Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 103 The Belonging of the Father of Video Games

Time has come to 1980 without stopping, and the world has entered the magnificent 80s. Tang Huan, who has already laid the foundation in this time and space, has no time to reflect on his achievements carefully, let alone taking vacations.

One of the most urgent matters at the moment is naturally to deal with Mi Luohua's patent lawsuit. The other party's asking price is very high, which is completely ruthless as if it will not open for three years and will suffer for three years after opening.

Anyone with a discerning eye has made a judgment early on that the Xiaobawang game machine is doomed, and it must be ruined to avoid disaster. It is nothing more than a question of how much money to pay. After all, here in the United States, the business rules are very sound.

Tang Huan also understands that the final result is not optimistic, but he intends to take advantage of this turmoil and advertise for Xiaobawang in a disguised form, which can be regarded as turning disadvantages into advantages to a certain extent.

After secret discussions, the entire response plan was finalized.

First of all, EA will use the 1958 "Double Tennis" game to question the validity of Mirov's patent, dragging the lawsuit into a whirlpool of controversy.

Then, by taking advantage of the time gap gained, the relevant materials of various technologies contained in the Xiaobawang game console were prepared and submitted to the court, in order to try to prove that the Xiaobawang game console had nothing to do with Mi Luohua's patents.

The whole process naturally requires media participation and follow-up through public relations. The ultimate goal is to make the Xiaobawang game console an image of a victim who is determined to innovate but is maliciously suppressed by market competitors using patent means.

In the previous life, the patent lawsuit between Samsung and Apple was a lot of fun. Since it is doomed to be unsatisfactory, it is right to hire a lawyer to act as an actor to perform debates for everyone to attract attention.

In fact, Zheru himself is also suffering from copyright infringement. All kinds of small-scale software piracy emerges in an endless stream, and even the game business is not immune. version, but the gaming experience is poor.

What's even more ironic is that most of these pirates are students, and the programming tools used are Zheru's MA.

Regarding this, Tang Huan couldn't laugh or cry. Due to the hacker culture in the United States, it is really not worth the loss to go to war.

In the early days, the first generation of hackers were purely technical elites. Apart from their own professional fields, their business awareness was very weak, and their natural influence was limited.

After that, the American hippie trend became popular, which promoted the counterculture movement. Unruly, whimsical and rebellious spirit became fashionable.

This has affected a generation, especially college and middle school students who were born in affluent middle-class families and do not have to worry about making ends meet.

They escape society, abandon tradition, despise authority and all rules and regulations. After indulging in rock music, pursuing all kinds of liberation, and using psychedelics to find sensory pleasure, they soon find that computers are the most exciting. Naturally, programming has become the most flamboyant hobby.

Thus, the second generation of hackers was born.

During this period, computers were still in the mainframe stage, and a few companies headed by IBM dominated the entire industry. The characteristics of the second-generation hackers who defied authority came into play. The famous Homebrew Computer Club is a good illustration of their This spirit of free sharing.

But the bustling world is all about profit, and the world is full of profit, so the hacker community is inevitably divided. Some people use the technology they have mastered to start doing business and make money. Gates wrote the famous letter to the Homebrew Computer Club. "An Open Letter to Computer Enthusiasts" clearly and unmistakably revealed this disagreement.

At present, the second-generation hackers and the third-generation hackers are alternating, and various opinions are in serious conflict. Tang Huan does not want to go into troubled waters because of such a small profit. Anyway, these students have not shaken their business foundation.

Naturally, Tang Huan does not need to appear in person in this lawsuit, and Hawkins will lead EA to fight. He only needs to sit behind the scenes and watch the show.

When Tang Huanzheng was discussing with Hawkins and several lawyers in suits and ties, Bushnell called and said indignantly, "I just found out that Mi Luohua sued Xiaobawang for infringement, and that's all they can do. , do you need me to provide help to testify in court?"

Tang Huan squinted his eyes as a loyal buddy, and guessed Bushnell's motives for doing so, probably because he had been brooding over his helpless experience of being knocked out of the patent fee of 70 US dollars by Mi Luohua. At that time, Ya Dali's strength cannot be compared with that of today's philosophers, and he did not dare to get entangled in expensive legal disputes, so he had to submit obediently.

"Thank you very much, then I will not be polite. It is a great honor to meet a friend with a sense of justice like you." Tang Huan laughed loudly, "With your huge influence in the game industry, your help will definitely make people This case is very different."

"You're welcome, I'm venting for myself." Bushnell laughed back.

Tang Huan chatted with Bushnell for a few more words, then put down the phone, with a playful smile on his face.

