Chapter 23: Chapter 23: This is Your Destiny!
"Hey, Mr. Jobs, what's going on with you?" Ethan Jones was surprised by Steve Jobs' reaction.
Because he didn't understand, was there something humorous about being a former Magnavox employee?
His confusion made Steve Jobs furrow his brow, and he asked in astonishment, "What's wrong with me? Haha! Don't you know? We are a family!"
'!!!'
Ethan was shocked. Now he couldn't be sure if the guy in front of him was really Steve Jobs.
If he was indeed...
"Brother, don't you know about the lawsuit between Magnavox and Atari?"
Ethan waved his hands. At this moment, he wasn't sure if it was a glitch in his language system or if Steve Jobs' brain was malfunctioning.
You see, the lawsuit between Magnavox and Atari was well-known across the United States!
When both parties were already in court, how could Steve Jobs still say, 'We are a family'?
Wasn't that insane?
The hippie gentleman noticed Ethan's speechlessness. After sipping his McDonald's cola and suddenly understanding, he asked, "Are you trying to say that Magnavox and Atari are enemies?"
"Yeah!" Ethan nodded.
Before he could continue, Steve Jobs chuckled and said, "Oh! I get it! Mr. Jones, I think there's a problem between the two of us, and based on my current judgment, that person should be you."
"Mr. Jones, as a former employee of Magnavox, you surprisingly didn't pay attention to the lawsuit between Magnavox and Atari. Wow, that's really..." Steve Jobs seemed to want to criticize Ethan's approach, but he stopped himself. Shrugging, he said, "Well, not paying attention is normal. After all, a former employee."
"But that doesn't matter because the lawsuit concluded a few days ago, and now we are on the same side."
"In the truest sense."
'...'
Honestly, Ethan was now suspecting if this guy was out of his mind.
Because his chaotic logic and cryptic words were truly incomprehensible.
"Mr. Jobs, I don't think I understand what you mean."
Ethan Jones thought for a moment and said, "If you can, could you clarify things for me?"
"Of course!"
Steve Jobs swayed his cola cup and said, "The reason I said we are a family is that your former boss, Magnavox, has reached an out-of-court settlement with our Atari. In the future, we might even have collaborations..."
As Steve Jobs explained, Ethan Jones finally learned what had happened in the weeks after he left Magnavox.
The plagiarism lawsuit between Magnavox and Atari had settled, with Atari admitting to the plagiarism, but...
They didn't face any corresponding punishment.
Because Ralph H. Baer intervened.
As the inventor of the world's first commercial home video game console, Odyssey, Ralph H. Baer owned all the patents for Odyssey. Magnavox was just a manufacturing and distribution company collaborating with him.
Because of this, when Magnavox and Atari went to court over the infringement of "Pong," Ralph H. Baer naturally appeared in court and accused Atari of plagiarism as the plaintiff.
If this were a Hollywood soap opera, the outcome of this lawsuit would surely end with Atari bankrupted by Magnavox. Unfortunately, the script followed the plot of "The Shawshank Redemption."
Because Ralph H. Baer had conceived the idea of a home video game console in the 1950s and completed the conceptual design around 1960. Then, he spent almost five years refining his idea, designing games for the console, and another five years finding a manufacturer willing to produce the home video game console.
And his purpose for doing all this was simply that he found his idea interesting and believed it could bring joy to the world.
This reason might sound absurd, but that was the reality.
When Ralph H. Baer sought a distributor, he approached IBM, Motorola, and General Electric, all of whom had collaborated with him before. However, all three declined, citing a lack of profit potential. At this point, Ralph H. Baer had already achieved financial freedom through various inventions, but he still wanted to promote electronic games.
Finally, he found Magnavox.
So, when Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari, learned all of this, he directly presented Magnavox's financial reports since its establishment to Ralph H. Baer in court. With tears in his eyes, he told Ralph H. Baer that his goal was the same, investing all the money earned by Atari into arcade production just to promote electronic games to the public.
If Ralph H. Baer insisted on helping Magnavox claim damages, Atari would have no choice but to go bankrupt. With Atari's collapse, the prosperity of electronic games, which had just started, might be lost.
Under this emotional plea, Ralph H. Baer softened.
Even though Magnavox repeatedly told him to crush Atari.
But...
