Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 290 The US Market: Expanding Starting from MIT

MIT.

"Damn it, I'm back!"

Yang Tian poked his head out from the kitchen: "Okay, Duoduo, go wash your hands first, the food will be ready soon."

"Damn it, when Mommy was here, you always had everything done for you. I never thought that you would be able to cook by yourself here."

“I don’t usually have time to cook; the housekeeper does it. But you’re back today,” Yang Tian said, finishing the last dish and putting it on the table.

Sweet and sour pork, shredded pork with garlic sauce, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and shredded potatoes are all common home-style dishes, but they smell wonderful and are full of the taste of home.

Yang Duo'er helped get bowls and chopsticks and served rice.

"Damn it, do you miss your mom?"

"Ahem, child, what are you saying? It makes me feel quite embarrassed. Did you come back this time just to see me?"

"Of course not. Northwestern Polytechnical University's business in the United States is growing, so our Pacific Trading Company has also decided to open an office here in the United States..."

"Is it because of... that Intel thing?"

Yang Duo'er paused slightly with her chopsticks, then smiled and said, "Damn it, you can't hide anything from me. That's right, Intel is outdated. They're unwilling to accept being at a disadvantage in the competition, so they've come up with such a shameless method. So, we've decided to go straight for the heart of the matter and open an office in the United States!"

Are you going to Silicon Valley?

No, in Boston.

When starting work, you should naturally begin with what you are familiar with!
MIT is located in Cambridge, just across the river from Boston. In fact, MIT used to be located in Boston.

Boston, one of the oldest cities in the United States, was founded in 1630, not long after the founding of the United States. It boasts numerous colleges and universities, including many prestigious institutions, making it a center of international higher education!

Yang Tian frowned: "It is indeed easier to make a breakthrough in Boston, but... if you want to compete with Intel, that means developing the electronics industry, and Silicon Valley is the high-tech center."

"No, no, damn it, Silicon Valley is just a research and development center, not suitable for sales. But in Boston, we have a large user base, making us the perfect place to promote our products."

"Hmm, that makes sense. There are many universities here, and they need high-performance microcomputers. Your Loongson processor is very suitable for Boston, especially since I've heard that large companies like IBM are also planning to launch computers equipped with Loongson processors. MIT has already ordered several hundred units..."

Yang Duo'er smiled and said, "What we used to open up the American market was not the Loongson computer."

"what is that?"

"Let's eat first, then we'll talk."

My daughter has even learned to keep things a secret!
Yang Tian is usually busy with work. His wife and daughter have left, and his home feels empty. So, he usually spends his time at school doing research. Being surrounded by a large group of students makes it less monotonous. He rarely uses the 25-inch color TV at home.

Today... after dinner, Yang Tian saw Yang Duo'er turn on the TV, connect a few things, and after the static on the screen cleared up, little figures appeared.

"Come on, you idiot, play a game with me!" Yang Duo'er raised the controller: "We have to defeat the Great Demon King and rescue Princess Peach Blossom!"

Yang Tian glanced at the bowls and chopsticks on the table, then at the TV screen. Okay, he'd wait for the nanny to come and clean the house, and then play a game with his daughter!

Less than a minute later, Yang Tian put down the controller and watched his daughter continue to play the game. No, his skill level was too low.

"Damn it, let's start over!"

In the second game, three minutes later, Yang Tian reluctantly put down the controller again.

"Damn it, your skill level is no good! You should take this Huaxin FC set to the office and play with it whenever you have free time to improve your skills."

"That won't do. The office is a place for work; how can we bring this game console there?"

"Damn it, this is a home computer, not a game console. I'm going to Boston to look for a house!"

Soon, the sound of a sports car could be heard outside. Yang Duo'er had already driven away. Yang Tian, ​​who was about to leave for work, looked back at the room one last time before closing the door. He gritted his teeth, then carefully stuffed the game console into his briefcase, glanced around like a thief, and then quickly left.

MIT, office.

A rhythmic monosyllabic melody played continuously, and every few minutes, an annoyed man's voice would ring out.

"Damn it, how did he die again!"

"No, try again!"

"Haha, I cleared the level! The first level is finally over!"

The door creaked open, but Yang Tian paid no attention to it. His eyes were fixed on the screen, staring intently at the little figure on it.

"Jump, jump now!"

Hearing the voice reminding him, Yang Tian quickly pressed the controller and successfully dodged an attack. Just as he was about to press on, he suddenly realized something and turned to look at the person next to him.

Phillips, a student who just started his senior year, participated in a collaborative project between MIT and the East and was someone who reported directly to Yang Tian. He had come to report on his work today, but unexpectedly, he found Yang Tian playing games as soon as he entered the door.

Yang Tian felt a little embarrassed and gave an awkward smile: "Phillips, you..."

