Chapter 4: The Woz
After arriving at the University of Berkeley in California it took some time and effort, but Simon was ultimately able to arrive at the dormitory of Steve Wozniak.
After ringing the bell a few times the young Woz opened the door. He had a sloppy look on his face and didn't expect a young man in a suit and a very muscular bodyguard to stand in front of his door.
"Hello Steve, my name is Simon Smith. I am here to give you an opportunity to change your life, may I come in?"
Simon immediately opened the conversation while reaching out his hand. Woz obviously hesitated a lot, but after thinking for a moment he stretched out his hand and let the two inside. After sitting down in the cramped and messy dormitory room Woz was already very confused.
"Mr. Smith, how did you even know me and what opportunity are you talking about?"
Simon wasn't very surprised about this question and was already prepared.
"I started a new company in New York and needed young talented developers who do not have any fixed idea of technology. They should be able to accept new concepts, so I hired headhunters to look for practical talents in California, because the tech industry and education is much better than in New York. They noticed a young genius who built his own computer at 13 years of age and was the son of a Lockheed Martin engineer. As you just dropped out of school because of monetary reasons, I thought you might be interested in a high paying job and start a career with me in New York. What do you think Steve? By the way, my family owns the Smith Parker law firm in New York, which is very famous. I got a loan of one million dollars to make this company work. If we can reach success I am willing to offer you a part of the shares."
Woz was completely overwhelmed by this random stranger who offered him something he couldn't even dream about. This all seemed too good to be true. He had many questions to ask Simon. When they finally talked about the products of this new company he was getting really interested.
"Arcade machine?" Woz said with some embarrassment: "Mr. Smith, if you ask me to design the motherboard and circuit layout, that's no problem, but I have no idea what kind of games are played in the arcade."
"What kind of games? You don't have to worry, you only need to be responsible for the circuit design and layout, including subsequent production and sales, I will be responsible for everything. The company in New York can be regarded as a research and development center." Simon said lightly.
Although arcade games seem simple, they require higher chips, and at the same time, costs must be controlled. Woz is a very talented person, but the research and development of arcade machines is not just about chip design, but also involves many other factors, so a team is needed.
"I already have the gameplay of the first game, but I can't tell you now." Simon smiled and said, "You have to become a talent in our company first. I will be responsible for the content of the game. You only need to use your professional skills to do the design planning. Design this game console to achieve the best in terms of chips and energy consumption, and reduce the manufacturing cost of the equipment."
"If I don't know the content of the game, I can't roughly calculate how many chips are needed." Woz thought for a while and said.
For an Arcade Machine the biggest cost will be the chip. A chip is tens of dollars, and a good one is hundreds. How to match it so that the game can run smoothly and at the lowest cost is a very complicated matter.
In this era when the electronics industry has just developed and the simplest chips cost tens of dollars, the cost of chips is very expensive. This is why computers are all industrial or commercial products. Each of them has a very high profit and large companies don't really care about the high price. The minimum price of an industrial computer from IBM starts at 100,000 US dollars and normally costs more than 1 million US dollars. Only the national government and top companies can afford it. .
But arcade machines, as civilian products, are actually the same as personal computers that will appear in a few years. They rely on quantity to open the market. This requires reducing costs, that is, the number of chips. The problem is, no matter how good Atari's future games are, they would require at least 120 chips. The ex-factory price of the arcade machine would be four to five thousand US dollars. When it comes to the bar terminal, it will cost 5,000 to 6,000 US dollars. Not many bars can afford an arcade machine with this price. It is impossible to get back the investment for a very long time, which stifles the development of the entire industry.
But the design of Woz for the future Atari of Simon's last life would change that, as he only used 44 chips for the Arcade Machine. The design allows the ex-factory price to be controlled at around US$1,500. In this way, the bar terminal will only cost two to three thousand US dollars, which is less than half the price. In this way, the bar can make back its money a lot faster. In other words, they are willing to purchase. When the purchase volume is sufficient, Atari can also rely on volume to reduce the purchase cost of chips, forming a closed loop of commercial success.
Since then, the arcade industry, like personal computers, would have officially entered a stage of development.
It can be said that the emergence of arcade machines is inevitable, but high-end talents like Woz have the ability to advance the commercialization of arcade machines by one or two years.
If Simon Smith plans to make an arcade machine, he must have such talents.
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