Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 99 Undercurrents Underlying the Celebration

It’s still the same office, and the same three people.

But at this moment, the old man was not angry at all. Instead, he crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair.

The fat subordinate in front of him was holding a document and reading it——

"Based on the patent licensing fees we have received in the past two months, the entire North American game company is almost wiped out."

“After Pac-Man became a huge hit, North American people were extremely enthusiastic about this game.”

“They love the yellow figure running madly through the maze, gobbling up beans.”

"I also like those ghosts that chase me relentlessly and each has its own unique characteristics."

"With the continuous deployment of Pac-Man arcade machines, other companies simply don't dare to launch new products."

"Because they're afraid that those boring games will rot in the warehouse after they're produced."

Such words made the old man smile and nod.

"The group is destroyed?"

"Oh - this is really outrageous -"

He said with emotion:

"If someone had told me a few years ago that in the future, someone would be able to dominate North America with just one game, I would definitely not have believed it."

"Because video games are no different from movies and novels, they are all human-created works. Since they are human-created, it is impossible for them to satisfy everyone, because everyone's interests and hobbies are different."

"but……"

“Pac-Man is definitely different.”

“When I saw it for the first time, or when I heard the professors’ exclamations at the press conference, I realized that this game is actually a combination of inspiration and technology. Its selling point is both inspiration and technology that ordinary people have never seen before.”

"When these two things happen at the same time, the current market feedback is normal."

“Although people living in different places have different interests and hobbies, as long as they are human, they will have curiosity.”

"When the media presents a miracle to the world, people who hear the news will go and take a look."

"So, when Pac-Man had this convenience, its success was inevitable, and of course, it could not be replicated."

The boss's words surprised the fat and thin subordinates.

They looked at each other quietly.

Both of them saw surprise in each other's eyes.

Although they tried their best to conceal their actions, how could he not notice it when the old man leaned back in his chair?
After seeing his subordinate's small action that he tried hard to cover up, he was in a good mood and immediately smiled and said, "What's wrong?"

"What's your reaction?"

"As a human being, am I incapable of experiencing joy and admiration?"

"Yes!"

"Ethan Jones has annoyed us several times before, but this time is different, right?"

"The previous "Snake" made us suffer a lot of doubts."

"Then there was Ralph Baer, ​​that was to stop us from collecting his royalties."

“But does Pac-Man have anything to do with us this time?”

“Isn’t this a slap in the face to the entire industry?”

"Since everyone got beaten, doesn't that mean no one got beaten?"

The old man spread his hands and looked at the two of them with a smile.

Such perverse logic left the fat and thin subordinates dumbfounded!
However, after hesitating for only a second, the fat man reacted and said with a smile: "Boss, I think you are right."

"The people who were most impacted by the game Pac-Man were those who made arcade machines."

"Those of us who make home game consoles have not been affected at all."

'? ? ? '

As soon as these words were spoken, the expression on the thin man's face became very interesting.

Not only that, he also instinctively moved a step to the side.

Because he always felt that his boss was sick, and was suffering from a kind of insanity. His colleagues were also infected and their IQs plummeted. In the huge office, he was the only normal person.

The old man also saw his incompatible action.

After noticing that his two subordinates had different expressions, he stopped joking and instead picked up the documents on the table and shook them in the air.

"Look at this."

"This is the document the chairman sent me a few days ago. It's a work arrangement from Philips, the parent company."

“When I saw this document, I understood why they kept holding us accountable for our work.”

"Or..."

"Why do they keep paying attention to our work, especially our home console products?"

This remark made the fat guy stop joking and made the thin guy serious.

The two men stepped forward and took the documents.

When they opened it, their brows were furrowed into a shape of a "川" (cross).

Because it says so above -

[According to the latest work arrangement from the parent company Philips, starting today, you will focus on the real-time changes in the North American game market and try to acquire those game companies that have fallen into operational difficulties due to the emergence of "Pac-Man", including but not limited to Kee Games, which released "Tank" last year, and Midway Games, which released "Asteroids".]

"Boss, what does this mean?"

The fat and thin subordinates didn't understand, and they cast puzzled looks at the old man.

The old man didn't mean to explain, but smiled and said, "Turn the page."

Following his instructions, the two men lowered their heads again.

The content on the second page of the document made their pupils shrink suddenly!
[According to the latest work arrangement of the parent company Philips, the Odyssey 300 product has been strategically abandoned. You can continue to sell it, but at the same time, you must also speed up the research and development of the next generation of products. In terms of the major research and development direction, they have not circled the content. You can continue to use the ROM tape box as a storage medium, but at the same time, they also hope that you can create a LaserDisc interface for Odyssey. ]

When the word LaserDisc was captured by the fat and thin duo, they both raised their heads almost at the same time!

