The "Breaking the Sky" arcade has not yet been officially sold in North America, but Atari has quietly purchased a prototype in Japan and brought it back to the company for analysis. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Although Atari may not directly copy it, absorbing the ideas of competitors has become a conventional means in modern business competition.

However, Atari's technical team and management team are completely two teams, and after the departure of Nolan Bushnell, the contradiction between the two teams has not been resolved, but has become increasingly intensified.

However, after the sample is returned, it still needs the technical team to crack and absorb it.

"Oh! Tianla!" an Atari employee played "Breaking the Sky" in surprise, "how can the game be like this?"

"Damn, we were supposed to have developed this kind of game!" said the other player, who was also an Atari employee.

"Hey, don't mention it! Since Mr. Bushnell's departure, Atari has completely changed. Not only has it become ruthless, but it has also become crazy to suppress the Strike Hard team, originally, we have made money, we should improve the treatment of technical personnel, and then, continue to develop better consoles and games. But what about Atari? Greedy shareholders, short-sighted management, cut off a large number of independent R&D teams, and completely relied on third-party game companies to provide products. The funny thing is that many third-party game companies are simply our former colleagues, and if Atari had been nicer to them, they would have made the product in the name of Atari a long time ago, so that Atari would only need to pay wages and a part of the bonus. As a result, after becoming a third-party game company, it can only earn the so-called distribution fee. Nominally reduced R&D costs, but in reality, lost investment profits from a large number of big-selling games!" grumbling Atari has a growing number of employees.

"If only Mr. Bushnell returned!"

"No, if Mr. Bushnell is willing to let us jump ship, then I will definitely choose to go with Mr. Bushnell over the stupid Warner Group!"

"Shhhh

"Someone was already fired the other day for whining. ”

"Damn, it's better to be fired, I wanted to leave a long time ago. ”

In fact, Bushnell did not have any contact with these former employees, and in essence, he did not want Atari to misunderstand and affect the future of these former employees.

However, it was not clear to Bushnell that the rift within Atari was no longer possible. Especially recently, Atari executives have been suspicious of the company's old employees, resulting in many old employees being kicked out of the company without receiving any compensation.

……

The game "Breaking the Sky" landed in North America, and the momentum was not very amazing, but it was silent. First, through several stores of Chuck Cheese, "Breaking the Sky" was operated.

Subsequently, the marketing staff of the North American branch began to call the phone numbers of arcade dealers and game room operators everywhere.

Then, we continue to invite industry acquaintances to try out new games.

Although not everyone is willing to be invited, hundreds of game dealers and arcade operators are coming to San Francisco.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I don't want to mislead you, but I have to make it clear that Breaking the Sky is a good game!" Peter Zhang, CEO of North America, entertained these potential buyers, "First of all, its performance has broken through the limits of traditional arcade machines, you know, players can't get enough appetite." In the early days, we only needed to use simple games such as "Pong" and "Snake" to let players put coins, and that kind of simple games could also make a lot of money. But, what about now? Even "Chinese Cube" seems to be outdated in the arcade market, and only handheld computers are its destination. In order to meet the discerning needs of gamers, the hardware of the game must become stronger and stronger, at least, the hardware of the arcade machine will be several generations more powerful than the current microcomputer!"

"That's right," a California-based arcade operator nodded, "Just like Moore's Law proposed by Silicon Valley, the video game industry is very changing, and in a year or two, the technology changes, and the old games simply can't please the more and more discerning players." ”

"So, we need to innovate, innovate in the gameplay and theme of the game, and improve the hardware technology of the arcade at any cost. Don't worry about the hardware cost being too expensive, after all, you don't need to worry about the cost of popular games, because, after you put it into operation, you can earn it back quickly. Peter Zhang understands the psychology of these game industry operators, who are not afraid of buying an expensive arcade machine, but they are afraid that the arcade machine they buy back will not be popular with players, which will make their investment wasted. So, try it out for yourself!"

There were more than 50 arcade machines on display, and these customers had to take turns to experience the coin.

However, the performance of "Breaking the Sky" and the degree of innovation of the game are indeed too strong. So much so that even the customers who want to pick on the thorns are speechless for a long time and become captives of this game.

"Great!"

"It's much more powerful than last year's Donkey Kong!"

"Oh my God, there's such a powerful game!"

After the potential customers on the scene gradually experienced the charm of the game, Peter Zhang said proudly: "Everyone has a preliminary understanding of the quality of the game. In addition, this is a sales data in Hong Kong, Japan and other markets, and so far, the cumulative global sales have exceeded 20,000. Note that this was achieved in less than a month, and most of the global markets, including North America, the world's largest gaming market, are not yet in stock. So, don't doubt it, it's going to be a big hit in North America as well! So, are you willing to buy it?"

"Of course!"

"I believe it's just as popular in the U.S. ”

"Well, the only problem with it is that the price is a bit expensive, $5,000 a unit. Peter Zhang said regretfully, "However, according to the statistics of actual operation data in various places, it is worth this price." 3~6 months after it is put into operation, there is hope to earn back the capital, and after that, it is pure profit. ”

"How can it be so expensive?"

"Even if the current U.S. market sells tens of thousands of Donkey Kongs, it's only $2,500 a piece!"

"Can it be cheaper?"

This price makes some dealers and arcade operators a little hesitant.

"No, everyone, this price is cheap enough!" said Peter Zhang, "The market price of a small computer under the same hardware level will not be less than 30,000 US dollars." And we have piled up expensive hardware at any cost, which is already worth the price of $5,000. What's more, what about the epoch-making game "Breaking the Sky"?"

"How can it be compared? The minicomputer platform can run different specialized software, while the arcade machine burns the program in the base version, and it is impossible to change the program. A fellow gamer said.

"Yes! but...... It doesn't need to change other programs at all. "At present, this arcade machine has made many game operators profitable! Believe me, although it is relatively expensive, it is precisely because of this that it can have irreplaceable competitiveness and meet the needs of high-end players." And after playing a game of this level, do you think players will still play Little Bees, Space Invaders, or Donkey Kong? The winner-takes-all game in the gaming industry is the best game that occupies the vast majority of the market. Trash games, most of which are bloodless. What is the use of buying a garbage game that no player is willing to put in coins, even if you buy it back for $1,000? On the contrary, a popular game that you buy back for $5,000 is crowded with players every day, and the benefits are of course far greater than that of mediocre arcade machines...... Trust me, it's definitely worth the price!"

That's right, as Peter Zhang said, popular games in the game industry can sweep most of the market share. The arcade industry has hundreds of new games every year, but 80% of the market share is occupied by 20% of the good games. In particular, the top 10 games on the list have swept up half of the market share.

It is precisely for this reason that it is difficult to worry about whether each game console is expensive or not. What should really be analyzed is whether this game is fun or not, and whether it can become a hit.

"Zhang, you won!" a game company operator who is familiar with Peter Zhang patted Peter Zhang on the chest and said, "I'll order 100 units, and I wish you a smooth career." ”

"Thank you, John. Peter Zhang nodded.

Although John is not a strong game company, he has 4 game halls in San Francisco and Los Angeles. I've been running an arcade since the days of "Pong", so it's a familiar face.

Under its leadership, many game companies in California have begun to join the purchasing army.

Peter Zhang couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, this is his debut in the new venture electronics, if he messes up, the North American company will change an executive, fortunately, he didn't mess up!