noveltune Chapter 7: Opening an arcade near home is said to be...
Chapter 7: Opening an arcade near home is said to be...
Lin Lixin knew, of course, that Tetris would become a hit, and an explosive one at that.
But he didn't expect to become famous so quickly.
To be honest, he originally put this thing at the entrance just to test the waters with the players and then consider his next move.
Lin Lixin was shocked to see things turn out this way. Seeing the long line of players at the entrance, he felt a headache coming on.
As they stepped out of the door, the people in line glanced up casually before quickly returning their gaze to the arcade machines in front of them.
The person in second place turned around, looked at the content on the screen, and suddenly shouted, jumping up and down in a panic.
"Hey, you bastard, you secretly restarted the game while I was distracted!"
He clearly remembered that just moments ago this wretched black guy was about to fill the pile, but in the blink of an eye it all started from zero again.
The Mexican guy in the other seat had obviously won the previous round, but he stubbornly stayed and started another game as well.
"Ugh, you asshole!"
As the man's insults grew increasingly offensive, even the others behind him were stirred up, and it looked like it was about to escalate into a street brawl. Lin Lixin quickly stepped forward and pulled the man away.
After much persuasion, they finally refunded the money to the two guys who had gotten into a fight, and got them to give up their seats.
Lin Lixin had just breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the two people actually go around in a circle and consciously line up at the end of the queue.
This is clearly a prelude to another round!
Lin Lixin's lips twitched, but he quickly understood what was going on.
Yes, players who have been burned by Atari are naturally unwilling to spend thirty or forty dollars to buy a game cartridge with no guarantee of quality.
But spending just 25 cents to join in the fun doesn't necessarily mean the cost of trial and error is that high.
Having grown accustomed to the extravagant golden age of video games decades later, I tend to have a higher standard when it comes to these retro titles.
For gamers of this era, especially those who have just experienced the massive success of E.T., Tetris is undoubtedly a masterpiece, a masterpiece worth investing a lot of time in and playing repeatedly.
Lin Lixin's gaze swept across the entire group, finally settling on a familiar figure in the middle, and he chuckled.
Vivian changed into a clean and neat casual outfit, it seemed she had gone home for a visit.
She was holding a wallet in her hands, which was full of jingling coins.
She joined the chorus of condemning the two cut-off dogs, and even shouted louder than anyone else.
"I baited the spot for 25 cents, and the fish are really biting like crazy."
Lin Lixin nodded in satisfaction, only then realizing that he hadn't seen Sam's shadow.
Didn't I ask him to help keep an eye on the place?
'Clang'
Just then, I heard the sound of an aluminum can rolling behind me.
Lin Lixin turned around and looked.
Sam found a deckchair somewhere and lay there motionless, his eyes vacant and drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.
His arm hung limply to one side; the can had just slipped from his hand.
"Hey, what's going on here?"
Seeing his ashen face, as if he had been kowtowed, Lin Lixin was startled and quickly shook him a few times.
"I...I'm heartbroken. You wouldn't understand, Jesse, you wouldn't understand."
"Look at your pathetic self." Lin Lixin curled his lip and kicked him disdainfully with his toe. "Do me a favor, and I'll give you a gift later."
"A gift?" Sam murmured, then suddenly jumped up as if realizing something. "A new game?"
Lin Lixin didn't say much, but smiled and patted his shoulder, gesturing for him to come inside and talk.
What he had to do was very simple, but also very important.
Copyright protection application.
He needs to apply for copyright registration for the Tetris brand name, source code, audiovisual effects, and other content as soon as possible.
Otherwise, once Ren's North American expansion plan is implemented next year, I will be in big trouble.
"Make a copy of this, organize the form, and mail it to the copyright office."
Lin Lixin simply placed the source code from the C64 in front of him, and asked Sam to help print out the screenshots, photos, circuit diagrams, and the like.
To be fair, registering for copyright protection only costs $10, which is quite reasonable.
No sooner had he given the instructions than there was a knock on the apartment door.
Lin Lixin opened the door with a puzzled look, and a middle-aged man was standing in front of him.
Perhaps it was because of his eye-catching hooked nose that Lin Lixin immediately realized that he seemed to be a Jew.
"Is there something you need?"
"Hey friend, do you have any plans to sell that arcade machine in front of your shop?"
The newcomer was wearing a suit despite it being the middle of summer, and was carrying his own hat.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Meyer, the owner of an arcade. I see you have a new machine here that I've never seen before."
Meyer had been observing from outside the door for a long time and was quite certain that this machine called Tetris held a huge business opportunity.
"I'm sorry, we don't plan to sell at the moment."
Lin Lixin smiled and casually declined the other party's request.
He did intend to make some money as start-up capital, but he didn't plan to sell the arcade machines directly. Even if he offered $2000 now, Meyer would probably pay it on the spot without batting an eye.
Firstly, Lin Lixin's current production capacity is simply insufficient to support their production of arcade machines. Just this one machine alone took them almost half a month to complete, from modification to porting.
This was the result of modifying a fully functional second-hand arcade machine.
After deducting the $800 cost of acquiring the machine and the intermediate development and modification investments, the actual cost of this machine is around $900, which means it can generate a net income of over $1,000.
Exchanging $1,000 in half a month did not meet his expectations.
Secondly, they are currently in the copyright application stage, and selling a machine that doesn't even have chip encryption would put them in unnecessary trouble.
Upon hearing Lin Lixin's refusal, Mayer looked somewhat disappointed, but still did not intend to give up.
"Excuse me, may I ask where you ordered this machine from? I can pay you a referral fee."
"I found it at a secondhand market," Lin Lixin said vaguely, "but I can leave you my contact information so I can get in touch with you when I find it."
Even though he can't sell arcade machines now, he has to find a way to keep people coming back for free money.
Once things stabilize, this guy might become one of his biggest buyers.
After seeing Meyer off, Lin Lixin carried a can of drink to the lounge chair outside and sat down to watch the place in place of Sam.
Taking this opportunity, he needs to start planning the next game and how to earn his first pot of gold.
Lin Lixin already had an idea in mind about what to make for his next game.
At this point in time, the development of Super Mario should have already begun, so it's definitely not a good idea to risk copying it.
But the reel technology used in Super Mario gave him a great idea.