Building a Gaming Empire In 1984

"You're really a beginner?"

Vivian looked at Ethan hesitantly, becoming increasingly suspicious that he was pulling her leg.

Such a mature design solution would require considerable effort even if she were the one making it.

"It's all thanks to your help. Without your guidance, this game wouldn't exist."

Ethan had approached her with a purpose from the start, so naturally he immediately laid on a resounding compliment.

"Don't thank me. I only explained some of the most basic introductory concepts. Being able to achieve something like this is simply incredible."

Vivian waved her hands hurriedly before turning her attention back to the screen.

"So this is what video games are like..."

"Do you like video games, Vivian?"

"Me?" Vivian paused.

"I don't know. I've only played Tetris and 1942. If this is what video games are, then I suppose I do."

Ethan nodded gently and took out two more coins from the coin box before dropping them into the slot.

Compared to dry conversation, communicating through games was far more suited to the social style of gamers.

"Why did you choose your current field of study?"

He knew that Vivian specialized in computer graphics, but after getting to know her better, he had discovered that she had never been involved with video games before.

How could someone completely uninterested in video games end up on a path so closely connected to them?

"Well..."

Vivian maneuvered her fighter plane and destroyed a squadron of enemies before pondering for a moment.

"If I had to say, it's because these new technologies make good money?"

"How so?"

"Graphical operating systems, graphics card drivers, things like that. They're all at the forefront of technology right now.

I'm currently doing some part time graphics optimization work for a small company that my professor introduced me to."

Ethan hadn't expected Vivian to have already reached that level.

For a student still attending university, she was already an exceptionally talented individual.

"Impressive. Graphical operating systems are definitely going to be a hot field in the future."

He knew very well what kind of terrifying giant Bill Gates, still a young man under thirty years old, and his Microsoft would become in the future.

In less than ten years, Microsoft would surpass IBM and become the largest software company in the world.

And Microsoft's trump card, Windows 1.0, had already been officially announced last year.

There was only one year left before Windows 1.0 would be officially released.

As for Apple and its Mac operating system, another future member of the three major operating system giants, it would also be released this year.

At this point in time, Linus Benedict Torvalds, the future father of the Linux kernel, was still just a fifteen year old kid.

Taken from NovelPhoenix, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Choosing to enter the graphical operating system industry at this moment was unquestionably a wise decision.

"I still prefer game development."

Ethan skillfully coordinated with Vivian to destroy an elite enemy.

"Creating happiness is a pretty cool thing."

For Ethan, someone who had traveled back in time carrying all the knowledge of the future, success was almost guaranteed no matter which industry he chose.

As for what kept him firmly committed to this path, aside from his perfectly suited cheat system, there was perhaps only one other thing.

Faith.

Ethan was a person from the modern era.

From Famicom consoles to Flash games, then the golden eras of PC and mobile gaming, video games had long become intertwined with every aspect of his life and every one of his memories.

"I'm planning to establish a game company."

He finally revealed his true purpose.

"Originally, I wanted to ask whether you'd be interested in joining us. But judging by the looks of it, you've already decided on your own path."

"Join you?"

Vivian froze.

She hadn't expected Ethan to extend such an offer to her.

Boom!

In that moment of distraction, she made a mistake and was blown into a fireball.

Ethan happened to be distracted by his own thoughts as well and promptly crashed into danger himself.

Vivian took a deep breath and suddenly understood why Ethan had invited her to play games together.

She slowly stood up and spoke softly.

"I'm sorry, Ethan. Although I really like video games, entrusting my future to a field that the market has no confidence in is still a bit..."

Vivian was kind hearted, but she wasn't reckless.

The impact of the Atari Crash was so immense that even someone outside the industry like her had heard plenty about it.

The American gaming market, once worth 3.2 billion dollars, had now collapsed to nearly 100 million dollars and was still shrinking at an accelerating rate.

No matter whose perspective one took, this was undeniably a sunset industry on its way to the grave.

Passion and dreams couldn't put food on the table.

Vivian understood that very clearly.

Ethan nodded.

Although the gaming industry across the ocean in Japan was currently flourishing, much of that success could be attributed to Japan's advanced consumer electronics technology and its net foreign assets, which far exceeded those of the United States.

Using that example to persuade Vivian probably wouldn't accomplish much.

If he wanted to convince her to join his team, passion for games alone wouldn't be enough.

He would need a little material incentive as well.

Ethan took a business card from his pocket.

A telephone number was written on it.

It belonged to Meyer, the man who had previously wanted to purchase his Tetris prototype machine.

Now that the copyright issues had been resolved, selling arcade machines had become a viable direction.

"Sam, stop playing. I have an important task for you."

Sam, who was still locked in an intense battle alongside Neil, was interrupted by Ethan and reluctantly made his way behind the counter.

...

"No way. Manufacturing them ourselves definitely won't work."

After listening to Ethan's plan, Sam rejected it outright.

"The custom motherboard and EPROMs alone will cost over ten thousand dollars.

Then you've got cabinet costs of five hundred to a thousand dollars per unit, plus compliance testing and certification expenses..."

He counted on his fingers while estimating.

"We'd need to invest tens of thousands, maybe even over a hundred thousand dollars in production costs. Even if you squeezed me dry, I couldn't come up with that kind of money."

"Wouldn't small batch production work either?"

"No."

Sam shook his head, but then his eyes suddenly lit up as if he had thought of something.

"But we can outsource manufacturing! There'll be minimum order quantity requirements, but the costs will be much lower.

If we find buyers in advance and they're willing to pay part of the deposit upfront, we won't need to spend much money ourselves to get it done."

Hearing Sam's idea immediately energized Ethan.

Of course.

He had been so focused on figuring out how to cover production costs that he had forgotten contract manufacturing was an option.

"Then what would the production cost per machine be?"

Sam thought for a few moments before slowly giving a rough estimate.

"About 1,500 dollars."

For a small arcade machine with relatively modest hardware, that price was definitely at the very high end.

Selling something like that wouldn't be easy.

Looking at the phone number in his hand, Ethan walked over to the landline telephone and dialed it.

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