Chapter 80: Planning - Part 1

As the saying goes, a cornered dog will jump over a wall, and a desperate rabbit will bite. Any normal person, to some extent, holds grudges.

Ethan was no exception.

Both Don Valentine and Nolan Bushnell had knives at his throat. If he pretended everything was fine, it would mean there was a problem with his time travel. He shouldn't be in San Francisco; he should be in Manhattan. He shouldn't be living in a big house; he should be in the sewers.

But well, he was a ninja turtle.

So, after the dust settled from the copyright lawsuit, Ethan didn't enjoy life as before. Instead, he retreated into the study of his new home. Seated at the table, he unfolded a piece of paper, grabbed a pen, and started jotting down ideas.

Although it hadn't been a year since he arrived in this era, Ethan had already planned his career three times.

The first two plans were somewhat superficial because, at that time, he only wanted to make money. He would dive into any industry that promised financial freedom. But now... he had a new goal. He wanted to reclaim the lost glory!

Thus, the paper suddenly had additional lines:

1. Don Valentine – Sequoia Capital.

2. Nolan Bushnell – Atari (Warner Bros.).

3. Magnavox (Magnavox).

Putting Don Valentine at the top was because Ethan felt this guy was the most dangerous and required special attention.

In Ethan's memory, this guy seemed ordinary, riding the wave of Silicon Valley's growth. However, when Ethan asked Stephen Wozniak to inquire about Don Valentine, he discovered he knew too little.

After graduating, Don Valentine joined the Thunder God Company. Though he didn't stay long, the starting point was impressive. Later, he moved to Xian Tong, working there for seven years. Afterward, he joined the National Semiconductor Company as the marketing director.

Initially, Ethan thought Don Valentine's success was inevitable in the wave of the times. However, after Wozniak's investigation, Ethan realized he underestimated his knowledge of Don Valentine.

Although not top-tier, Don Valentine had a decent network. This made Ethan see him in a new light.

However, dealing with this guy was relatively easy because in venture capitalism, the emphasis was on projects.

If venture capital couldn't find projects, what was its purpose?

So, as long as Ethan could invest in Silicon Valley companies before Don Valentine...

Hey! Sequoia Capital's taillights were nowhere to be seen!

With this thought, Ethan quickly added the term "investment company" behind Sequoia Capital.

He wanted to compete with Sequoia Capital in the same field and crush them!

"Apple is just the beginning. What about EA? Cisco? Nvidia?"

"Cisco is from Stanford, Nvidia was founded by an old man selling gas stoves, and as for EA..."

"Ah... who was the founder of EA?"

"Darn, I can't remember."

"Never mind, it's not important. If they appear, we'll hear about it."

"I'm gonna take all these companies from you. Let me see what you'll invest in."

Of course, to invest, one needed money.

Though Ethan had a million in funds, it was far from enough.

And talking about money...

Ethan lowered his gaze, looking at Nolan Bushnell and Magnavox.

Honestly, the combination of one person and one company gave him a headache.

Because Magnavox, with the patent for TV games and training devices, and Atari, with patent authorization, were the ultimate dragons in the field of TV games. After being tricked by them, Ethan understood why North American game companies in his past life delved into computer games. When they couldn't bypass the patent, they had to find another path and hand over the cash cow of TV games.

As for why Nintendo and Sega could succeed?

Ethan understood this.

Though they didn't have long-term authorization for the TV game and training device patent, the patent was only effective in North America. As foreign companies, they only needed to pay patent fees for North American products.

And North American companies?

Due to the nature of their companies, when selling products in North America, they had to pay patent fees to Magnavox. When selling in other countries, they also had to pay patent fees because their overseas expansion was considered exports by American companies!

With this ridiculous fact, there were no more North American companies making TV games!

Although Nintendo's royalty system later became annoying, compared to the big pit of Magnavox, it was already kind.

As for the North American companies in his past life, they chose computer games...

"This field is challenging..."

