Reborn America, this is my time

Chapter 191

Saturday, May [-], [-], California, sunny.

In the lounge next to the Stanford Auditorium, Ethan was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror, letting Evelyn fiddle with the bow tie around his neck.Ballmer, with a shiny head, leaned aside, holding a palm-sized notepad and reporting work to the two of them.

"Chairman Johnson, President Jones, there are 180 seven guests invited by our company's new product launch conference today. As of 170 o'clock last night, [-] six guests were confirmed to be present."

"Among them, the number of buyers we invited was 150, and 140 were actually present. There were 37 special guests, and 35 actually arrived."

"According to our communication and understanding, the nine buyers who did not show up were all caught up in their own private affairs. From the current point of view, there is no particularly obvious external factor; and the special guest who did not show up is Mr. Spielberg. Lucas, they couldn't come from London because of the new film project, but they sent representatives to attend at the same time."

"Besides, the Attorney General of Arkansas and his wife, who President Jones specially ordered, arrived in San Francisco yesterday, accompanied by Professor Barbara Babcock. We sent vehicles there at six o'clock this morning. Waiting for contact, and some congressmen and the former governor of California invited by Chairman Johnson’s father also arrived in San Jose yesterday, we wanted to contact in person, but the other party said no, they will come with your father today.”

Hearing such news, Ethan nodded slightly.

"Okay, you go out and watch first, we'll come when we're done."

Without hesitation, Ballmer bowed and left.

In fact, when Evelyn said that there is a clear way to play in the ecological circles of American politicians and funders, Ethan felt like [-] bees swarmed into his head, buzzing there.

Firstly, in his previous life, he had never experienced these things at all, and he had no experience to refer to;
The second is that the rumors he heard are all well maintained on weekdays, and only the key will be used;

When these thoughts were preconceived, Ethan had a kind of alienation from those guys.

But I don't know...

Is this thinking wrong?

At least not on the border of America?

On the land of North America, politicians and funders need to establish a kind of exclusive tacit understanding of being in the same room together, carrying guns together, whoring together, and sharing dirty things together?
When these things were put in front of Ethan, a lot of names suddenly popped up in his mind, what Weinstein, what Epstein, what Barbara.At that moment, he even wanted to refute, saying that the gentler contact than making money together is cough cough...

It's just that he didn't want the words "died in 23 at the age of [-]" engraved on his tombstone, so he swallowed the words that came to his mouth.

After leaving Evelyn's office, he asked his exclusive secretary Ballmer to check the information in Arkansas to see if there was any gold that could be seized in Arkansas.

When Ballmer organized the collected information into a volume and handed it to Ethan to read, Ethan discovered that Arkansas's help to his business was almost zero.

Because this is a small southern state with primary and secondary industries as its main source of income.

The output of rice, cotton and soybeans here ranks at the forefront of the whole rice, and the output value of meat and poultry is also very prominent in America. Not only that, among the minerals that have been mined, the output of bauxite is the first in the whole rice. One of the few states that produces diamonds.

When these facts were placed in front of Ethan, his instinctive reaction was to mine bauxite and gallium metal, but in the next second he threw this stupid behavior out of his mind.The act of buying land and planting rice for cooking is okay as a joke, but what if it is really done?What's the difference between that and a story that begins when Pangu created the world?Even if he didn't have a smart coral brain, he couldn't do this.

However, after putting aside the industrial distribution in Arkansas, Ethan still found some business opportunities here.For example, due to the superior geographical location and cheap wages, the manufacturing industry here is relatively developed. Many food companies, electrical companies, furniture, plastics, and clothing companies have built production plants here to better communicate. Ships from Florida, New York, Texas.

This situation gave Ethan the idea of ​​building a factory there.

When they officially sell home consoles in the future, they will not be able to produce them in California and then sell them to the East Coast. They will directly ask Michael Blanco Manufacturing Company to build a factory in Arkansas, a central state with a relatively developed transportation industry. That is It must be able to help them better distribute the goods.

