Rebirth of the Tech Madman

When Tang Huan was voicing lotus in order to sell his router, the atmosphere at Warner's headquarters in New York was much more dull. n∈,

In 1982, Atari contributed more than one-third of Warner's operating income. Now seeing this golden egg with such an important status begin to fade, Warner's senior management can hardly believe it.

In the movie industry, the ups and downs of the box office are quite common. Everyone is accustomed to the high risk of which cloud may rain. However, the sharp depression of the home video game console market still unavoidably caught people off guard.

Not to mention the sense of loss in Warner’s boss Steve Rose. What makes him most embarrassed is that he can’t show it yet, he has to hold it hard, or he will lose his prestige.

Steve Rose was really proud of the popularity of the "e.t. Aliens" video game during the Christmas period.

Look, this is the boss’s wise martial arts-he did not hesitate to spend a lot of money, decisively won the "et alien" video game authorization, and also won Spielberg by the way, now the money is rolling in, is there any better than this? ?

However, after the sales of the "e.t. Alien" video game exceeded 10,000 copies, it suffered a downturn in the entire industry, and the momentum was obviously dying.

The sales have reached tens of millions of dollars, which is considered to be squeezed into the list of Atari's best-selling games, but compared with the more than 10,000 US dollars paid for the "et aliens" video game licensing fee, it is obviously not enough. .

And now there are nearly 10,000 copies of the "e.t. Alien" video game lying in the warehouse, even if they are willing to deal with it at a low price, no one wants to take it.

Gein's game, which was shoddy and shoddy due to a rush to work, has already been reminiscent of the players, and the streets are stinking.

It can be said that Steve Rose made a loss-making deal that made him heart-wrenching. It was simply unsafe, and it was a little breathless when I thought of it.

at this time. James Morgan, Atari's new executive officer, is sitting across from him, reporting on his work.

"The Great Depression in the home video game console market is inevitable, and Atari is getting older. Atari basically failed. We must take effective measures decisively to reduce operating costs."

"Then tell me about your plan." Steve Rose nodded slightly blankly.

"First, I plan to close the game console factory in the Far East." James Morgan, who has just passed the age, is in the stage of becoming young and strong, and he speaks. That's called a altogether.

Steve Rose's cheeks trembled slightly, and he slowly said, "If I remember correctly, the Xiangjiang factory has been in operation for a year."

"It doesn't make much sense for us to reduce manufacturing costs. Everyone's products are not selling well now." James Morgan explained carefully, "And there will be layoffs in Silicon Valley. I roughly estimated that the first batch. To reduce the burden of many people."

Steve Rose is a decisive market leader. In his eyes, layoffs are just a simple number subtraction operation, so Gu Beiqiu will not be hurt by this. The only reason why he showed an unhappy expression just now was because he was unwilling.

In fact, he had long anticipated James Morgan's plan to reduce operating costs, after all, there were not many choices left for Atari.

What Steve Rose really cares about is that Atari’s decline cannot continue to drag on Warner’s stock price, and how this once golden egg can be saved.

He found a new executive officer for Atari, which shows that he still has the hope of continuing to operate. After all, Atari’s assets are hundreds of millions of dollars, and this candidate also showed his satisfaction. The courage.

So Steve Rose nodded slightly and said in an affirmative tone: "These measures are actually the intended meaning of the question."

"In addition. Atari has another area that can significantly reduce operating costs. It appears chaotic in research, and it is very extravagant. Many researchers have consumed the company's resources for two years, but so far they have achieved nothing. The current Atari can't be Bell Labs. These research projects are destined to be useless. They must be cut off." James Morgan raised the butcher knife in his hand again.

Steve Rose pondered for a moment noncommittal, "You only talked about measures to cut expenditures, what about the increase in revenue?"

"Although the market for home video game consoles has gone downhill, the arcade business is not affected. Atari's foundation in this field is no worse than any opponent. Including ea." James Morgan, who has turned the tide as his own responsibility, looks at it. There is ambition in it.

“Where’s that guy’s computer?” Steve Rose asked with expectations, “Isn’t Atari’s follow-up model, the Atari xl, just launched? The personal computer industry is very profitable now, and Fangyuan Computer is not only in the circle. After hundreds of millions of dollars, the current market value is more than 100 million dollars. Others eat meat, we should be able to drink a few sips of soup."

"I'm about to report on the performance of the personal computer business in detail." James Morgan certainly felt that his boss was so envious of Tang Huan's competitor that he almost felt resentful.

"We are caught in a vicious circle in personal computer research. The items that I emphasized to be cut off are based on this reason."

James Morgan mused and said: "Other companies research personal computers, which are simply researching such products, but Atari is researching personal computers on the basis of game consoles. In many cases, they have to think of game consoles. Factors come in."

Speaking of this, James Morgan sighed in annoyance, "Atari, and now Atari XL, an additional radiation shielding cover must be attached to the circuit board, just let it be We have fallen into a cost disadvantage, which is simply a very ridiculous thing. Moreover, the disagreement between us and the Federal Communications Commission on radiation standards continues, which brings another business risk that cannot be ignored for the company."

Steve Rose, who is completely a layman for high-tech, heard James Morgan's nagging talk so much, and suddenly his head was very big.

He frowned and interrupted James Morgan's words irritably, "The reason why you are invited to serve as Atari's executive officer is to solve these problems. I just want to ask, do you think Atari can still Make a difference?"

"Of course Atari hasn't reached the point of collapse, but reform takes time." James Morgan shrugged, "I only hope that the headquarters will not interfere too much with the operations of Silicon Valley as before."

Steve Rose, with a slightly hot skin, gritted his teeth and nodded, "Okay, then I will give you time, but you must understand that time is also limited." (To be continued.)