Chapter 81: Planning - Part 2

However, he heard Evelyn saying, "So you just want to take me out for dinner tonight, right?"

"We won't talk about anything else?"

"Hmm?" Evelyn winked at Ethan.

There was a clear implication that he wouldn't eat if he didn't agree.

Faced with this cornering language, Ethan promptly surrendered and spoke without pretense.

"Oh, Evelyn, you're right. I do have something to discuss with you tonight."

"That day, I was a bit full of myself, okay?"

"Goose, goose, goose..." Evelyn burst into laughter at his quick change of attitude.

Raising an eyebrow, revealing a playful demeanor, she served a bowl of mushroom soup, its milky aroma giving her a shiver.

"Okay, spill it. What do you want me to help you with this time?"

Since Evelyn had already asked, Ethan, who had given up any semblance of pride, stated his request.

He asked Evelyn if she could inquire about Wendon Joseph and whether he knew Professor Ralph Baer.

If they didn't know each other, that was fine; even getting someone to help connect them would work.

Yes, Ethan wasn't planning to approach them directly.

After all, the effect of approaching someone on your own was not as good as word of mouth from a friend!

When approaching them himself, he could only introduce himself like this: "Hello, Professor Baer, I'm Ethan Jones, the inventor of Snake Game. Nice to meet you."

Dry and without any charm!

Introductions by friends had a different style: "Ralph, look at what you've done! Your patent has caused so much trouble for gamers. This is Ethan Jones, the inventor of Snake Game. The game he created just brought joy to people, and Magnavox sued him, forcing him to pay damages and ban sales. Now, he can't even make new games..."

Hey! That sounds more appealing!

This kind of entrance is all about hitting the emotional chord!

After Evelyn listened to Ethan's words, the girl who understood the meaning directly agreed.

After all, she had tasted the sweetness of the game.

The project's earnings from Snake Game were split evenly between them.

In less than half a year, she had received a total of 1.3 million.

This speed was faster than robbing a bank.

At the same time, while agreeing, the girl asked, "Are you planning to start your own game company?"

"Of course!"

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Well... kind of..."

"Do you need money?"

"What do you mean?" Ethan looked at Evelyn strangely, "Are you thinking of investing?"

"Yeah," the girl laughed, "I find the game market interesting, and investing can help with tax avoidance."

Although Ethan hadn't thought about attracting foreign investment, could Evelyn's money be considered foreign investment?

Clearly, it was domestic capital!

Moreover, after participating in Atari's sales operation, Ethan discovered that in this era, the more money, the better for game development.

If they could establish production points on the East and West coasts, they wouldn't have to struggle to find distribution.

"Of course!" Ethan readily agreed, "Since I haven't named the company yet, how about you suggest a name?"

"Wow, naming rights too?" Evelyn smiled and asked, "You are the boss!"

Evelyn said, "Then give me the positions of chairman and CEO. I appoint you as president, and you do the work."

"Sure!" Ethan's smile widened.

"Really?"

"Really!"

The sharp and straightforward answers made Evelyn burst into laughter.

Shaking her head, she said, "Okay, okay, I won't tease you anymore. Think of a name, and after you decide, I'll apply for entrepreneurial subsidies from the school as a student startup."

"At that time, please ask Wendon to be the mentor. This way, things might be a bit easier when you go talk to Professor Ralph Baer."

Exactly!

This was the real reason Evelyn wanted to invest!

After being hammered by Magnavox's unreasonable legal fist, the girl also realized that without connections, you were just a fool!

Why did Don Valentine and Nolan Bushnell dare to target them?

Because they hadn't really hung up the big banner!

Words of preaching, where was the strong interest?

"Hmm~" Ethan, who had long sensed the taste, smiled like a crescent moon with his eyes, "Thank you."

However, these dry words made Evelyn roll her eyes, "Oh, Ethan, you're really not sincere."

"Not sincere? Oh, I see. Do you want Barbara Striesand's album too? I'll buy you a set of vinyl collector's edition!"

Ethan was now exuding confidence!

Hey! Money talks!

Evelyn actually gave him a knock and said, "You're even less sincere this way."

Then she said, "Forget about buying things. Do you have time tonight? Accompany me to watch a movie?"

"Mike Corleone's new movie is out, called 'Dog Day Afternoon.' Want to watch it together?"

"Oh! My classmates said Mike is handsome and fun in that movie!"

This invitation left Ethan stunned.

After thinking for a few seconds, he realized that Evelyn was talking about Al Pacino.

And the movie title was 'Dog Day Afternoon.'

He hadn't heard of or seen this movie, so joining in for the fun wouldn't be a bad idea.

"No problem, we'll eat first and then go." Ethan agreed.

At the same time, he marveled at how the translators in his past life were really clever.

They perfectly captured the elegance in the chaos of translation.

The literal translation of 'Dog Day Afternoon' wasn't as pleasant as the original.

And if translated word by word, it would be even more absurd!

Note:

It is true that North American game companies stopped making TV games because of Magnavox's lawsuit. CBS, the victim in this case, initially stopped selling games in North America, wanting to see how other companies handled lawsuits. After Magnavox discovered this, she directly sued them for evading patent fees through the export of intellectual property, leading to CBS ceasing game production.

After being acquired by Hayao Nakayama, Sega changed its company nature, moving its headquarters from California to Japan. Before the move, the SG-1000 in 1983 was only sold in Australia and New Zealand; they didn't even attempt North America until after the move.

What Bill Gates encountered was essentially a microcosm of personal software in that era. Those big shots were all sharing software for free, making this young man furious.