Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 273 Yamauchi Hiroshi's Perspective

Hiroshi Yamauchi can no longer recall how many times he has been to Los Angeles, but he clearly remembers that his first time in North America was more than 20 years ago.

Although Nintendo had become the king of the hanafuda industry in Japan at that time, or had monopolized the entire hanafuda industry, the hanafuda market was too small, and the foreseeable future meant that the company had no development potential. So he came to North America, wanting to learn from the world's largest country and bring advanced ideas and promising businesses back to Japan.

And he did just that.

The introduction of Western-style playing cards directly subverted the entertainment methods of Japanese people;
The cooperation with Walt Disney brought the idea of ​​intellectual property operation to Nintendo.

Hiroshi Yamauchi thought that with so many cash cows, he had the ability to forge a unique path. The light gun, super hand, and love tester brought to him by Gunpei Yokoi made him see the dawn of the toy empire. But no one expected that traditional entertainment would be eliminated so quickly, and that a new type of entertainment like video games would reach heights that toys could never reach in less than a decade.

This is simply——

"That's outrageous."

Looking at the City of Angels outside the window, Yamauchi Hiroshi was deeply moved by the cartoon flags fluttering in the wind.

Although he had learned a few months ago that the video game competition organized by Ethan Jones attracted more than one million participants, when he came to Los Angeles and saw the colorful flags all over the sky, the hanging curtains everywhere, and the various stickers and graffiti filling the streets, he really felt that this competition was a bit too crazy, because the current scale was even grander than the Super Bowl he knew.

Although Ethan Jones is not a star;

Although Ethan Jones does not engage in politics;

But the world he created is enough to crush everyone before him.

“The impact is too exaggerated.”

Hirofumi Imanishi, the general affairs director of Nintendo who came with Yamauchi, also shook his head and sighed, "Although I have not experienced the era of Walt Disney, I believe that Walt Disney could not have such an influence. No matter how good his animations are, they are only a fairy tale kingdom for children. But these cartoon characters created by Ethan Jones are for everyone..."

“They are all just the right safe havens.”

This comment made Yamauchi Hiroshi nod slightly, sigh softly, and stand there in envy.

He felt that he was catching up fast enough, but every time he faced Ethan Jones, he would have a new sense of powerlessness. Before, it was his excellent creativity that made him feel that he was unable to compete, and now it was his huge influence that made him not know what to do.

While the two were silent, the sound of knocking on the door broke the silence.

As Hiroshi Imanishi took the initiative to open the door, Arakawa Minoru, dressed in a suit and tie, walked in.

"Boss, everything has been arranged."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, let's go."

Having said that, Yamauchi Hiroshi took the lead and left the hotel.

After getting into the car prepared by their good son-in-law, Minoru Arakawa, the group headed to the Memorial Stadium.

The Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles was built in 1921 and has a history of 58 years.

The original purpose of the stadium was to commemorate the veterans of Los Angeles in World War I. Later, because Los Angeles applied for the Olympics, it became the venue for the 1932 Summer Olympics. Last year, Los Angeles successfully won the right to host the 1984 Summer Olympics, so in a few years, the Memorial Stadium will become the only stadium in the world to host two Olympic events.

Because this stadium can host the Olympics, it can accommodate a large number of people. Two years ago, it could accommodate more than 100,000 people. Now, even after being renovated and equipped with a grandstand and electronic screens, it can still accommodate 71,500 people.

Because of this, when Yamauchi Hiroshi arrived at the entrance of the stadium, the first thing he saw was a long queue that stretched as far as the eye could see. Then he saw groups of players who were not qualified to enter and could only wait outside for news and join in the fun. In order to meet the viewing needs of these people, a number of large electronic screens have been set up outside the Memorial Gymnasium, so that even if you are dozens or hundreds of meters away, you can still get a glimpse of the world inside the stadium.

However, the dense crowds and long queues are not the most eye-catching scenery at the moment.

Those figures holding the Starry Sky flag, wearing Pac-Man jerseys, wearing Snake hats, and holding mosaic Millennium Falcon dolls, are the ones that Yamauchi Hiroshi truly envies. It's not because other companies' popular characters have never had peripheral products, but because the last guy who could use his works to leverage toys, and who could make countless people love virtual characters, died long ago.

And now...

A stronger guy seemed to appear.

"Ethan Jones made toys?" he asked in a low voice to his son-in-law beside him.

"I don't know." Arakawa Minoru shook his head, but the next second, he said: "However, during the registration stage of the national competition, he sent out millions of postcards."

"The pictures on it are all characters from the game of fate."

