Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 26 Not so arrogant anymore?

Half an hour later, Nolan Bushnell's office was filled with the rich aroma of coffee.

Ethan Jones was leaning on the sofa with a smile on his face. Opposite him sat two people. One was Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari, whom Ethan had known for a long time, and the other was a middle-aged man wearing a suit, a bow tie, and a slicked-back hair.

When he first saw the middle-aged man, Ethan narrowed his eyes.

Because he always felt that the other person looked very familiar.

And after Nolan Bushnell's introduction, Ethan, who was sitting on the sofa, almost jumped up.

Because that guy's name is Don, his last name is Valentine, and his full name is Don Thomas Valentine.

He is an investor of Atari and the founder of Sequoia Capital, the forefather of venture capital in the United States.

When a person who will appear in future financial textbooks appears, it would be a lie to say that he was not surprised. At that moment, Ethan could clearly feel his heart pounding.

But when the other party extended his right hand in a friendly manner, expressing his pleasure to see Ethan, and played "Snake" on the spot, and was directly stunned by the amazing display, Ethan found that his heart rate had returned to normal.

In Ethan’s previous life, these guys might have been big shots.

I can't say that he has gone down in history, but he has been talked about for fifty years.

But now?

When the tide of history just began, everyone was the same, just ordinary people.

At this moment, whoever can seize the opportunity will be able to ascend to the altar.

Then in this case...

"I'm a hacker, how can I be excited?"

Ethan looked at the two of them with a smile, and his excitement was no longer there.

His attitude was also seen by the two people opposite him. After watching for a while, Nolan Bushnell spoke first.

"Ethan, since you know the current situation of Atari, I will tell you directly. Yes, Atari will not be able to sell its self-developed games in the next year, that is, before May of next year, but this does not mean that Atari will decline because of this, because other arcade companies on the market do not have the strength to challenge us."

Nolan Bushnell was very confident and said with a smile: "It's not that I look down on them, but I look down on them. Because according to our investigation, those traditional arcade manufacturers still want to do the gambling business. They try to combine video games with gambling, which they are best at. I think you have seen it with your own eyes today. And their plan is impossible to succeed, at least at this stage."

"Because before the arcade machines were turned into computers, normal photoelectric feedback could not be used to manipulate the game results. Without the ability to manipulate the game results, spinach games could not be developed. Therefore, the only function of electronic games nowadays is entertainment."

"And speaking of entertainment..."

At this point, Nolan Bushnell's smile widened.

He spread his hands and said, "After we reached a settlement with Milova, Milova filed lawsuits against all the companies that have produced table tennis games on the market. Before these lawsuits are over, I believe that those companies will not have the energy to release games."

Yes! When Milova found that they could not do anything to Atari, they frantically sued all the game companies on the market, hoping to seize the profits that should belong to them from those infringers!
On the way to Atari, Steve Jobs had already told Ethan that Exsidian and Sega, the companies he had previously contacted, had received subpoenas from the court. If nothing unexpected happened, the executives of these companies would frequently appear in the dock in the court for a long time to come.

At this moment, they no longer had the arrogance they had before.

Because everyone knows that no matter how much Nolan Bushnell plagiarizes, he at least has some real skills of his own. He truly breaks away from conventional thinking and opens the door to a new era for all engineers. So it is completely understandable that Ralph Baer appreciates him.

And what about these people?
He is really just a simple plagiarist.

After hearing the news, Ethan was very glad that he did not reach a cooperation with those guys.

And now...

"So?" Ethan laughed. "Mr. Bushnell, what are your terms?"

"Our terms are simple."

Before Nolan Bushnell could speak, Don Valentine, the founder of Sequoia Capital, spoke up.

"Mr. Jones, we hope to reach a long-term cooperation agreement with you, for example... ninety-nine years? We will pay a fixed fee, which may be a few thousand or tens of thousands, and then publish Snake Game for you in the next ninety-nine years. Of course, during this process, we will also pay you a certain share of the game revenue of Snake Game."

A businessman is a businessman!

