Undercurrents Beneath the Celebration

Chapter 99 Undercurrents Beneath the Celebration

It's the same office, the same three people.

But the old man was not angry at all. Instead, he crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair.

The portly subordinate in front of him was reading a document.

"Based on the patent licensing fees we've received in the past two months, almost all game companies in North America have been wiped out."

"After Pac-Man became a huge hit, people in North America showed great enthusiasm for the game."

"They loved that yellow figure that frantically raced through the maze, devouring beans."

"I also like those few ghosts that relentlessly pursue me, each with their own unique characteristics."

"With the continuous deployment of Pac-Man arcade games, other companies simply dared not release new products."

"Because they're afraid that those boring games will rot in the warehouse after they're produced."

These words made the old man smile and nod.

"Total wipeout?"

"Oh—this is absolutely outrageous—"

He said with emotion:

"If someone had told me a few years ago that someone could dominate North America with a single work, I definitely wouldn't have believed it."

"Because video games, movies, and novels are no different; they are all works created by humans. Since they are created by humans, they cannot satisfy everyone, because everyone's interests and hobbies are different."

"but……"

"Pac-Man is definitely a different game."

"When I first saw it, or rather, when I heard the professors' exclamations at the launch event, I realized that this game is actually a combination of inspiration and technology. Its selling point is both inspiration and technology that ordinary people have never seen before."

"When both of these occur simultaneously, the current market response is quite normal."

"Although people living in different places have different interests and hobbies, everyone has curiosity."

"When the media portrays something as magical to the world, people who hear the news will all go and see for themselves."

"Therefore, given that Pac-Man had this advantage, its success was inevitable, and of course, it was not replicable."

The boss's words surprised both the fat and thin subordinates.

They exchanged a quick glance.

Both of them saw surprise in each other's eyes.

Although they tried their best to conceal their actions, how could the old man not notice when he leaned back in his chair?

Seeing his subordinate's attempts to conceal his unease, he smiled and asked, "What's wrong?"

"What kind of reaction is this?"

"As a human being, am I not allowed to experience feelings of joy and admiration?"

"yes!"

"Ethan Jones has annoyed us several times before, but this time is different, right?"

"The previous game, 'Snake,' subjected us to a lot of criticism."

"Later, Ralph Bell was the one who prevented us from receiving his patent fees."

"But does Pac-Man have anything to do with us this time?"

"Isn't this a slap in the face to the entire industry?"

"Since everyone got beaten up, doesn't that mean nobody got beaten up?"

The old man spread his hands and looked at the two of them with a smile.

Such absurd reasoning left the fat and thin subordinates dumbfounded!

However, after only a second of hesitation, the fat man smiled and said, "Boss, I think you're right."

"Those who were most impacted by the Pac-Man game were the arcade game companies."

"Those of us who make home video game consoles haven't been affected at all."

'???'

Upon hearing this, the skinny man's expression became quite interesting.

Not only that, he also instinctively took a step to the side.

He always felt that his boss was sick, and had some kind of insane illness, and that his colleagues had also been infected, their IQs plummeting. In the huge office, he was the only one who was normal.

The old man noticed his out-of-place actions.

After noticing the different expressions on his two subordinates' faces, he stopped joking and instead picked up the documents on the table and shook them out of thin air.

"Take a look at this."

"This is a document the chairman sent me a few days ago, a work arrangement from the parent company, Philips."

"After seeing this document, I understood why they had been pursuing our work responsibility."

"Or perhaps..."

"Why are they always paying attention to our work, especially our home video game consoles?"

These words made the fat man stop joking and also made the thin man serious.

The two men stepped forward and took the documents.

Upon opening the document, their brows furrowed into a deep frown.

Because that's what it says above—

[Following the latest work assignment from parent company Philips, starting today, you are to focus on real-time changes in the North American game market and attempt to acquire game companies that have fallen into operational difficulties due to the emergence of Pac-Man, including but not limited to Kee Games, which released Tank last year, and Midway Games, which released Asteroid.]

"Boss, what does this mean?"

The fat and thin subordinates didn't understand, and they cast puzzled glances at the old man.

The old man didn't offer an explanation, but instead smiled and said, "Turn the page."

Following his directions, the two lowered their heads again.

But the contents of the second page of the document caused their pupils to shrink in shock!

[Following the latest work arrangement from parent company Philips, the Odyssey 300 product is being strategically discontinued. You can continue to sell it, but at the same time, you must expedite the development of the next generation of products. They haven't specified the major development directions; you can continue using ROM tape cartridges as storage media, but they also hope you can develop a LaserDisc interface for the Odyssey.]

When the fat and thin duo caught the word LaserDisc, they both looked up at almost the same time!

