Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 260 Food!
The spring of 1979 was much colder than usual. Even though it was already March, the temperature in California was still hovering around 50 degrees Fahrenheit, or around 10 degrees Celsius.

The chill in the air made people walking through the streets and alleys wrap themselves in thick clothes. The original tight shirts disappeared, replaced by suit jackets draped over the outside. The flowing cardigans were also replaced, and more people chose light sweaters and windproof jackets.

To be honest, no matter how cold the weather is, getting up early when you are busy at work will only make you complain, and then embrace life with full energy. But when you get up early in your spare time, leaving the warm bed and rushing into the cold world will really make you feel like you are crazy.

When Ethan got in to pick up his business car around seven in the morning, the sleepiness that enveloped his body and the temperature that kept irritating his nerves made his brows twitch.

He glanced at the bald man next to him, and his cheerful face made him even more angry.

"Steve~ Why do I feel like you are torturing me?"

"Usually we go to work at nine in the morning, but today you asked me to go out at seven?"

"Oh - this is really -"

"Outrageous!"

Not to mention whether the shopping malls are open at this early hour in the morning, the idea of ​​running from Palo Alto to San Francisco for shopping early in the morning is something that no normal person can come up with.

But his complaints did not make Ballmer anxious. After seeing his boss fasten his seat belt, the bald man patted the back of the seat in front of him and said, "Let's go."

After giving the order, he smiled at Ethan and said, “Boss, don’t worry, since we got up early, we will definitely be able to see a different scenery.”

Ethan rolled his eyes, snorted and ignored him.

With his arms folded, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a nap.

Ballmer chuckled and looked out the window with his chin on one hand.

As things in the outside world recede, they also embark on a journey to San Francisco.

Palo Alto and San Francisco are only thirty-five miles apart, and a normal drive would take only forty minutes. However, since it was early morning on a weekday, many people were rushing to work, so there was some traffic congestion along the way, and it took the group a full hour to reach their destination.

When the car entered the territory of San Francisco, Ballmer, who had been looking outside the car, quietly woke up his boss. When Ethan, who had fallen asleep, opened his blurry eyes and looked out the window, the slightly double-imaged world made him close his eyes suddenly and shake his head. When he opened his eyes again, the banner hanging on the roadside captured his mind.

[The National Electronic Game Competition has started, what are you waiting for? Come and sign up! ]

【Kismet Game× NFL, we will make your dream come true with our hands! 】

[We organize the best event on earth——NFL]

[We weave the dreams in your hearts——Kismet Game]

When all kinds of promotional slogans rushed into Ethan's sight like a tide, Ethan, who had been overwhelmed by complicated affairs for a month, suddenly remembered that March 1st was the registration start date for the national competition.

In the next month, the first national video game competition hosted by Kismet Game and organized by the NFL will be open to "unrestricted" registration in the United States.

Since there is no precedent for this kind of thing, no one knows how this event will turn out.

However, everyone knows that legend is a process from nothing to something.

It is a wonderful work written by humans.

"Gift crab!" The scene outside the car made Ethan hit Ballmer hard and shouted, "So you asked me to go shopping because you wanted me to review your work?"

"Can't you just tell me about this?"

"You have to keep it secret!"

"Oh - Boss - this is to give you a surprise!"

Ballmer raised his arms in front of him, seemingly defending against his boss's attack, but more like protecting his handsome face. "I see you're so busy with work that you can't catch your breath, so I want to give you a surprise to rekindle your desire for life and regain the surprises in life."

"It would be fine if you didn't praise me or give me a bonus, but now you're beating me up?"

"Oh my God, this job is really unbearable."

Ethan raised his fist again and hit him hard a few times after hearing the funny words. After a while, he smiled and shook his head and looked out the window. He was very satisfied with the banners that could be seen at intervals, and the promotional posters on the public advertising space on the roadside made him even happier.

"Whose idea was this? Yours or the NFL's?" Ethan asked with a smile.

Ballmer didn't mean to take all the credit. He stared out the window and replied, "We did it together. I think our event can be promoted vigorously and the atmosphere can be created by advertising. The NFL has the resources and experience in this regard, so -"

“We placed advertisements in important cities identified by both parties.”

"March, April and May are the first seven days of each month, corresponding to the open registration, elimination rounds and state competitions. June is all the time before the end of the competition, and the location is where the finals will be held."

"What? How much will this cost?" Ethan was shocked.

Ballmer had submitted the final plan for the gaming competition to him before. They would set up 200 registration points in the 48 states of the North American continent, including 27 important cities.

For example, in Los Angeles, the largest city of angels on the West Coast, there are five registration locations;

For example, San Francisco, as the birthplace of multiculturalism and one of the important ports on the West Coast, is also one of the important cities on the list identified by both sides.

And if you want to keep advertising in this kind of city...