“Philips is trying to make our Odyssey into a multi-functional home entertainment device???”

The thin man lost his voice.

The subordinate's reaction made the old man smile and nod, saying, "Yes."

"You are right."

“Philips wants to make our Odyssey into a comprehensive home entertainment system.”

'? ? ? '

This idea shocked the fat and thin men.

They frowned and looked up at their superiors, eager for more information.

The old man did not intend to hide his feelings. He slowly stood up by holding the armrest of the chair. While walking towards the window to look out, he also said, "In fact, a few days ago, when I was called by the board of directors, my reaction was the same as yours."

"It was not until then that I understood why Philips bought our company. Their core purpose was to promote their own video disc technology, LaserDisc, in the American continent through us."

"You may have all heard of LaserDisc. It was developed based on the optical video recording technology that appeared in 1963. Philips had already successfully developed it as early as 1969, and launched this standard to the market in 1972."

"You should know that there are countless difficulties between the emergence of a new standard and its entry into people's homes. The first thing to face is the old standards that already exist in the industry, because before that, they have already monopolized the current market. In order to break this monopoly, the only thing technology manufacturers can do is to promote it themselves."

"So, after constant selection, they chose us..."

"As for the reason, it's very simple. When LaserDisc is used, it involves the use of analog video signals. And up to now, only Professor Ralph Baer's home game console in North America uses video signals."

"Philips was very satisfied with this natural fit, so they proposed to acquire us in 1974."

"According to Philips' original idea, it was to add a LaserDisc port to the Odyssey product in order to promote its video disc products to the North American public. In order to gain a wider market, it was necessary to ensure that the Odyssey product had a certain share in the market."

At this point, the old man paused.

He was standing in front of the window looking at the world, but suddenly he turned around, smiled at his two subordinates, and said, "So..."

"Do you know why they are so angry about Ethan Jones?"

When this question arose, the fat and thin subordinates nodded instinctively!

If they still don’t understand the truth of the matter at this moment, then they are stupid!
Why did Philips suddenly pay attention to Ethan Jones?
Why would Philips doubt their ability to do the job?

Isn’t that because of the popularity of “Snake Game”?
If "Snake Game" was a game born in their Milova, then Milova could definitely make the Odyssey product soar to the sky with this game!
When the market distribution of Odyssey increased dramatically, Philips was able to promote its video disc standard to the North American public by adding a LaserDisc interface!

As long as this step occurs, Philips will be able to revolutionize the traditional video tape industry!
When every household bought an Odyssey, an Odyssey with LaserDisc playback standard...

Philips can then lobby Hollywood entertainment companies vigorously to let them use their own video discs to copy film and television programs!
At that time...

That would be a monopoly!
But unfortunately...

Ethan Jones does not belong to them, Milohua.

Philips was very angry about the loss of the genius creativity of "Snake Game".

no way……

Who can blame the publicity opportunity that is right before your eyes?

“So… Philips doesn’t care if Ethan Jones and Nolan Bushnell have a deal?”

Thinking of this, the thin man swallowed his saliva and said, "They don't care how much money Ethan Jones paid for our lawsuit?"

"Were their previous questions just a way to vent their anger?"

This question kept the old man silent for a few seconds.

Finally, he shook his head and said, "You are right, but you are also wrong."

"Philips cares about Snake Game, so they're going to hold us accountable for losing it."

"But at the same time, they found that the loss of Snake Game, or the rise of Ethan Jones, brought them, us, a better opportunity."

'? ? ? '

The fat and thin men didn't understand what was said.

The old man smiled and continued, "A few days ago, when the chairman called me over, he said that Philips is very happy now."

“I’m glad that there is a monopoly in the arcade market.”

"When Ethan Jones dominated the arcade game market, other companies with excellent ideas would inevitably fall into a difficult situation due to lack of funds and market opportunities."

"Some people might choose to follow in Ethan Jones' footsteps and continue making CPU arcade machines."

"But more companies are afraid of the difficulty of developing CPU games and choose to stop there."

"At this time, we can acquire those companies that are about to go bankrupt at a very low price, put those games that once made a huge splash in the game market into Odyssey, and absorb a group of excellent producers into Milova..."

"Now, we are the only one in the entire market that makes home game consoles!"

“But at the same time, there are still countless game companies in the entire market that dare not make electronic arcades!”

"If we just get those ideas onto our home consoles, we'll be invading every home in North America in no time!"

"And this is the situation that Philips wants to see most!"

When this fact came out, the fat and thin subordinates laughed out loud...

It's not just that they feel their jobs are saved.

It is also because they are looking forward to the grand goals of the parent company.

Using North America as the base, set rules for global video playback standards?