"The toys we have now were only introduced to the market in early June."

“It’s currently only available in the Los Angeles area, and only people who come to Los Angeles to watch the game can buy it.”

"The sales outlets are not traditional toy stores, but Disney boutiques and Disneyland, which Roy Disney forcibly controlled this year. According to the information I received, the reason Roy Disney took back those stores was that he could bring new revenue to Disney..."

This answer made Yamauchi Hiroshi's eyes flicker and his expression complicated.

After staring for a moment, he nodded slightly and followed his son-in-law out of the car.

Walking into the special passage of the stadium and entering the newly built private room, Yamauchi Hiroshi also saw several familiar faces. They were the boss of Warner Communications, the chairman of Philips North America, the current presidents of Sony and Casio, and...

Some faces he had only seen in profiles.

Although everyone was very familiar with each other, no one greeted each other at this moment. After waiting for Arakawa Minoru to close the door of the private room, Yamauchi Hiroya chuckled and came to the floor-standing glass in the private room, looking out at the green field.

Then, the large electronic screens standing around the venue instantly attracted all his attention.

"President, these eight large electronic screens will broadcast real-time images of the game to all spectators on site." Seeing his father-in-law's confusion, Arakawa Minoru explained considerately.

His words also made Hiroshi Imanishi, who was standing beside him, raise his eyebrows and said, "Video games are actually the same as baseball. If you are too far away, you can't see the ball clearly. So, people come to watch the game just to feel the atmosphere here. The real picture still has to be reflected on the electronic big screen."

"That's it." The butler's words made Arakawa Minoru nod repeatedly.

Yamauchi Hiroshi did not dwell on this question and instead asked other questions.

“How much is the ticket here?”

"I heard before that Ethan Jones didn't sell tickets to the public for the previous match?"

“Yes, because there are too many people and it’s difficult to sell tickets.”

Arakawa Minoru shared the news he had heard, "But the final is different, because it is broadcast live throughout the United States, and it is a project purchased by the American Broadcasting Corporation, so they have to sell tickets to the public, otherwise the empty stadium will not look beautiful at all."

"Since we are forced to sell tickets, the prices are not expensive. Tickets in the back area are $9.99 each, tickets in the middle area are $29.99 each, and tickets in the front area are $69.99 each. The first three rows are not for sale."

"And our private room..."

"One room with nineteen thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine."

"So cheap?" Yamauchi Hiroshi was surprised.

He was referring, of course, to regular tickets.

Box tickets were originally reserved for the wealthy.

While exclaiming, he also instinctively asked: "This price will attract countless ticket scalpers, right?"

This question made Arakawa Minoru silent for two seconds, then he shook his head and said, "I don't know if there are ticket scalpers, but I know that Ethan Jones only wants to give the tickets to his own people."

"There are actually only 10,000 tickets released to the public. The rest are sold internally. Contestants who advance to the state finals will receive a free ticket to the front area. They will also have the opportunity to purchase a seat next to the ticket. If they are willing to buy, they can take the ticket for $69.99. After that, whether they resell it or give it away, it has nothing to do with Ethan Jones."

“However, those who make it to the finals usually don’t sell tickets.”

"These people consumed about a few thousand tickets, and the remaining 40,000 to 50,000 tickets basically went into the hands of the contestants. Didn't the Destiny Game collect information about those people when they registered for the competition? So after the final time was determined, the staff contacted the contestants who had participated in the competition and told them when and where the tickets would be sold publicly. Those who wanted to watch the game could buy them with their original competition certificates."

"One per person, first come, first served."

"Although it seems a little unfair, this is the greatest fairness."

"After all, there is no real fairness in this world, right?"

Arakawa Minoru's words made Yamauchi Hiroshi smile and nod.

Hiroshi Imanishi beside him was stunned.

Because Hiroshi Imanishi never thought that Ethan Jones would set so many conditions for the finals tickets? Players who entered the state finals can bring their friends to watch the game at half the price? Anyone who participated in the competition will have the opportunity to buy a grandstand ticket?
this--

Are you sick?
In the opinion of Nintendo's General Affairs Director, today is definitely a good opportunity to make money.

As long as the game cooperates with the ticketing agency to hype up the game, then Destiny Game can make a minimum of 10 million US dollars today.

Because even if calculated based on the original price, more than 70,000 positions can earn nearly three million US dollars.

But Ethan Jones didn't do that, instead choosing to sell large quantities of tickets to fans?

This is simply the epitome of working hard but not making any money!

This is simply a disgrace to capitalists!

"What a waste!"

“What a waste!”

Imanishi Hiroshi shook his head repeatedly.