To put it bluntly, Bushnell, who is unwilling to be left alone, is a powerful shit-stirring stick.

"We have another big help. The founder of Atari, Bushnell, is willing to testify in court to help us. He is a veteran in the industry, and his testimony is very valuable." Tang Huan said the good news, "You can fine-tune Make a plan and leave room for this great god to play."

"Okay." Hawkins stood up excitedly, but was stopped by Tang Huan.

After the lawyers walked out and there were only two people left in the office, Tang Huan said, "Those media are almost ignorant of technology, and the reports inevitably give people a feeling that they are scratching their heads. I helped them think of a theme. "

Having said that, Tang Huan showed a smirk on his face, "Bushnell or Ralph Henry Bell, who is the father of video games? What do you think?"

Hearing this idea, Hawkins couldn't help touching the sweat that didn't exist on his forehead. The Mirov Odyssey game console is derived from the "brown box" prototype of the video game console invented by Bell. The boss is going to set off a saliva The big fight, while also tying Bushnell firmly to EA's chariot, is insidious.

"It's very attractive, I'm going to contact the PR to make preparations." Hawkins said happily, obviously, for the sake of EA, he doesn't mind these commercial strategies.

"Then act quickly. I'll go to the game development department to have a look." Tang Huan nodded, "When everyone else is standing by and watching the jokes, we have to make great strides forward and release heavyweight games."

The current game development department, with the establishment of EA, has also been moved to the corresponding office area accordingly.

Tang Huan first chatted with Shigeru Miyamoto for a while, and then turned his attention to the heavyweight new game he said-"Pac-Man" or "Pac-Man".

In the original time and space, this puzzle game was developed by the RB game company NAMCO, that is, Namco, in 1980, which is this year.

"Pac-Man" can be called a classic game in the history of video games. It became popular all over the world in the 1980s. The pancake image of its protagonist, the elf, with a corner missing, was regarded as a symbol of popular culture, and even a representative image of the video game industry. Namco even uses this image as its mascot and company logo.

Because of the popularity of "Pac-Man" on the arcade, Atari bought the authorization of this game on the Atari 2600, but due to the rush of work, the porting effect of the hardware platform was very poor. 700 million sets of cassettes were produced, but since then players have gradually grown resentful towards home video game consoles, laying the root of the collapse of the entire industry.

It can be seen that Atari controlled by Warner is really sinful, fully showing the ugly face of a profiteer who makes a fortune and then leaves.

Now that EA has produced the finished product of "Pac-Man", naturally, Namco lost a cash cow, and Atari can't waste everything.

People will inevitably like the new and dislike the old games. As the successor of "Tetris", "Pac-Man" was developed as a project very early, and now it just comes out to the market, demonstrating EA's innovative ability.

"Isn't it fun to make the players crazy and make the competitors jealous?" Tang Huan, who was very satisfied with the results of his work, used this kind of joke to motivate his subordinates.

……

The lawsuit between EA and Mirov was held in San Jose, the capital of Santa Clara County, where Silicon Valley is located. It attracted many industry insiders, media reporters, and even some people with a keen sense of smell who planned to enter the game console industry. A speculator who makes a fortune.

EA's lawyer questioned the validity of Mirov's patent through the early game "Double Tennis", and received a miraculous effect, which immediately made the other side flustered and directly brought out the witness - Ralph Henry, the inventor of the "brown box" Bell.

Ever since, Bushnell made his debut, and he refuted Bell bluntly, "Your achievements have stopped at that "brown box", such a simple thing, dare to say that it has something to do with the current game consoles. "

Bell, the Jewish inventor who fled from Germany to the United States on the eve of Crystal Night in 1938, also had a straight-forward temper, and he spat on it without showing weakness.

What is Wen Wu No. [-] and Wu Wu No. [-]? The scene in front of me is just that. Even the judge can’t calm down. The eyes of the media reporters who are watching have the ecstasy of finding their prey. These two are video games. A contender for the title of father, that's great, this trip was worthwhile, and there is one more material for the report.

EA's strange move made the first court session come to a hasty conclusion, and the reporters who had been prepared for a long time rushed forward, surrounded Bushnell and Bell outside the courtroom, and bombarded them with interviews.

Glancing at Bushnell surrounded by stars like a moon from a distance, Tang Huan admired in his heart, "My buddy is so powerful in combat, it's no wonder that he and Jobs have the same aura a few years ago. With this person standing and cheering, It’s hard to say what the final outcome of this lawsuit will be.”

Tang Huan, the behind-the-scenes director, found out that the play was performed according to his own design, so he lost interest in continuing to pay attention, and left quietly and alone.

(End of this chapter)