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When Steve Jobs finally spoke, Ethan Jones's expression became even more peculiar.
The divine and preachy feeling made Ethan feel like he was listening to a sermon.
Even though Steve Jobs seemed to radiate the light of evangelism, Ethan Jones still caught the key points in his words. "Mr. Jobs, are you implying that Atari and Magnavox have reached some confidential out-of-court settlement?"
Ethan Jones's cautious wording made Steve Jobs smile, shake his head, and say, "Not that it can't be disclosed, it's just that many media outlets haven't reported it yet. Because of that settlement, Atari and Magnavox have truly become one family."
At this point, he suddenly asked, "Do you know why I came to visit this exhibition today?"
Without giving Ethan a chance to answer, he smiled, looked out the window, gazing at the exhibition entrance, and said, "My boss, Nolan Bushnell, asked me to come and see the current status of these traditional arcade manufacturers.
See what new products they've released, See what interesting games they've created, See if they pose any threat to our Atari.
Because...In the coming year, Atari cannot release self-developed games."
"What?" Ethan was shocked! "What did you say?"
He stared at Steve Jobs with wide eyes. "Cannot release self-developed games?"
As Ethan instinctively raised his voice, pedestrians in the McDonald's restaurant also looked at him with puzzled eyes.
In this situation, Steve Jobs pressed his hands down, signaling Ethan to calm down, and at the same time, nodded and said, "Yeah, you heard it right. In the next year, Atari cannot release self-developed games."
"Why else would I ask, what do you believe in? In my opinion, it's as if Buddha is protecting you."
Steve Jobs sighed with emotion, and through his narration, Ethan learned about the lawsuit between Magnavox and Atari.
Although Professor Ralph Baer intervened with kindness and facilitated an out-of-court settlement between Atari and Magnavox, Magnavox is a legitimate business company, and they would not truly let Atari off the hook.
Professor Ralph Baer thought that Atari compensating with fifty thousand dollars would be enough because the product "Pong" did not cause much damage to Magnavox.
But Magnavox disagreed; they believed Atari's market should belong to them!
So, during the settlement negotiations, Magnavox came up with a cunning plan. They forced Atari to agree that, from the day the settlement agreement was reached, for the next year, regardless of what games Atari releases, the copyrights would belong to Magnavox!
In simpler terms, Magnavox wanted to strangle Atari's business!
Once Atari dares to launch a new product, sorry, regardless of whether that game sells well or not, the copyright belongs to us!
Isn't Atari copying Magnavox stuff? Now, they won't let Atari release new products!
Magnavox won't let Atari do business! If this had happened a year ago, Atari wouldn't have cared much.
After all, everyone was copying, and no one had copyrights! Since atari don't have copyrights for our own products, and Magnavox claim the copyright for game!
As for how to deal with lawsuits later? That's not a legal action; it's a showdown.
But now, when everyone has reached the end of the road in the path of copying, and everyone is ready to innovate on their own...
Not being able to release new products, not being able to innovate, that really means Magnavox wants Atari's business!
Because everyone knows that Atari only became prosperous due to the right time and circumstances!
And now, the time advantage they finally obtained has been cut off by Magnavox? Rest of companies must be celebrating!
Although Nolan Bushnell knew it was a trap, he agreed to Magnavox's demands to avoid exorbitant compensation.
With his agreement, all of Atari's in-house projects were put on hold.
In such a situation, the most crucial thing for them to do is to gather information about other companies.
So, today, when traditional arcade manufacturers convened the exhibition, Steve Jobs was sent here.
No choice, as a guy who had just returned from a pilgrimage, almost no one in the industry recognized him.
To be honest, after Steve Jobs took a look around, he didn't find any company's products to be innovative. But just as he was about to leave, "Snake Game" delivered a soulful blow!
The excellent gaming experience made him sense the taste of success!
