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Chapter 97!

Thomas's timely help truly relieved Ethan's urgent crisis. In the days before the logistics industry had developed rapidly, long-distance freight transportation was a nightmare for all manufacturing companies.

Why did Atari only sell 8,000 units of "Pong" after three years?

That's because they can't find suitable people to deliver the goods!

When a company finds a group of trustworthy drivers, it can achieve free delivery throughout the United States. Although it would take two days to drive from San Francisco to New York without eating or drinking, when a product sells for $2,000 but costs less than $500, any boss can appropriately increase delivery costs to capture all the profits.

Yes!

Ethan is not going to sell circuit boards anymore!

This is not only because Pac-Man's production used new technology, which made on-site replacement and debugging of the circuit board more troublesome after the CPU was involved, but also because selling arcade machines was more profitable than selling circuit boards.

Based on current pricing, the gross profit of an arcade machine is $1,500, while the circuit board is worth at most $500.

Based on a distribution volume of 10,000 units, the profit from electronic arcade machines is 15 million, while the profit from circuit boards is only 5 million.

Although this algorithm is very crude, even extreme, the difference between extremes is terrifying.

Previously, due to limited resources, game companies had to make corresponding trade-offs.

But now, with the latest technology, the strongest creativity, and the most reliable fleet, what I get in return is, of course, the whole thing!

Once the entire process of procurement, production, and distribution was streamlined, the Destiny Game factory was bustling with activity. In just fifteen days, Ethan had delivered a thousand arcade machines to various universities that had voluntarily purchased them. During this process, social orders also began to come in. There was no way around it; North America is so big, there are always some merchants who, after seeing the news reports, were willing to spend money to try it out.

And those who were the first to try something new...

They made a fortune right away!

"Hello! A game of destiny? Do you still have any Pac-Man arcade machines? I need fifty in Sacramento!"

"Yes, yes, yes! This was a joint purchase by several merchants!"

"Oh my god! Everyone knows your games are super fun now! Merchants in San Francisco are saying they make at least $150 a day from just one machine! And unlike before when games only attracted boys, lots of girls love playing this game! You know what? Wherever someone plays, a huge crowd gathers around! A lot of people! A massive crowd!"

"Huh? You're asking about other games?"

"Who still displays other arcade machines in front of their store these days?"

"Isn't it a waste of electricity if no one plays it?"

"Even your boss, that Ethan... Ethan... Ethan Jones! Yeah, yeah! Nobody plays his Snake Game anymore! Now everyone just wants to play your new game, Pac-Man!"

"Oh! Flower Q! Can you please stop asking questions! Just ship the goods to us! Ship the goods to us!"

"What? Distributed delivery could take several days?"

"Oh! No! You just need to deliver the goods to one place! We'll pick them up ourselves! Is that alright?"

When this conversation reached Ethan's ears, he immediately smiled as brightly as a flower.

"Indeed, if a product is good enough, it can change people's lifestyles!"

Fixed point delivery?

Merchant self-pickup?

Oh!

This is something that many sellers wouldn't even dare to dream of!

Looking at the bustling office, Ethan waved to Julie Noble, who had just finished a phone call.

"What's the matter, boss?"

Perhaps because she had been too busy lately, the girl's face was full of fatigue, and her voice sounded a little hoarse when she spoke.

This sight made Ethan look apologetic.

"Oh, Yulis, I'm so sorry. My misjudgment caused your workload to increase dramatically."

"To make up for my mistake, I've decided to give you an extra $500 bonus this month."

"At the same time, I am also preparing to recruit another batch of employees, including about four to eight administrative staff, to reduce your workload."

"Would you be willing to become the supervisor of this group of new employees?"

These words made Euryth Noble blink.

She wondered if she had misheard.

But the next second, a look of joy flashed in his tired eyes. "Oh my boss, you've finally done something decent."

"I've been answering so many phone calls these past two weeks, I'm going crazy!"

"There are dozens every day, okay!"

"Most importantly, we also need to record addresses! Record requirements! Communicate with the factory to ensure production! Communicate with the delivery truck team to ensure delivery!"

"This really is..."

"Oh God, I can finally relax a little!"

The girl's words made Ethan smile and nod.

Now that the company is back on track, the necessary positions can no longer remain vacant.

Ethan planned to hand over production-related matters to Damio Dean, a graduate of Stanford's engineering school. As for order records, delivery, and business reception, he categorized them all under administration and assigned them to Julie Noble.

As for financial and cost-related issues?

Those all fall under Alan Massey's jurisdiction.

After three days of operation, the staff of the Destiny Game team increased significantly, with the addition of six administrative staff (four women and two men) and two accountants (one man and one woman).

Looking at the small but perfectly formed company, Ethan felt a sense of accomplishment.

Although he has lived two lives, this is his first time starting a business.

And to turn out like this on your first startup...

He's pretty awesome!

Just as Ethan was thinking that he could finally take a break after being busy for so long, the office phone rang again.

When he answered the call, he realized it was Chuck Patel calling.

"Hello~ Chuck, what's up?" Ethan was in a good mood, so he joked directly, "Are you going to celebrate the success of Pac-Man with me? Oh—I haven't had time lately—I'm very busy right now—hahahaha~"

However, his laughter had barely faded when Chuck Patto's heavy voice came through the phone: "Oh, Ethan, I'd love to celebrate Pac-Man's success with you, but I really don't have time right now because there's been a problem at the factory."

"It's become a hit."

"WTF?" This made Ethan sit up straight.

"Our chip production line is experiencing problems? It's on fire?"

"Oh! Sxxt! Could it be burned?"

"How serious is it?"

