In fact, when Steve Jobs said that all arcade machines on the market had uncontrollable time problems, Ethan Jones already knew that placing an order today would be a wild.
Because whether a game is fun is the player's concern — but whether it makes money is the business owner's concern.
Why has the claw machine been popular for over a hundred years? Isn't it because the money-making model is short-term and fast? Drop a coin, and the game ends in thirty seconds at most.
That kind of controllable pleasure keeps merchants happy.
In this era of video games, let alone precise control of playtime, even fuzzy control wasn't possible.
Therefore, when Steve Jobs said that Snake had a controllable 90-second limit per play, merchants realized that — for the same price and shorter playtime — this was basically giving away money!
From that moment on, Ethan knew that anyone looking to profit would definitely buy a machine and test the waters.
And when he saw the hot sales scene. Overjoyed, he walked to the side of the stage and gestured to Steve Jobs. Jobs understood and switched off the microphone.
"The introduction just now was great. I was genuinely moved by what you said." Ethan handed him an unopened bottle of mountain spring water.
"Thank you." Jobs took it and drank.
But no matter how good the mountain spring water was, it couldn't dampen the joy on his face.
"You know, Ethan, before I went on stage, I was actually very nervous. When I recommended myself for this, I never imagined so many people would show up today. I thought it would be great if even half the seats were filled. And since we scheduled it for ten in the morning — well, these folks are in the nightlife business, so getting up early is questionable."
Jobs smiled. "But I don't know why — the moment I turned on the microphone, I suddenly calmed down. the sound check made me feel like this was my world. Even though they showed displeasure at me from the start, I stayed patient and introduced everything at my own pace."
"Oh~ That shows you're amazing. You're a natural speaker" Ethan put his hands behind his back and smiled.
Jobs shook his head. "Born? No, no, no — not born. For today's talk, I actually wrote a script in advance."
"Really?" Ethan turned, surprise in his eyes. "Wasn't what you just said based on what Nolan wanted you to say?"
"Of course not!" Jobs raised his voice and shook his head vigorously. "I wanted to be the speaker myself, so naturally I wouldn't let anyone else write the lines for me! Everything I said was my own writing! I don't know if you liked it, but I liked it very much!
You see, I believe the most important thing when promoting a product is making customers understand its selling point. For us, the selling point of Snake might be that it's fun. But for our customers, its biggest advantage is that it makes money fast!
You know, Ethan? Back when I was working with Nolan selling games, do you know what those damn Grandets always asked first? They always wanted to know: 'Can your game make money?' 'How long until I recover my costs?' Damn! We were selling games — not gambling equipment!
So, when preparing today's pitch, I focused on the one thing they care about most — profitability. They don't care whether the game is fun. They only want to know if it will get people to keep playing!"
"Hahaha~" Ethan Jones laughed. Ethan had to admit — this guy had truly nailed the points that the bosses cared about most.
So he raised a hand, patted Jobs on the shoulder, and said with a grin: "Oh, Steve, you're definitely going to be a very successful product manager."
The moment the words left his mouth, Ethan felt something was off. He quickly corrected himself:
"No, no, my mistake — you already are."
"Thanks." Jobs clearly didn't take Ethan's words seriously. He just drink the bottle of mineral water in a casual gesture, with no intention of dwelling on it.
And just as they were about to continue chatting, customers — people who couldn't squeeze into the office to place orders — came flooding in.
"Steve, it's too slow over there! Can you register me here?"
"I've supported you since the days of Pong — you have to save me a machine this time!"
"Oh, Steve! You remember me, right? John! I own a pool hall in San Jose! I want two! Give me two!"
"Okay, okay, everyone, please wait a moment, I'll get you registered right away."
Business had come knocking — and naturally, there was no way to refuse it.
At first, they only crowded around Steve Jobs. But before long, impatience set in, and even Ethan Jones wasn't spared.
Well, who told him he looked more like a staff member, anyway?
Faced with the relentless demands of these livelihood-hungry merchants, Ethan did his best to accommodate them. By noon, after sending off the last customer, he was utterly drained.
But when he stepped into Nolan Bushnell's office, the mountain of order forms instantly revived him.
"Three hundred and thirteen units! Three hundred and thirteen units! We sold three hundred and thirteen units in one morning!"
Nolan Bushnell waved a calculator in his hand and shouted, "That's twelve hundred apiece — that's three hundred and seventy thousand dollars! I've never sold this many machines in one go in my entire life!
What's more," he added, "these eighty-something merchants are only from San Francisco and San Jose! North of us is Sacramento! South, there's Los Angeles and San Diego! We haven't even touched those markets yet!
Rich! We're gonna be rich! I'm really going to get rich this time!"
Bushnell threw the calculator high into the air.
And even if it hit the ground — so what?
At the same time, he leapt onto the desk, clenched his fists, and slammed them down. Tilting his head back, he roared with laughter:
"Hahahaha! Even if Magnavox sanctions us — so what?
We can still make money!"
As for the reason. He thrust his right hand toward Ethan.
Ethan, just as overjoyed, stepped onto a chair and climbed onto the desk.
As he appeared "on stage," Nolan Bushnell laughed even louder and shouted—
"Because the idiot Magnavox sent Ethan Jones right to us!
Ethan! — Jones! — He! He's our biggest winner today!"
Nolan seized Ethan's wrist and raised it high. Feeling the moment hit him, Ethan shouted back,
"We are the winners!!!——"