"I just unplugged your game console," Steve Jobs, the young guy who hadn't founded Apple yet, said seriously. "Honestly, I even think those guys who saw 'Snake Game' and didn't want to compromise are all foolish! Not taking such an excellent game? How confident are they! Confident that they can create a game even more fun than this?"
Steve Jobs's praise brought a smile to Ethan's face.
"Thank you," he said with emotion. "Thank you."
At this moment, he truly expressed his gratitude! Not only for Steve Jobs' recognition of "Snake Game" but also for the information he provided!
He was wondering who to collaborate with to sell the machines, and then Steve Jobs told him that the biggest bug in the Atari market had been banned?
It's like someone handed him a pillow right after he started to doze off. It's heaven-sent!
At this moment, Ethan believed that Atari was undoubtedly the most suitable partner for him in the world! Because they couldn't buy copyrights for self-developed games!
Because if they buy copyrights, those copyrights will belong to Magnavox!
This kind of foolish behavior of spending money to give away copyrights to others...
Who would do that? As for profit-sharing... they can't even release self-developed games!
Now, what they need is to hold onto the market! Don't let other companies take advantage of the situation and seize it!
As for the rest? That can only be discussed after they headle Magnavox!
At this moment, Ethan admit that what Steve Jobs just said was right.
"Mr. Jobs," Ethan smiled, "Can I call you Steve?"
"Of course!" Jobs nodded cheerfully.
"Do you know my current mood?" Ethan pointed to his face.
"I can tell," Jobs also smiled. "Your smile can't hide anything."
"Do you know what I want to say now?" Ethan gestured with his index finger.
Jobs shook his head with a smile and said clearly, "I am fate."
"Pfft~" When these words appeared, Ethan finally couldn't hold back.
"Hahaha~" Laughing heartily, he raised his cola cup to signal Jobs.
This hippie version of Jobs was a bit cheesy. He thought it was pretty good because it was amusing.
When Ethan Jones discovered that Magnavox might be his best partner, he couldn't contain the smile on his face any longer. At the same time, he felt he had figured out Steve Jobs's true intentions.
"Steve, your boss didn't just send you here to take a look at the situation, did he?" Ethan leaned back, smiling. "Or perhaps, you also want to try your luck? After all, there are many game engineers now."
"Hmm~" Steve Jobs revealed a smile, with a shrewd glint in his eyes. "Maybe."
He shrugged and said, "I just mentioned, when I came here today, Nolan and I discussed the need to carefully evaluate various products in the market and ensure Atari's market position as much as possible."
Understanding, Ethan nodded, not speaking, exchanging smiles. This situation maintained a formulaic smile on Steve Jobs' face as well.
After a moment, Ethan took the initiative to relax the tension, saying, "But I believe if you bring back an excellent game to the company, your boss Nolan Bushnell should be very pleased."
"Yeah~" Ethan's initiative made Steve Jobs admit, "I think so too."
At the same time, he continued, "So, do we have an agreement? I found you at the exhibition, and you..."
Jobs elongated his voice. Ethan raised both thumbs, "And I brought the game, coming to Atari with you, sincerity. As for the rest, I don't know what you said, but I only know what I already knew."
"Hahaha~" Ethan's straightforwardness made Steve Jobs extend his right hand. "Happy cooperation."
"Happy cooperation." Ethan bloomed with joy as they shook hands firmly.
① The settlement agreement, which included compensation and a one-year copyright term for all relevant works, was confirmed by Ralph Bell. He mentioned this specifically in his 1994 memoir. However, regarding the timeline, Bell's memoir states that the copyright restrictions in the settlement agreement began in 1976.
Atari's account differs. Nolan Bushnell and others have said that Arkanoid was ready in 1975 but, in order to wait for the end of the limited edition period, it was released in May 1976.
From what I can verify now, the copyright for Arkanoid still belongs to Atari, so I'm not entirely sure what the actual situation is. The dates in this article are based on Atari's Arkanoid copyright records.
Personally, I feel that including Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, and Nolan Bushnell in my biography at the same time may be inaccurate if the timeline is wrong.