I cannot agree with Ethan Jones's approach.

His words made Yamauchi Hiroshi raise his hand and said, "Look there."

"When you think Ethan Jones is sick, he actually chose the most popular gameplay."

Everyone looked in the direction that Yamauchi Hiroshi pointed, which was the entrance for the spectators in the stands.

The audience will enter from there after their tickets have been checked. Because the crowd is complex and their identities are diverse, everyone is dressed differently. But after they find their seats and officially sit down, the originally chaotic world gradually becomes unified, and a blue ocean slowly appears in the huge venue.

"Is this a--T-shirt?"

Hiroshi Imanishi narrowed his eyes, trying to see everything.

Although he couldn't see the images in the distance clearly, Yamauchi Hiroshi nodded affirmatively, "Yes, it's a T-shirt. The audience here are all fans. One T-shirt for each person can fill the whole world."

At various sporting events, distributing T-shirts to spectators is a common practice.

Because this can create a home atmosphere.

But often, not everyone is willing to wear this kind of T-shirt, because in many games, fans of the visiting team will also go to watch, and it is impossible for them to wear the opponent's jersey to cheer.

Therefore, most of the time, how to get more fans of the home team into the home stadium to watch the game? That is what all the owners of the home team are thinking about. And under the practice of everyone, some important seats are reserved for loyal fans, which has become a secret operation known to everyone.

Of course, this should not be the reason why Ethan Jones sold tickets to fans today.

Although there was a competition today, the real protagonist was not the players, but Ethan Jones' game. It didn't matter to the audience who won the championship. What they wanted to see was the true limit of human beings in a certain video game. Let's see if anyone can complete "Ms. Pac-Man".

Let’s see if there will be any amazing operations on the scene.

See if the guy who gets the wish reward will do something that increases species diversity.

Let's see if Ethan Jones announces anything new after the big game.

Because of this, when Yamauchi Hiroshi said that Ethan Jones had chosen the most popular style of play, Imanishi Hiroshi actually couldn't understand what his boss meant, because in today's Los Angeles, in Ethan Jones's field, no one could beat him. But when time gradually approached 10 a.m. and the national competition officially started, Imanishi Hiroshi immediately understood why his boss said that.

When the rhythmic entrance music stopped, the originally noisy open-air stadium seemed to be covered by an invisible pot lid, and the chaotic sound suddenly stopped.

Even though the discussion arose again a few seconds later, the volume was obviously much smaller than before.

Everyone at the scene was looking around, as if trying to find out why the sound had disappeared, but more like looking for the signal to start the competition. At the same time, the eight electronic screens above the venue suddenly lit up.

The shot overlooking the venue attracted everyone's attention, and after the director made a simple adjustment, the focus on the venue was switched so that an old white man in a casual suit appeared on the screen.

"Hello~" The friendly old man greeted the audience.

Not only that, he also raised his right hand and turned it around.

This situation caused laughter at the competition venue.

Then, as if with telepathic connection, a huge “Hi” echoed throughout the venue.

Perhaps it was because the circular venue was more likely to amplify the sound, but it could also be because there were too many people answering the question. So even though he was in a private room and there was glass in front of him, Hiroshi Imanishi could still feel his eardrum vibrate instantly. It felt like a cannonball exploding next to his ear, making him dizzy.

Before he could wake up, the white man continued: "Everyone, do you hear clearly?"

"Yeah!"

This time the answer was much neater than before.

What’s even more fatal is that this time the answer was even louder.

The roaring sound was like the sound of a bell, making people's scalps numb, but even though they felt physically uncomfortable, the guys at the scene remained excited.

This situation made Hiroshi Imanishi feel deeply moved.

"President, is this the most popular gameplay you mentioned?"

“Can the roof be blown off right at the beginning?”

"I guess so." Yamauchi Hiroshi nodded slightly.

But after a few seconds, he chuckled again and shook his head, "But it's still too early to climax."

These words made Hiroshi Imanishi sigh in agreement.

He knew what the boss was talking about.

As he cast his eyes toward the field, not wanting to miss a single detail, the old man, whose ears were also ringing from the noise, laughed, "Okay, okay, I can feel your enthusiasm."

"At the same time, I also knew that the microphone in my hand was good."

"Since there is no problem with the equipment, let's get to the point."

"I believe that many people know me, but of course there are also people who are relatively unfamiliar with me. After all, I am not a US dollar, and it is impossible for everyone to know me, so I decided to introduce myself."

"My name is Ronald. I used to be the governor of California. I've made movies. I've been in the military and flown airplanes. I've been a captain. I've also been a TV host."

