Hong Kong variety show: The mastermind behind the scenes is emerging.

December 24, 1982, Christmas Eve.

Pasadena, California, USA.

Although it wasn't snowing heavily like on the East Coast, the morning air still carried a chilly feel. The palm trees lining the streets were adorned with colorful lights, and unopened delivery boxes were piled up in front of every house.

This is a typical American middle-class neighborhood. Neat lawns, detached houses with two garages, and Ford station wagons parked in the driveway.

Eight o'clock in the morning.

Nine-year-old Jerry jumped off the bed like a springy rabbit.

He was the youngest of three children, with an older brother named Tom in high school and an older sister in middle school. Influenced by his older brother, Jerry was also an avid video game fan.

Today is the day he has been looking forward to for a whole month.

"Dad! Dad! Wake up! We're going to buy E.T.!"

Jerry burst into the master bedroom and shook his father, who was still sleeping in, awake.

Mr. Smith, the father, was a mid-level manager at an insurance company. He had just received his year-end bonus yesterday and was in a good mood. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, looked at his youngest son's bright eyes, and smiled helplessly.

"Alright, alright, Jerry. The mall doesn't open until nine, no need to rush."

"But Tom said if we go too late, we won't be able to buy them! It's based on a Spielberg movie! Everyone in school is talking about it!" Jerry stamped his feet in frustration.

Amidst Atari's overwhelming bombardment of Game for the Dead, E.T. has been mythologized as a magical artifact that grants ownership of the entire universe. For a nine-year-old, this is practically a religion.

……

9:30 a.m.

Pasadena Plaza.

The mall was packed with people, with parents everywhere snapping up the last of their Christmas gifts to the background music of "Jingle Bells".

Jerry grabbed his father's hand and headed straight for Toys "R" Us on the second floor.

As soon as I entered, I saw that the Atari counter was surrounded by people. The huge E.T. poster occupied the most eye-catching position, with the green alien's fingers glowing, as if beckoning to every child's wallet.

"There it is! Daddy, look!" Jerry excitedly pointed to the mountain of cassette tapes on the shelf.

however.

Just as the father and son squeezed through the crowd, ready to reach for the $39.99 cassette tape...

A powerful, piercing 8-bit electronic music track, unlike anything I'd ever heard before, drifted over from the next booth. Unlike the monotonous, jarring music of Atari games, it was full of rhythm and a strange sense of adventure.

"What is that sound?"

Jerry instinctively turned his head.

Across from the Atari booth, an area that originally belonged to an unknown brand was now completely surrounded by a crowd. A red banner hung there—[JiaHe Entertainment]

A red and white machine connected to a 24-inch Sony Trinitron color TV is playing a demonstration video.

Jerry walked over without even realizing it.

On the screen, there were no rough blocks of color, no crude lines.

Instead, a smooth opening animation, like that of a cartoon, is presented:

A green monster resembling a dinosaur but carrying flower buds (Venusaur) is confronting an orange-red dragon with flames burning on its tail (Charizard).

Accompanied by rousing battle music, the screen flickers, the camera zooms in, and a little boy wearing a red hat throws a red and white ball.

"Bang!"

A flash of white light, and a yellow electric mouse (Pikachu) jumped out, sparks flying from its cheeks, letting out a cute cry: "Pika!"

"Oh my God..."

Jerry's mouth dropped open, his eyes, which had been fixed on "E.T." just moments before, were now glued to the image on the screen.

What is this?

Is this really a video game?

Why does that monster look so lifelike? Why does that patch of grass look so realistic?

At this moment, a highly inflammatory GG message popped up on the screen:

Welcome to the World of Pokémon!

Gotta Catch 'Em All!'

"Hey kid, wanna give it a try?"

A sales assistant in a Jiahe uniform smiled and handed me a controller, saying, "This is the latest technology that just arrived from the East. It's a hundred times better than Atari!"

Jerry excitedly took the controller.

Under the guidance of the sales assistant, he controlled the protagonist to leave Pallet Town and encounter the first wild Pidgey in the grass.

The battle begins.

"Use electric shock!"

Pikachu on the screen crackled with lightning as a golden bolt of lightning struck the opposite side. Pidgey screamed and collapsed, turning into a ball of white light, which then became experience points.

