Rebirth of America, this is my time

It was a sunny day in California on May 25, 1977, and the temperature was a refreshing 74 degrees Fahrenheit.

But even if the weather is so sleepy, there is still a constant flow of cars on the roads in California. On non-public holidays and non-holiday days, most people still need to run and be busy for their own lives. Only a few freelancers can do it. Enjoy the tranquility that life brings at this time.

And just as people who have finished the night shift are packing their bags and preparing to go home to rest, and those who have just woken up are carrying their handbags and preparing to go to work, the staff in uniforms in major commercial theater chains in Los Angeles are already busy at this moment. Sweat profusely.

They were dragging brand-new electronic arcade machines to the ticket window in accordance with the manager's request.

Turn on the power supply and press the rear switch. The words Star Wars suddenly pop up on the gray-white screen. Simply click on the button on the panel, and a flashing PLAY will appear instantly. Under the title of Star Wars, the music of Dang-dang-dang-dang-dang-dang-dang- sounded.

Such a situation made the cinema manager in charge of supervision smile. The fact that there were no accidents also made the staff transporting the machine breathe a sigh of relief. They announced the end of the work with their hands on their hips, and the curious eyes shaking up and down revealed their presence to the outside world. The confusion in my heart.

After staring at the Star Wars electronic arcade machine for a while, a young man couldn't help it anymore and asked: Manager, why did our cinema suddenly purchase an arcade machine?

If I remember correctly, didn't you tell us before that the last thing that should be placed in a place like our cinema is an electronic arcade machine? Because it will take away business from our main business.

Although Xiaoqiang is only 20 years old this year, he is already a senior employee of this theater. He has come to the theater to make a living after graduating from high school and has recognized the money-making projects here in the past few years.

Although the place under their feet is called a movie theater, the box office share from movie screenings is only the smallest part of a theater's income. The real source of profit is actually popcorn, soda and other snacks and drinks with a profit margin of more than 80%. sell.

Since those drinks and snacks are used subconsciously by the customers while watching the movie and are not purchased subjectively, if the theater wants to make more money, it must ensure that the number of moviegoers continues to increase. In this case, Electronic arcade machines that divert the number of moviegoers have become the last thing to exist in movie theaters, because people who play games generally don’t have time to eat snacks.

The above explanation was the answer given by the manager when the young man asked the manager why their cinema could not use electronic arcade machines to attract customers like the dance halls and billiard halls.

At that time, he thought there was no problem, but now...

Their cinema actually bought an arcade machine for the first time?

Why is this behavior different from what you said before?

What do you know? This is a promotional arcade machine that comes with the Star Wars movie!

The greatest significance of its existence is to attract players to go into the theater and watch movies!

This is the arcade machine that will help us make a lot of money!

Not an ordinary game console!

The fat manager happily explained the reason for purchasing the arcade machine.

That vowing tone can bring a kind of magic called belief to people.

After hearing his explanation, the young man nodded instinctively, feeling that there was nothing wrong with him.

After all, everyone in the country now knows that the Star Wars electronic arcade launched by Ethan Jones is a linkage game with the Star Wars movies. Chi Guoguo's promotional words barely had the words I am an advertisement written on his face.

But within a few seconds, the young man felt something was wrong.

If the Star Wars video game is an advertisement for the Star Wars movie, then it shouldn't be placed in a movie theater! If the game is very fun, then there will definitely be a crowd of people gathering at the entrance of the cinema. When people are playing the game or watching others playing the game...

What about the movie theater inside?

Has anyone gone to the movies yet?

And if the movie is very good but the game is not that good, then wouldn’t it be a waste to buy this machine?

More importantly, if games and movies don't work...

Then wouldn’t they just shit their pants?

When the young man humbly asked what was on his mind, the fat manager's thick neck seemed to be pinched by a pair of invisible hands. He stared at the machine in front of him carefully for a few times with a stiff face, and then became angry. He turned around and said, Why do you have so many people?

This is the boss's decision!

Go back, go back, go back!

Go to your ticket window! Don't bother me here!

