Planning

Chapter 76 Planning

As the saying goes, even a cornered dog will jump over a wall, and a cornered rabbit will bite. Any normal person will hold a grudge to some extent.

Ethan was no exception.

With Don Valentine and Nolan Bushnell holding knives to his throat, if he can still act like nothing's wrong, then there must be something wrong with how he traveled through time. He shouldn't be in San Francisco, he should be in Manhattan, and he shouldn't be living in the big house, he should be living in the sewers.

There's nothing we can do, they're Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

So, after the copyright infringement lawsuit was settled, Ethan did not enjoy life as before. Instead, he went into the study of his new home, sat at the table, spread out a piece of paper, grabbed a pen, and started writing and drawing.

Although it has been less than a year since Ethan transmigrated here, he has already made three career plans for himself.

The first two times were somewhat superficial, because at the time he only wanted to make money; whatever industry could bring him financial freedom, he would dive into. But now… he has a new goal: he wants to get back what he lost!

For this reason, several lines of text suddenly appeared on the paper:

1. Don Valentine – Sequoia Capital.

2. Nolan Bushnell – Atari (Warner Bros.)

3. Milrohua.

Don Valentine was placed first because Ethan felt this guy was the most dangerous and a person who needed to be closely monitored.

Although in Ethan's memory this guy was unremarkable, because his rise to wealth was the history of Silicon Valley's growth.

But after Ethan asked Steve Wozniak, that chubby guy, to find out about Don Valentine, he realized that he knew far too little about Don Valentine.

After graduating from university, Don Valentine joined Raytheon. Although he didn't stay there for long, it was a very impressive starting point. After that, he moved to Fairchild Semiconductor, where he worked for seven years. Then, he went to National Semiconductor as a marketing director.

Previously, Ethan thought that Don Valentine's success was simply an inevitable result of riding the wave of the times, but now it seems that he does have a certain network of connections. Although they may not be top-tier, they are still far above the average person.

However, although this guy is dangerous, he is also relatively easy to deal with.

Venture capital, venture capital, what it really emphasizes is the project!

If venture capital firms can't find projects, then what's the point of their existence?

So, as long as we can invest in all those companies in Silicon Valley before Don Valentine does...

Hey! Sequoia Capital can't even see his taillights anymore!

With that in mind, Ethan immediately wrote the phrase "investment company" after Sequoia Capital.

He wants to enter the same arena as Sequoia Capital and crush them in the same field!

"Apple is just the beginning; what about EA? Cisco? Nvidia?"

"Cisco comes from Stanford, Nvidia was founded by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who sold gas stoves, and EA..."

"Hiss...who was the founder of EA again?"

"Damn, why can't I remember?"

"Never mind, it's not important. If it happens, we'll definitely be able to hear it."

"Damn it~ I'm going to take over all these companies for you~ Let's see what you invest in then~"

Of course, if you want to invest, you first need to have money.

Although Ethan already had millions of dollars, it was far from enough.

But when it comes to money...

Ethan then lowered his gaze and looked at Nolan Bushnell and Milova.

To be honest, this combination of one person and one company gave him a huge headache.

Because Mirova, which held the patent for video games and training devices, and Atari, which held the patent license, were practically the ultimate evils in the video game industry. After Ethan was tricked by them, he finally understood why North American game companies in his previous life had focused so much on computer games. When they couldn't get around the shady patent licensing, they had no choice but to find another path and hand over the cash cow that was video games to others.

As for why Nintendo and Sega can do it?

Ethan, however, had figured it out.

Although they do not have a long-term license for the patent on video games and training devices, the patent is only valid in North America, and as a Japanese company, they only need to pay patent fees for products sold in North America.

And what about companies in North America?

Because of the nature of their company, they need to pay patent fees to Mirova when selling their products in North America, and they also need to pay patent fees when selling in other countries, because their overseas distribution activities are exports from the US company!

When this absurd fact comes out, no one in North America will make video games anymore!

Although Nintendo's later royalty system was also a rip-off, it was much kinder compared to the huge pitfall that was Milo.

As for the computer game that the North American company chose in his previous life...

"This field is tough..."

Ethan's eyes flickered, and he rested his chin on his hand, looking somewhat wistful.

Because this is an area he doesn't want to touch for the time being.

The reason is quite simple: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has already been leaked on PC!

Computer games, or rather computer software, are too easy to pirate!

Moreover, the speed of piracy in this era is not much slower than that in the Internet era.

In Ethan's memory, back in those days, there was a poor soul who suffered greatly from piracy: Microsoft.

Although Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded the precursor to Microsoft by porting BASIC to Altair 8800, the software did not make them much money. When their BASIC was released to the market, it was quickly cracked by engineers of that era.

If it were just about cracking, that wouldn't be a problem. What's truly troublesome is that engineers in this era are full of a spirit of sharing.