That's not cheap.

So, when Ballmer and Ethan said that there were 27 more ads like the one in San Francisco, Ethan's first reaction was that the NFL's $15 million budget had been spent.

His question made Ballmer smile and shake his head. He patted the driver's seat back and motioned him to continue driving to the destination. Under the other party's guidance, Ethan soon saw an outdoor gymnasium.

That's Candlestick Park, home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball and the San Francisco 49ers of the National League, and now, the outside of the huge stadium is decorated with cartoon figures.

There are Jack and Rousi, the greedy snakes holding apples in their mouths, Mr. Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man being chased by little ghosts, a mosaic version of the Millennium Falcon spacecraft impacting space, and the endless starry sky.

Behind every long-form advertisement is a classic work of the Destiny game. In addition to these cartoon characters, there are also logos of Apple, McDonald's, HP, and Walmart, as well as roll-up banners representing Coca-Cola and Nike that can be seen everywhere.

With the appearance of these trademarks, Ethan immediately realized that Steve Ballmer, who held the power to organize the competition, had accepted sponsorship from these two companies. The bald man no longer hid his intention and said directly, "Boss, you said before that these later sponsors need to provide some physical objects for the contestants to enter the competition, but after discussing with them, I felt that it was indeed a bit unfair for them to bear the physical objects for all the contestants, because the cost would be too high, so we slightly modified the contract."

"Coca-Cola only needs to provide free-flowing drinks for all contestants during the competition, and they can provide them in the form of beverage machines instead of selling Coke bottles. Then they can enter the venue. Nike only needs to provide matching clothing for all contestants above the state finals, and then they can make themselves present in every corner of the competition."

"Of course, at the same time, they both need to bear the advertising costs of hanging banner ads."

"They agreed."

"So we have extra money for advertising."

"Oh——" Ethan understood.

"Good job." He patted Ballmer on the shoulder.

Although Ballmer had not reported this to Ethan, Ethan did not care. Since he had delegated power, he should let his subordinates do the work without hesitation. He would hold them accountable if something went wrong, and reward them if they did a good job. As for saying that he lacked control, wouldn't it be a loss of face for the game of fate if something went wrong with the project?
There's no need to worry too much about this kind of thing, right?

This kind of event planning was not what he did in his previous life. Since he knows nothing about running an event, the right thing to do is to let people who have the time and ability and the experience and skills to worry about it.

Management on equal footing will work everything out!
Because everyone wants to show off in front of the boss!

After circling the stadium, the sight of colorful streamers and flags flying in the air was spectacular. After arriving at the entrance of the stadium, which was the makeshift registration office, Ethan was extremely satisfied by the crowd that had already begun to gather. While waiting for Ballmer to hand him a hat and a fake beard... Ethan's face was filled with smiles.

Before he could say, "Mo, I want to eat fish," the bald man had already brought the fish.

This is a very accurate understanding of the Holy Will!
Dressing up, getting off the bus and wandering around, the noisy sounds represent joy.

The stadium's security guards and temporary bodyguards were maintaining order, while NFL staff and Destiny Game's marketing staff were instructing people on how to fill out forms at the registration counter. When you got closer, you could hear clear voices.

"Everyone, please line up in an orderly manner. We have four registration windows. Registration is open from 8:30 in the morning to 8:30 in the evening, so don't be anxious!"

"You need to provide your social security card number or driver's license when registering. If you don't have any of these, a gun license will do. If you are a minor and don't have any of these, please ask your parents to register for you! Everyone should know the reason. All the bonuses are after-tax!"

"If anyone feels unwell while queuing, please raise your hand. We have a professional medical team on site on standby at any time. Of course, this situation does not allow you to sign up in advance, so if you are fine, please do not take up limited medical resources."

"Finally, every successful participant will receive a postcard. It is a commemorative item that has never been publicly sold in our Destiny game. It contains cartoon characters from the four game series: Snake, Pac-Man, Starfield, and Star Wars... Each person can get one at random. If anyone wants to collect all of them, please wait patiently until the end of the competition. By then, our Destiny game will release the method to obtain the entire set of postcards..."

As the staff shouted again and again, the young people who had registered also left the long queue with their gifts. When they opened the plastic packaging in their hands, the beautifully made cartoon postcards immediately aroused waves of shouting and screaming -

"Oh! This is Jack! Jack who eats apples! He is my favorite!"

"No! No! No! Why is it a little ghost? I want Star Wars!"

"MFxxk! Ahahahahahaha—I opened Mr. Pac-Man!"

"Oh! My! God! What is this? With a starry sky background, the Snake King and the Snake Queen are chasing four little ghosts and Mr. Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man? Their target is a Millennium Falcon? Oh! Isn't this a hidden version? A family portrait of the works of Destiny game???"

