On the surface, Nolan Bushnell's decision to sell Atari had nothing to do with Ethan Jones—but in reality, the impact was enormous.
For instance, as long as Atari remained under Nolan's control, Ethan could use the company's name, along with Stanford's reputation, to act powerful and intimidate others. But once Atari fell into the arms of Disney or MCA, that little trick would no longer work.
Needless to say, Disney has always been a fierce predator, no matter the era. Beneath its friendly exterior hides a bloodthirsty capitalist crocodile.
As for MCA, it wasn't exactly harmless either. Founded in 1924, it had grown into a media giant, with Universal—one of Hollywood's "Big Eight" studios—as its subsidiary.
Faced with this reality, Ethan felt he would have to back out once the Snake Game contract expired. Even if he continued making arcade machines in the future, there was no way he could stay allied with Atari once it was absorbed by such giants. These companies were notorious for eating people alive without spitting out the bones. Who knew what they might do?
In fact, he even suspected that once the Snake Game contract ended, he might not be allowed to walk away at all. If those giants really acquired Atari, how could they possibly let go of Snake Game? Anyone with brain could see its value. They would pester him to renew the contract.
"Damn! Why did this suddenly happen?" Ethan muttered in annoyance.
He had just been preparing keeping a sharp eye on the 6502 chip, when out of nowhere, someone seemed ready to steal his stuff.
Still, complaints aside, Ethan didn't forget about business. After finishing up his tasks, he picked up the phone and dialed the number Woz had given him.
A sweet female voice answered—it was a manual switchboard operator. After understanding Ethan's request, she transferred his call to MOS Technology.
The long, steady beeping dragged on for several seconds, and then, at last, the line connected. The reply that came was like the sound of salvation:
"Hello, MOS Technology. How can I help you?" A deep male voice came through the receiver.
"Is this Mr. Chuck Paido?" Ethan glanced at the business card in his hand. On the blue-and-white paper was a simple line:
MOS Technical Engineer — Chuck Peddle
His inquiry was quickly met with confirmation.
"Yes, I am Chuck—Chuck Paido. Who are you?"
"Hello, I'm a friend of Steve Wozniak. You know Steve Wozniak, right? The fat guy you met in San Francisco before."
Ethan had barely finished when an excited voice from the other end:
"Oh, oh, oh! I know! I know! Woz! That brother from HP, right? I remember—he bought two MOS 6502s from me! Now that you've called does that mean he's already used the 6502? It's useful, isn't it? Did he praise our chip? Or did he run into problems?
Oh—please forgive me for being so rude, I'm just too excited! I really want to hear your feedback on the 6502!"
The guy on the other end of the phone really did seem good boy. Even across the distance, Ethan could picture him vividly—like a schoolboy waiting anxiously for his test results, eyes shining with hope, eager for the teacher's praise.
Clearing his throat, Ethan said kindly, "Oh, Mr. Paido, please don't be anxious."
"As you said, I did come here for the 6502. My friend has used your product—and it's very good.
He's even said more than once that when the 6502's performance meets its low price, it will change world."
Following Woz's advice, Ethan passed along this positive feedback to the man on the other end of the line.
But after his words, silence fell. The quiet made Ethan uneasy. After waiting a few seconds, he finally called out:
"Mr. Paido? Mr. Paido?"
His cautious voice carried a hint of doubt. Then, in trembling tone, came a muffled sob.
"Ahem… I'm sorry, sir. I'm just… a little excited."
"...?" Ethan blinked, surprised by this reaction. The next second, the man poured out his feelings.
"Oh—thank you! Thank you for liking it, and thank you even more for trusting us. Actually, before Woz contacted me, many people had called to ask about the 6502. But once they heard the price, they all thought we were liars. Only Woz—your friend—only he believed us!
Thank you so much for trying it! Thank you for your help! You've proven that we are not liars! Oh—this is so exciting! Woohoo! Finally, someone believes in us!
If I weren't still on the phone, I'd want to share this joy with all my colleagues right now!"
This response made Ethan raise his eyebrows. Well, now he understood why Woz had reminded him to be sincere.
Smiling at the thought, Ethan said, "Oh, Mr. Paido, can I ask you a question?"
"Woo—oh—ok!" came the eager reply.
"Is this your company's phone number?"
"Ahem—yes—"
"Good. If you don't mind, could you call all your colleagues over?"
"What? Sir, I don't understand what you mean," Paido said, clearly confused.
"I mean, gather your engineers. I'll tell them directly that your product is excellent."