Once the first cracked version appeared, the idea of ​​sharing it emerged, and what followed drove Bill Gates absolutely crazy.

Altair 8800 is shipping a staggering 1,000 units per month, while what about Bill Gates' BASIC?

Total sales were only a little over a hundred copies!

This illogical growth rate infuriated him!

This is, in fact, a true reflection of the market environment of this era.

Of course, the story doesn't end there. When Bill Gates discovered that his software had been stolen, the hot-blooded young man did something truly remarkable: he bought space in a magazine to send an open letter to computer enthusiasts.

While the language wasn't quite at the level of profanity, Bill Gates called those acts of sharing plagiarism.

Such vocabulary is an utter disgrace to those who have received higher education. Many people are even more furious, exposing Bill Gates's true colors and saying that he and Paul Allen are the thieves!

Because the BASIC language was invented by Dartmouth College Dean John Kameney and mathematics professor Thomas Katz, when they released the language, they stated that it was a free sharing for the education and popularization of computers, and they did not intend to make money!

But Bill Gates and Paul Allen started charging after making only minor modifications!

That kind of behavior is plagiarism!

After this exchange of insults occurred, no one bought the BASIC products sold by Yituo Altair.

When MITS, the manufacturer of Altair, paid Bill Gates the bill, Bill Gates was furious.

Because in a year, he only earned $20,000.

This is less than the allowance his dad gives him!

Who are you insulting?!

What happened next was even more interesting.

Initially, to better sell BASIC software, Bill Gates established his company in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where MITS, the manufacturer of Altair, was located. However, after extremely poor revenue, Bill Gates moved the company to Seattle with Paul Allen, declaring, "Even if I starve to death! Even if I die out there! Even if I jump off this building! I will never do personal services again!"

Then, this determined young man remained silent for two years before landing an order from IBM in a way that everyone knows. Later, he even devised a business model that directly licensed his operating system to hardware manufacturers. It wasn't until his business conflicted with other companies that he reluctantly embraced personal services and exclaimed, "Ah! It's really great!"

If even someone as wealthy and influential as Bill Gates couldn't crack down on piracy, it's even less likely that Ethan would use technology to challenge human nature.

Therefore, if possible, he didn't want to make any computer games before the Internet era arrived.

In this situation, if you want to make money through the gaming industry and incidentally kill Atari and Milova, you'll need some magic.

"We still need to contact Ralph Bell first."

"Show him the 6502, show him our sincerity in making video games."

"How about getting a patent?"

Having decided on his plan, Ethan grabbed the paper, went to the kitchen, turned on the gas stove, and burned it.

Then, the cat went to the supermarket and went on a shopping spree.

After returning home, he personally cooked a "big" meal.

As the car engine roared to life, he crawled out of the house and invited his older sister, who had just finished school and wanted to go home, over.

"Wow~ Are you inviting me to dinner?"

"Why is this so lavish?"

Looking at the pasta, pizza, steak, fries, salad, and mushroom soup on the table, Evelyn hummed a few times.

"You don't happen to want something from me, do you?"

"But I seem to remember someone saying a few days ago that they couldn't listen to anything I was saying?"

Ethan's face stiffened at the sarcastic remark.

He deliberately filtered out the unfavorable parts of the second half and began to act with a pained expression.

"Oh Evelyn~ Do you really think of me as such a calculating person?"

Evelyn shook her head decisively at these words.

"How could that be? In my heart, you are a very kind person!"

Ethan smiled happily.

However, he then heard Evelyn say, "So you just want to invite me to dinner tonight, right?"

"Shall we talk about something else?"

"Hmm?" Evelyn winked at Ethan.

It's as if it means, "I won't eat it unless you agree."

Hearing these words that blocked any way out, Ethan decisively admitted defeat. He quickly spoke up, no longer pretending—

"Oh Evelyn~ you're right~ I do need to talk to you tonight."

"I got cocky that day, okay?"

"Hee hee hee..." Evelyn burst into laughter at the rapid change in her expression.

She raised her eyebrows, displaying her confidence, and ladled out a bowl of mushroom soup. The milky aroma made her shiver.

"Okay, tell me, what do you want me to do for you this time?"

Since Evelyn had already asked, Ethan, who had no shame, naturally didn't hesitate to state his needs.

He asked Evelyn if she could ask Vinton Cerf if he knew Professor Ralph Bell.

If you don't know them, that's okay; you can ask someone you know to help you make the connection.

That's right, Ethan wasn't planning on going directly to their door.

After all, the effect of going to someone's door yourself is not as good as word of mouth from friends!

When he came to us, this was the only way he could introduce himself—

"Hello, Professor Bell, I am the inventor of the Snake Game. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Dry and uninteresting!