Ethan was relieved by this discovery, and when he told Evelyn what he wanted, Evelyn also revealed their needs to Barbara, asking her if it would work, and when Barbara After La learned about their ideas, the mage who specializes in law but plays with laws was immediately very happy, because if they express their needs in another way, it is that the candidate for the governor of Arkansas can attract outside investment and help the local people The people solve the employment problem.

If this kind of thing is done in normal times, even their resumes will not be included, but in an election year, this is something that can be written about!This kind of intention is even more precious than the 20 donation, because no one knows the fate game now!No one knows that they make a net profit of [-] million a year!

When a non-heavy polluting, high-profit company wants to set up a factory in Arkansas?
Even if they are anti-intellectual, they can't vote against it!
Therefore, after confirming that Destiny Games did have investment intentions and was preparing to hold this year's new product launch conference at the end of May, the couple in Arkansas wanted to participate.

For such a desire, Ethan naturally agreed. As the link of this relationship, the archmage also asked for leave to accompany him. According to the description of the staff who went to pick up the plane, they even invited the Arkansas media to accompany the report. In other words, these two people have the idea of ​​​​destroying their opponents with thunder, because if they can win this time, then he will be the youngest governor of the United States.

Since these things can be made public, well-informed guys can know directly, and when someone from the donkey party came to the new product launch conference, the relationship with Thomas also became volatile. After some communication, the guy who claimed to like Video games, the former governor of California, who likes "Star Wars", also decided to come and take a look. After a short thought, Ethan agreed.

"Snapped!"

"Okay! Done!"

With Evelyn's snap of his fingers, Ethan withdrew his thoughts.

Looking at himself in the mirror, the black suit, black trousers and black tie made him a little helpless.

"No, do you have to make me dress like a restaurant waiter?"

"This outfit makes me feel like a dollar-an-hour waiter!"

If Ethan remembers correctly, this suit was bought when he went to Los Angeles to attend a concert on the [-]th anniversary.

"Today is a new product launch event. Of course, you should dress appropriately for such a formal occasion."

Evelyn thought it was perfect, "Don't worry, you're handsome—"

"Of course, if I stand with you, others will still look at me."

"Because I'm Mei Ang?"

Today she is wearing a white skirt, the design of the princess sleeves makes her look very dignified.

After turning around in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror and confirming that there were no blemishes on her body, Evelyn pushed the embarrassing Ethan out, "Let's go, let's go out."

"It's almost ten o'clock, someone should be here."

Since Evelyn was happy, Ethan didn't say anything. Under the push of the girl, the two came to the gate of the auditorium, filled with standard smiles, ready to say hello to the guests.

So far, Ethan has participated in a total of three new product launches.

Each feeling is different.

The first press conference was held for "Snake". The venue of the press conference was still at Atari, and the host was Jobs. At that time, he was sitting at the bottom, very relaxed;
The second time I introduced "Pac-Man", because the guests at the conference were all from our own people, and what we wanted to understand was the application of artificial intelligence, so he spoke very casually at that time;
The third product launch conference was held at Fox, in order to promote "Star Wars" to the bosses of North American theaters, because he has confidence in movies and games, so he showed his strength;
And this time...

He was actually a little apprehensive.

Because none of the four games launched this time were produced by him.

Not only that, but the four competitors in Hollywood are also eyeing.

With the fog ahead and the fierce tiger behind, it would be a lie to say not to worry.

Perhaps it was because he had no idea, so this time he specially added an on-site welcome session for himself, trying to use his 'sincere' performance to fool the merchants into crazy purchases.And as the time of the press conference approached, one figure after another appeared in front of him.

Ballmer, who had already obtained the information of the participants and even met with more than 100 people in the past three days, kept introducing the identities of the guests to Ethan.

Whenever the big bald head tells the origins of those people with his strong memory, Ethan will smile and stretch out his right hand, shake hands with them in a friendly way, and say——

"Wow, Mr. XX or Ms., thank you for your continued support of our Destiny game, and I am very glad that you can come to our new product launch conference of Destiny game."