‘…’

The sudden anger made the young man confused.

Wanting to keep his job, he shut up decisively and got into his ticket window.

This situation was witnessed by an aunt inside. After seeing the young man being scolded, she laughed happily, Are you scolded again? Don't be upset, our manager has that bad temper.

He feels that what he is doing is right. As long as others disagree with him, no matter what they say, he will feel that those people are wrong.

Take today's electronic arcade as an example. Just like you, I don't like it very much.

Place a few arcade machines in the cinema to attract customers?

Oh! My! God! This will definitely cause serious damage to our theater!

Have you heard the previous news? Many media have pointed out that there are problems with the movie Star Wars. If our boss is very optimistic about it, he will never put it on Wednesday, because today's adults need it Go to work, your kids need to go to school!”

“When a movie needs to use something like a video game to trick people into entering, then the quality of the movie will definitely be very poor. And when people walk into the theater because of the game, they think the movie is rubbish. They will definitely be disgusted with the game!

By then - they may not even be able to play the game!

The young man was stunned when he heard the aunt's nagging.

He really hasn't thought about this direction.

And just when he was about to open his mouth to discuss, the sound of dong dong dong suddenly came.

The fat manager lay on the glass of the ticket window with an angry look.

I order you not to discuss this kind of thing!

If you keep talking like this, I will fire you!

The fierce tone made the young man shut his mouth, while the aunt shrank her neck in fear. After the fat manager confirmed that nothing happened and turned away, she curled her lips again and said: Sxxt!

It seems that this month's bonus will be gone again.

Although they, the ticket sellers, receive dead wages, if there is a blockbuster movie in the month of work, they will still receive a celebration bonus from the theater as they have to deal with huge customer flow.

The bonus may not be much, but it’s better than nothing, right?

In response to her complaints, the young man who had been scolded twice did not dare to say anything anymore. He sat there with blank eyes, waiting for the arrival of today's job. In his daze, the time came quietly. At nine o'clock in the morning Western time, when the fat manager opened the rolling shutter door of the theater with great expectation...

The sight of two or three kittens made the young man hear a sneer.

“Workday—ang?”

The aunt whispered: There are still 40% of the film schedule? Haha——

This taunt made the young man sigh, and he raised his hand helplessly, wanting to receive the first batch of audiences this morning, but before he could take any action, several young people guarding the door of the theater rushed towards him. The fat manager who opened the door asked: Excuse me, do you have any Star Wars games here?

I heard from media reports that Ethan Jones' new game will be released in North America together with the movie today? The location will be in theaters where you can watch Star Wars everywhere?

Yes, this way.

Although these people were not here to watch a movie, the fat manager still welcomed them.

He stepped aside and waved his hand, and the electronic arcade machine with the Star Wars poster appeared immediately.

The brand-new machines made the eyes of the young people who came here brighten up. They rushed to the game consoles one after another, took out the coins and wanted to taste them, and when the crisp 'ding-dong' sound sounded...

The endless deep universe suddenly appeared on the electronic arcade screen. A circular aircraft appeared at the bottom of the screen, and opposite it was the endless imperial army.

Those who can play games at this point are definitely experienced users in the gaming field. After simply fiddling with the joystick and tapping the button twice, they already understood how the game was played.

Control a spaceship to hit a spaceship?

Oh - this setting is interesting - but not much.

Amidst the clicking sounds, the Millennium Falcon moved left and right at the bottom of the screen;

With the snapping sound, biubiubiu's white laser suddenly appeared and attacked the enemy army brazenly.

Every time an enemy is hit, a boom explosion sound will appear from the electronic arcade's speakers.

After successfully defending the first wave of enemies, a permeating sentence came out of the speaker——

“You don’t know the power of the dark side!”

(You know nothing about the power of the dark side!)

Such lines made the young people who were a little disappointed with the game widen their eyes.

As they watched, a row of aircraft quietly appeared and launched a counterattack towards the Millennium Falcon below. The dense lasers were like a hail of bullets, making it difficult for people to dodge.

boom!

