Rebirth of America, this is my time

Chapter 309 The outcome is decided

April 1st is April Fool's Day.

No one can tell its true origin, but everyone knows that on this day, it is routine to make jokes and tease each other with friends around you.

As long as your behavior does not violate the law, even if it violates public order and good customs, it doesn't matter. Not only can the guy who was teased not be angry, he even has to accept the nickname "fool" after being fooled.

Of course, many times people don't take things too far. At most, they say things like, 'I am your father,' 'The Queen of the Rotten Country has an illegitimate child,' 'The Federation is considering re-enacting the Prohibition Order,' and other innocuous things. It’s a little joke, but today, what people say the most is——

"Have you played "Godzilla"? Godzilla stepped on Mickey's head and shit in the game!"

Since Sega and Disney bought a lot of drafts in the past two months, "Godzilla" attracted the attention of countless people on the West Coast as soon as it was released.

Even though today is a working day, working people who need to go to work and students who need to go to school cannot rush to the market to taste the game at the first time, but the jokes related to it have already appeared in the early morning, and after everyone has spent the noisy and After a busy day, some curious figures suddenly appeared in the amusement halls on the roadside, at the entrances of major cinemas, and at the entrances of shopping malls with large passenger flow.

The guy lying at the door kept looking around like a turtle in a melon field.

After seeing the horned monster roaring up to the sky, they immediately took out the round coins from their pockets and stuffed them into the coin slots skillfully.

Just hearing a crisp sound, the 'Godzilla' logo on the TV screen suddenly flashed, and amidst a burst of exciting music, a 'PLAY' appeared instantly.

When you tap the round cake button on the control panel, you will hear a 'bang' sound, and the letters 'PLAY' will instantly enlarge, and then, challenge levels from bottom to top will appear in front of the player.

Although there were no similar games on the North American continent before today, the North American people were well-informed after all, and they figured out the game's routines in just a few clicks.

Then……

That is to listen to the sound of frogs.

"Wow! Is this game so simple? Dodge Godzilla's attacks and jump to the exit? It's not difficult at all! No wonder Disney is an agent, this is simply a baby-level game!"

"Wow! Oh my god! I have such high expectations for this game? What a fool I am!"

"Wow! I finally know why this game was released on April Fools' Day! I feel like I was tricked by Disney! MFxxk! I actually paid twenty-five cents for it! I'm such a fool!"

Maybe it’s because they’ve received crazy baptisms from the god of games in the past few years, and the public’s appetite has been cultivated, but it’s also possible that they feel that playing a game with low intelligence on April Fool’s Day is a bit stupid, so, When many players who were new to the game discovered that the design of the game "Godzilla" was too simple, wails burst out from their mouths one after another.

But even so, they did not put down the joystick in their hands.

No way, who makes twenty-five cents not cheap these days?

If you put it all together, you can have a meal at McDonald's.

Therefore, even if they feel at this moment that they have been fed a bite of the answer by the designer and Disney, they are ready to eat the answer, not to mention eating it all, at least not to spit it out completely.

Because once you spit it out, you won't be able to complain about the shortcomings of this game to your friends the next day. And if you can't even complain, won't they look even more stupid for spending money?

It is this emotion that makes every player even more stupid after playing the game, so they are holding their breath while standing in front of the arcade. They want to reproduce those things that only exist in the masters. The game can be cleared with one coin, allowing designers to see what true cruelty is.

Then, they discovered that as they continued to pass levels, there were some subtle changes in the new levels. For example, the climbing passages became narrower and narrower, and the intervals between ascending passages became wider and wider. The fact that it couldn't be easily jumped made them say "huh."

"Is it getting more difficult?"

"But even if that's the case, it won't trouble me!"

"Even if the distance between the bricks is getting farther and farther and the landing point is getting smaller and smaller, this is just a climbing game!"

"When the only enemy you face is Godzilla, climbing to the finish line is inevitable! Huh?!!"

Before those young middle school students finished shouting, the game screen turned black and white.

Looking at Chi Guoguo's Game Over, they instantly felt that they had been ridiculed.

"Oh Sxxt! There are traps in this game?"

"MFxxk! How can a designer be so disgusting?"

"Oh! My! God! I could die in such a simple game???"

"No, no, no! Shoot again!"

Players who felt insulted dug in their pockets.

But soon, three or five minutes later, they got the same ending.

The screen that turned black again made them feel that their intelligence was insulted.

Continue to insert coins and start again. As the game progresses, players gradually discover that not every step up is good! Not every patch of grass can be stepped on!

Play again and report again——

They also discovered that Godzilla, who was originally outside the interface, could still be killed by them!

Not only that, after they defeat the monsters with their mortal bodies, they can also get huge score rewards and a quick passage to clear the level. When the 'BUG' that causes time to stop and the score to increase appears...

The tinkling sound is like the continuous spring rain, spreading over the earth.

At the same time, the boss who stopped to watch only felt golden numbers popping up on his head——

Gold coins +0.25

This fact made them smile...