"Teacher, I'll go with you!"

Phillips sat down, picked up the other controller, and started the game again. It was obvious that he was better at the game, and the two of them were faster than one person. The second level, the third level... the two of them played all the way to the fourth level before finally getting over.

“Teacher, this game is amazing!” Phillips exclaimed. “Where did you buy this? I want to buy one too. Hmm, this isn’t from America, is it? I’ve never seen this brand before, and it even has Chinese characters…”

“Phillips, if you want to play, just come to my office. Forget about buying it; once you get addicted, it might waste your time.”

"No, teacher. When we encounter difficulties during the research and development process, we can play a game to clear our minds and then better focus on our work. Besides, this game is really good, much better than the games currently available on the market."

"What's so good about it?"

"The production quality is excellent. Each level is different, ranging from simple to complex. The graphics are very well-made, much better than those shoddy productions on the market. Moreover, and importantly, the graphics are free of pornography and violence, giving the monster-fighting experience a cartoon-like feel..."

Yang Tian doesn't understand games, but Phillips does. He's played every game on the market, and none of them can compare to the one in front of him!

Atari is the industry leader in gaming, and the company practically dominates half of the US market. However... faced with a saturated gaming market, Atari's strategy is to win through sheer volume.

They invented the game cartridge system, so every time a game was released, a new cartridge was needed, which generated a lot of wealth.

However... the inevitable drawback of having too many games is severe homogenization. After all, where are there so many geniuses to conceive entirely new games? Almost all of them are very similar. It's like writing a novel: if the first chapter is filler, the reader can tolerate it; if the second chapter is filler, the reader can still bear it; but if the third chapter is still filler, well, the reader will just leave!
The current US gaming market is an era of shoddy production; there are no truly outstanding games to be seen, and users are patiently waiting, and then…

The sudden appearance of an Eastern-style game console, with its exquisite graphics and ingeniously designed game levels, and most importantly, the absence of gore and violence, was a revolution in the gaming industry!
Phillips, a gamer, has already seen the potential of this game console. He played it once and wants to play it a second time. This game is great!
Hearing Phillips's high praise, Yang Tian nodded: "In that case, you can take this game console!"

He had originally thought Phillips would decline, but to his surprise, upon hearing his words... whoosh!

Phillips grabbed the game console and ran outside as fast as he could, as if afraid he might change his mind!
"Phillips, you came to see me, is there something you need?" "Nothing!"

Phillips ran back to his dormitory like a whirlwind.

In the West, everything is business, and universities are no exception. Many universities do not provide dormitories, so the surrounding apartments can be rented out. However, MIT is different. This university, which is famous for cultivating nerds, treats nerds very well. Undergraduates can live in three-person dorm rooms, and graduate students will still have single rooms.

Simonstein, one of MIT's most iconic dormitories, was designed by the renowned architect Stephen Holl. Nicknamed "The Sponge," as the name suggests, the building's exterior isn't particularly eye-catching; it's like a giant sponge!

Even so, countless architecture enthusiasts will come to admire it.

When Phillips returned, he saw several people who were clearly not MIT students loitering outside the building.

"Hey, classmate..."

Before he could finish speaking, Phillips dashed inside like a whirlwind. He opened his dormitory door, plugged in the TV, and soon, that familiar sound rang out.

First level, second level...

This time, I actually failed on the third level!
"Hey classmate, you need a helper. Let me help you."

It turned out to be the student Phillips had asked about the dormitory at the door. Because Phillips was in a hurry, he didn't even close the dormitory door, and the other person followed him in. He originally just wanted to take a look at the interior of the dormitory, but once his eyes were on the TV screen, he couldn't take them off.

He only asked the question after Phillips finished the game.

Phillips nodded: "Okay, hurry up, it's definitely easier to beat the game with two people than alone. If I can't beat the game, I definitely won't be able to sleep well tonight."

As time slowly passed and darkness fell outside, the two finally succumbed to defeat on the eighth challenge.

"Damn it, I lost again! No way, let's try again!"

By this time, a large number of students had gathered in the dormitory, each eager to try.

"My turn! My turn!"

On this day, a game called Mario quickly spread throughout MIT, and everyone was talking about it with great interest, eager to see the game for themselves. When students from other schools who had visited Simon St. returned to their campuses, the legend of Mario also began to circulate at the Boston Institute of Architecture.

Within a week, the new game was all over Boston and Cambridge, on every university campus. People were talking about it by word of mouth, and everyone was itching to play it. But... where could they buy the game console?

Boom!
Simonstein's dorm room door was kicked open, and Yang Tian appeared at the door with a serious expression.

"Phillips! You haven't been to school or work for a week! What are you trying to do?"