A mistake was made, and the Millennium Falcon controlled by the young man was hit by a laser.

The tragic sight made him scream, Sxxt! My spaceship!

And just when he was about to accept defeat, another voice came out of the speaker——

May the Force be with you.

(May the Force be with you.)

Amidst the low sounds of blessings, the Millennium Falcon, which had disappeared due to the explosion, flashed twice on the screen and reappeared. At the same time, a message of instruction also penetrated into their ears——

“Your eyes can deceive you. Don’t trust them.”

(Your eyes can deceive you. Don’t believe them.)

‘! ! ! ’

When this scene appeared, no matter whether it was the young people tasting the game in front of the machine or the friends watching on the sidelines, they were all stunned!

Because they didn't expect that the Star Wars game would have such a resurrection effect?

Although in the game Pac-Man, North American gamers already know the one-coin three-life setting of the Destiny game, but in the game Pac-Man, the so-called resurrection is simply It was just a single level replay, and now...

Resurrection and dubbing?

Rebirth and teaching?

What the hell is this special code?

Ah, no—

This special code is so cool!

The eyes of several young people were ablaze with the spirit of being a middle school student!

What is this force? A friend who was watching the game loudly asked: The force can resurrect the spacecraft? Or are the cannonballs fired by these spaceships the force?

No one could answer his question.

Because no one knows this story now.

The young man standing in front of the machine was busy pressing the rocker.

After he carefully defeated the second wave of enemies and dodged the second wave of laser salvos, he took advantage of the transition and waved his right hand, Yes!

But unfortunately, he was not happy for a while. When he eliminated the third wave of enemies according to the methods of the first two waves, he was stunned by the sudden detachment of the enemy troops.

Immediately afterwards, he discovered that the spaceship that broke away from the large force smashed the Millennium Falcon he was controlling into pieces with lightning speed like the jingle of a bell!

boom--

The strong explosion sounds again!

And that weird strategy of dying together left several people stunned!

Fxxk you!!! Why do you still have such attacks!!!

Young people who play games are stupid!

Damn! This one is so handsome!

His friends think this setting is awesome!

Because this game is Star Wars!

When the enemies in the interstellar are being slaughtered over and over again by players, it would be boring if they could still maintain good control and not get angry and continue to play little games of playing house with players!

Only an angry counterattack can carry the topic of interstellar!

What do suicide attacks mean when humanoids can travel to the stars?

In the quiet and dark jungle, this kind of iron-blooded setting is very touching!

Oh! Sxxt! Steven Spielberg is right! Ethan Jones is truly the producer who knows the most about video games in the world!

Compared to Star Wars, Atari and Milowa's games are like shit!

No wonder Ethan Jones dared to publicly angrily criticize Atari and Milowa before!

Can this kind of performance be slandered? Are there any fun games in this world?

Sighs came out one after another.

After witnessing the actual effects of Star Wars with their own eyes, the remaining people stopped watching. They took out the coins in their pockets and threw them into the idle arcade machines nearby.

After a while, all kinds of complaints appeared one after another.

The originally quiet theater turned into a noisy vegetable market amid their shouts.

This scene made the fat manager very happy, because every crisp sound meant that their theater had twenty-five cents in revenue, and this money...

There is no need to break up with Hollywood companies!

But the ticket sales lady looked on with cold eyes.

Because in her opinion, these gamers are not the target customers of the theater.

This was also true. In just fifteen minutes, these people had used up all the coins in their pockets.

When they emptied their pockets and stared at the electronic arcade with helpless expressions, the fact that there was nothing left them regretfully leaving the cinema.

Come to the cinema and not watch a movie?

Then what's the difference between this and a game arcade?

Auntie whispered.

And just when she was having fun and eager to see her manager make a mistake in the arrangement of the arcade machines, it didn't take long for the young people who had left before to return.

This time they went straight to the ticket booth and asked, What time is the latest Star Wars show?

Ten o'clock. The young man replied.

Give us five tickets.

Ten dollars total.

The happy transaction made the ticket seller a little dumbfounded.

