Chapter 32: The Frenzied First Week

Selling three hundred thirteen machines in a single morning and earning three hundred seventy thousand dollars—a sum substantial even by 1975 American standards.

Ethan quickly calculated the commission and found his face beaming with delight, as the earnings equated to two and a half years' worth of wages for an average worker.

Though he had not become a millionaire, the speed of earnings was akin to that of the neighboring potato vendor, if not surpassing it.

After a brief celebration, Nolan Bushnell instructed Atari's staff to commence deliveries in the afternoon.

Over one hundred employees mobilized, with pairs of them driving pickup trucks out.

It was only then that Ethan realized most of Atari's staff played multiple roles.

When wielding rulers and paintbrushes, they were engineers; donned in formal attire, they were receptionists; and once they hopped into their personal vehicles, they transformed into delivery personnel and field technicians.

The dual use of private vehicles particularly impressed Ethan.

In the future, such practices by capitalists would incite public outrage and protests.

Of course, Atari, or rather Nolan Bushnell, did not exploit their employees.

On top of regular wages and reimbursement for fuel, each machine delivered earned them a five-dollar bonus.

With a typical truck carrying four machines, a half-day's work could yield twenty dollars.

This was equivalent to a day's wage for most people!

The generous rewards fueled Atari's staff with remarkable enthusiasm.

Observing the bustling scene, Ethan, acting as an overseer with his arms crossed, wore a satisfied expression and mused, "Nolan, is this the key to your success? Outpacing competitors with lightning speed?"

Though Nolan Bushnell did not grasp the concept of 'outpacing,' he understood Ethan was complimenting Atari's operational efficiency.

He put his hands on his hips and replied with a grin, "What can I say? In the past, timeliness was the most critical factor in the video game industry."

"If we cannot deliver to customers within two days of their order, by the third day, they might have counterfeit versions from our competitors outside their stores."

"Imitation happens that quickly!"

"So, in our line of work, time is indeed of the essence!"

"The faster we sell the machines, the faster we must deliver them! We must make those eager to profit fall in love with us!"

Ethan appreciated this approach, and under his watchful eye, Atari's team demonstrated astonishing efficiency.

Departing around one in the afternoon and returning by five in the evening, each signed order represented a stack of green Franklin bills already in hand.

Even more impressively, during this time, Nolan Bushnell made over a hundred calls to partners in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

The conversations were straightforward.

First, he introduced himself courteously, then stated the facts: the new product launch this morning had received excellent responses from old friends in San Jose and San Francisco, who had purchased six hundred twenty-six machines.

He continued by explaining that the new machines could limit player game time. If interested, he could reserve a few units for them out of respect for longstanding partnerships.

If they were unsure, that was fine; they could visit the Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego events the next day.

After laying out the facts and leveraging relationships, responses were naturally positive.

Many committed on the spot.

In just one afternoon, nearly two hundred calls led Nolan to secure over a hundred additional sales.

By the evening, after all the company's staff had returned, Nolan organized the delivery plans for the following day.

When Ethan checked the results at Atari after dinner the next evening, he was thrilled to see the stock that had started at two hundred units in the morning was now nearly depleted.

However, as Ethan considered that the sales of "Snake Game" might soon surpass one thousand units at this rate, Nolan Bushnell issued a surprising order to all Atari employees—

"From tomorrow, or rather from now on, we will cease production of the complete 'Snake Game' machines and focus solely on the circuit boards. Please note! I am saying we will no longer produce complete machines! Everyone will only work on circuit boards! Only circuit boards!"

'???'

Ethan found this decision perplexing.

He could not understand why Nolan Bushnell would suddenly abandon complete machine sales.

The sales momentum was strong!

Given that complete machines yielded higher profits than game boards, manufacturing complete units clearly seemed more profitable!

While he pondered the reason, Steve Jobs provided the answer.