And smiling with them was the chairman of Walt Disney.

On April 10, at Disney’s shareholder meeting, Tatum read out Disney’s report card to everyone present with a smile on his face, “In the just-ended fiscal year 1979, our Disney Group’s business performance Revenues were $378 million, an increase of 11.5% from $337.95 million in fiscal 1978. Total costs and expenses for the year were $337.95 million. 112 million, compared with 298.5 million in fiscal year 1978, an increase of 4.52%."

"But even so, our full-year net income still reached $66 million, and net income per share was $1.36, compared with $59.5 million in fiscal 1978 and $1.36 per share. At $1.22 per share, our net income increased 11.8 percent and earnings per share increased 11.5 percent..."

"Of course, we also have shortcomings. For example, in terms of PG-level movies, we did not do well. Last year, we launched the special effects movie "Black Hole" that cost 26 million. We tried to copy "Star Wars" was a success, but we failed, it only grossed $35 million, and people in North America didn't like it at all."

"In addition, our animation department has also seen a large number of resignations. Fifteen percent of animators resigned under the leadership of Don Bluth. This will cause a huge crisis for our animation business; not only that , under my leadership, the Motion Picture Association of America, Hollywood’s review and regulation agency, also experienced a historic change of members, which caused a crack in the stability of Hollywood.”

"Because the above problems all arose when I was in office, and I did not use appropriate means to control them, which led to the situation developing to the current point where it is difficult to end, so I, Twain Tatum, decided, Effective immediately, we will officially withdraw from the Walt Disney Group."

"This is my resignation letter..."

When Tatum presented a resignation letter with today's date in front of the participants, the huge venue suddenly fell into silence.

Although it is not clear to the outside world that this fairy tale kingdom that has stood for many years is already riddled with holes, shareholders who can attend the meeting today understand that the war between the Roy Disney family and the Walt Disney family has entered a fierce stage. And now, members of the Walt Disney family have chosen to resign? And just exit directly? Isn't this... too outrageous?

Roy Disney in the venue had a cold expression on his face, because after Tatum announced his resignation, he discovered that Ron Miller was giving him a proud smile.

That's showing off!

It’s more of a demonstration!

And just when he pursed his lips and his eyes spit fire, an institutional shareholder at the scene raised his hand and said: "Uh... I have something to say... Although this may not be in line with the process..."

Now that group companies have been around for hundreds of years, the operating process of shareholders' meetings has been perfected long ago. According to the general process, the company secretary, lawyer or official presiding over the meeting will read out the company's financial report for the previous year, using a dozen or two words. After completing the business reporting process in ten minutes, the election of directors and voting on shareholder proposals will begin. At this time, shareholders can speak in a predetermined order, with time and frequency limits. Of course, if the board of directors If the chairman allows an extension or extension, shareholders who want to speak will still have the opportunity to speak freely.

Now, Tatum has exercised his power, "I know the incident happened suddenly and no one was prepared, so today everyone can get more inquiries and more inquiry time. Of course, The meeting is time limited, so please keep your language simple.”

This must have given the institutional investor the microphone, and then he asked seriously: "Mr. Tatum, I want to know the real reason for your resignation. Because judging from the financial report, although Walt Disney made a lot of mistakes last year It’s a business mistake, but revenue and profits are growing in both directions. Why would you leave the company when the company’s development momentum is good?”

"This question is easy to answer, because our company had more money-losing business in 1978." Tatum said without hesitation: "That year, we invested in the video game business A lot of money, but the game produced did not sell the ideal sales figures.”

"So, even if the profit last year was more than the year before, I don't feel any pride. Instead, I feel a little ashamed because I have not made up for the losses in the past few years."

"Video games? I personally think your layout in this area is great."

Another shareholder representative raised his hand, asked for the microphone, and said: "Although you failed in 1978, you obtained the video game patent license for the company. This transaction is what you have continued to do in the past two months. The foundation of success, so you can reveal it..."

"Is the arcade machine "Godzilla" selling well?"

Such a question made Tatum chuckle, shake his head and said: "This is actually the credit of Ron Miller. Without his fight, we at Disney would not have been able to intervene in this deal."

"As for sales..."

"In the past fourteen days, we've sold a total of 4,200 arcade machines."

“The entire West Coast is filled with Godzilla.”

"This transaction has brought us operating income of 8.4 million and agency fees of more than 1 million. According to our expectations, in the next month, our income from video games will rise rapidly. to 30 million, agency fees reached 3.6 million, contributing about 2% growth to the full-year revenue and a small increase of 1.5% to net profit."

The prepared numbers made Roy Disney close his eyes.

But the shareholders present nodded repeatedly.

Someone even raised their hands and said, "Mr. Tatum, can you tell us about your cooperation with Sega? What I'm asking is, when will they move Disney games to Neon?"

This question made Tatum glance at Ron Miller beside him.

