Atari sold 313 machines in a single morning, earning $370,000 — already a massive figure in the United States of 1975.
After quickly calculating his share, For the first time in two and a half years of grinding away as a regular worker, he felt real joy.
No, he hadn't become a millionaire — but wasn't he making money far faster than the drug dealer?
After a brief celebration, Nolan Bushnell ordered Atari's staff to start delivering the goods that very afternoon.
Over a hundred employees joined the push. Within minutes, pickup trucks were roaring out of the lot.
Only then did Ethan realize that most of Atari's people wore multiple hats. When they picked up a ruler and brush, they were engineers.
When they put on a suit, they were receptionists. When they jumped into their cars, they were delivery drivers and outsourced repairmen.
The first two roles were understandable — but the third, using their own private cars for company work, truly impressed Ethan.
A few decades later, if capitalists dared to make employees do that, they'd be facing public outrage, and mass demonstrations.
Of course, Atari — or rather, Nolan Bushnell — wasn't going to let that labor go unrewarded. On top of regular wages and gas reimbursements, he offered a $5 bonus for every machine delivered.
A typical cart could carry four units, meaning twenty extra dollars for half a day's work — a full day's pay for most people back then.
With such rewards, Atari's staff were on fire. ands behind his back, Ethan watched with satisfaction. "Nolan, is this your secret to success? Wiping out competitors before they can react?"
Bushnell didn't know he meant, but he understood Ethan was talking about Atari's execution speed.
He grinned, hands on his hips. "I can't help it. In this business, timeliness is everything.
When a customer places an order, if we can't deliver within two days, there might be a competitor's knock-off sitting in front of their store by the third day.
Imitation moves fast. In our line of work, time is life! The faster the machines sell, the faster we deliver. We have to make those merchants fall in love with us."
Ethan liked the philosophy. Under his watch, Atari's crew worked with efficiency.
They rolled out around 1 p.m. and were back by 5. Each signed delivery receipt meant a fresh stack of green Franklins.
Even more impressive — while the delivery teams were out, Bushnell and his colleagues were on the phones, making hundreds of calls to partners in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego.
The pitch was simple: Start with a polite self-introduction, then drop the fact — this morning's new product launch in San Jose and San Francisco had been such a hit that old friends in the business bought a total of 626 units on the spot.
"Next, let me tell you — our new machine can limit a player's game time. If you're interested, I can reserve a few units for you, since we've always had a good partnership with our old friends.
If you're not sure yet, that's fine — we'll be hosting events in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego tomorrow. You can just come by when the time comes."
Facts first, relationships second — a one-two punch they had perfected over deals.
Naturally, the other side agreed they'd be there tomorrow.
The more impatient ones committed on the spot.
And so In just one afternoon, after nearly 200 phone calls, Nolan and his team sold more than 100 units.
When the delivery crews returned that evening, Nolan was already scheduling shipments for the next day's business trip.
By the following night, after dinner, Ethan stopped by Atari to check on the results. Two hundred units had gone out that morning, and by evening, dozens more were already gone — the numbers made him grin.
At this rate, he thought, Snake Game would hit 1,000 units shipped in no time.
But then Nolan Bushnell stood before all Atari employees and announced—
"Everyone, starting tomorrow — no, starting right now — we will no longer produce the complete Snake Game console. From now on, we'll only make circuit boards. Listen carefully! I said, we will not make the complete console anymore! Just the boards! Just the boards!"
Ethan froze. Why on earth would Nolan suddenly give up selling the whole machine, especially when sales were this hot?
The profit margin on a complete unit was much higher than on a single board — wasn't it obvious they should keep making the whole thing?
Just as he was puzzling over it, Steve Jobs explained.
"When we picked our first batch of invited customers and our second batch for deliveries, we targeted people who were easy to work with.
"They're open to new things — but that doesn't mean they'll instantly buy into our pitch.
If we had told them right away to replace every arcade machine in their store with Snake Game, they'd have refused. The market hadn't yet tested Snake Game's earning power. They'd rather spend the money to buy a complete unit, then use time and their own eyes to see if it works.
And after that step Once they realize Snake Game actually makes money, neither they nor other merchants will ever agree to buy the complete machine again.
Why would they, when they can just swap the board? It saves them a fortune in purchase costs.
And for us? We love that model. A pickup truck can only carry a few arcade cabinets, but it can haul a truckload of circuit boards.
Believe me — within a week at most, those guys will be calling like crazy, begging to swap every single board they own."
"So that's it?" Ethan, who had never heard rumors about the arcade industry and never had direct experience with it, felt like he'd just learned something new.
And then, just three days after the first batch of Snake Game shipped, Atari's phones began buzzing nonstop!
Merchants who had worked with Atari before were calling in, eager to buy the new game. Even those who had never done business with them wanted arcade machines.
At first, Atari's staff were polite and professional. But soon, their patience wore thin.
"Okay!" became the default reply.
"I know, just wait!" and other curt phrases filled the air.
The sloppy customer service made Ethan — acting as the supervisor — a unhappy. He immediately insisted they treat customers "like gods."
To set an example, he personally picked up the phone to demonstrate.
The moment he put the receiver to his ear, a furious voice exploded on the other end—
"Oh! Sxxt! Is this Atari? Is this Atari? You bunch of bastards!
I bought ten arcade machines from you last year! Ten! I supported your business! And now you launch a new game and don't even tell me?
Dxxn it! The dance hall next door got two of your machines! Two! And they made two hundred dollars in one night!!!
MFxxk!!! That's two hundred dollars!!! All my customers were stolen by that b***h next door!
You animals! I'll give you one day! Send me ten game motherboards! Remember my name — I'm in Sacramento! I'm Great Tim!"
"…Uh."
"It was just an accident," Ethan muttered awkwardly as he wrote Silly Tim on his notepad.
Then he picked up the next call— "Haha? Atari? You sons of bitches looking down on me? Why do all the stores around me know about your new product launch, but not me?
MFxxxxx! Your animal-like behavior has cost me a fortune!"
"…Right." Ethan too lazy to respond, and hung up.
He turned to the Atari staff with a wave. "Go on, keep answering."
The sight of Ethan getting verbally smacked around made Steve Jobs burst into laughter.
He walked over. "Why do I get the feeling you're actually interested in selling game motherboards?"
"Of course I'm interested! It's all money!" Ethan shot him a glare.
But inside, he muttered to himself, I can't exactly tell you I'm here to steal the master's trade secrets, can I?
Steve Jobs, as if reading his mind, smiled slyly. "Oh, Ethan~ Want to know how we swap motherboards for customers?
For example — a cabinet says Pong on the outside, the game inside is Pong. Now we replace the board with Snake Game, but the cabinet still says Pong."
The tongue-twisting explanation made Ethan raise an eyebrow.
He thought for a moment, then said, "Isn't that just taking the machine back, replacing the board, and sending it back?
That's how we used to do it," Jobs said, "but not anymore. Too much hassle. We change everything on the spot now."
"Ha?" That caught Ethan's curiosity. "Change on-site?"
"Yeah. Right there and then." Jobs nodded. "Interested? If you are, come with me and see for yourself."