She didn't expect that these guys could actually spend money!

You know, in just fifteen minutes, the person who played the least among them also put in four coins!

This means their minimum expense is five dollars!

And when the average person spends one dollar to play games, how can they still spend money to watch movies?

oh--

This kind of money-making speed is even faster than selling snacks!

When this thought occurred, the ticket sales lady immediately turned her attention to those people.

Under her gaze, the young people who had bought the tickets came to the game consoles again...

Play with coins!

The crisp impact of a pitter-patter is the special sound of a coin falling.

He looked up to the sky and sighed, it was the horn of anger coming back.

When the theater staff called them to check in, these guys were still reluctant to leave.

Looking at that look, it seemed like he regretted buying the ticket.

But two hours later, when they came out of the theater...

May the Force be with you——

A roar pierced the sky!

“Watch a movie, watch a movie, watch a movie!!!”

These young people shouted to the players at the game consoles in the cinema hall like they were crazy——

Stop playing games! Stop playing games! Go to the movies! Go to the movies!

The Star Wars movies are as good as the games!

No--

This is absolutely the best movie I've ever seen in my life!

As long as you have watched the movie, you will know what those words in the game mean! I really want to spoil it, but - you really have to watch this movie by yourself!

Oh, by the way! The spaceship on the screen is even more handsome than the one in the game!

The ticket sales lady was bewildered by her insane behavior.

But those gamers got what they meant.

Brother, are you serious? A guy who was watching on the sidelines and was not scheduled to play the game asked, Are the spaceships in the movie really as powerful as the games?

It's absolutely true! The young man after watching the movie shouted: Absolutely handsome!

It seemed that they wanted to prove that what they said was true, but it was more like they wanted to relive the shock just now. After yelling, they rushed to the ticket window and continued to buy tickets.

“Give me five more Star Wars!”

The behavior, which was like taking drugs, frightened the ticket sales lady. She didn’t know what these young people were crazy about, but they could get so excited just after watching a movie.

But as time goes by, more and more people enter the cinema...

Those crazy shouts turned the theater into the set of The Shining!

They shouted Millennium Falcon, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker!

They keep telling the gamers outside the theater how awesome the movie is!

Even if their behavior is difficult for ordinary people to understand, that doesn’t matter!

Because this kind of crazy thing doesn't happen in Los Angeles!

When the first batch of Players fans walked out of the theater at 12 o'clock in the morning Eastern Time in the United States, the catharsis of running and shouting spread like wildfire to every corner of America.

Although May 25, 1977, was a Wednesday, there were still many audiences in theaters in various cities that afternoon. Judging from the number of people, it was at least 20% more than usual.

As for where these people come from?

That young face looked like he skipped class.

After waiting for two hours and two hours of screenings, the excitement of running around to tell each other and the rush to play in the arcades directly made cinemas everywhere become the busiest places in the city.

The long queue made passers-by who had just got off work look surprised.

Waiting for them to inquire, be curious, and try...

The phone numbers of police everywhere are being buzzed!

This is Century City Cinema! I need police assistance now! We only have three Star Wars arcade machines here! But many people want to play! Now they are all blocked in our lobby! We don't have enough manpower. We can’t maintain order on site!”

This is the Long Island Cinema! People who come to see Star Wars here have been lined up on the street! It's even two rows! Ah, what did you say? It's three rows now? Oh Sxxt! It's three rows now! Is there anyone there? Stopped and cut in line, some people are pushing and fighting, we can’t control the scene! We need the police! We need the police! Come quickly!”

This is Boston, ah—I was attacked—

When Evelin, who was sitting in the car, witnessed with her own eyes how the theaters in Los Angeles grew from a few people to full houses, her face, which had already taken off her sunglasses, was filled with disbelief.

Oh-Ethan! Is this the movie you said was going to be a big hit???

Yeah! Ethan, who had been wandering around Los Angeles for a day, nodded with a smile, stared at the flow of people outside the window, and said, This is what I call a big explosion.