For Ethan, this may be a simple sentence.

But after those guests heard it, they immediately laughed and hugged him.

Many people even showed their joy.

"Mr. Jones! You are very kind!"

"We all make money under your leadership! Of course we will come to your new product launch event!"

"What new products are there this time? Can you reveal them in advance? Really! After receiving your invitation call, I was immediately overwhelmed with excitement! Because I have been looking forward to it for a year!"

The reason why these bosses are happy is actually very simple.

When a guy who earns [-] million a year greets his partner in person at the door, that soft figure will make everyone feel a great honor.

This is like Ethan's previous life, Bill Gates personally brought goods to Microsoft in the 90s.

No matter how rich you are, as long as you want to make money, you shouldn't keep looking up at the sky.

Keep smiling.

This allows you to earn more.

Since Ethan covered all the guests' meals and lodging, and directly asked the staff to connect with them, all the guests who came to the conference had already entered the venue 10 minutes before the press conference.

Among them, not only the Attorney General of Arkansas and his wife accompanied by the archmage, but also the former governor of California brought by Thomas, the former principal of Stanford, the good old man Ralph Bell, and Roy Disney, who may be A non-partner who is a partner.

When the first two parties arrived, Ethan shook hands with them and took a group photo with them.

If nothing else, those group photos will be published in the newspapers within a few days, and he will also display the developed photos in his office.

Let the company's administrative staff and security guard the door, and then Ethan and his sister got into the auditorium together. After waving to everyone at the scene, they sat down in the center on the left side of the first row.

Yes, unlike before, he no longer serves as the host for this press conference.

The job went to Ballmer's big bald head.

"Gentlemen and ladies! I am very glad that you can come to the Destiny game's [-] summer new product conference! I am the host of this conference, Steve Ballmer."

When the time approached eleven o'clock, this big bald head stepped onto the stage with a brisk tune.

"As a newcomer who has not been in the company for a year, when I received this job, I was in a panic because I didn't know why the boss would entrust me with such an important task."

"But when our boss said that the newcomer and the new product are a good match, I immediately understood that the boss may think that I am not good at work and wants to sell me together."

"So, all the guests here, if you are interested in me, then you can quote me directly, and I will sell myself to you, so that there will be no middlemen to earn the difference from me."

As he spoke, Ballmer winked at the crowd below.

Then there was a big loop on the spot, as if he was showing himself.

"Ha ha ha ha--"

The humorous words combined with the amusing actions made everyone below laugh out loud.

"This guy is really full of energy."

Evelyn applauded with the flow, while tilting her head and whispering in Ethan's ear.

"Yes, he's a good setter."

Ethan also responded while laughing.

Although Ballmer has only been in the Destiny game for eight months, his working status is already known to everyone. Many times, when Ethan is in trouble, he will feel like a normal person. Tired, but this bald head can always remain enthusiastic and full of enthusiasm when encountering problems.

That enthusiasm is indeed worthy of the title of the most passionate boss in the NBA.

Under his exaggeration, the atmosphere at the scene became very enthusiastic. At this time, Ballmer also very naturally lifted the opening link and entered the new product introduction.

The first game introduced is the shooting game "Taken".

When the confirmation button was tapped, the game interface was instantly enlarged, and the crosshairs suddenly appeared. The smooth simulation of the sniper rifle opening made the buyers below widen their eyes.

Tap the adjustment button, the bullet is fired instantly, and after the cracked circuit special effect appears on the arcade screen, the bang sound is like a gunshot during a race, which aroused endless discussions among the guests.

"Wow, the design of this shooting game is so innovative!"

"Yeah! I haven't seen the gameplay of shooting the enemy with a sniper rifle before!"

"Yes! This kind of gameplay seems to have a strong sense of substitution, because the previous shooting games used a dot of light to represent the bullet, and the person who was hit flickered and disappeared. There is no such thing as a direct sniper kill like now!"