"Ding ding ding~"

The upgraded sound effects began to play.

The thrill of defeating enemies and growing stronger shot straight to Jerry's head from the controller.

Ten minutes later.

"Jerry? Jerry?" Mr. Smith called several times before his youngest son turned around as if waking from a dream.

"dad……"

Jerry looked at his father, then at the E.T. cartridge he hadn't bought yet, his eyes filled with struggle, but it was quickly replaced by determination.

"I don't want E.T." anymore.

Jerry pointed at the Famicom in front of him, his voice pleading, "I want this! I want this Pikachu!"

"this……"

Mr. Smith glanced at the price tag.

The console plus a Pokémon cartridge costs $149. That's much more expensive than Atari cartridges.

"Dad, please! This is so cool! Look at the screen, it's like watching a cartoon!" Jerry started using his special skill—clinging to his leg and begging. "And... and this machine can play other things too! That... that Contra! Look!"

Jerry pointed to another machine next to him that was demonstrating Contra, where two muscular men were rolling around in a hail of bullets.

"That one can be played by two people! I can play with Tom! That way he won't always find me annoying!"

Mr. Smith was intrigued upon hearing this.

The eldest and youngest children in the family always fight over the TV, so a game that two people can play together would be a good solution. Besides, he looked closely at the screen and realized it was definitely much better than their Atari TV, which was full of pixelation.

"All right."

Mr. Smith touched the thick bonus envelope he had just received, and waved his hand, "Then buy this! But it's a gift for both of you brothers."

"Yay!! Long live Daddy!!"

Jerry jumped up excitedly, hugging the cartridge with the Charizard (red version) printed on it, as if he were embracing the whole world.

……

7 PM.

In the Smith family's living room, the fireplace was burning brightly, and gifts were piled up under the Christmas tree.

After finishing their turkey feast, Tom picked his teeth while watching Jerry fiddling with his newly bought game console.

"Jerry, are you stupid?"

Tom scoffed, "You're not buying E.T.? You're going to buy some no-name brand? Atari is the best, okay? My classmates are all planning to discuss E.T. walkthroughs tomorrow."

"Hmph, that's because you don't understand."

Jerry inserted the cartridge into the slot and pressed the power button. "This is the latest game console! It's way better than your Atari!"

"Pshaw, what's the use of good graphics? Gameplay is what matters..."

Tom was cut off before he could finish speaking by the image that lit up on the television screen.

That was the opening scene of Contra.

A dynamic heavy metal background music started playing, and two soldiers jumped off the helicopter, landing and tumbling.

The smoothness, the color saturation, the explosive particle effects...

Tom dropped the toothpick he was holding onto the carpet.

"This...this is a home console?" Tom's eyes widened. "It's exactly the same as the ones in the arcade!"

"Come on, Tom, Daddy said we can play together."

Jerry handed the 2P controller to his brother.

Half an hour later.

"Right! There's a sniper on the right! Get down!"

"Eat that S-bomb! It's a shotgun! It's powerful!"

"Ah! I'm dead! Give me a life! Press A to borrow a life!"

Tom, a high school student who used to scoff at "generic machines," was now sitting cross-legged on the carpet, his body shaking violently as the characters on the screen jumped, shouting even louder than Jerry.

After completing the first level of Contra, the two brothers high-fived and cheered.

"This machine...it's something else." Tom wiped his sweat, his eyes completely changing. "What other games are there?"

"And this too! Pokémon!"

Jerry switched to the red cassette.

Tom initially thought it was an RPG for kids, but when he saw Jerry catch a little dragon and level up in the forest to evolve it into a Charmeleon, his eyes gradually became fervent.

"Wait... this monster can evolve?"

"Can I learn new skills?"

"There are elemental weaknesses? Water beats fire, fire beats grass?"

"Jerry, you've trained your little fire dragon wrong. You should increase your speed..."

"Hey, do you even know how to play? Give it to me! I'll help you get through this gym!"

Not long after, Tom, who had just been looking down on his brother, shamelessly snatched the controller from him, calling it "leveling up" for him, but actually he was having a great time playing it himself.

That night, the lights in the Smith family's living room remained on until late into the night.

……

The next day, December 25th, was Christmas Day.

Around noon.

The doorbell rang. Jerry's best friend Tuffy walked in, looking dejected, carrying an Atari game box.

