Operation Code Name: Kill Ethan

Chapter 61 Operation Code Name: Kill Ethan

After Ethan reviewed the agent's profit sharing, Nolan Bushnell gave him another document.

"What is this?" Ethan asked, puzzled.

"This is Atari's own sales list." Nolan Bushnell smiled at Ethan Jones and said, "Since it's a second round of profit sharing, why don't we distribute it all at once? A one-time payment is much easier than a series of payments."

"Yo!"

Ethan really liked Nolan Bushnell's words.

After reviewing the documents handed to him, he discovered that in the past three months, Sanke Game had shipped 404 arcade machines and 400.00 circuit boards in the Midwestern United States, with corresponding revenues of $611 and $200.00, respectively.

Based on the commission rates of 15% and 18%, Ethan Jones and his sister would receive a total of $170,676.00.

Although the numbers here are not as shocking as the ones just now, the content is still quite considerable.

It's worth noting that the Midwest region had already sold a batch of these products before this!

At the time, Ethan and Evelyn took a total of nearly $400,000 in bonuses!

The initial 400,000 plus the current 170,000 adds up to 500,000 to 700,000. This number...

Hey—

That's not right!

Ethan stared at the document for a few moments, trying hard to recall the original dividend figures, and then he noticed a problem.

Atari's share of the Midwest region of the US is $570,000? While the East and Midwest regions managed by distributors are $1.2 million? Although the distributors' prices are higher than Atari's, the sales gap between the Midwest and East regions of the US is just too huge!

This shouldn't be!

Could it be...?

Did Atari falsify its financial statements?

A look of doubt flashed in Ethan's eyes, but when he looked up, a smile returned to his face.

"Nolan, I have a question for you."

"Go ahead and say it," Nolan Bushnell said politely.

"Why do I feel like there's such a large sales gap between the Midwestern United States and the western United States?"

Ethan spoke frankly, asking what was on his mind.

"Oh, this question? It's very simple!" Nolan Bushnell seemed oblivious to Ethan's implied meaning and said with a smile, "Because they serve a larger population than we do, a total of thirty-two states, with a population of over one hundred million."

"Although California and Texas have large populations, so much so that they could even rank among the top three most populous states in the United States, states like Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming don't have a large population share. On the other hand, the populations of New York and Florida in the East are comparable to those of California and Texas. If you include populous states like New Jersey, our customer base is significantly smaller than theirs."

"Since there's a difference in population size, there will naturally be a difference in product sales. After all, games are meant to be played..."

"is that so?"

Ethan sensed something was off, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Because in his memory, the population gap in the United States didn't seem to be that big—right?

As he frowned in thought, Nolan Bushnell said, "Oh—Ethan—I called you here today not only to settle your share of the profits, but also to ask you some other things."

These words interrupted Ethan's thoughts.

He blinked, smiled, and said, "Nolan, we're friends. Just tell me what's on your mind..."

"Oh—I love how you call me!"

"Yes! We're all friends!" Nolan nodded excitedly, then his face lit up with anticipation. "So, I'd like to know, what new ideas have you come up with in the past two months?"

He rubbed his hands together.

"You used to work at Milroyal, so I think you should know just how long the money-making period for video games really is."

"The first three months after a video game is released are the peak period for its players. Driven by curiosity, players will invest a lot of time and money in the newly released video game, and in order to make a lot of money from the players, the merchants will frantically buy arcade machines and circuit boards from the game companies."

"After three months, even if the video game is still fun and players are still willing to spend a lot of money, the demand for arcade machines from businesses is actually declining because they want to make more profit with the existing machines."

"There's nothing we can do, people are all greedy, just like the little snake in your 'Snake Game'."

Nolan smiled at Ethan.

Ethan understood what he was saying.

This guy wanted to ask him if there were any new games.

If he says yes, Nolan will be extremely excited and then discuss cooperation with him.

But if not...

Sorry, he does!

But he no longer wants to work with Atari!

Firstly, Jobs told him that Nolan was interested in selling Atari, and Ethan didn't want to negotiate with those real capitalists because they were annoying and difficult. Secondly, he had now found his true backer, and now that he knew his patron was incredibly powerful, all he wanted to do was seize absolute profits.

Having personally experienced how the US arcade market operated in this era, how could anyone else possibly want to make money off him?

Dream on!

Thinking of this, Ethan shook his head and laughed, "Oh Nolan, inspiration doesn't come so easily!"