At the same time, he also smiled and asked: Evelin, do you think this scene is spectacular?

Spectacular??? How could you use this word to describe the current scene???

Looking at the crazy flashing lights of the police car, Evelin said loudly: Can this sight be called spectacular? Ah, I mean, this special code is obviously a miracle, okay!!!

Today is Wednesday!

It's not a holiday!

Although we have hyped up a lot of topics before, isn't this kind of traffic that is even larger than usual on weekends too exaggerated? No! This is so special that it's shocking!

The girl was a little incoherent.

At the same time, she was also very puzzled, Why do these people like Star Wars?

Why are they hyping that movie like crazy?

Why?

The girl couldn't figure it out.

Ethan, who was holding the steering wheel, raised the corners of his mouth.

Why? He repeated his sister's question in confusion.

Then he smiled with emotion: Because it's called Star Wars, it's that simple.

When Ethan witnessed living history! After seeing with my own eyes how Star Wars ignited the North American scene in an instant! He is really too lazy to analyze why this movie was successful!

Because it doesn't make any sense.

When something is successful, its farts will be delicious. When the fact of success is placed in front of the public, people will no longer think about its failure.

Since the public will instinctively give up the ability to think, how can someone with vested interests like him be so unreasonable? Enjoy it all! Isn’t it enough to enjoy the beauty that success brings?

Anyway, this is his victory!

My dear sister, would you like to see the modified movie?

Ethan punched the girl.

Now? Evelin pointed out the window, very surprised.

Yeah~ now~ Although he asked, Ethan had already turned off the engine and got out of the car.

“Let’s feel the enthusiasm of the people together.”

“Then you realize that it’s a great feeling to be sought after.”

Ethan opened the passenger door and extended his left hand to Evelin.

This perverted idea that is difficult for ordinary people to understand made Evelin look at Ethan deeply, then smiled helplessly and shook her head, passing her hand over.

They queued up in Los Angeles at five o'clock in the afternoon, but they didn't buy tickets for ten o'clock until six-thirty.

The waiting process is very painful, but the cheering screams are joyful.

They witnessed groups of audiences rushing out of the theater shouting lines from the movie!

I also witnessed an electronic arcade machine being crazily wrapped by fans on three floors inside and outside!

They saw the madness of cleaning the arcade coin box every three hours!

I also heard the shocking call in the theater after the Millennium Falcon flew across the screen!

When they squeezed out of the cinema again, it was already twelve o'clock at night.

But even so, there were still many people yelling at the entrance of the theater.

They want to play games.

Regarding this kind of containment, the manager on duty held up a loudspeaker and kept explaining his difficulties.

Everyone! Today's business has ended! Please come back tomorrow!

I know you guys want to play games, but we can't put an arcade outside the door just yet.

Please give me some time tomorrow! I promise to solve this problem!

At the same time, I also promise you! We will order more arcade machines from Destiny Games!

Please believe us, there will be more people at the entrance of the theater soon!

Her hoarse words made Evelin burst into laughter.

After seeing the enthusiasm of the North American people, she no longer makes a fuss.

She laughed because of the theater manager's promise.

As the chairman of Destiny Games and the company's big boss, she knows better than anyone that people in the North American Cinema Chain thought that 6,000 electronic arcade machines could already meet the needs of the people.

But now, after the market is overflowing, you want to place an urgent order?

Oh, this is really—

Evelin glanced at Ethan.

Ethan, who understood what she meant, smiled and nodded, It's okay to add an order, but...

He lengthened his voice.

Evelin, who had already learned bad things, smiled and spoke.

At that moment, the two of them said at the same time: We need more money.

Hahaha--

The tacit understanding made the two of them laugh loudly.

And when they boarded the car and headed to the hotel to rest...

In the neon-lit city, their legends are still being sung.

Note: ① In real life, Star Wars did explode upon screening, and its documentary even showed photos from that year. Queuing up to watch the movie in a movie theater on weekdays is simply nonsense. Its total number of moviegoers is second only to Gone with the Wind, with 1.8 billion viewers in North America.