Ethan blinked, propping his chin with one hand, feeling sentimental.

Because this was an area he didn't want to touch for now.

The reason was simple—The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom's Tears had already been leaked on PC!

Computer games, or software in general, were too easy to pirate!

And the speed of pirated spread in this era was not much slower than the Internet era.

In Ethan's memory, in this era, there was an unfortunate guy deeply affected by piracy—Microsoft.

Although Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft's precursor by porting BASIC to the Altair 8800, this software didn't make them much money. Once their BASIC spread to the market, engineers of that era quickly cracked it.

If it were just cracking, it would be fine. What really bothered Bill Gates was that engineers of that era were full of sharing spirit.

After the first cracked version appeared, sharing surged. The subsequent development made Bill Gates go crazy.

While Altair 8800 sold a thousand units per month, Bill Gates' BASIC only sold a bit over a hundred copies!

This obvious growth rate mismatch infuriated him!

And this was the true reflection of the market environment of that era.

Of course, things weren't over yet. When Bill Gates discovered his software was pirated, the young and hot-blooded guy did something remarkable. He bought magazine space, sending an open letter to computer enthusiasts.

Though not reaching the level of foul language, Bill Gates referred to those sharing behaviors as theft.

For those who received higher education, this term was a huge insult. Many people angrily exposed Bill Gates' background, claiming he and Paul Allen were the real thieves!

Because BASIC was invented by Dartmouth College President John Kemeny and Mathematics Professor Thomas Kurtz. When they released the language, they stated it was for free sharing for computer education and popularization, with no intention of making money!

But Bill Gates and Paul Allen started charging after simple modifications!

This behavior was the real theft!

When this dispute arose, relying on the BASIC sold through Altair, Bill Gates had no more buyers.

When MITS, the manufacturer of Altair, settled the bill with Bill Gates after a year, he was extremely annoyed.

Because in one year, he only earned $20,000.

This was less than the pocket money his father gave him!

Insulted!

And then, more interesting things happened.

At first, to sell BASIC software better, Bill Gates established his company in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where MITS, the producer of Altair, was located. After extremely sluggish revenue, Bill Gates pulled Paul Allen back home and moved the company to Seattle, making a bold statement—Even if I starve! Die outside! Jump from here! I won't do personal

service anymore!

After that, this tough guy fell silent for two years, receiving an order from IBM in a way that everyone knew. Later, he came up with a business model allowing hardware manufacturers to use his operating system directly. It wasn't until his business conflicted with other companies that he reluctantly embraced personal service and exclaimed, 'Ah! Delicious!'

Even someone with a prominent family background like Bill Gates couldn't handle piracy. So, Ethan was even less likely to challenge human nature with technology.

Therefore, if possible, before the arrival of the Internet age, he didn't want to venture into computer games.

In this situation, if he wanted to make money through the gaming industry, and incidentally, strangle Atari and Magnavox, he had to use a bit of magic.

"I should contact Ralph Bell first."

"Show him the 6502, demonstrate sincerity in making electronic games."

"Get a patent?"

With the path clear, Ethan went straight to the kitchen, paper in hand, opened the gas stove, and burned it with a flame.

Then, he went to the supermarket, made a crazy purchase, and returned home to cook a 'grand' meal.

With the sound of a car engine, he emerged from the house, inviting his sister who had just finished school to join him.

"Wow, are you inviting me to dinner?"

"Why is it so lavish?"

Looking at the table full of pasta pizza, steak, fries, salad, and mushroom soup, Evelyn hummed a few times.

"You surely want something from me, right?"

"But how come I remember a few days ago, someone said they couldn't listen to anything?"

Hearing the sarcastic words that weren't favorable to him, Ethan involuntarily filtered out the latter part and put on a painful act.

"Oh, Evelyn, do you think of me as such a utilitarian person?"

This statement made Evelyn decisively shake her head.

"How could that be? In my heart, you are a very kind person!"

Ethan laughed happily.