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In fact, when Ethan first noticed the Amblin' and Jaws posters on the office wall, he had already guessed who the man hunched over the Snake Game arcade machine might be. So when the other party revealed his identity, Ethan only smiled, reached out his hand, and gave it a firm shake.
"Steven? Steven Spielberg? The hottest director in Hollywood right now? Oh! Nice to meet you!"
As they shook hands, Ethan feel a rush of emotion. If he had thought it through earlier—that MCA owned Universal Pictures, and Universal's most popular director was Spielberg, the man behind Jaws—then perhaps he could have already guessed who was helping him.
Because in his previous life, Spielberg was recognized as the number one "player" in the world.
Not just because he directed Ready Player One, but because he had loved video games since the very beginning of their history. Most astonishing of all, from 1972 right up to 2023—the year Ethan traveled back in time—Spielberg's passion for games had never dimmed. To many, he was the king of cinema, a pioneer who constantly set trends. But to countless game developers, he was simply a fellow gamer—one who put aside his fame and status when it came to their creations.
Ethan remembered reports from his previous life: Spielberg attending the Shenmue launch to get Yu Suzuki's autograph; Spielberg praising Hideo Kojima after Metal Gear Solid, saying that if Kojima ever made movies, he'd be a world-class director; Spielberg's fascination with the story of BioShock, even wanting to adapt it into a film.
That kind of lifelong devotion—lasting across decades—made Ethan understand why this man could casually share MCA's secrets with him. To anyone else, it might seem reckless. But for Spielberg, it was natural. His love for games ran that deep.
"Oh, Ethan—you said it was nice to meet me?" Spielberg laughed, his eyes shining. "This is the best news I've heard all day!"
He pulled Ethan into a hug, then gripped his shoulders with excitement.
"A few months ago—in April, right? Steve told me Atari was releasing a new game. One different from anything else on the market—something you could play solo. And not just that—the game would get harder as you got better.
When I heard that, it was like someone scratching deep inside my heart. I had to see it for myself—a game that grows more difficult as the player improves!
You know, most games right now are just two-player matches with fixed difficulty. Once you've learned the rules, they get boring fast. But this—this was something entirely new!"
"So on release day, I asked someone to buy me a copy, and then…" Spielberg's eyes lit up. "I discovered a new world!"
Then he frowned, as if suddenly remembering something. "Wait—what was I doing back then? Uh… I think I was preparing for the release of Jaws? Yes, yes, that's it! Jaws came out in June this year, and your game was released in April!"
At this point, Spielberg's voice rose with excitement as he laughed at Ethan. "Jaws is the most important film of my career so far, and it's also the biggest production I've ever directed. For any filmmaker, the months before such a defining release should be nerve-wracking. But me? I wasn't nervous at all—because I was too busy playing your game! Playing Snake Game!
It's just so much fun! So fun that I kept wondering if I could make the snake's body fill the entire screen! Ethan—it was your game that carried me through the most stressful moment of my life.
Oh, and you know what? When Steve told me Atari was targeting you, I wanted to march straight to Sidney! I even wanted to storm Los Gatos and give Nolan a piece of my mind. He's a thief! Not only did he steal Professor Ralph Baer's Ping Pong, now he wants to steal your Snake Game! If Steve hadn't held me back, I might've actually gone and punched him!"
Then he caught himself, grinned, and added, "But… thank goodness everything worked out, right? You're safe, and I'm just—oh—I'm so happy!"
His words making Ethan's head throb. He couldn't even keep track of how much Spielberg had just said. But the details didn't matter.
When Spielberg gripped his shoulder and tried—unsuccessfully—to hold back tears of excitement, Ethan already knew what he had to say.
"Oh, Steven, I can tell you're happy. And honestly, I'm happy too. Because I never imagined that the hottest director in Hollywood would turn out to be one of my biggest fans. I just want to say thank you—thank you for liking my game."
He paused, then smiled warmly. "And I want to add one more thing: I like your movies too."
Ethan wasn't lying. In his previous life, he had grown up with Spielberg's films. He could never forget the first time he watched Jurassic Park on a VCD. When that lifelike Tyrannosaurus rex thundered onto the screen, young Ethan had been stunned speechless. How could a film show extinct creatures as if they were real?
From that day forward, he searched for information about the director named Steven Spielberg. Soon he discovered Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., and Close Encounters of the Third Kind at the video rental store.
As time went on, other works entered his world: Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal. Each one left its mark on his growth.
To be honest, even as he grew older and his horizons broadened, Ethan was still in awe every time he watched a Spielberg film. How could one director master such a range of genres and styles?
And when he learned that Spielberg had made Schindler's List the very same year as Jurassic Park, he was completely floored. Those two films stood at opposite extremes—commercial spectacle and profound art—yet both came from the same man.
It's perfectly understandable for a great creator to make films of completely different styles at different stages of life.
After all, people's view of the world evolves over time.