Ron Miller also laughed at the right time and turned on the microphone in front of him, "If nothing happens, they will release our arcade machine to Neon in the middle of this year."

"Since Sega has a fixed arcade in Neon, the first batch of arcade machines will not be less than 3,000 units, and the rest will be added based on market demand."

"According to our calculations, the first phase alone will bring us at least five million US dollars in revenue, adding another growth point to this year's revenue."

Although compared with other companies' incomes of hundreds of millions, this kind of multi-million business seems a bit petty, but Ron Miller's words still satisfied everyone present.

After all, in this era, companies with annual revenue of more than 400 million can already be firmly listed on the Fortune 500. Not everyone can make money in units of 100 million. More often, then, They all make small profits but quick turnover, and firmly grasp every possible profit-making project worth millions.

The more satisfied the shareholders were, the prouder the smile on Ron Miller's face became. When he cleaned up the venue, he found that the vast majority of participating shareholders gave him a look of approval...

The next second, he turned his eyes and looked at Roy Disney.

Following his gaze, Roy Disney also forced out a smile, as if to congratulate him.

…………

"So, Ron Miller wins?"

Ethan leaned on the sofa with his head hanging down, listlessly asking about the latest situation.

"Judging from the current situation, yes..." Steve Ballmer looked at the document sent by Roy Disney and said: "Although Disney's shareholders accepted Tatum's resignation, But he did not leave Disney and remained on the board of directors as honorary chairman of the executive committee."

"The new chairman is Caden Walker, a Ron Miller backer who also serves as CEO of The Walt Disney Company."

"As for Ron Miller...he became Kaden Walker's deputy, nominally helping Kaden Walker manage the entire Disney Group, but everyone knows that he is the person in charge."

"So, looking at Disney's current structure, they're... winning big."

This fact made Ethan nod slightly.

Then he asked casually, "What about Roy Disney?"

"Roy Disney's position has changed slightly. While retaining his position as head of the animation department, he has become the chief director of the Walt Disney Group's Film Association in the United States. He also serves as the chief executive of Walt Disney Parks. Creative Director."

At this point, Ballmer couldn't help himself, shrugged and said: "Actually, Ron Miller just officially handed over the position we obtained for Roy Disney to him."

"Because Roy already controlled these places before this."

"When this fact emerged, it became clear to everyone that he..."

"Lost."

The deep voice made Ethan sigh. Although he had known for a long time that he and Roy Disney had no chance of winning in this confrontation, the sudden change from the certainty of victory to the sad ending was still unacceptable to him.

But there was nothing they could do. With financial capital secretly stirring up trouble and Ron Miller's dissatisfied counterattack, they really didn't have a good way to deal with it.

And this may be life, no one knows which will come first, the accident or tomorrow.

"What was the reaction from Roy Disney?" Ethan asked.

"He wanted to take a rest first." Ballmer replied: "He said he was a little tired."

Ethan understood why Roy Disney said that.

When the enemy is gaining momentum, low-key development is inevitable.

"Okay." Ethan nodded and said, "Let's see if Disney has any other breakthrough points today."

"If not, then we still have a chance. If there is..."

"Then things will be troublesome."

If Disney can still produce some good things this year, then according to the urine of Wall Street capitalists, they will definitely find ways to continue to make this business bigger. With Disney’s stock price rising year after year, they want to continue to help Roy Disney control It is a very troublesome thing.

But if there are no other good things for Disney this year...

Then they still have a chance.

Of course, these are just some good ideas, because even Ethan himself does not believe that Ron Miller will not strike while the iron is hot to maintain his power.

And the fact is...

After discovering that IPs like "Godzilla" could sell well, Universal Pictures, which holds a bunch of monster copyrights, immediately announced that they were already setting up their own video game production department and were preparing to develop the IP of "King Kong" , the game will be available to the public at the end of this year.

Not only that, their CEO Sidney Sheinberg also emphasized-

"When neon monsters can bloom on our land in North America, our own original monster King Kong must be born and let the world witness its power!"

"We believe that the monster theme is a theme that is deeply loved by the public!"

“And what the people like, that’s the direction of our production!”

When this announcement was made, Universal's stock price also rose slightly.

Although this matter had nothing to do with Disney, Universal didn't want to buy the video game license from Philips at a high price. So, when Ron Miller once again jumped out on behalf of Disney, he wanted to represent Universal. After the game...

Ethan suddenly discovered why Ron Miller could beat Roy Disney.

Because he doesn’t lift it!

If not, why would he keep pursuing power, the best CY in the world?

Okay, just kidding.

Now he is taking pleasure in suffering.

While he was showing his helplessness, Steve Ross also picked up the receiver at Warner headquarters.

He dialed the number of Chairman Komodo's office.

After the call was connected, he said: "Let's do it."

"Are you sure?" Jack Trammell asked lightly.

"Of course." Steve Ross nodded vigorously and said, "Although the process is different from what we expected, the result remains the same, right?"

"Since all the necessary conditions for action have appeared, then..."

"Why should we hesitate?"