"Philips means they want to turn our Odyssey into a multi-functional home entertainment device???"

The skinny man exclaimed involuntarily.

The old man smiled and nodded at his subordinate's reaction, saying, "Yes."

"You're right."

"Philips wants to make our Odyssey a comprehensive home entertainment system."

'???'

This idea shocked both the fat and thin men.

They frowned and looked at their superiors, eager to get more information.

The old man didn't try to hide anything. He slowly rose, supporting himself on the armrest of his chair, and as he walked to the window to look out, he said, "Actually, a few days ago, when I was summoned by the board of directors, my reaction was the same as yours."

"It wasn't until then that I understood why Philips acquired our company. Their core objective was to use us to promote their LaserDisc video disc technology in America."

"You've probably all heard of LaserDisc technology. It was developed based on optical video recording technology that emerged in 1963. Philips had already successfully developed it in 1969 and brought the standard to market in 1972."

"You should be aware that there are countless difficulties in bringing a new standard from its emergence to people's homes. The first thing to face is the old standards that already exist in the industry, because they have already monopolized the current market. In order to break this monopoly, the only thing that technology manufacturers can do is to promote it themselves."

"So, after a long selection process, they chose us..."

"The reason is simple: LaserDisc technology involves the use of analog video signals, and so far, only Professor Ralph Bell's home video game console in North America uses video signals."

"This natural fit pleased Philips greatly, so in 1974 they made an offer to acquire us."

"According to Philips' original plan, the goal was to add a LaserDisc port to the Odyssey product in order to promote its video disc products to the North American market. In order to reach a wider market, the Odyssey product had to have a certain market share."

At this point, the old man paused.

He, who had been standing by the window gazing at the world, suddenly turned around, smiled at his two subordinates, and said, "So..."

"Do you know why they're so angry about Ethan Jones?"

When this question arose, both the fat and thin subordinates instinctively nodded!

If they still don't understand the truth at this moment, then they're just stupid!

Why did Philips suddenly take notice of Ethan Jones?

Why would Philips doubt their competence?

Isn't that all because of the explosive popularity of Snake Game?

If Snake Game were a game created by Mirova, then Mirova could have used this game to make Odyssey a huge success!

Once the Odyssey's market distribution volume surged, Philips was able to promote their video disc standard to North American consumers by adding a LaserDisc interface!

As long as this step occurs...

Philips could revolutionize the traditional videotape industry!

When every household bought an Odyssey, an Odyssey with LaserDisc playback standard...

Philips could then lobby Hollywood entertainment companies to use its video discs to copy movies and TV shows!

At that time...

That would create a monopoly!

But unfortunately...

Ethan Jones doesn't belong to Milwaukee.

Philips was furious about the loss of the genius creativity in "Snake Game".

no way……

Who can resist such an easy publicity opportunity!

"So...Philips doesn't care at all whether Ethan Jones has partnered with Nolan Bushnell?"

Thinking of this, the skinny man swallowed hard. "They care even less about how much money our lawsuit made Ethan Jones pay out."

Were their previous questioning just a way of venting their anger?

The question made the old man silent for a few seconds.

In the end, he shook his head and said, "You're right, but you're also wrong."

"Philips cares about the game Snake Game, so they will hold us accountable for losing it."

"But at the same time, they also discovered that the loss of Snake Game, or rather the rise of Ethan Jones, has given them, and us, a better opportunity."

'???'

The two people, one fat and one thin, did not understand what he said.

The old man smiled and continued, "A few days ago, when the chairman called me over, he said that Philips is very happy now."

"I'm very pleased that the arcade market has seen such a dominant player."

"When Ethan Jones dominated the arcade game market, other companies with equally excellent ideas would inevitably fall into a difficult situation due to insufficient funding and market gaps."

"Some people might choose to follow in Ethan Jones' footsteps and continue making CPU arcade machines."

"But many companies will be afraid of the difficulty of developing CPU games and choose to stop here."

"At this point, we can acquire those companies that are on the verge of bankruptcy at extremely low prices, incorporate those games that once caused a huge stir in the gaming market into Odyssey, and attract a group of excellent developers to Miluohua..."

"Right now, we're the only company making home video game consoles on the entire market!"

"But at the same time, countless game companies in the market still dare not make arcade games!"

"If we just get those ideas onto our home game consoles, we can infiltrate every household in North America in a short time!"

"And this is exactly the situation Philips wanted to see!"

When this fact came to light, both the fat and thin subordinates burst out laughing...

This is not just because they feel they have kept their jobs.

Furthermore, it is because they have high expectations for the parent company's ambitious goals.

Using North America as a base, how can we set rules for global video playback standards?

If this succeeds, won't MilroVa become a monopolistic behemoth?

