This is your fate!

Chapter 23 This is your fate!

"Hey! Mr. Steve Jobs, what's wrong?"

Steve Jobs' reaction surprised Ethan Jones.

Because he didn't understand what was so funny about the identity of a former employee of Mirova.

His confusion made Steve Jobs frown, and he asked in surprise, "What's wrong with me? Huh? Don't you know? We're family!"

!!!

Ethan was shocked; he was no longer sure if the guy in front of him was really Steve Jobs.

If that's really the case...

"Brother, don't you know about the lawsuit between Milrova and Atari?"

Ethan waved his hands, at that moment he didn't know if there was a bug in his speech system or if there was something wrong with Steve Jobs's brain circuits.

You should know that the lawsuit between Mirova and Atari was known throughout the United States!

When both sides were already in court, how could Steve Jobs still say "We are a family"?

Isn't this insane?!

The hippie noticed Ethan's speechlessness, frowned, took a couple of sips of his McDonald's Coke, and then, as if suddenly realizing something, asked, "You don't mean to say that Atari and Milova are enemies, do you?"

"Yeah!" Ethan nodded.

Before he could finish speaking, Steve Jobs laughed and said, "Oh! I see! Mr. Jones! I think one of us has a problem, and based on my current assessment, it's you."

"Mr. Jones, as a former employee of Mirova, you didn't even follow the lawsuit between Mirova and Atari? Wow, that's really..." Steve Jobs seemed to want to criticize Ethan's actions, but he swallowed his words. He shrugged and said, "Well, it's normal not to follow it. After all, he's a former employee."

"But that doesn't matter, because the lawsuit ended a few days ago, and we're on the same side now."

"They're a real gang."

"..."

To be honest, Ethan is now wondering if this guy is on drugs.

Because the chaotic logic and deliberately mysterious words were truly beyond his comprehension.

"Mr. Steve Jobs, I don't think I quite understand what you mean."

Ethan Jones thought for a moment and said, "Could you explain things more clearly if you could?"

"certainly!"

Steve Jobs swung his Coke cup and said, "The reason I say we're family is because your former boss, Mirova, has reached an out-of-court settlement with Atari. We might even have some collaborations in the future..."

As Steve Jobs recounted his story, Ethan Jones learned what had happened in the weeks since he left Milrova.

The plagiarism lawsuit between Mirova and Atari has come to a close. Atari admitted to plagiarism, but...

They were not punished accordingly.

Because Ralph Bell got involved.

As the inventor of the world's first commercial home video game console, Odyssey, Ralph Bell held all the patents for Odyssey. Milrova was merely a device manufacturing and distribution company that partnered with Ralph Bell.

Therefore, when Mirova and Atari went to court over the copyright infringement of "Pong", Ralph Bell naturally appeared in court and accused Atari of plagiarism as the plaintiff.

If this were a Hollywood soap opera, the lawsuit would have ended with Atari being sued into bankruptcy by Mirov. But unfortunately, the lawsuit unfolded like the story of The Green Mile.

Ralph Bell had conceived of a home video game console as early as 1950, and completed its conceptual design around 1960. He then spent nearly five years refining his idea and designing games for the console, followed by another five years finding a manufacturer willing to produce it.

His purpose in doing this was simply because he felt his idea was interesting and could bring joy to the world.

This reason may sound a bit far-fetched, but that's the truth.

When Ralph Bell was looking for a publisher, he approached IBM, Motorola, and General Electric, with whom he had long-standing partnerships, but all three refused, citing a lack of profit potential. By this time, Ralph Bell had already achieved financial freedom through his previous inventions, but even so, he still wanted to promote video games.

Finally, they found Milrohua.

So when Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari, learned all this, he directly presented Atari's financial statements since its founding to Ralph Bell in court, and tearfully told Ralph Bell that his goal was the same as his: he had invested all the money Atari earned into arcade production, simply to promote video games to the public.

If Ralph Bell insists on helping Milrova seek compensation, then Atari will only have bankruptcy as an option. And with Atari's collapse, the hard-won boom in video games may be destroyed.

Ralph Bell softened at the sound of such cries.

Although Milrohua repeatedly told him to strangle Atari.

but……

"Professor Ralph Bell still told the court that he wanted to end the trial and try to reach an out-of-court settlement with Atari," Steve Jobs said with a smile. "When the inventor of Odyssey and the copyright holder of the billiards game were willing to settle, the court respected the parties' requests, and then your former boss, Milrova, entered into a settlement process with Atari."

