Time kept coming to 1980, the world entered the magnificent eighties, Tang Huan, who had already laid a foundation in this time and space, did not have the time to carefully review his achievements, let alone take care of his vacation.

One of the most urgent matters at the moment is naturally to deal with Mirohua's patent lawsuit, and the other party offers a very high price, which is completely ruthless as if it has not been opened for three years and has been open for three years.

Clear-eyed people have made judgments early, Xiaobawang game consoles are in a catastrophe, and they must break the fortune to avoid disasters, it is nothing more than a question of how much money to pay, after all, here in the United States, the business rules are very sound.

Tang Huan also understands that the final result is not optimistic, but he plans to take advantage of this turmoil and advertise for Xiaobawang in disguise, which can be regarded as turning disadvantages into advantages to a certain extent.

After secret deliberations, the entire response plan was finalized.

First, EA would use the 1958 game "Tennis Pairs" to question the validity of Mirovi's patent, dragging the lawsuit into the vortex of controversy.

Then, taking advantage of the time space gained, he prepared the relevant information of the various technologies contained in the Xiaobawang game machine and submitted it to the court, so as to try to prove that the Xiaobawang game machine and Mirohua's patent have nothing to do with each other.

The whole process naturally has to be involved and followed up by the media through public relations, and the ultimate goal is to build the Xiaobawang game console into a victim image that is determined to innovate but is maliciously suppressed by market competitors using patent means.

In the previous life, the patent lawsuit between Samsung and Apple was just a lot of fun, and since it was destined to be ungood, it was the right to hire a lawyer to be an actor to perform and debate for everyone to win attention.

In fact, Zheru himself is also suffering from the trouble of being infringed on copyright, all kinds of petty software piracy emerges in an endless stream, even the game business is not immune, "Tetris" is the first to bear the brunt, and there has been a version on the CP/M platform, but the game experience is very poor.

Ironically, most of these pirates are students, and the programming tools they use are the MAs of Zheru.

In this regard, Tang Huan couldn't cry or laugh, because of the hacker culture in the United States, it really outweighed the losses.

In the early days, the first generation of hackers were purely technological, and in addition to their own areas of expertise, they had a very weak sense of business and naturally had limited influence.

Later, the hippie ethos in the United States prevailed, which fueled the counterculture movement, and unruliness, whimsy, and rebellion became fashionable.

This has affected a generation, especially college and secondary school students who come from affluent middle-class families and don't have to worry about making ends meet.

Escaping from society, rejecting tradition, contemptuous of authority and all the rules and regulations, after indulging in rock 'n' roll, pursuing all kinds of liberation, and using psychedelics for sensual pleasure, they soon discover that computers are the most exciting, and all kinds of ideas can be realized through technology, and naturally, programming has become the most bragging rights.

Thus, the second generation of hackers was born.

During this period, computers were still in the mainframe stage, and a few companies led by IBM controlled the entire industry, and the second-generation hackers' contempt for authority came into play.

But the world is all for profit, the world is all for profit, the hacker community is still inevitably divided, some people use their own technology, began to do business to make money, Gates wrote to the home brew computer club in the famous "open letter to computer enthusiasts", unmistakably expressed this divide.

At present, it is the period of alternation between the second generation of hackers and the third generation of hackers, and various opinions are in conflict, Tang Huan does not want to wade into troubled waters because of such a little benefit, anyway, these students have not shaken their business foundation.

Naturally, Tang Huan does not need to come forward in person in this lawsuit, and Hawkins will lead EA to fight, he only needs to sit behind the scenes and watch the play.

When Tang Huanzheng was discussing with Hawkins and several lawyers in suits and leather shoes, Bushnell called and said indignantly: "I just learned that Mirohua sued Xiaobawang for infringement, and they are just that, do they need me to provide help such as testifying in court?" ”

Good buddy, Tang Huan narrowed his eyes, speculating about Bushnell's motive for doing this, probably because he had been haunted by the helpless experience of being knocked out of $700,000 in patent fees by Mirohua, at that time, Atari's strength could not be compared with the current Zheru, and he did not dare to dwell on expensive legal disputes, so he had to obediently comply.

"Thank you very much, then you're welcome. It's a privilege to meet such a righteous friend as you. Tang Huan laughed loudly, "With your huge influence in the game industry, your help will definitely make a big difference in this lawsuit." ”

"You're welcome, I'm also angry for myself." Bushnell laughed.

Tang Huan chatted with Bushnell for a few more words, and then put down the phone, and couldn't help but show a playful smile on his face.