Ethan immediately became anxious.

Because in his memory, fires at chip factories were commonplace!

Whether it's TSMC, SK Hynix, Samsung, or Micron, any company that makes chips has had its home burned down!

Ethan didn't know the reason behind this, because he wasn't in this field.

But one thing he knew for sure was that their MOS 6502 had no intention of raising prices!

But something went wrong at the factory, even though they didn't want chip prices to rise?

Damn it!

This fire was probably started by Intel!

Just as Ethan was making wild guesses, laughter suddenly came from the other end of the phone—

"Hahahaha—Ethan—you were scared by me, weren't you—"

"It's not a problem with the production line! It's not a problem with the production line! It's because we're overwhelmed with orders! It's because we're overwhelmed with orders!"

"Did you know? After Pac-Man was released, orders for the MOS 6502 increased by 500%!"

"Seventeen game development companies have already ordered chips from us!"

"Wow... I really didn't expect that the chip I designed could be used like this!"

"To handle the orders, the company has added two more production lines!"

"If all goes well, we expect to sell 50,000 chips in the first half of this year!"

"..."

Chuck Patto's excited words left Ethan speechless.

Damn it, he thought it was his own chip company's production line that had burned down!

The result was an explosion of orders?

This……

That's great!

To be honest, Ethan didn't expect that the release of Pac-Man would boost the sales of the MOS 6502!

After all, games created through programming are beyond the capabilities of circuit board game companies.

But since those companies are going to take it all, he can't stop them, right?

If he were just an ordinary game company, he would definitely be a little anxious.

But the problem is...

He owns the cheapest chip production line on the market!

Are competitors buying chips?

Shouldn't Intel, SM Entertainment, and Motorola be the ones in a hurry?

Hehe ~

Ethan was thrilled. He wanted to laugh, but he didn't want to laugh too loudly.

That would be so impolite!

While he was feeling frustrated, Chuck Patel said, "Oh, Ethan, besides the surge in orders, there's something else I want to tell you. Our team has already discussed it and wants to continue our research and development, specifically on a 16-bit chip."

"So the company's profit-sharing arrangements... probably won't happen in the next year or two."

Upward research and development?

This is actually a good thing for Ethan.

Having lived two lives, he witnessed firsthand the increase in productivity brought about by technology.

Although he knew that Chuck Patel's design in his previous life had not defeated Intel's x86 architecture, in the low-end consumer market, Intel and the massage parlors combined were no match for Chuck Patel's monopoly.

The term "low-end" may not sound appealing, but for a game company like Ethan, it holds unparalleled appeal.

This way, he can have an unparalleled cost advantage.

So, upon hearing Chuck Patel's suggestion, Ethan laughed and said, "Oh Chuck, I told you, that's your company."

"From the day I decided to support you, I will not impose any restrictions on your research and development."

"Because I, like you, am looking forward to technology changing the world!"

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

After a moment, Chuck Patel chuckled and said, "Thank you."

"I won't keep you waiting long."

"Within a year at most, I can show you a 16-bit CPU."

"Because I'm also curious to know what you'll use it for."

After hanging up the call with Chuck Patto, Ethan happily twirled his pen in his office.

no way!

Who can blame you for the happiest thing in the world when your competitors are rushing to give you money!

Just as Ethan's grin was almost reaching his ears, the phone on the table rang again.

Picking up a can, Steve Jobs' roar burst forth—

"Oh, Ethan! You know what?! You know what?! We've already received five hundred orders! Five hundred orders for Apple 1s!"

"We're selling them for 666 each! That's over 300,000!"

"I've never seen so much money in my entire life!"

"And do you know why our orders suddenly surged?"

"That's all because of Pac-Man!"

"Many game companies, after learning that Pac-Man was made with an Apple 1, wanted to buy an Apple 1 and try developing games with it!"

"Many computer enthusiasts, after learning that Pac-Man was made using an Apple 1, wanted to buy it to program!"

"real!"

"I was completely stunned when I received the call!"

"I never imagined that Pac-Man would have this kind of 'GG' effect!"

Ethan was also surprised.

He never imagined that someone as insignificant as a game developer could get involved in three different industries.

Did Pac-Man defeat Apple 1?

What is this?

Was it a lucky accident?

It's outrageous!

but……

He likes it!

Video games, central processing units, and personal microcomputers are all sunrise industries!

How can you young people in the company sleep well?

Get up and roll it up, all of you!

Thank you to [cjll] and [book friend 20171206211516411] for the 100 Qidian coins.

Note: ① In reality, Chuck Patel did develop a 16-bit CPU, but he did so after leaving MOS.

Regarding the PS1, in response to a comment, it was common for hippies to make arcade games back then, as mentioned earlier. This is a topic discussed by both Nolan Bushnell and Steve Jobs. As for why they were willing to work so hard, there's no official explanation, but I have two points to confirm. The first comes from the book *1973: Rock and Roll at the Crossroads*, which states that by 71, hippie culture was already showing signs of decline. Although more high school students were growing long hair, the number of groups of hippies on the streets was decreasing. By 73, a third of the shops in Hayt Ashbury, the hippie mecca, had closed due to reduced foot traffic. At that time, hippies returning to normalcy needed work, hence their large-scale entry into the workforce. The second reason comes from Steve Jobs' own recollection. He said that many hippie families were not poor, so they were able to work well after returning to normal life. However, because they had been out of touch with society for a long time, they could only look for job postings in newspapers like the San Jose Mercury News. Of course, there were also some who were too aggressive when they were partying, and even though they got jobs, they ended up using their wages to buy psychedelic drugs.

(End of this chapter)