Hearing this repeated, Chuck Paido nearly ran with joy. He let out a scream, then Ethan heard a loud thud, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps rushing away.
Two minutes later, a roar echoed from far away—then faded. After the noise died down, silence returned. Then a new voice spoke, breathless and apologetic:
"Hello? Sir—oh! I'm sorry, I forgot to ask your name. That… friend of Steve Wozniak, are you still there?"
"I'm here. You can call me Ethan."
"Okay! Ethan, my colleagues are here."
"Then let them answer the phone," Ethan said warmly.
His invitation sparked another wave of excitement.
"Hello, Ethan! I'm Bill Mensch, the architect of the 6502! Do you really think the 6502 is easy to use?"
"Yeah! The personal computer we built is already running—it's great!"
"Oh! Ethan! I'm Rod Ogier! Do you really like the 6502?"
"Of course! We love it—we love its performance, and we love its price!"
"It's my turn! It's my turn! I'm Ray Hilt. Hello, Ethan! I want to know—how many chips do you need with this call? Or… can I ask which company you're from? We can prepare a batch of 6502s just for you! And if you think $42 is too expensive, we can even offer them at $25 apiece! Because you're the very first person to buy our product!"
When those words of proactive discount came through, Ethan Jones was dumbfounded.
What is this? How could there be such a business? You're the seller—why are you the one cutting the price first?
He opened his mouth, but for once, nothing came out. His brain simply couldn't keep up with the string of surprises from the other end.
The group seemed to realize they'd gone overboard. After some hurried scolding in the background, Chuck Peddle's voice returned.
"Sorry, Ethan, we were just too excited. Maybe we scared you. Please forgive us. But one thing is true—the 6502 can indeed be cheaper, as low as $25.
As for why… my colleague was right. First, we want to thank you for your trust and your choice. Second, when we designed this chip, we never thought about making money. We just wanted to promote computers."
"…"
He never expected the professor's words about turn out to be true!
These people really are special. they're doing this out of pure ideals!Damn it! Running a business without thinking about profit? What kind of spirit is this?
His head buzzed. He had to double-check with them several times before he finally accepted the fact.
And when he realized that the "sincerity" Woz had talked about could yield such results, Ethan stopped hesitating. He spoke directly:
"Uh… everyone, I know you can all hear me.
First of all, I really do like your 6502. The reason I called was to learn more about it.
But secondly—my real purpose isn't to buy 6502s. I want to know if you'd be willing to authorize me. Production authorization. R&D authorization."
The words brought a heavy silence on the other end. Some seconds passed before Chuck Peddle finally spoke.
"Ethan… are you serious?"
"Of course."
"Oh… that won't work."
"Eh? Why not?" Ethan frowned. This wasn't what the script said at all!
On the other end, Chuck let out a bitter laugh.
"Ethan, I think you might not have looked into us before calling. Or maybe… well, maybe not many people know the situation here at MOS.
The truth is, our central microprocessor is developed from the 6800. Yes, you heard right—the 6502 is based on Motorola's 6800.
Until that problem is resolved, we can't give you authorization. Because right now… we don't actually hold a patent."
Note: ①Chuck Paido, the patent owner of 6502. ②in reality this This group of people was like this: at first, they priced the 6502 at $42, but later, at the San Francisco Electronics Show, when someone suggested that $25 would be more suitable for the public, they immediately lowered the price. Then, in 1976, when Atari approached them to buy CPUs, Atari claimed they wouldn't lose money on chips worth only $12. So Chuck Peddle simply adjusted the price again and sold them at $12 apiece.
Of course, MOS was still making a profit even at that price. In an interview with the Computer History Museum in Mountain View in 2014, Chuck Peddle explained that in 1975 the production cost of the 6502 was about one board, two cores, and four dollars. In fact, each 6502 only cost around $2 to produce.
PS — answers to the two earlier questions:
Regarding the Apple II's price being $1,298: when I wrote that paragraph, I entered the figure myself, thinking of Jobs's point that the 6502 gave Apple a low-price advantage. I simply forgot the exact Apple II price. Regarding Atari's sale to Warner: in reality, it was indeed sold to Warner. The process went like this: after the lawsuit was filed in 1975, Nolan wanted a strong backer and first approached Disney. Disney's offer felt too low, and then MCA—hearing the rumors—made a bid as well. Nolan wasn't satisfied with either offer. By 1976, when Nolan realized MOS intended to push the 6502 into the home console market, Warner stepped in with a higher offer and promised to let Nolan remain CEO. Nolan accepted and sold Atari directly.