Rebirth of America, this is my time

May 1, 1975, is a Thursday.

This day means nothing to the United States.

This is because the world-recognized Labor Day has never happened here. Labor Day in the United States is the first Monday of September every year.

As for the reason?

Chicago knows.

This morning, Ethan arrived at Atari's Los Gatos factory. The scene was different from what he had seen before. The bustling production team had disappeared, and was replaced by uniformly dressed reception staff.

A small wooden stage was erected in the open space of the factory. Directly opposite the stage, nearly a hundred folding chairs were neatly placed.

This arrangement, similar to that of a drive-in theater, looks very crude, but it is actually very practical.

Ethan's position is in the middle of the first row. On his left is the founder of Atari, Nolan Bushnell, and in the past, it was Don Valentine, whom he had had contact with before.

Although both of them were very enthusiastic, after a simple greeting, everyone fell in love with each other.

Don Valentine was whispering to his acquaintances, while Nolan Bushnell smiled and greeted the guests who arrived one after another. As for Ethan Jones? He crossed his arms and looked around.

Perhaps it is because there are no centralized sales channels in this era, so those invited guests are really bosses of various industries. They are in suits and ties, usually control bowling alleys, have big backs and bell-bottoms, and have everything in their names. Most likely it's a karaoke and dance hall, and most of those wearing colorful clothes and accompanied by a beautiful woman are working in bars and nightclubs.

The gathering of people from all walks of life made Ethan find it quite interesting. When the time gradually approached ten o'clock, most of the people were already there. Nolan Bushnell glanced at the scene and was very satisfied with the attendance rate of more than 80%. , after snapping his fingers at Steve Jobs at the edge of the stage, Mr. Hippie, who received the order, cleared his throat and patted the microphone.

The sound of bang bang bang attracted everyone's attention.

As the buzzing noise disappeared, Steve Jobs also smiled and said: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Atari's new product launch site in May 1975. I am the host of this event, Steve Jobs. husband Steve Jobs.”

At this point, he paused, with a formulaic smile on his face.

And offstage...

In addition to the polite applause, there were also shouts——

Steve! Hurry up and introduce the product! I'm going to die!

Yes! Let's introduce it quickly! I have to go to the store in the afternoon!

Yo yo yo~ Steve~ Why are you doing the same thing as those big companies and holding a new product launch conference? If I remember correctly, two years ago, Nolan drove a pickup truck by himself and brought games with him. The machine is selling it to us one by one! And it also guarantees door-to-door delivery within three days after placing the order. But now... your service has simply regressed into the Pacific Ocean! Don't you think so?

Hahaha~

Yeah~

Backwards!

Roaring laughter is a reflection of quality.

Perhaps because he had seen so much, Steve Jobs was not disturbed by this, but raised the microphone and said: Alright~ I know everyone is very busy. Some people came here just after closing the store, and some people came here at noon. You need to leave early to open the store, so I won’t waste your time here. Next, I will directly introduce our company’s new products to you.”

As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed, turning everyone's attention to the big guy next to him.

It was a machine wrapped in red cloth.

Steve Jobs pulled hard, and a dark green figure appeared in front of everyone.

Different from the rough shell made by Ethan before, under the modification of Atari, on the head of the machine is a green snake with a fierce look. From left to right, it opens its bloody mouth and wants to kill the machine in front of it. devoured the apple.

Under the graffiti, there is a game name painted in yellow paint, Snake Game.

The display of explosive information captured the attention of everyone present.

And Steve Jobs also took advantage of that moment of silence and said loudly: Everyone, just by looking at this shape, I think you should be able to guess that the game Atari is launching this time is related to snakes.

However, I want to tell you here that you can guess the protagonist of the game, but you will never guess the content of the game.

Having said this, Steve Jobs raised his voice, raised his right hand high, and his index finger flew.

“Because it’s different from all the game consoles on the market!”

Now, all the game consoles on the market have a problem, that is, our customers' gaming time is not under our control. I think everyone here has a deep understanding of this, whether it is our Atari Pong, Whether it’s games from other companies, you can only maximize profits by limiting the number of times customers can play!”

But even so, many times we will be embarrassed.

Take Pong as an example. Customers put in a twenty-five-cent coin and can play ten times on the game console with their friends. If both of them are masters and play back and forth, then they It might take a machine half an hour or more.”

but now……

This situation no longer exists!

Snake Game has greatly optimized this problem, because the vast majority of customers can only play on this machine for a few minutes! Tens of seconds! Even...

A few seconds!

Having said that, Steve Jobs’ words are a meal.

The scene immediately erupted into endless commotion.

Wow~ is it true?

How many seconds? How many seconds for twenty-five cents? How's that done?

Oh! Sxxt! I want to see the show! Come on, come on! Show me the show!

Dxmn! If it can really be done to this extent, then this is definitely a miracle!

The entertainment dealers who had expressed dissatisfaction there before now stretched their necks.

This situation made Steve Jobs laugh on the stage.