You can't expect him to make concessions on his own initiative!
When Atari was already unable to release new games due to the pressure from MILOVA and could only pray that other companies would not perform well, after seeing "Snake Game", they actually thought of using a long-term agreement to bypass MILOVA's copyright restrictions?
Oh, this is really-

Profit-seeking nature!
Then in this case...

"Okay, I can feel your sincerity, but I can't accept this result."

Ethan clapped his hands regretfully and said, "From the current perspective, our negotiations cannot continue. So let's leave it at that. If there is a chance, we can cooperate again..."

Having said that, Ethan wanted to get up and leave.

His state surprised the two people present.

"Ethan? Not going to talk about it anymore?" Nolan Bushnell asked.

"Mr. Jones, what's wrong with you?" Don Valentine pretended to be stupid and said, "We have only proposed a preliminary cooperation plan. The specific details of the cooperation have not been formally discussed yet."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think we need to discuss this further because it's a waste of time."

Ethan smiled and said bluntly: "It may be because my vision is limited, but it may also be because I have not been to college and my knowledge reserves are insufficient. After listening to Mr. Valentine's plan, I just feel that our psychological expectations may be a pair of parallel lines. They seem to be on the same level, but they will never intersect."

"If that's the case, there's no point in continuing the conversation. It will only make both sides unhappy. So, why don't we just say goodbye and leave a good impression on both sides."

Nolan Bushnell and Don Valentine frowned at the sarcasm.

Although they knew that their proposal was indeed a bit outrageous, the key to negotiation was to pull each other back.

You talk about your pain, I talk about my difficulties, and every friction is a struggle for interests.

But now?

Haven’t started talking yet!
Is Ethan ready to run?
what is this?
Thinking of this, Don Valentine immediately looked unhappy.

Because he rushed here from somewhere else after receiving the news.

Seeing that Ethan Jones was really about to leave, he immediately said, "Mr. Jones, I still say the same thing. If you have any ideas, you can speak out directly. If you have any disagreements, you can sit down and talk slowly."

"But at the same time, I can also tell you frankly that if you think the conditions offered by Atari are not good, then I can only regretfully tell you that you may not be able to find a company in the world that is more sincere than us."

"If you leave today, I believe you will regret it." "Who cares?" Ethan stopped.

'? '

These words made Don Valentine frown.

As he stared, Ethan Jones turned around, a bright smile on his calm face.

That smile made both people present feel a little uncomfortable.

Before they spoke, Ethan said, "Mr. Valentine, are you sure Atari is sincere? Are you sure Atari is my best choice?"

"Of course." Don Valentine answered very affirmatively.

"No." However, Ethan shook his head and denied it directly: "You just feel good about yourself. Atari is not my best choice, because the best choice for me is HP."

"What?" Don Valentine didn't understand and looked at Nolan Bushnell with a frown.

At this moment, the founder of Atari was also very confused. Facing the investors' questions, he shook his head decisively.

Ethan saw the two's inquiry and said with a smile, "It seems that you two gentlemen only know that I am a former employee of Mirowa and don't know anything else. If that's the case, then I might know how the idea of ​​that outrageous 99-year contract came about. Because you don't know that Snake Game is not my work alone. Its other inventor is at Stanford."

"I think you two gentlemen should understand what I mean?"

Although it was a question, Ethan did not give them a chance to speak and continued -

"I brought Snake Game here not because I desperately need you Atari, but because you desperately need me!"

"I brought Snake Game here, not because I have no choice but to choose you, Atari, but because you need interesting new games!"

"Just because I brought Snake Game with me doesn't mean that Atari is number one in the industry! Ralph Baer can work with MILO to make home game consoles, so I can also go to HP and ask them if they want to make arcade games!"

'! ! ! '

Before he finished speaking, the pupils of the two people who looked at Ethan shrank.

They really don't know how Snake Game came about.

But if what Ethan said was true...

"Oh Ethan~ Don't be angry, don't be angry, Tang was just joking with you~"

Nolan Bushnell stood up instantly, a smile blooming on his face.

"The longest copyright protection period is only fifty-six years! Tang said ninety-nine years, just to liven up the atmosphere!"