Yang Tian is angry, and the consequences will be severe!
Phillips then realized that the students who had been surrounding him in layers had disappeared without him noticing. He still refused to put down the controller; this was the final level, and he had to beat it!

Click!

The screen went black; Yang Tian had cut off the power!
Snapped!
Phillips put down the controller, his eyes filled with anger: "Professor Yang, how could you do this! My game is about to be completed!"

"What did you tell me? You said you'd just play it once when you were bored to clear your head, but look what's happened? You've been playing it for a whole week! What happened to your promise?"

Yang Tian was even more furious: "I believed you, you big idiot, and actually lent you my game console!"

Yang Tian stepped forward, picked up the game console, and smashed it against the television set next to him.
"I'll let you play games, I'll let you neglect your studies! I'll let you waste your time and energy..."

Click!

The TV casing is cracked, but the game console casing... is still intact. My goodness, the quality is amazing!
"No!" Taking advantage of Yang Tian's momentary daze, Phillips rushed forward, snatched the game console, and held it protectively to his chest: "If you want to hit someone, hit me, don't break the game console!"

"This game console is mine, give it back to me!"

Phillips shook his head: "No, no, I won't give it to you until I beat the game."

Tap tap tap... Just then, footsteps echoed in the hallway, followed by a loud voice.

"A new Pacific Trading Company office has opened at 68 Newbury Street in Boston. They're selling Huaxin FC game consoles, but quantities are limited, so hurry and buy one!"

Boom!
Phillips put the game console down: "Here you go! I'm going to buy a new one!"

Wow!
The whole group ran away.

Looking at the empty dormitory, Yang Tian clenched his fists.

Dodo, you've gone too far! This game console is practically a form of spiritual opium! How could you bring this thing to Boston and ruin my students' lives!

When I get back, I need to have a good talk with Duoduo.

Newbury Street in Boston is a famous commercial district in Boston. The street is lined with 19th-century Victorian brownstone buildings, most of which are about three stories high, except for the clock tower at the street, which stands tall.

As the most bustling and fashionable neighborhood, this place is usually crowded with people, but now, a long line has formed in front of a shop in this Boston neighborhood.

Most of them were young people, both men and women. They looked at the shops in the distance with some anxiety, hoping that the goods would not be sold out when it was their turn!
"Viewers, I'm Jessica, a reporter from WGBH. I'm now walking down one of Boston's busiest streets, conducting a street interview... Sir, wait a minute, are you happy?"

The person who was stopped was taken aback at first, then shook his head: "I am not happy. If you would give me two hundred and twenty dollars, then I would be happy."

Jessica was a little embarrassed, but... she composed herself and asked, "Why do you want this number?"

"I need $199 to buy a Huaxin FC game console, and another $20 to buy game cartridges. Are you going to give me those or not? If not, then don't stop me, I'm going to join the queue."

queue?

Jessica then realized that the queue had already stretched all the way to this side, and the line was at least five hundred people long!
What exactly is this Huaxin FC game console that has attracted so much attention?

“Come on, Mike, let’s go to the store and do an interview!” Jessica keenly realized that she had found a hot news story.

Photographer Mike carried his camera and walked forward with Jessica. The camera lens swept over the crowd in line. As they walked forward, they reached the entrance and saw people handing out small cards. The cards were quite large and featured a well-designed animated character.

"Wow, it's so beautiful!" Jessica exclaimed. "Excuse me, ma'am, could you tell us more about it?"

Yang Duo'er smiled brightly: "Great! This is the character from the first product of Huaxin Home Computer, which our Pacific Trading Company distributes. His name is Mario. He's a plumber with a big beard, a round nose, a red shirt, and blue pants. He's one of the millions of ordinary workers in America, but he's also extraordinary..."

The game will also have many derivative products, that is, game merchandise. This card is just a benefit prepared for the first batch of game players, and it is also a promotional tool. Today, we happened to run a TV station, and once this advertisement is broadcast, it will soon become famous throughout the country!
There are staff members in the shop to sell things. Actually, there are a lot of goods in the shop, such as fishing rods and bicycles. However, it is clear that the customers are here for game consoles. Using his father's connections and promoting the products through MIT students, this tactic has worked!

Students have always been the group with the most spending power and the most receptive to new things. In Japan, Walkmans rely on female celebrities to advertise, but we didn't spend a single penny on advertising!
And just like that, we've opened up the American market! By Christmas a few months from now, it'll be a nationwide sensation and become everyone's dream Christmas gift.

But when I go back, my dad will complain, right? Hmm, I might as well stay at the hotel for the next few days and not go home until my dad's anger subsides. Is being addicted to games the game's fault? No, it's just that his students lack self-control. I'm helping MIT students improve their self-control.

That's right, just like that!

(End of this chapter)