At that time, you'll be making money while lying down!

And their treatment...

It will also improve infinitely!

"So, does that mean Ethan Jones releasing Pac-Man is actually a good thing for us?"

"He essentially revolutionized the entire industry, giving us a new lease on life?"

The fat man was pleasantly surprised.

"I'll go gather information on those game companies right away, see which ones are considering changing their business focus, and which ones are likely to go bankrupt!"

These words made the skinny man nod repeatedly, and he said, "I'll contact the technical department right away and have them try to add the LaserDisc port to the next generation of products, or rather, see if it's possible to integrate the LaserDisc player into the Odyssey."

The old man was very pleased with his subordinates' decisiveness.

He nodded in agreement, then waved his hand and said, "Go."

However, just as the fat and thin subordinates were about to leave, the thin man suddenly stopped in his tracks, as if he had thought of something.

Then, he asked the question that had just popped into his head, "Boss, there are two more things."

"What is it? Tell me," the old man said, in high spirits.

"Will our next-generation Odyssey use a CPU?"

"certainly."

"Well..." the skinny man hesitated.

The old man understood what he meant and said, "Choose Intel."

"Okay." The skinny man nodded immediately.

"What is the second thing?" the old man asked.

"The second thing is... what if Ethan Jones also makes a home video game console?" the skinny man asked, somewhat troubled.

Although he was reluctant to talk about the worst-case scenario, sometimes someone has to be the warrior.

"If Ethan Jones were to make a home video game console, all of us combined probably couldn't beat him alone."

"Because his creativity is just..."

"That's too strong."

These words brought a slight smile to the old man's face, and he nodded, saying, "Do you think Ethan Jones can still come up with excellent ideas after creating Pac-Man and Snake Game?"

"oh--"

"You actually believe what Steven Spielberg says?"

"Spielberg is clearly praising him."

"Ethan Jones is just a man, not a god!"

"I guarantee he won't come up with any more amazing ideas!"

Such absolute words made the skinny man swallow hard.

His hesitant expression made the old man smile and shake his head: "Okay, okay, actually Philips has prepared for the worst."

"They considered the possibility that Ethan Jones might come up with new ideas."

"But after the assessment, they felt there was a threat, but not a significant one."

"Because Philips is working with Sony to develop a new technology that will enable optical discs to store data."

"If I had to describe it, it would be like a CD version of a ROM."

"Its storage capacity is expected to be several times or even ten times that of the magnetic cassette version of ROM."

"By then, no matter how creative Ethan Jones is, the world will still have to use our products."

"So, all we need to do is hold on until this technology comes out."

"And this shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

"After all, Ethan Jones is having a blast in the arcade right now."

"Even if he finishes in North America, there's still a whole market waiting for him to explore in Liben."

"If I remember correctly, Nintendo was the one that handled the distribution of Snake Game?"

"Oh, this is truly God blessing our Miluohua!"

"Go call our old friend Hiroshi Yamauchi and tell him that Ethan Jones' new idea, Pac-Man, has swept across North America, with projected revenue exceeding one billion dollars, and that his MOS 6502 is the world's most suitable CPU for arcades and consoles, and then..."

"Believe me, Hiroshi Yamauchi will drive him crazy."

At this point, a bright smile appeared on the old man's face.

The subordinates, regardless of their weight, wore expressions of delight.

Because they know themselves—

The future is expected!

Note: ① In reality, Philips acquired Mirova to promote its own video disc standard. They obtained the North American patent in 1978. Mirova machines continued to be sold until the 1990s. ② CD-ROM technology was jointly developed by Philips and Sony. ③ You may have heard the story of the console wars of the 1990s. Simply put, Sony initially partnered with Nintendo to develop game consoles, hoping to promote its CD standard through them. However, because the contract terms were unfavorable to Nintendo, Nintendo broke the contract and collaborated with Philips on console development. Sony had to develop its own consoles alone, and then the PlayStation was released. Nintendo suffered huge losses, while Philips, who played the role of the underdog in this story, was left devastated. But in reality, before this story, Philips had already set standards twice in the 1970s. Specifically, as mentioned in the article, it used Mirova (and PolyGram) to promote the video disc standard and the compressed disc standard. It wasn't Sony, but Philips, who first sought to gain industry dominance through video games. In reality, Philips failed for two reasons. First, bad luck; the Odyssey simply couldn't outsell Atari. Second, also bad luck: when they developed the CD-ROM in 1982, they wanted to make a sequel to the Odyssey and release it in 1983. Then, on Christmas 1982, E.T. dominated the North American game market, and the Atari crash terrified Philips, leading them to abandon the Odyssey sequel project. So, when they partnered with Nintendo, it was actually Philips' third attempt to set a standard.

(End of this chapter)