"In his imagination, once you hear this number, you will definitely exclaim in surprise, and then loudly ask us if we understand copyright law. At this time, Tang will shout "Surprise!" and then we will start the formal negotiation in a more lively atmosphere, right, Tang?"

"Yeah!" Don Valentine nodded and said affirmatively: "We are a game company! We make the latest electronic games! Even if we have commercial cooperation, we should do it in a relaxed and happy atmosphere!"

"Ethan, you totally misunderstood what I meant!"

"However, my words may have been ambiguous, and I would like to apologize here."

"Really?" Ethan looked surprised. "Did you do this on purpose?"

"…" This question made Nolan Bushnell pause for a moment, and then he nodded vigorously.

"Of course!" Nolan Bushnell replied affirmatively, patted Ethan on the shoulder, pulled him to sit down, and said, "If you don't believe me, I can call Steve, Steve Jobs in and let him tell you about our working environment at Atari. Our working atmosphere here is very relaxed! Really! You have to believe me!"

Ha ha!

Ethan didn't believe their lies.

The so-called relief was nothing more than a compromise after he revealed his trump card.

Don Valentine wanted to negotiate with him using Atari's market share?

What a joke!
What is the difference between Atari, which does not have the right to publish its own products, and countries where the kids are doing well?
Nolan Bushnell said that even if they didn't release any games for a year, Atari would still be the industry leader? Neither traditional arcade manufacturers nor new arcade manufacturers can pose a threat to them? So we chose Snake Game, is that a kindness to you?

sure!
I'm going to turn around and cling to Stanford and ask HP to help with the publication. Are you afraid?

Yes! HP does not make arcade games. They make printers, counters, provide computer systems for large organizations, and sell high-performance workstations...

But that’s not important, right?
As long as no one starts the history books to change the fact that the founder of HP came from Stanford, they, as disciples of Fred Terman, will definitely continue to support Stanford's own projects!

Although HP's sales channels and video games are not completely related, they are diametrically opposed, but they are a global company! The size of just one branch is enough to crush Atari!
Even though Nolan Bushnell and Don Valentine knew that it was still unknown whether HP would make arcade machines, they knew even more clearly in San Francisco that you can bet with everyone, but you can't bet with the university next door that has gone crazy!
Especially when they, Atari, can't release new games!

So, when Ethan threw out the HP, Nolan Bushnell pulled him to sit down with a smile on his face.

Don Valentine also took out a box of cigarettes from his pocket and gave it to Ethan.

Seeing that Ethan didn't smoke, he also stood up on his own initiative, and under the pretext of not disturbing the two of them, he said that he was going out to smoke a cigarette, and asked Nolan and Ethan to wait.

About five minutes later, when Don Valentine came back, he sat down, rubbing his hands and nodded at Nolan with a smile.

The founder of Atari, who had been chatting with Ethan for a long time, understood what he meant and said, "Ethan, brother! To be honest, when I first saw you, I knew that our meeting again must be God's will! He must have asked you to come to our Atari!"

"Since we have God's guidance, our cooperation will be extremely holy! So, here, I tell you very frankly that I want to cooperate with you. As for the specific content..." He paused, gritted his teeth and said, "I think, under God's witness, he would hope that this is a short-term! Cooperation full of sincerity!"

Hearing this, Ethan smiled.

Not so arrogant anymore?

No more nonsense?

Sometimes people are just mean!

You have to slap him twice before he behaves!

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I received a message from the backend, and the recommendations will start tomorrow. I would like to ask all the big guys to give me a follow-up reading. This is very important for a newcomer like me. Thank you.

Note: ① After Don Valentine founded Sequoia Capital, the first project he invested in was Atari. Although he is the most famous angel investor in the venture capital circle, he is also the most famous investor who likes to interfere with corporate operations. At Apple, he kicked Steve Jobs out, and at Cisco... that was simply a disaster. ② In the game circle, Nikola has a nickname called "Suing Stick". Although Atari survived, Nikola made more than 74 million yuan from 94 to through lawsuits based on the copyrights and patents authorized by Ralph Baer. To be honest, in terms of lawsuits, Disney and Nintendo have to call him teacher. What he did was too outrageous.

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(End of this chapter)