If this succeeds, won’t Miluohua become a monopoly giant?

By then, you can make money without doing anything!

And their treatment...

It will also be infinitely improved!

"So, Ethan Jones releasing Pac-Man was a good thing for us?"

“He just disrupted the entire industry and gave us a new life?”

The fat man was a little surprised.

"I will go collect information about those game companies and see which ones are considering changing their business and which ones are likely to go bankrupt!"

Such words made the thin man nod his head continuously, and said: "I will contact the technical department right away and ask them to try to add a LaserDisc port to the next generation of products. In other words, see if it is possible to build a LaserDisc player into the Odyssey."

The old man was very happy with his subordinates' decisiveness.

He nodded in agreement, then waved his hand and said, "Go ahead."

However, just as the fat and thin subordinates were about to leave, the thin one suddenly stopped as he thought of something.

Then, he asked the question that just popped up in his mind, "Boss, there are two more things."

"What's the matter? Tell me." The old man was in a good mood.

"Are we going to use CPU in the next generation of Odyssey?"

"of course."

"Then..." The thin man hesitated.

The old man understood what he wanted to say and said, "Choose Intel."

"Okay." The thin man nodded immediately.

"What's the second thing?" asked the old man.

"The second thing is...what if Ethan Jones also makes a home game console?" The thin man was a little embarrassed.

Although he didn't want to say this worst-case scenario, sometimes someone had to be the warrior.

"If Ethan Jones also made a home video game console, all of us combined might not be able to beat him alone."

"Because his creativity is really..."

"too strong."

This made the old man smile slightly, and he nodded and said, "Do you think Ethan Jones can still have excellent ideas after creating Pac-Man and Snake Game?"

"Oh--"

"Do you really believe what Steven Spielberg says?"

"Spielberg was clearly flattering him."

"He, Ethan Jones, is just a man, he is not a god!"

"I guarantee that he will never have any amazing ideas in his mind again!"

Such absolute words made the thin man swallow his saliva.

His hesitant expression made the old man smile and shake his head: "Okay, Okay, Philips is actually prepared for the worst."

"They thought about what would happen if Ethan Jones could come up with new ideas."

"But after the assessment, they felt there was a threat, but it was not a big threat."

"Because Philips is developing a new technology with Sony that can allow optical discs to store data."

"If I had to describe it, it would be like a CD version of a ROM."

"Its storage capacity is expected to be several times or even dozens of times that of magnetic cartridge ROM."

"At that point, no matter how creative Ethan Jones is, the world will have to use our stuff."

"So, we at Odyssey just have to hold on until this technology comes out."

"And this shouldn't be difficult, right?"

"After all, Ethan Jones is having a great time in the arcade field right now."

"Even if he's done with North America, there's still a market waiting for him to expand in Liben."

"If I remember correctly, the copyright agency for Snake Game was obtained by Nintendo?"

"Oh it's really God bless us Mirohua!"

"You guys go call our old friend Yamauchi Hiroshi and tell him that Ethan Jones's new creation Pac-Man has swept across North America, with an estimated revenue of over 6502 billion. His MOS is the most suitable CPU for arcades and consoles in the world, and then..."

"Believe me, Yamauchi Hiroshi will annoy him to death."

Having said this, a bright smile appeared on the old man's face.

The fat and thin subordinates, on the other hand, were filled with delight.

Because they know themselves—

The future is expected!

Note: ① In reality, Philips acquired MILOVA to promote its own video disc standard. They obtained the North American patent in 78. MILOVA machines were sold until the 90s. ② CD-ROM technology was developed by Philips and Sony. ③ I don’t know if you have heard of the story of the console war in the 82s. In simple terms, Sony initially pulled Nintendo to make game consoles, hoping to promote its own CD standard through game consoles, but because the contract agreement was not favorable to Nintendo, Nintendo tore up the contract and studied game consoles with Philips. Sony could only study alone, and then PS came out. Nintendo lost a lot of money, and Philips, who played the role of stealing love in this story, exploded on the spot. But in fact, before this story, Philips had done two things to set standards in the 83s, specifically using MILOVA (actually PolyGram) to promote video disc standards and compressed optical disc standards as written in the article. The first to use electronic games to gain the right to speak in the industry was not Sony, but Philips. But in reality, Philips failed for two reasons. The first was bad luck. The Odyssey machine could not sell as well as Atari. The second was bad luck. When they came out with CD-ROM in 82, they wanted to make a second-generation Odyssey and released it in . Then, on Christmas Day in , ET swallowed up the entire North American game market. Atari collapsed and Philips was so scared that it directly cancelled the second-generation Odyssey project. So when they cooperated with Nintendo, it was actually Philips' third attempt to set standards.



(End of this chapter)