"I've been playing around for the past two months without using my brain at all."

"so--"

Ethan spread his hands.

I'm putting on an act like I've given up.

"Really not?" Nolan didn't completely believe Ethan's words and asked again.

When asked this question, Ethan shook his head again and said, "Really not."

This fact made Nolan look regretful, and he said helplessly, "Alright then."

He added, "Since we're friends, we should definitely work together again if we have the chance."

"Just like last time, we will transfer your dividend within two weeks."

"Okay." Ethan nodded with a smile.

After talking with Nolan for a while, I left Atari.

As he left, Nolan immediately stood up and closed the office door.

But the moment he turned around, someone popped out of the office break room.

That was Don Valentine, the founder of Sequoia Capital and an investor in Atari.

"Did you hear that?" Nolan Bushnell raised an eyebrow and said, "He said he's out of new ideas."

Don Valentine did not respond immediately. Instead, he put his hands in his pockets, went to the window, and looked down at the crowd.

Under his watchful eye, Ethan Jones drove his Chevrolet away from Atari.

Only then did he turn to ask, "Do you believe me?"

Nolan nodded, then shook his head.

The contradictory action did not arouse Don Valentine's suspicion; instead, it made him stare at Nolan with even sharper eyes.

Nolan absorbed the sharp look in his eyes, and in response, he shrugged and said, "Oh—brother—is this something I can just believe in? I believe Ethan has inspiration, so he does? If I had that ability, why wouldn't I believe I'm the master of the world?"

Don Valentine nodded slightly at his slightly complaining words, saying, "In that case, let's get right to the plan."

These words made Nolan Bushnell narrow his eyes. "You really want to do this?"

"Of course!" Don Valentine nodded and said, "Roy Disney said that if we get the rights to 'Snake Game,' they'll consider buying Atari for forty million!"

"You know, their previous acquisition offer to us was 22 million."

"Since they're willing to pay an extra 18 million for a small snake, why don't we give it a try?"

"And this attempt could earn you an extra eight million, or even get you a direct job at Disney."

"Since killing Ethan would double our profits, why don't we do it?"

Don Valentine's lips curled into a smile.

Nolan pursed his lips upon hearing these words.

After staring at Don Valentine for a long time, he nodded vigorously and said, "Then let's carry out the plan."

"We'll postpone the dividend payment for now; there will definitely be a result within two weeks."

He also asked, "The New York Times or The Washington Post?"

"The New York Times, perhaps," Don Valentine said. "I checked. Ethan's sister Evelyn at Stanford has a very close relationship with Barbara Babcock, a law professor at Stanford, whose professor is Edward Williams. If we call The Washington Post, things might go wrong."

This news made Nolan's face tighten. "Edward Williams? How could he be involved? Are we going to sue someone like that? We have no chance of winning!"

Don Valentine smiled and shook his head at the sight of his slightly worried demeanor.

He came to Nolan's side, patted his arm, and said, "Don't be so nervous, brother, we're going to win this case."

"Because Ethan is infringing on copyright!"

"If he can find a loophole in this, then all the game companies in the US will be suing Mirova, won't they?"

"Besides, we didn't file the lawsuit first; it was Milrohua who had to initiate it. What we're doing now is releasing information, releasing information that will appeal to Milrohua."

"so……"

Why are you so nervous?

Don Valentine smiled at Nolan Bushnell.

Whether it was Don Valentine's words that had a magical power to soothe the mind, or Disney's promise that made Nolan Bushnell want to mess with him, in any case, under Don Valentine's reassurance, Nolan Bushnell came to his desk.

He stroked the phone for a while, then resolutely dialed the number.

"Hello, could you please transfer me to The New York Times?"

After a moment, he smiled and said, "Is this the New York Times's press office? This is Nolan Bushnell, CEO of Atari. I'm calling today mainly to inform you of some news. According to our confirmation, Snake Game's total sales have surpassed ten million. Do you have time to send a reporter to San Francisco for an exclusive interview?"

"Yes, what you are hearing now is exclusive news. I haven't told anyone about this before."

"You want to meet the inventor of Snake Game? Oh—I want to tell you the story of Ethan Jones. He's a genius, the most imaginative person I've ever met. Although he's not giving interviews right now because he's polishing his new ideas, I can tell you more about him, like our first meeting at the Odyssey launch event..."

"Yes, yes, we met when he was working at Milrova..."

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)