My friend introduced it to me, and that's the art style—

"Ralph, look what you've done! How many game developers have been ruined by that one patent of yours? Every guy who wants to make video games has to deal with it! This is Ethan Jones, the inventor of the Snake Game. His game had just brought joy to people when Milrova sued him, forcing him to pay compensation and face a sales ban. Now, he can't even make new games..."

Wow! This is so moisturizing!

This kind of appearance is all about being heartfelt!

After Evelyn heard Ethan's words, she understood their meaning and immediately agreed.

After all, she had also tasted the sweetness of the game.

The profits from the "Snake Game" project were split 50/50 between the two of them.

In less than six months, she received a total of 1.3 million yuan.

That speed is faster than robbery.

While agreeing, the girl asked, "Are you planning to start your own game company?"

"certainly!"

"You have another idea?"

"Uh... I guess so..."

"Are you short of money?"

"What do you mean?" Ethan looked at Evelyn strangely. "You want to invest?"

"Yeah~" the girl said with a smile, "I think the game market is quite interesting, and besides, investing can help you avoid taxes."

Although Ethan hadn't thought about attracting foreign investment, could Evelyn's money really be considered foreign investment?

It's clearly domestic capital!

Moreover, after participating in Atari's sales operations, Ethan discovered that in this era, making games really meant the more money the better.

If they could build a production site on both the East Coast and the West Coast, they wouldn't have to go through the pain of finding distributors.

"Of course!" Ethan readily agreed. "I haven't come up with a name for the company yet, so why don't you suggest one?"

"Wow~ You're giving me the naming rights?" Evelyn asked with a smile.

"Yeah~" Ethan gave a thumbs up. "You're the boss!"

Evelyn said, "Then give me the positions of chairman and CEO too. I'll appoint you as president, so you can get to work."

"Okay!" Ethan's smile widened.

"real?"

"real!"

Evelyn giggled at his quick reply.

He shook his head and said, "Okay, Oaky, I'm not kidding anymore. You can think of a name yourself."

"Tell me when you've thought it through, and I'll apply for a startup grant from the school as a student entrepreneur."

"We'll ask Vinton to be our mentor then... that might reduce the trouble."

"And once Stanford's name is attached, when you go to talk to Professor Ralph Bell about collaboration, he will definitely be affected to some extent."

That's right!

This is the real reason why Evelyn wanted to invest!

After being brutally beaten by Mirohua's unreasonable legal fist, the girl realized that if you don't use connections, you're a complete idiot!

Why do Don Valentine and Nolan Bushnell dare to target them so brazenly?

That's because they haven't truly raised the banner yet!

Verbal propaganda is nowhere near as compelling as tangible benefits.

"Hmm~" Ethan, who had already figured it out, smiled like a crescent moon. "Thank you."

However, Evelyn rolled her eyes at these dry words. "Oh, Ethan, that's so insincere."

"No sincerity? Oh, I get it~ Do you still want a Barbra Streisand album? I'll go buy you a limited edition vinyl set!"

Ethan is now brimming with confidence!

Hey! There's money!

Evelyn punched him lightly, saying, "That's even less sincere of you."

Then she added, "Forget about buying things, are you free tonight? How about we go to the movies?"

"Michael Corleone's new movie has come out, what's it called? Dog Day Afternoon. Want to go see it?"

"Oh! My classmate said that Michael was both handsome and funny in that movie!"

Ethan was taken aback by the invitation.

After a few seconds of thought, he realized that the Mike Corleone Evelyn was referring to was Al Pacino.

The movie is titled "Dog Day Afternoon".

Ethan has heard of this movie but hasn't seen it, so it's good to go and join in the fun.

"No problem, we'll eat for a long time," Ethan agreed.

At the same time, he couldn't help but marvel at how amazing the translators in his previous life were.

It perfectly captures the elegance within the concepts of faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance.

The literal translation of "Dog Day Afternoon" is nowhere near as good as "Hot Summer Afternoon"!

If you were to translate it word by word, it would be even more hilarious!

Note: ① North American game companies did indeed stop making video games because of the lawsuit filed by Mirova. The victim mentioned in the article, who also had to pay patent fees for selling games overseas, was CBS. They initially didn't sell games in North America to see how other companies handled lawsuits, so they distributed their games in Europe. When Mirova discovered this, they directly sued them for evading patent fees through intellectual property export, causing CBS to stop making games altogether. ② After Sega was acquired by Hayao Nakayama, it changed its corporate structure and moved its headquarters from California to Japan. Before the move, the 83 SG-1000 was only sold in Australia and New Zealand, and never in North America. It was only after the change that it was sold in North America. ③ Bill Gates' experience was actually a microcosm of the personal software industry of that era. Those big names were sharing software for free, which infuriated the young master.

P.S. I've started a new chapter, but I'm not feeling quite right and writing isn't going smoothly. I'll be updating once at noon for the next two days to adjust. I apologize if this causes any discomfort.

(End of this chapter)