"When selecting the first batch of invited customers and the second batch for delivery, we chose those who were open to new ideas."

"They were willing to accept new things, but that did not mean they would fully embrace our sales pitch."

"If we had initially told them to replace all their electronic arcade machines with 'Snake Game,' they would certainly have refused, as the market had yet to test 'Snake Game's' efficacy. They preferred to invest in complete machines, using time to test 'Snake Game's' effectiveness and witnessing its results with their own eyes."

"And once they have gone through that…"

"Those who understand 'Snake Game' truly generates revenue, along with other businesses, will certainly not purchase the complete machines."

"If a new game is more profitable than an old one, why wouldn't they switch machines? This approach could save a significant amount on inventory costs!"

"And for us, we actually prefer this model."

"A pickup truck can only carry a few arcade machines but can transport a whole load of circuit boards."

"Believe me, within a week, we will be overwhelmed with orders!"

"Because those people will be frantically calling to replace their circuit boards!"

'So that's it?'

Having only understood the arcade industry through rumors and never directly engaged, Ethan felt he had learned something new.

As he awaited further developments, within just three days of the first batch of 'Snake Game' shipments, Atari's phones were inundated with calls!

Previous partners eagerly sought to buy the game!

Even those who had not cooperated before wanted to purchase arcade machines!

Initially, Atari's staff recorded these requests politely.

But soon, their attitudes became increasingly brusque.

"Okay!" such responses were considered polite.

Responses like "I fxxking know, just wait!" were far more frequent.

This abysmal customer service left Ethan, who was acting as a supervisor, quite dissatisfied.

He promptly declared that customer service should be conducted with utmost courtesy!

However, when he personally answered the phones to demonstrate proper conduct, the first call he took was met with a torrent of abusive language—

"Oh! Sxxxt! Is this Atari? Is this Atari? You bunch of motherfxxking bxxches!"

"I bought ten arcade machines from you last year! Ten machines!"

"I supported your business so much! How could you not inform me about the new game?"

"Dxxn it! My neighboring dance hall got two machines from you!"

"And in one night, they made two hundred dollars!!!"

"MFxxk!!! That's two hundred dollars!!!"

"My customers! My customers have been stolen by that bxxch!!!"

"You animals! I'm giving you one day! Send me ten game boards!"

"Remember my name! I'm Tim from Sacramento!"

'...'

'Just an unfortunate incident.'

Ethan awkwardly smiled and wrote down 'Silly Tim' on a piece of paper.

Then, he answered the second call—

"Hello? Is this Atari? Are you all looking down on me?"

"Why did all the shops around me get the new product launch notice while I didn't?"

"MFxxxxx! Your beastly behavior has cost me a lot of money!"

'...'

"Damn fool, I'm your father!"

Ethan ignored him and hung up the phone.

He then smiled and waved to Atari's staff, "Continue, keep going."

Ethan's missteps amused Steve Jobs greatly.

He approached and said, "I can't help but feel that you're quite interested in selling game boards?"

"Of course I am! It all means money!" Ethan shot Steve Jobs a disdainful look.

Meanwhile, he thought to himself, 'I can't exactly tell you I'm here to learn, can I?'

As if reading Ethan's thoughts, Steve Jobs grinned and said, "Oh Ethan, would you like to know how we go about swapping out the boards? For instance, when the original machine's exterior is 'Pong' and the game inside is also 'Pong,' but now we replace the game with 'Snake Game' while keeping the outer shell as 'Pong.'"

The tongue-twisting explanation made Ethan raise his eyebrows.

Though slightly confused, he understood, "You don't just bring the arcade machines back to replace the boards?"

"We used to, but not anymore—it was too troublesome!" Steve Jobs explained. "Now we do it on-site!"

"Really?"

This revelation piqued Ethan's curiosity. "On-site?"

"Yeah, on-site!" Steve Jobs nodded. "Interested? Want to come see how we do it?"

4o mini