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Chapter 30 is now available (please continue reading)

May 1, 1975, was a Thursday.

This day has no meaning for America.

Because this place never celebrates the internationally recognized May Day Labor Day; in the United States, Labor Day is the first Monday of September each year.

As for the reasons?

Chicago knows.

That morning, Ethan arrived at Atari's Los Gatos factory. Unlike what he had seen before, the bustling production team had disappeared, replaced by uniformed reception staff.

On the open ground of the factory area, a small wooden stage was erected, and directly opposite the stage, nearly a hundred folding chairs were neatly arranged.

This drive-in theater-like setup may seem like a splurge, but it's actually quite practical.

Ethan's seat was in the very center of the first row. To his left was Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari, and to his right was Don Valentine, whom he had met before.

Although both were very enthusiastic, after a brief greeting, they parted ways.

Don Valentine whispered among his close friends, while Nolan Bushnell smiled and greeted the arriving guests. As for Ethan Jones? He crossed his arms and looked around.

Perhaps because there were no centralized sales channels at that time, the invited guests were indeed bosses from various industries. Those in suits and ties usually owned bowling alleys, while those with slicked-back hair and bell-bottoms likely owned nightclubs and dance halls. And those dressed in bright clothes and accompanied by beautiful women were mostly in the bar and nightlife industry.

The gathering of all sorts of people amused Ethan, and as the time approached ten o'clock, most of the people had arrived. Nolan Bushnell glanced at the scene and was very satisfied with the attendance rate of over 80%. He snapped his fingers at Steve Jobs by the stage, and the hippie, who had received the order, cleared his throat and tapped the microphone.

The "bang bang bang" sound attracted everyone's attention.

As the buzzing noise subsided, Steve Jobs smiled and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Atari's May 1975 product launch. I am your host, Steve Jobs."

He paused for a moment, a formulaic smile appearing on his face.

As for the audience...

Besides the polite applause, there were also shouts—

"Steve! Hurry up and introduce the product! I'm so sleepy!"

"Yes! Hurry up and introduce it! I need to go to the store this afternoon!"

"Yo yo yo~ Steve~ How come you guys are acting like big corporations now, even holding new product launches? If I remember correctly, two years ago, Nolan would drive his pickup truck, carrying game consoles, and go door-to-door selling to us! He even guaranteed delivery within three days of ordering. And now... your service has completely regressed! Don't you think so?"

"Hahaha~"

"Yes~"

"It's regressed!"

Loud laughter is a sign of good manners.

Perhaps because he had seen it all before, Steve Jobs was not bothered by this. Instead, he picked up the microphone and said, "Alright~ I know you are all very busy. Some of you just closed your stores and rushed over, while others need to leave early because the stores open at noon. So I won't take up any more of your time. I will now introduce our company's new products to you."

As he spoke, he pointed, drawing everyone's attention to the large object beside him.

It was a machine wrapped in red cloth.

Steve Jobs gave a strong tug, and a dark green figure appeared before everyone.

Unlike the rough exterior Ethan had made before, Atari's modifications added a menacing green snake to the top of the machine, its gaping maw opening as it tried to devour the apple in front of it.

Below the graffiti is a game title painted in yellow paint: "Snake Game".

The information-packed presentation immediately captured the attention of everyone present.

Taking advantage of the silence, Steve Jobs announced loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, just by looking at this design, I think you can guess that the game Atari is releasing this time is related to snakes."

"However, I want to tell you all here that you can guess the main character of the game, but you will never guess the content of the game."

At this point, Steve Jobs raised his voice, raised his right hand, and flicked his index finger.

"Because it's unlike any other game console on the market!"

"Currently, all game consoles on the market have one problem: we don't control how much time our customers spend playing. I think everyone here is well aware of this. Whether it's Atari's Pong or other companies' games, the only way to maximize profits is to limit the number of times customers can play!"

"Even so, we often find ourselves in awkward situations."

"Take Pong for example. A customer inserts a 25-cent coin and can play ball ten times with a friend on the machine. If both of them are skilled and play back and forth, they might occupy a machine for half an hour or even more."

"But now..."

"This situation no longer exists!"

"Snake Game greatly improved this problem, because the vast majority of customers, after paying twenty-five cents, could only play for a few minutes! A few dozen seconds! Or even..."

"A few seconds!"

At this point, Steve Jobs paused.

The scene immediately erupted in a tremendous uproar.

"Wow~ Really?"

"A few seconds? Twenty-five cents for a few seconds? How is that even possible?"

"Oh! Sxxt! I want to see the demonstration! Quick, quick, quick! Show me the demonstration!"

"Dxmn! If this level of achievement is truly possible, it would be an absolute miracle!"

The entertainment producers who had previously expressed their dissatisfaction are now craning their necks in anticipation.

This situation made Steve Jobs on stage laugh.