"This game reminds me of Atari's previous shooting games. Compared with the current "Taken", the shooting sense of Atari's shooting games is simply too weak!"

The sudden discussion made Ethan, who was sitting in front of him, heave a sigh of relief.

The joy of the buyers is his greatest honor.

As for the Atari shooting game mentioned by those people, he actually has an impression, because the shooting game was proposed by Ralph Bell decades ago, when Nolan Bushnell copied Ralph Bell's After inspiration, the concept of the latter was completely copied by him.

As early as [-], shooting games were popular on the market, but those were actually shooting directly with objects like "Contra".Not only that, those games are still very rough. A circle of light can represent a firearm, and a beam of light can represent a bullet. When the bullet flies out, the game has sound effects, but after the bullet kills, the performance is not obvious.

Although this kind of game performance is still used by manufacturers decades later, with the development of the times, most shooting games still introduce the concept of magnification mirrors, with the setting of zooming in when the mirror is opened, such as " VR Special Police", and this damn sense of reality is the reason for the explosion of shooting games. Ethan really didn't think of all this before, but...

The result is good, right?
Because this thing is now in their home.

After Ballmer followed the previous press conference process and asked the staff to launch [-] arcade machines for the guests to experience for half an hour, the cheers that appeared from time to time and the regrets that emerged one after another made Ethan think of what they had Atari mentioned, as a subsidiary of Warner Bros., they have not heard from them for a long time.

The sudden disappearance made Ethan wonder if these guys were holding back some big moves.

Of course, their silence may also have something to do with the excitement of other Hollywood companies.

Because on the Hollywood side, after two months of disputes, the battle between Columbia Pictures and MGM Pictures has finally entered a heated stage. General Assembly, calling for a reshuffling of Columbia Pictures' board of directors.

Although their probability of success is not high, many shareholders of Columbia Pictures want to sell their shares because they don't want to fight the company's defense battle with the casino owner.

This is not a question of whether there is a chance of winning, but the boss of MGM has a bad reputation.

It is not wise to compete with him for the company.

As for the check fraud case that caused controversy?
It came suddenly and disappeared strangely.

"Okay, okay, I know you all love Taken, but please get back to your seats because we're releasing more than one game this time..."

Under Ballmer's call, the new product launch conference of the Destiny game continued, and this behavior of launching two games in a row also surprised the unprepared buyers.

"What? There are games?"

"Wow - is that cool?"

"I always thought that Destiny Games only released one game a year!"

"Yeah, they have been doing this for the past three years. I didn't expect to release a lot of models this year? Oh, it seems that the players' wallets may not be able to keep it! Hahahaha——"

For buyers, of course, the more new games, the better.

After all, this is what they make money from.

But after they were looking forward to it, the second game "Need for Speed" introduced by Ballmer did not get the same applause as the previous "Taken".

"This racing game doesn't seem to be doing well."

"He's similar to most racing games."

"Yes! If I remember correctly, there is a racing game in Mirovah? The gameplay is similar to this game? If players can play such a game at home, why would they come to our store? Playing games? This arcade machine should not make much money."

With such an evaluation, Ethan, who was sitting in front, pursed his lips and nodded.

The racing game these people talk about is actually the "Death Race" launched by Mi Luohua when Apollo was released last year. , not only obstacles but also people will appear on the road.

After hitting an obstacle, the player loses a life.

But if you hit someone...

NPCs in the game will die.

With this violent game alone, Mi Luohua's Apollo has sold a lot.

Yes, Mirov's Apollo is still on the market.

In other words, the new generation of Atari is also on sale.

And these contents were learned by Ethan only a few months ago.

After Philips blew the attack horn, Ethan asked Ballmer to collect the latest situation of Mirov and Atari, and then he discovered that although the new generation of Mirov, Apollo and Atari were taken by Das Even their mothers don’t know them anymore, but after a year of running-in, their shipments in North America still exceeded [-] units.