To put it mildly, Bushnell, who is not willing to be lonely, is a powerful-stirring stick.

"We've got another big boost, Atari's founder, Bushnell, who is willing to testify in court, and he's a veteran in the industry, and his testimony is very valuable." Tang Huan said the good news, "You guys fine-tune the plan again to leave room for this great god to play." ”

"Okay." Hawkins stood up excitedly, but was stopped by Tang Huan.

After the lawyers walked out and there were only two people left in the office, Tang Huan spoke, "Those media are almost ignorant of technology, and it is inevitable that the report will give people a feeling of scratching their boots, so I helped them think of a topic." ”

Speaking of this, Tang Huan had a wicked smile on his face, "Bushnell and Ralph Henry Bell, who is the father of video games?" What do you think? ”

Hearing this idea, Hawkins couldn't help but touch the sweat on his forehead that didn't actually exist, the Mirohua Odyssey game console is derived from the prototype of the TV game console "Brown Box" invented by Bell, the boss is going to set off a war of words, and at the same time, Bushnell is firmly tied to EA's chariot, which is really insidious.

"It's very attractive, so I'm going to contact PR to prepare." Hawkins said happily that, apparently, for EA's sake, he didn't mind these business tricks.

"Then let's do it, I'll go to the game development department." Tang Huan nodded, "While everyone else is standing by and watching the jokes, we have to make great strides forward and release heavyweight games." ”

The current game development department, with the establishment of EA, has also moved to the corresponding office area.

Tang Huan chatted with Shigeru Miyamoto for a moment before turning his attention to what he was talking about as a new heavyweight game, Pac-Man, or Pac-Man.

Originally, this puzzle game was developed by the Japanese game company NAMCO, that is, Namco, in 1980, that is, this year.

Pac-Man is a classic game in the history of video games, and in the 1980s, it took the world by storm, and the image of the missing pancake of the main character, the elf, was regarded as a symbol of popular culture, and even as a representative image of the video game industry, and Namco used this image as its mascot and company logo.

Because of the popularity of "Pac-Man" in the arcade, Atari bought the license of the game on the Atari 2600, but because of the rush, the porting effect of the hardware platform was very poor, although it was a big seller, selling 7 million sets of cartridges, but since then players have gradually become resentful of home video game consoles, burying the root cause of the collapse of the entire industry.

It can be seen that the Atari controlled by Warner is really guilty, fully showing the ugly face of profiteers who leave the scene after taking a handful.

Now that EA has released the finished product of "Pac-Man", it is natural that Namco has one less cash cow, and Atari can't be violent and can't destroy the heavens.

As the successor to Tetris, Pac-Man was developed early on, and now it's time to come out with it, demonstrating EA's ability to innovate.

"Isn't it very fun to make players crazy and competitors jealous." Tang Huan, who was very satisfied with the results of his work, used this kind of joke to motivate his subordinates.

……

The lawsuit between EA and Mirohua was held in San Jose, the capital of Santa Clara County, where Silicon Valley is located, and attracted many industry insiders, media reporters, and even some speculative businessmen with a keen sense of smell who wanted to make a fortune in the game console industry.

EA's lawyer questioned the validity of Mirovis's patent through the early game of "Tennis Pairs", and it worked wonders, and the other party immediately got the other party scrambling and brought out the witness, Ralph Henry Bell, the inventor of the "brown box".

So, Bushnell made a brilliant appearance, and he bluntly refuted Bell, "Your achievements will stop at that "brown box", such a simple thing, dare to say that it has something to do with the current game console. ”

Bell, a Jewish inventor who fled from Germany to the United States on the eve of Kristallnacht in 1938, was also straightforward and unflinching.

What does it mean to be the first in the text, the second in the martial arts, the scene in front of me is it, so that even the judge can't calm down, and the media reporters who are watching are shooting ecstatic light in their eyes to find the prey, these two are the contenders for the title of the father of video games, great, it's worth the trip, and there is one more material for reporting.

EA's miraculous trick led to a hasty end to the first court session, and reporters who had been prepared for it rushed forward and surrounded Bushnell and Bell outside the courtroom, bombing and bombing for interviews.

Glancing at Bushnell who was surrounded by the stars in the center from a distance, Tang Huan admired in his heart, "Buddy with such strong combat effectiveness, no wonder he had the same smell as Jobs a few years ago, with this person standing on his feet to cheer, it is really hard to say what the final result of this lawsuit will be." ”

Tang Huan, the director behind the scenes, lost interest in continuing to pay attention to the play after discovering that the play was performed according to his own design, and quietly left alone.