"With Professor Ralph Bell as our intermediary, wouldn't you say we're family now?"

Steve Jobs emphasized the phrase "We are a family".

When Steve Jobs revealed this fact, Ethan Jones was completely stunned!

He never imagined that such a saint existed in the world.

Is it possible to give up one's rightful benefits in order to allow an industry to develop?

What kind of spirit is this?

To be honest, Ethan Jones admits that this is a height he can't reach!

At the same time, he understood why Steve Jobs had laughed when he heard his identity.

Because now, Atari looks like the winner.

Do not!

Those who manage to reach a settlement with the plaintiff in a case they were destined to lose are the winners!

When this fact came to light, Ethan was very upset.

He had been thinking that if Atari lost the lawsuit against Milova, they might accept a revenue-sharing arrangement to pay the hefty compensation, but now…

"Okay, Mr. Jobs, thank you for your explanation."

Ethan Jones looked emotional and said, "Thank you for telling me about the relationship between Mirova and Atari, and thank you for your support of my game, but I think it's all over now, because we may not be able to work together anymore."

"Why?" Steve Jobs was puzzled.

In his view, Ethan Jones' previous hesitation was probably just a concern about the impact of the lawsuit between Mirova and Atari on him. But now that the lawsuit is over, even if Ethan Jones is a former employee of Mirova, he can still normally negotiate with Atari!

Why did it disappear after I explained it clearly?

Steve Jobs's surprise made Ethan sigh, and he said, "Mr. Jobs, actually, before coming here today, I went to several companies, including Exidi, Sega, and others. You weren't the first to see this game, nor the first to say it was good, but even though they showed great interest in it, I didn't reach a cooperation agreement with them. Do you know why? Because I don't accept buyouts."

Ethan frankly stated, "I only accept a share of the profits."

When those words were spoken, Steve Jobs suddenly frowned.

His sharp eyes gleamed with endless curiosity.

Even though the McDonald's they were in was noisy, with people coming and going around them, their eye contact made their surroundings fall into complete silence.

After staring at each other for an unknown amount of time, Steve Jobs suddenly smiled.

"Ethan Jones? Is that right...?"

"uh-huh."

Do you have a religion?

I believe in myself.

"Oh~" Ethan's words made Steve Jobs grin. "Ethan, may I call you that?"

"Okay." Ethan Jones nodded.

"You really didn't know about the lawsuit between Mirova and Atari before?" Steve Jobs wanted to confirm this.

"Of course!" Ethan Jones nodded again.

"Ethan, I'm a Buddhist." This answer made Steve Jobs' smile widen. He said, "You know what? I suddenly saw a light above your head, a very beautiful light."

"If you believe in God, I think it's a blessing from God; if you believe in Buddha, I think it must be Buddha's compassion; but... if you believe in yourself, I think it's your destiny."

"Do you know?"

"Right now, in all of America, Atari is probably the only company willing to accept a revenue-sharing partnership."

'???'

Ethan frowned. "Why?"

"Because..." Steve Jobs said with a smile, "Atari and Milrova reached an out-of-court settlement..."

"Perhaps this is your fate..."

Note: ① The first copyright infringement lawsuit in video game history did indeed end with the intervention of copyright holder Ralph Bell. During the lawsuit between Milrova and Atari, Ralph Bell produced his game content manuscripts completed in the 1960s and invited representatives from IBM, Motorola, and General Electric who were familiar with his designs to testify. When these three giants appeared, the case was essentially over. Atari couldn't afford to pay the damages with its profits, let alone its revenue. It was Ralph Bell who let Atari off the hook. Of course, to protect himself, Nolan Bushnell did present Atari's financial statements in court, indicating that Atari's current cash flow simply couldn't support the huge compensation claim. This is essentially a real business war: avoid losing money if possible, minimize losses if possible, and if reason fails, appeal to sympathy. Losing simply means the other party successfully defended their rights; winning, however, means gaining the world. It was precisely because Ralph Bell released Nolan Bushnell that, when the industry later referred to Nolan Bushnell as the father of video games, he himself stated that this title should be shared with Ralph Bell. ② Regarding Ralph Bell's reconciliation, there's a rumor that Ralph Bell initially wasn't prepared for reconciliation, but after Milwaukee changed hands and was sold by the Americans to the Dutch company Philips, Ralph Bell became determined to reconcile. This might be related to his Jewish identity as someone who fled to the United States after Kristallnacht.

(End of this chapter)