Although [-] units in [-] months, with an average of [-] units per month, the sales volume of only [-] units per week is not impressive in a land as large as North America.

But this steady flow of sales has allowed the two companies to regain their confidence.

After a year of precipitation, anyone can see that the failure of Mirov and Atari was because "Star Wars" was too strong.

When the North American people only have the force in their eyes, no one can beat the game of fate.

But the problem is that even if "Star Wars" is strong, it will have a day when its popularity fades.

As long as Destiny Games didn't launch a home console before this, and came up with a big hit product, then Mirov and Atari would still have the possibility of turning around.

Perhaps it was because of this that they tried hard to step on Ethan.

The emergence of this reason also made Ethan feel helpless, because according to the plan, their mainframe would not be released until next year's 520 at the earliest.

In this case, Philips and Warner Communications still have an advantage.

Although Ethan could speed up the research and development, he gave up after thinking twice.

The reason is the same as what Roy Disney said before, when Evelyn Johnson is the only core developer of the Destiny game, even if God comes, it is impossible to poach her away.

When the most primitive business war involves the theft of business secrets, the poaching of R&D personnel, and the recruitment of people to improve the home console project, the risk is really too great.

"Okay, here's our third game—"

""Winds from Heaven"!"

Ballmer seemed to see that everyone was not optimistic about "Need for Speed", so he directly accelerated the speed of his presentation, and pushed the game "Wind of Fortune" to the guests.

When the name "The Jackpot" appeared, the guests who were still lacking in interest because of "Need for Speed" all pricked up their ears. It was the graffiti on the surface of the gold that made their eyes widen.

"The content of this game is very interesting!"

"That's gold nuggets falling from the sky! You have to reach out and catch them!"

"The player controls a pocket in the game. What they have to do is to catch the gold falling from the sky continuously, while avoiding the threat of stones! The original intention of this game is to hope that this rich land of America can give more More people bring more wealth! And a better tomorrow!"

Following Ballmer's demonstration, the originally peaceful venue suddenly became agitated.

"Can I try this?"

"This should be a trial run, right?"

"Hurry up! We're going to play now!"

Eager words swear by their discovery.

They seem to see a business opportunity in this game.

After the 100 trial machines appeared, more than [-] people surrounded them immediately.

This scene made Ethan very surprised.

Because he never expected that "A Windfall from Heaven" would be so popular?

So he got up and turned around, and then he heard——

"Oh! Sxxt! This game special code is almost custom-made for my bar!"

"MFxxk! My nightclub is also suitable for this thing!"

"Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow !"

Ethan understood.

He returned to his seat with a smile.

The reason why these people like "Windful Fortune" is because no one can refuse to get rich overnight.

When the place where the arcade is accommodated is the gate of various entertainment clubs in the streets and alleys, the game meaning of "Heavenly Fortune" actually fits well with the luxury and money that the clubs want to show.

Although "A Windfall from Heaven" can't bring people real wealth, but for 25 cents to have a great dream... How do you think this is very cost-effective?

If you have to describe, the nature of this game and the future "you can make money by downloading a certain speed version", "you can make money by cutting a knife", "you can make money by walking", "you can make money by breathing", "as long as you give me Traffic, you can make money' propaganda is very similar.

"Follow what you like, this is really..."

This development somewhat exceeded Ethan's expectations.

And the hustle and bustle at the scene also made the supposedly serious auditorium feel a bit more like a vegetable market.

This situation made Ethan glance towards the VIP seats on the right.

When he noticed that the reporter brought by Arkansas seemed to be taking a wide-angle shot from the sidelines, and after the former governor was communicating with people there, the corners of his mouth instinctively twitched into a smile.

"What did you think of? Smiling so happily?"

Evelyn, who caught the change in expression, leaned over.

