fall and the machine to appear——