I bent down and turned on the power of "Snake Game," and then, a burst of energetic electronic music instantly started playing.

In front of everyone, he put a coin into the machine and then did nothing.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the little snake in the game interface crashed into the wall from left to right and died in just eight seconds.

This fact caught everyone's attention!

They wanted to say something, but Steve Jobs was faster at inserting the coin, and this time, under his control, the little snake in the game interface crashed into itself and died in just five seconds.

This novel way of dying left the people at the scene wide-eyed!

When Jobs inserted a coin for the third time and spent about thirty seconds eating ten fruits on the screen in the demonstration, the sudden increase in game speed caused the snake on the screen to hit the boundary again.

This result made the invited merchants breathe heavily!

Because they seem to know the selling point of this game!

As they stared at the machine, eager to learn more, Steve Jobs had already raised the microphone and said:

"I believe everyone has already understood."

"The gameplay of Snake Game is actually very simple. Customers control a snake that moves forward and earns points by eating white dots on the screen. There is no true success in this game, only endless death, because the snake in the game cannot touch the boundary or its own body. However, every time it eats food, its body will grow longer and its movement space will become smaller. Every ten pieces of food it eats will increase its speed, making it more difficult to control."

"According to the designer's plan, the maximum survival time for customers in the first stage is 45 seconds, in the second stage it is 30 seconds, in the third stage it is 15 seconds, and in the fourth stage..."

At this point, Steve Jobs laughed, "Sorry, I can't get through either."

"Therefore, our theoretical maximum game time so far is ninety seconds!"

"The theoretical limit for one hour is forty times!"

"The theoretical maximum daily income is two hundred and forty dollars!"

The resounding words stunned all the invited merchants.

They stared incredulously at the game consoles on the stage, their eyes filled with doubt and greed!

Can you earn a maximum of $240 a day?

What kind of business is this?!

This is even more profitable than drug trafficking!

Of course, there were also doubts.

"I don't believe it! Your data is outrageous!"

A guy wearing a baseball cap suddenly spoke up, saying, "Your previous game, 'Pong,' was a huge hit across America! I bet everyone in America has heard of 'Pong'! But even then, when 'Pong' was popular, it only earned fifty to sixty dollars a day! And your 'Snake Game' claims to earn up to two hundred and forty dollars a day? Frankly, I don't believe that!"

These words drew nods of agreement from everyone present.

"Yes, your data is really unreliable!"

"The game ending too quickly is a good thing for us, but what about for the customers? What if they only play a couple of rounds and then quit?"

"Is your game really fun? Does it keep customers inserting coins?"

The skepticism from the audience brought a smile to Steve Jobs' face.

He waved his hand and said to the guy who was leading the charge, "Sir, you can come up and give it a try."

With such an invitation, how could the burly man hesitate?

He strode forward, pulled out a coin, and got to work.

He also exclaimed, "I don't believe it! Can a game with such simple controls really attract people?"

Although he had just watched Steve Jobs's demo, watching is watching and playing is playing; the two cannot be balanced.

His eyes told him he understood, but his hands...

"MFxxk!—"

The burly man didn't survive a minute after inserting three coins.

That pristine white 'Game Over' logo looked like a smiling face, mocking his trashiness!

This fact made him wave his right hand!

Just when everyone thought he was about to smash the machine, he stomped his foot and asked, "How much per unit?"

"Twelve hundred," Steve Jobs announced with a smile.

"I have two shops, give me two!"

"Okay, please go over there to register."

While it's true that the first person to eat crab is the smart one, the first person to eat crab only arouses the curiosity of others.

The second person to eat crab will attract a crowd of onlookers.

But then the third and fourth guys appeared one after another...

The atmosphere at the scene was incredibly enthusiastic!

The game "Snake" seems to have endless charm!

It's so easy to use that it gives you the illusion that anyone can do it!

After experiencing it, the ever-increasing difficulty is like a sexy beauty, enticing people to keep going!

An occasional failure can make people think they are just careless!

The crisp clinking sound after inserting another coin is the best illustration of falling into the abyss!

Every guy who went up to be tested couldn't last three rounds against Snake!

Then they waved their checks, wanting to order the machine!

At first, Steve Jobs guided these business owners to place orders in an orderly manner.

But when the logistics staff said that the prepared quantity had been almost sold out, the newcomers who heard the news rushed into Atari's office, wanting to grab the last share!

"I need two! Right now!"

"Three units! Do you have three units? I can fill out a check first!"

"Huh! I have three billiard halls! Reserve six tables for me!"

"You bunch of damn poor bastards! You're so stingy! Ten units! I want ten! Tonight!"

"Don't push! Don't push! Leave me one! Leave me one!"

Looking at the chaotic scene and listening to the wild noise, Ethan, who was sitting calmly on the sidelines, revealed a satisfied smile.

He knew that no one in the world could resist Snake.

Nobody's here!

(End of this chapter)