"Although I have bid farewell to my hosting career for decades, I decided to pick up the microphone again today because I am honored to receive the invitation from the Destiny Game to host today's game."

"Like everyone in the stadium, outside the stadium, and in front of the TV, I love video games."

"When I have nothing to do, I will play it. This is not only because the game is fun, but also because appropriate games are good for the body. It can train our reaction ability, exercise our thinking ability, and make our eyes and hands more coordinated..."

Maybe it's because I came here with a purpose.

So the former governor of California started praising video games in front of the camera.

At the same time, he also knew what the occasion was. After briefly explaining his position in more than ten seconds, he changed the subject and said, "Although I like video games, which make me feel like I'm twenty years old every day, I like the founder of the Destiny game more."

"Because his inspiration! His creativity! Is what makes video games more fun!"

"So, now - let's welcome him with a big cheer -"

When the former governor stretched out his voice and spoke the words of welcome in a deep voice.

There was a burst of screams inside and outside the stadium.

If time could be turned back, this overwhelming shouting would definitely be a representation of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.

But now, even if the sound of breaking air is noisy and harsh, it is still a warm welcome.

While everyone was cheering, the director cut the camera on the big screen to the entrance of the athletes for the competition. At this moment, the dark passage was filled with countless expectations.

However, just as the audience inside and outside the venue focused their attention at this moment, after the scream rang out for more than ten seconds, there was still no movement in the dark passage.

This situation surprised the audience.

Ben's scream that had been soaring into the sky also weakened a lot.

At this moment, the former governor's voice came out from the loudspeaker again -

"Oh, sorry, this is my fault. It was my mistake. There were a lot of people waiting to go on stage. Without me explaining it clearly, the people inside had no idea who we were calling to go on stage."

"So, let's do this again—"

"Now - who are we going to welcome out?!"

the former governor of California asked at the top of his voice.

After asking the question, he immediately pointed the microphone towards the stands.

Even though everyone knows that this method cannot capture any sound.

But at this moment, the audience still shouted——

"Ethan Jones!"

This answer made the former governor of California on the screen grin.

He took back the microphone and continued, "It's too confusing! I didn't hear it clearly!"

"Tell me again——Who are we going to welcome?!"

"Ethan Jones!!" This time the voice was louder.

Even though the venue is divided into inside and outside, the answers at this moment are highly consistent.

Once again, the former governor of California gave a thumbs up to everyone present.

"Okay, I heard you." He smiled and snapped his fingers.

Then he said: "Well, next, let us welcome the founder of Destiny Game, the producer of Snake, Pac-Man and Star Wars, Ethan Jones."

The elongated voice and trembling tone ignited the entire venue.

Suddenly, screams rang out and many audience members stood up.

Although the former governor of California, who was the host, did not allow the crowd to continue to shout Ethan's name, many people still started to call out. At first, the voice was not loud, but soon, the momentum of the call spread throughout the stadium like wildfire.

Immediately afterwards, the onlookers who were watching the big screen outside also started shouting.

The initial tone was loud and mixed.

But after three or five seconds, it became uniform.

When the calls of "Ethan!" "Ethan!!" "Ethan!!!" are like waves, one higher than the other, the vibrations mixed with passion can even ignite the sea water.

At this moment, the dark passage also gave its own response.

A figure seemed to run out from the darkness.

Because of the line of sight, the first thing people see is a foot wearing sneakers.

Next, there are jeans and black shirts full of casual style.

In a few breaths, the figure had already jumped out of the passage.

When the handsome face and flowing blond hair appeared in front of everyone...

The cheers inside and outside the stadium reached a peak in an instant!

After they called out "Ethan" for the last time...

The sharp cheers were like flames, which completely ignited the long-suppressed scene!
Screams broke through the air!

One after another, figures jumped up on the ground!

The deafening call is the symbol of excitement!

The trembling under the body is the release of joy!

When Ethan raised his hands and high-fived the lucky spectators in the stands on both sides of the aisle——

Los Angeles……

earthquake!
Oh no!
When the broadcaster faithfully broadcast the finals...

On the vast North American continent...

Welcome their king!

I was feeling unwell recently and went to the hospital for a checkup. They found some minor problems. The doctor suggested that I have an operation to prevent future problems. I will be hospitalized for seven days. Since this is not a serious matter, I have something to do next month and the doctor's operation schedule is full, so the operation will be scheduled for December. If I work hard recently, I should be able to publish it normally by then, but if I don't have enough manuscripts saved, I may have to take one to three days off. Let me talk about this first.

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(End of this chapter)