I bent down and turned on the power of Snake Game, and then, the explosive electronic music appeared instantly.

In front of everyone, he put a coin into the machine and then did nothing.

Under everyone's gaze, the little snake in the game interface hit the wall from left to right and died in just eight seconds.

This fact made everyone’s eyes light up!

They wanted to say something, but Steve Jobs moved the coin faster, and this time, under his operation, the little snake in the game interface hit him in just five seconds. , pronounced dead.

This novel way of death made the guys at the scene widen their eyes!

And when Jobs put in the coin for the third time and spent about thirty seconds eating the ten fruits on the screen during the demonstration, the suddenly accelerated game speed caused the little snake on the screen to hit the boundary again.

This result made the merchants who were invited to breathe quickly!

Because they seem to know the selling point of this game!

While they were staring at the machine, eager to know more, Steve Jobs had already raised the microphone and said:

I believe everyone has understood.

The gameplay of Snake Game is actually very simple. Customers will control a snake that moves forward by itself and gain game points by eating white dots on the screen. This game has no real success, only endless death. Because the snake in the game cannot touch the boundaries or its own body, but at the same time, every time it eats a piece of food, its body will grow longer and the space for movement will become smaller accordingly. Every time it eats ten pieces of food, its progress will decrease. The speed will also increase and it will become more difficult to operate.”

“According to the designer’s design, the maximum survival time of a customer in the first stage is forty-five seconds, the maximum survival time in the second stage is thirty seconds, the maximum survival time in the third stage is fifteen seconds, and the maximum survival time in the fourth stage is …”

At this point, Steve Jobs laughed and said, Sorry, I can't get through it either.

So, so far, our theoretical limit of play time is ninety seconds!

The theoretical limit is forty times in one hour!

The theoretical maximum income for a day is two hundred and forty dollars!

The powerful words stunned all the merchants who were invited.

They stared at the game console on the stage in disbelief, their eyes full of doubt and greed!

The most you can make in a day is two hundred and forty dollars?

What kind of business is this special code?

This is simply more profitable than selling money!

Of course, there are also doubters.

I don't believe it! Your data is too exaggerated!

A guy wearing a peaked cap suddenly spoke and said: The Pong you launched before was a popular game all over the country! Now there is probably no one in the country who has not heard of the name Pong! But even so, before Pong When it was popular, the daily income was only fifty to sixty US dollars! But now you are working on Snake Game, but it claims to be able to earn up to two hundred and forty US dollars a day? With all due respect, I don't believe this data!

Such words made everyone at the scene nod.

Yeah, your data is so unreal!

It's a good thing for us that the game ends too quickly, but what about customers? What if they play two games and stop playing?

Is your game really fun? Can customers keep putting in coins?

The questions in the audience made Steve Jobs smile.

He waved his hand and said to the guy who was leading the charge: Sir, you can come up and try.

How could a strong man hesitate with such an invitation?

He strode forward, took out the coins and did it.

At the same time, he said loudly: I don't believe it anymore. How can a game with such a simple operation be attractive?

Although he had just watched Steve Jobs' demonstration, it was impossible to balance watching and playing.

His eyes told him that he understood, but his hands...

MFxxk!——

After tossing three coins in a row, the strong man did not survive a minute.

That white 'Game Over' is like a smiling face, laughing at his garbage!

This fact made him wave his right hand!

But just when everyone thought he was going to smash the machine, he stamped his feet and said, How much does one cost?

One thousand and two. Steve Jobs reported the number with a smile.

I have two stores, bring me two!

Okay, please go and register over there.

Although the first one to eat the crab is the smart one, the first one to eat the crab will only arouse the curiosity of others.

The second person to eat crabs will attract the attention of others.

And when the third and fourth guys appeared one after another...

The atmosphere at the scene was extremely enthusiastic!

The game Snake seems to have endless charm!

It’s easy to use and can give people the illusion that whoever gets it is the best!

After experiencing it, the increasing difficulty is more like a sexy beauty, tempting people to keep moving forward!

An occasional failure will make people think that they are careless!

After inserting the coin again, the crisp jingling sound is the best interpretation of falling into the abyss!

Every guy who came on stage to test couldn't survive three rounds from Snake!

Then they waved their check and wanted to order the machine!

At the beginning, Steve Jobs guided these bosses to place orders in an orderly manner.

But when the logistics staff said that almost all the copies prepared this time had been sold, the latecomers who learned the news immediately swarmed into Atari's office, trying to get the last share!

I want two! I want them right away!

Santai! Is there any Santai! I can fill out the check first!

Hua Q! I have three billiard halls! Leave me six!

You are a bunch of poor people with special codes! You are too stingy to buy them! Ten units! I want ten units! I want them tonight!

Don't crowd! Don't crowd! Leave one for me! Leave one for me!

Looking at the tumultuous scene and listening to the wild sounds, Ethan, who was sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai, showed a satisfied smile.

He knew that no one in this world could refuse Snake.

nobody!