But in the same year, to switch back and forth between pure commerce and profound art?
That's insane. It almost feels like cheating.
Ethan hadn't figured it out back then, but now he realized he might just be lucky enough to witness it all.
And all of this—was brought to him by Steve Jobs…
Wait. Steve Jobs? Hold on! Why hadn't he told him in advance that his friend at MCA was Spielberg?
With that thought, Ethan suddenly turned his head and shot Jobs a sharp glare.
At the moment, Jobs was standing there with his arms folded, watching his best friend and Ethan greet each other. The sense of accomplishment—was written all over his smug smile.
When he noticed Ethan glaring, he asked in confusion, "Ethan, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Why didn't you tell me before that the person helping me was Steven?" Ethan asked directly.
"...?" Jobs blinked, genuinely puzzled. "You didn't ask."
"You couldn't tell me without me asking?"
"If you didn't ask, why would I say it?"
"Fine, don't say it. After the company's established, I'm docking your dividends for a whole year."
"WTF?!" Jobs was dumbfounded. He had no idea what Ethan was going on about.
Spielberg, who didn't understand the exchange either, glanced between them curiously. Ethan immediately covered with a smile. "Oh, Steven, don't worry—it's nothing. I just think Steve's little stunt of not telling me your identity was outrageous. If I'd known from the start it was you helping me, I would have come to thank you personally after finishing Magnavox's lawsuit."
Spielberg narrowed his eyes, then chuckled. "Oh, Ethan, don't be like that You're far too polite. I only did what I wanted to do."
Jobs rolled his eyes. he kept quiet. At that moment, a loud rumble came from Spielberg's stomach. The sound, paired with the clock on the wall pointing to four in the afternoon, felt oddly out of place. Looking embarrassed, Spielberg admitted, "Oh… After I came to Universal today, I thought I could finally beat Snake Game, so I sat here playing for hours. I didn't expect it would take so long, and, well… I never had lunch."
"What a coincidence…" Ethan muttered, remembering their own day. "We left the house around nine or ten this morning. We thought we'd get here by two, grab something to eat, and then meet you. But we didn't expect L.A. traffic to be this bad. We were afraid you'd already left, so we came straight here. I'm starving too. If you don't mind, shall we eat together?"
"Oh? That really is a coincidence." Spielberg nodded. "Sure, we can eat together—but we don't need to go out. Universal has a canteen. They should be preparing dinner right about now. We can just head there."
He smiled again. "Of course, if you do want to go out, that's fine too. I can take you to MK—Chaplin's favorite restaurant. Raymond Chandler used to dine there as well. Their filet mignon and Dover sole are fantastic."
"Then let's eat in the canteen today," Ethan decided.
At the same time, he added with a smile, "Of course, I mainly want to see the inside of Universal. That should be fine, right?"
"Of course, no problem!" Spielberg, eager to have dinner with his idol, nodded without hesitation. "I have the final say around Universal now."
But just as he was about to lead the way, he suddenly stopped and turned back. "Ethan, before we go to dinner, can you grant me one wish?"
"What?"
"Can you give me an autograph? Just sign it on this arcade machine."
"Sure!"
Ethan picked up a marker and scrawled his name on the side of the Snake Game machine. At the same time, he wrote:
On October 15, 1975, ______ officially cleared the game, witnessed by Ethan Jones and ______.
After finishing, he handed the pen to Spielberg.
Spielberg grinned, filled in his name in the "official clearance" blank, and signed with a flourish.
Then Ethan turned to Jobs, motioning for him to step up.
"Your turn. Put your name in the witness blank."
Jobs' face lit up with joy. He hadn't expected Ethan to honor him.
You have to understand—Jaws was the hottest movie in the world right now. It had already rewritten box office history: $7 million in its opening week, and in just fifty-nine days, it had crossed $100 million—the first film in history to do so.
Meanwhile, Snake Game was no less legendary. In only half a year, it bringing in millions in revenue.
Now, here was an arcade cabinet carrying the signatures of both Ethan Jones and Steven Spielberg. and Jobs was being invited to put his name alongside them.
Oh Ethan, Jobs thought, his chest swelling. You really are a brother.
Beaming, he happily signed his name.
Notes:
① When Jobs was still hustling at Atari, he met Spielberg—then not yet famous. Bonded by their shared love of games, they formed a friendship so strong that years later, when Jobs bought Pixar from George Lucas, Spielberg helped broker the deal. Incredibly, Bill Gates had also tried to acquire Pixar, even offering $45 million. But when Spielberg told Lucas that Jobs wanted it, Lucas sold it to him for just $10 million.
② Spielberg's passion for games was very real. He once wrote a Space Invaders strategy guide, opening with the words: "I hope the reader of this book is a game fan." During the filming of E.T., he even hauled a Donkey Kong arcade cabinet onto the set. He also had close ties to Atari: when the Atari 2600 launched, Spielberg licensed his debut film Duel for a game adaptation.