America: The Godfather of Game Development

Chapter 15 Selling Arcade Games!

Are you really a beginner?

Vivian looked at Lin Lixin with suspicion, increasingly doubting that he was teasing her.

Even if she were to create such a sophisticated design, it would still take her a lot of effort.

"I owe this work to my senior's help. Without her guidance, there would be no such work."

Lin Lixin had come with a purpose, so he naturally offered a resounding compliment.

"Don't thank me. I only explained some very basic introductory content to you. To be able to do this well is truly amazing."

Vivian quickly waved her hand, turning her gaze back to the screen.

"So this is what video games are like..."

"Does Vivian like video games?"

"Me?" Vivian was taken aback. "I don't know. I've only played Tetris and 1942. If this is what video games are, then of course I like them."

Lin Lixin nodded slightly, took out two coins from the coin box, and put them into the coin slot.

Compared to dry, conversational chat, communicating in-game is more suited to players' social style.

Why did Senior Vivian choose her current major?

He knew that Vivian's main focus was computer graphics, but after talking to her more deeply, he discovered that she had never played video games before.

How did someone who has no interest in video games end up on this path that is so closely related to them?

"Hmm..." Vivian piloted her fighter jet, eliminating a squad of enemies. After a moment's thought, "If I had to say, these cutting-edge technologies are more profitable?"

"How so?"

"Graphics operating systems, graphics card drivers... these are all cutting-edge technologies right now. I'm currently doing some part-time graphics optimization work for a small company that my mentor introduced me to."

Lin Lixin was surprised that Vivian had already reached such a stage; for a student still in school, she was already an outstanding talent.

"Impressive, graphical operating systems are definitely a hot area for the future."

He knew very well what a terrifying giant Bill Gates and his Microsoft would become in the future, given that he was still a young man under 30.

In less than ten years, Microsoft will surpass IBM, the blue giant, to become the world's largest software entity.

Microsoft's flagship Windows operating system version 1.0 was officially released last year.

There is only one year left until the official release of Windows 1.0.

As for Apple, the other member of the future three major operating systems, and its Mac operating system, they will also be released this year.

At that time, Linus Torvalds, the father of the Linux kernel, was just a 15-year-old boy.

Choosing to enter the graphical operating system industry at this juncture is undoubtedly a wise decision.

"I still prefer the path of video game development," Lin Lixin said, skillfully cooperating with Vivian to destroy elite monsters. "Creating happiness is a cool thing."

For Lin Lixin, a person who has all the knowledge of the future has traveled to this era. Even if he goes into other industries, he will definitely succeed.

If you were to ask what kept him steadfast on this path, besides his professionally matched talent, there might only be one thing—faith.

Lin Lixin was born in the year 2000. From the Famicom to Flash games and then to the heyday of PC and mobile games, video games have long permeated his entire life and all his memories.

"I'm planning to start a game company," he revealed his purpose. "I originally wanted to ask if you had any plans to join us, but it seems you've already decided on your path."

"Join you?" Vivian was stunned, not expecting Lin Lixin to extend an olive branch to her.

"boom!"

In a moment of distraction, she made a careless mistake and was blown into a fireball.

Lin Lixin happened to be lost in thought for a moment and then bumped into it.

Vivian took a deep breath and suddenly understood why Lin Lixin wanted to play games with her.

She slowly stood up and bowed slightly.

"I'm sorry, Junior Brother Lin. Although I really enjoy video games, it's still a bit..."

Although Vivian is a kind-hearted person, she is not reckless.

The impact of the Atari crash was so great that even she, an outsider, had long heard of it.

The North American gaming market, which was worth $32 billion, has now plummeted to nearly $1 million, and is still shrinking at an accelerating rate.

From any perspective, this is undoubtedly a sunset industry that is about to enter its final days.

Vivian knew very well that hobbies and dreams couldn't put food on the table.

Lin Lixin nodded. Although Japan is now thriving in the industry, this is largely due to its advanced civilian electronics technology and its net foreign assets, which far exceed those of the United States.

Using this example to persuade Vivian is unlikely to be effective.

To persuade her to join my team, besides sharing a love for the game, I also need a little bit of financial incentive.

Lin Lixin took out a business card from his pocket, on which was written a phone number.

That was Mayer, who had previously intended to buy his own Tetris prototype.

Now that the copyright issue has been resolved, selling arcade machines has become a viable direction.

"Sam, stop playing around, I have an important task for you."

Sam, who was still locked in a fierce battle with Neil, was interrupted by Lin Lixin and reluctantly went behind the counter.

……

"No, it's definitely not feasible for us to produce it ourselves."

After hearing Lin Lixin's plan, Sam immediately rejected it.

"The cost of custom-made substrates and EPROMs alone is over ten thousand yuan, plus the cost of the chassis (500-1000 yuan per unit) and the qualification expenses for compliance testing..."

He counted on his fingers for a moment.

"We need to invest at least tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in production costs. You could squeeze every last penny out of me and I still wouldn't be able to come up with that."

"Small-batch production isn't feasible either?"

"no."

Sam shook his head, but then his eyes lit up as if he had thought of something.

"However, we can find a contract manufacturer! Although there are minimum order quantity restrictions, the cost will be much lower. If we find a buyer in advance and they are willing to pay a deposit in advance, then we won't need to spend much money to get it done."

Hearing Sam's idea, Lin Lixin perked up.

Oh right, he was so focused on how to fill the gap in production costs that he forgot about the option of contract manufacturing.

"What would the approximate cost of that one unit be?"

Sam paused for a moment, then slowly uttered a rough figure: "$1,500."

For a small arcade machine with low specifications, this price is definitely among the highest.

It will take some effort to sell this thing.

Lin Lixin looked at the phone number in his hand, then went to the landline and dialed.