"Hey Jerry, Merry Christmas." Tuffy's voice didn't sound happy at all.

"What's wrong, Tuffy? Didn't you buy E.T.?" Jerry asked without turning around, as he was controlling Pikachu to catch Caterpie in Viridian Forest.

"Don't even mention it," Tuffy said, tossing the E.T. game box on the sofa with a look of utter despair. "That game is absolute garbage! The absolute worst of garbage!"

"How could that be?" Tom interjected. "That's Spielberg's masterpiece."

"Seriously!" Tuffy waved his arms angrily. "That alien took two steps and fell into a pit, and couldn't climb out no matter what! And it had no idea what it was supposed to do, the picture was horribly ugly, just a bunch of green blocks! I wanted to smash the TV after playing for ten minutes!"

This was the real "Atari Crash" in history. Millions of expectant children encountered the biggest scam in video game history on this day.

"Thank goodness I didn't buy it..." Jerry patted his chest, looking relieved.

"Jerry, what are you playing?" Tuffy was drawn to the images on the TV.

"This is called Pokémon! Look, this is my Pikachu!"

Jerry proudly showed off his monsters, "I've caught six already! This one can generate electricity, and that one can spray water!"

"Wow! So cute! And the picture quality is so clear!" Tuffy's eyes widened instantly.

"Want to play? Let's play Contra! It's more exciting!"

Jerry switched to the Contra cartridge and handed the controller to Tuffy.

Three minutes later.

"Da da da da da!"

"Cool! That's so cool! This is what a game should be!" Tuffy exclaimed, his face flushed with excitement. "Compared to this, E.T. is like garbage from the last century!"

For the entire afternoon, Tuffy was completely immersed in the world of the JF machine.

As he was leaving, Tuffy clung tightly to the handle and refused to let go.

"Jerry..." Tuffy's voice trembled with tears, "I feel like my Christmas present is a pile of shit."

"It's okay." Jerry patted his best friend on the shoulder, looking like he'd been there all along. "This machine is called the JF machine. It's only $149. Go back and cry about it, maybe your dad will buy it for you."

"I'm going back to cry right now!!"

Tuffy grabbed his copy of E.T. and rushed out of Jerry's house without looking back.

……

At the same time.

The next street, Tuffy's house.

Tuffy's father was reading the newspaper when he suddenly saw his son running back crying, slamming the expensive E.T. book he was holding onto the ground.

"What's wrong, Tuffy? Isn't it fun?"

"It's garbage! It's garbage!!"

Tuffy rolled on the ground, crying his heart out, "Jerry's is the only one with a dragon! It has a gun! That's called a JF machine! I want that one! I don't want this ugly green thing!!"

The father reluctantly picked up the cassette tape from the ground and tried inserting it into the Atari.

Three minutes later.

Looking at the alien on the screen, constantly falling into the pit and unable to climb out, the image was shockingly rudimentary.

The father's face darkened.

"Fxxk Atari!" he cursed, ripped the cartridge out, and threw it in the trash. "Come on, son! Dad's taking you to return it! We'll go buy one of those JF machines!"

……

this day.

Similar scenes are playing out in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and every middle-class community across the United States.

The counter at Golden Harvest was packed with people, and the Pokémon and Contra cartridges were almost sold out as soon as they hit the shelves.

Meanwhile, the Atari counter next door became a sea of ​​anger.

Countless parents brought in copies of "E.T." demanding refunds, their shouts echoing throughout the room.

"This is a scam!"

"Give me my money back! I want to buy a JF machine!"

"Atari is a fraud!"

The mall manager had to call in security guards to maintain order, but this was no match for the overwhelming force.

Meanwhile, Golden Harvest Entertainment's distributors in various states were bombarded with calls.

"Out of stock! Out of stock everywhere!"

"Boss! Give me another five thousand! No, ten thousand JF machines!"

"The red Pokémon edition is sold out! The green edition is also gone! The kids only want this!"

Television news began reporting on this peculiar phenomenon: on one side, there were long lines of customers returning their Atari products, and on the other side, there was a buying frenzy at the Jiahe counter.

Amidst the ruins of the Atari Empire, the red flag of Gaho, accompanied by Pikachu's cry, is slowly rising.