Chapter 154: The Invitation! - Part 2

The title seemed normal enough, but the content, well, only the first two paragraphs were praising Atari's new machine and its impact at the exhibition.

Starting from the third paragraph, they openly criticized Destiny Game — 

"In the past two years, the famous company that ignited the American gaming market, Destiny Game, is about to face their Waterloo because so far, they have never expressed their views on Atari's new product. This will mean they will miss out on the big changes in the video game industry!"

"From the current market environment, what Americans need is a cheap and versatile game console, not those electronic arcade monsters!"

"When Atari seizes the pulse of the times and meets the needs of the people, those outdated electronic arcade relics will definitely be swept into the historical garbage dump! At the same time, Destiny Game, whose pace has already slowed down, may face the cruel fate of being eliminated from the market!"

The New Yorker also expressed similar views, but their perspective was written from the standpoint of Magnavox, with the first half of the article praising their Apollo product.

But in the latter part, they also directly targeted Ethan Jones —

"We want to know, where has Ethan Jones, who has brought us countless joys in the past two years and is regarded as the most talented inventor in the gaming industry by Steven Spielberg, gone?"

"Why hasn't he spoken up since Magnavox announced their new machine?"

"Is he awed by the greatness of Apollo, or does he himself know that whether it's the arcade machines of Snake or Pac-Man, they are just some short-lived businesses? Their greatest significance is to exploit people's curiosity and make a quick buck?"

When Ethan saw these reports...

His expression was like that of an old man on the subway looking at his phone, almost shouting out "What the hell?!"

In a country that emphasizes capitalism, companies don't exist to make money?

Isn't that supposed to be for charity?

Isn't this kind of talk just ridiculous?

As he sifted through the overwhelming criticism, flames of anger ignited in Ethan's eyes.

Although Ethan knew in his heart that Magnavox and Atari's behavior was very normal, after all, he had used public opinion offensives against these two families before, when he got help from Ralph H. Baer two years ago, but back then, he was just stating facts, right?

There wasn't such crazy Diss, was there?

But now?

Whether it's Magnavox or Atari, they damn well want to buy off reporters and stomp him to the ground!

The blatant warmongering words, even a person with good self-control would get angry when they read them!

"Damn it—"

"A bunch of jerks!"

Ethan admitted that he was indeed a little angry at the moment.

But at the same time, he also knew that this might be the true purpose of Magnavox and Atari.

They just want to force him to speak up! Force him to speak out in public! Because only when Ethan Jones responds can the public know that the media reports are not fabricated!

Their machines, both Atari's and Magnavox's, are indeed awesome!

Awesome enough to break the defenses of those who dominated the North American gaming market in the past two years!

And precisely because Ethan understood that they needed this gimmick, he was even less inclined to respond.

He didn't want to be a stepping stone for the publicity of these two families.

So, he threw all the reports into the shredder, and with a muffled sound of buzzing, countless fragments fell into the transparent waste paper basket like snowflakes.

At the same time, he called the company's administrative supervisor, "Eulise."

"Ah?" The girl appeared.

"Starting tomorrow, you don't need to buy newspapers for me anymore," Ethan made a decision.

"Oh, okay, Mr. Jones."

Eulise Noble was first stunned, then nodded quickly.

However, just when Ethan thought that he could block the enemy's harassing attacks by turning a blind eye, the next morning, as he was about to drive to the company, a bunch of reporters seemed to pop up out of nowhere and swarmed in front of him.

The pitch-black cameras seemed like crosshairs, locking onto his face;

The long microphones were like long poles, unabashedly thrusting in front of Ethan.

This situation made Ethan frowned, but before he could ask why, those reporters, like early birds seeing worms, chirped and started talking —

"Mr. Jones! I'm a reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle! I would like to interview you. What do you think of Magnavox's new console, Apollo?"

"Mr. Jones! I'm a reporter from the San Diego Union-Tribune! We want to know, what are your thoughts on Atari's new product, New Generation?"

"Mr. Jones! I'm a reporter from the Sacramento Bee! We want to understand..."

"Mr. Jones!"

"Mr. Jones..."

The overwhelming words were like waves, causing Ethan's brows to furrow!

Looking at the sea of people, Ethan cursed in his heart!

Although these people came from different newspapers and belonged to different media outlets, judging from this coordinated action, they obviously took money!

And a group of paid media, early in the morning, blocking him for an interview at his doorstep?

'Oh! Damn it!'

'Magnavox and Atari are really disgusting!'

'If I don't speak, do they still want to force me to speak?'

Ethan couldn't help it. At this moment, he really wanted to punch those two bastards!

Note: 

Here I'd like to clarify that the CES mentioned in the text, though currently named the Consumer Technology Association, was not founded by consumers themselves. Its earliest organization was the RMA, the Radio Manufacturers Association in the United States. With the rise of television, many radio manufacturers transitioned into making TVs, so they renamed themselves to RTMA, the Radio and Television Manufacturers Association. At the time mentioned in the text, it was referred to as the EIA, the Electronic Industries Association, whose members were various companies. They did indeed engage in mutual criticism. In reality, the competitor who withdrew from the CES due to being criticized was Apple, in 1992 before Steve Jobs returned, and the product was the Apple Newton.