Ethan didn't hide anything, leaning over and whispering, "I'm thinking, what might happen in Arkansas in the next few days, the news of 'the Attorney General is going to California, and Destiny Games will build a factory in the future', maybe our California will also appear in the next few days. Headlines like 'Ex-governor cares about the people, entertains the people at Stanford', in those articles, they would probably say, 'Our young people are using video games to hone their reflexes and eye-hand coordination, skills that It will make them more competitive in various fields in the future', anyway, it is just a compliment, after all, these things are beneficial to them..."

'...' This kind of teasing made Evelyn's face darken.

"If you can't speak, then shut up!" She glared at Ethan.

But Ethan twisted his body cheerfully and made a face, "Slightly slightly..."

Perhaps it was "Wind of Fortune" that made buyers see a huge way to make money, or it might be that the enthusiastic response on the scene let Ballmer know that this game might become the company's best-selling product, so it should have been half an hour. The demo session of the game was dragged on for a full 45 minutes before it was declared over.

When the buyers returned to their seats contentedly, Ballmer on the podium also cleared his throat, and said with a smile: "Perhaps many people don't understand why our Destiny game puts the new product launch in the morning." It's eleven o'clock, and now I can tell everyone responsibly that we just want to take advantage of the lunch break to quickly finalize the contract with you."

"When you are being dragged to sign a contract by us while you are suffering from hunger, you will most likely sign the contract with your eyes closed for meals. In this way, we will make a lot of money. What kind of dance hall in Arkansas, what Florida bars, that's all ours."

"It's a pity that your perseverance is so strong that you can resist hunger. It's already two o'clock in the afternoon, but you haven't noticed it all this time."

"This really makes me so sorry!"

"I'm actually ready to be wanted by the Federation!"

"Hahaha..." Ballmer's joke made everyone laugh.

Some even said directly, "No, your game is interesting!"

Such words made Ballmer owe his thanks.

The scene has also become an ocean that is about to stir up.

In such a situation, Ballmer paused for a few seconds, and then raised his right hand.

"Okay, Okay, thank you for your likes."

"Your likes are our greatest honor."

"I know that many people may think that today's press conference will end with the release of three games, but I want to say, no! We still have the last game!"

"Next, I will invite my boss, Ethan~~~Jones——"

"Because the fourth game will be introduced by him personally!"

The cadenced words made everyone's eyes widen!

As Ballmer said, no one thought they would launch four games in one go!

What's more, the fourth game seems to be the real finale!

Under their watchful eyes, Ethan, who was holding a microphone, also appeared on stage with a smile.Beckoning downward, Ballmer, who was ready, immediately pushed the fourth machine to the center of the stage.

Like the previous three machines, the outside of this arcade machine was also covered with a black cloth. When the condescending Ethan found that the more than 100 pairs of eyes below were full of curiosity, he immediately pressed his hand on the machine , and then tightened his fingers and grabbed the curtain.

"I know you're all wondering what this last game is going to be."

"As usual, I should introduce it, but I don't think this game needs an introduction."

"The next half an hour is your trial play time."

"And the name of the game you are playing is very simple, only three words."

"It's called—"

"Snake!"

"Game!"

"Two!"

"Whoa-"

Ethan tore down the curtain forcefully.

When he said the name of the last game with a smile——

The emergence of every word made the eyes of the guests brighten up!
After the curtain fell and the machine appeared——

That pink and green intertwined figure made countless people jump up immediately!
"What the fuck?—"

"Oh! My! God!—"

"There is a sequel to "Snake"?"

"Oh—what's the new idea this time?"

"Isn't this a trial session? Where's the machine? Where's the machine!"

The buyers who just sat down for a while are all jumping up now!
The clamorous demands and loud questioning made Ethan on the stage smile.

In fact, among these four games, the one he is most confident of selling is "Snake 2".

As for the reason?

Very simple.

The success of the previous work has accumulated countless fans for it.

When it swept North America with thunder in [-]...

As long as you are an individual, you will be full of curiosity about its sequel!

And when the curiosity that can kill the cat appears...

One foot of the destiny game has already stepped into the door of success!
As for the other one?
Oh--

Then leave it to God!
(End of this chapter)