"What the fuck? Where's the hidden version? Where's the hidden version?"

"Gift Crab! Why don't I have such good luck?"

"Hey man! You want to sell this postcard? I'll give you ten dollars - no! Twenty dollars!"

"What? You want to buy this for twenty dollars? Bro! I'll pay fifty! The money is in the car!"

Ethan smiled happily at the noisy sound.

The noisy scene made him suppress the thought in his head, and he turned and left with a clear mind of achievement and fame.

Although today is Thursday, the registration site is still crowded.

Although no one was willing to play chicken, the registration scene was still crazy.

After a tour of San Francisco, Ethan asked Ballmer to take him to Sacramento next door. Although there is no NFL team here, it is the capital of California after all, so a registration point for the national competition has been set up here, and the organizer is the local Charles Hughes Stadium.

This is a stadium that can accommodate more than 10,000 people. It has hosted countless rugby and baseball games and has rich experience in organizing and hosting games. When Ethan came here, the flow of people and the same scenery, which were roughly the same as those in San Francisco, made him very satisfied.

Even though everyone knows that the huge flow of people must mean skipping classes, or that there must be a lot of people in flexible employment mixed in the crowd, so what?
Everyone has their own life to decide.

So, now that you are here, be happy.

We are all friends.

After walking around the registration point near the Bay Area, Ethan was relieved by the bustling scene and the flags flying freely. With so many people supporting it, the national competition will definitely be able to go on.

After the registration ended on March 1st, Ethan also got the real-time statistics of the NFL on the afternoon of the next day. On the first day of registration, a total of 76,322 contestant certificates were issued at 200 registration points across the country, an average of 382 people per point.

If we put this data on a macro level, compared with America's total population of 226 million, this number is not enough, but if we compare it with other leagues...

This number of participants is already an astronomical figure!
Even if each person only plays the game for one minute, the total game time for 70,000 people is 53 days!

More importantly, this special code contains data from the first working day of registration!
What will happen in the next few days?
People don’t even dare to think about it!

This situation also caused major media outlets to publish articles saying that they seemed to have misjudged the influence of video games in North America. The Wall Street Journal even published a headline - [Video Games May Become a Full-Time Sport]. After their recalculation, they felt that the number of game players in North America may have exceeded 50 million, and may even have reached 60 million or 70 million.

“This will definitely be a huge test for Ethan Jones and the Destiny Game, and it will definitely be a difficult task for our NFL.”

"Because no one has ever held a competition with so many participants before."

"Even though Game of Destiny has announced the competition format with the National Football League, and the elimination rounds are all brutal one-round decisions, but the thought of hundreds of thousands of people participating in a game on the same day next month is shocking!"

"Although the current registration scale is not as exaggerated as the general election vote, we should all admit that Ethan Jones is making history!"

“And what surprised us even more was that all of us were participants!”

To be honest, when Ethan received the report from the NFL, he felt that the number of applicants was a bit too exaggerated, but since the words had been spoken, he had to get it done no matter what.

And since there are more and more people, safety must naturally be guaranteed.

So, Ethan called Ballmer and said, "Go to Allen Massey and get an advance of 5 million. This money is our additional investment in the event, and it is specifically used to ensure on-site safety during the registration period."

"If it's not enough, tell me."

"Now is not the time to think about making money or losing money, but the time to think about the safety of the event."

"As long as we successfully hold this competition, it doesn't matter if we lose 10 or 20 million, because a national competition will definitely allow us to earn more."

“Just think of it as advertising for console sales.”

"I think you have noticed that so far, no game company has announced that it will release a game in the first half of this year, because they know that even if they release it, no one will play it."

Ethan was not talking nonsense. When the national competition gained momentum, Atari and Magnavox, which had had conflicts with him before, and MGM, Paramount and Disney, which had secretly released games, all withdrew.

No one in the entire North American continent is making games!
There is only one voice in the sky across the entire North American continent!
The raging scene made the former opponents of the Game of Destiny have no intention of resisting!

The fact that so many people were participating made the former opponents of the game of fate feel sad in secret!

But at this moment, Ethan didn't care what those people thought.

When the opponent is too weak...

How could an elephant compete with an ant?
However, before Ethan could boast for two days, on March 10, Saturday, when Ethan was leaving home to work overtime at the company, the driver had just driven the car out of the bodyguard warning area when a group of reporters with long guns and short guns surrounded him desperately. They stopped Ethan's security car like crazy, and while raising their hands to show that it was harmless, everyone shouted -

"Mr. Jones! What do you think of Philips's shouting at you?"

"Mr. Jones! What do you think of the product Philips released yesterday?"

"Mr. Jones! Will the new product released by Philips pose a threat to Destiny and Apple?"

"Mr. Jones!—"

"Mr. Jones!—"

"Mr. Jones!—"

(End of this chapter)