"Professor Ralph H. Baer still expresses to the court his desire to terminate the trial, attempting to reach an out-of-court settlement with our Atari," Steve Jobs said with a smile. "When the inventor of Odyssey and the copyright holder of Ping Pong Games are willing to settle, the court respects the parties' wishes. Then, your former boss, Magnavox, entered the settlement phase with our Atari."
"With Professor Ralph H. Baer as the intermediary, do you think we are now a family?" Steve Jobs emphasized his tone on the 'We are a family' phrase.
When Steve Jobs revealed this fact, Ethan Jones was completely bewildered!
He never expected that there could be such a saint in the world?
Giving up the benefits he should rightfully have to promote an industry's development?
What kind of spirit was this?
Honestly, Ethan Jones admitted that this was a height he couldn't reach!
At the same time, he also understood why Steve Jobs laughed heartily upon learning his identity.
Because now, Atari seemed to be the winner.
No!
They were the winners for reaching a settlement in a lawsuit they were destined to lose!
When this fact emerged, Ethan felt very uncomfortable.
He had thought that if Atari failed in the lawsuit against Magnavox, they might accept a collaborative deal to pay the hefty compensation, but now...
"Okay, Mr. Jobs, thank you for clarifying things."
Ethan Jones showed a sigh and said, "Thank you for telling me about the relationship between Magnavox and Atari, thank you for appreciating my game, but I think it all ends here because we may not be able to collaborate anymore."
"Why?" Steve Jobs was puzzled.
In his view, Ethan Jones' previous hesitation should have been about the impact of the lawsuit between Magnavox and Atari on himself. Now that the lawsuit was over, even if Ethan Jones was a former Magnavox employee, he could still negotiate a collaboration with Atari normally!
Why the hesitation after everything was explained?
Steve Jobs' confusion made Ethan sigh and say, "Mr. Jobs, actually, before coming here today, I went to several companies—Exidy, Sega, and others. You are not the first to see this game, nor the first to praise it. But, even though they showed great interest in the game, I didn't agree to sell it outright. You know why? Because I only accept profit-sharing."
Ethan honestly said, "I only accept a share."
After this statement, Steve Jobs suddenly furrowed his brow.
Sharp eyes flashed with endless inquiry.
Even though the McDonald's they were in was noisy, with people coming and going, at this moment, the gaze between the two made their surroundings eerily quiet.
Not knowing how long they stared at each other, Steve Jobs suddenly smiled.
"Ethan Jones? Right..."
"Yeah."
"Do you have faith?"
"I believe in myself."
"Oh~" Ethan's response made Steve Jobs grin as he said, "Ethan, can I call you that?"
"Sure." Ethan Jones nodded.
"Did you really not know about the lawsuit between Magnavox and Atari before?" Steve Jobs wanted to confirm this question.
"Of course!" Ethan Jones nodded again.
"Ethan, I believe in Buddhism." This answer made Steve Jobs' smile on his face even brighter. He said, "You know, I suddenly saw a light on your head, a very beautiful light."
"If you believe in God, I think it's a gift from God. If you believe in Buddha, I think it's Buddha's mercy. But... if you believe in yourself, I think it's your destiny."
"Do you know?"
"Now, perhaps only our Atari company in the whole of America is willing to accept profit-sharing collaboration."
'???'
Ethan furrowed his brow, "Why?"
"Because..." Steve Jobs smiled and said, "We reached an out-of-court settlement with Magnavox..."
"Perhaps, this is your destiny..."
Note: The first copyright infringement lawsuit in the history of electronic games did indeed come to an end with the intervention of the copyright holder Ralph H. Baer. During the lawsuit between Magnavox and Atari, Ralph H. Baer presented the completed manuscript of his game content from the 1960s and invited individuals knowledgeable about his design, such as IBM, Motorola, and General Electric, to testify in court. When these three giants appeared, the case was essentially doomed. Atari couldn't afford the compensation even with their earnings, and Ralph H. Baer himself spared Atari. Of course, for self-preservation, Nolan Bushnell did present Atari's financial reports in court, stating that Atari's current cash flow couldn't support substantial compensation. This is the true nature of business warfare – avoiding losses if possible, minimizing losses when necessary, and appealing to sympathy when logic fails. Losing only means the opponent successfully defended their rights, while winning can lead to global recognition. Because Ralph H. Baer spared Nolan Bushnell, when the industry later dubbed Nolan Bushnell the father of electronic games, he himself expressed that this title should be shared with Ralph H. Baer.
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