Rebirth of America, this is my time

Although Ethan had never studied how big the games of this era were, he knew that those things would definitely not be as exaggerated as 128KB.

There are two reasons:

First, when they were making arcade machines before, they didn’t spend much on storage equipment.

Second, Steve Wozniak only invented the external disk drive this summer and introduced it to the market as a new Apple product.

When the external drive designed by Wozniak also read a floppy disk with a single side of 140KB and a double side of 280KB, the Contra designed by Evelyn was actually the same size as the single side of the disk?

Doesn’t this clearly tell the world that if you want to play my game, in addition to buying a home console, you also have to buy an Apple floppy drive?

And which child or family can accept this kind of thing?

At the beginning, when pricing home consoles, Ethan had already discovered that two hundred dollars was a watershed in this era. People might be able to bite the bullet and buy items under two hundred dollars, but items over two hundred dollars would definitely make people think. Half a day, and now, when a floppy disk drive from Apple costs four hundred and ninety-five dollars, the price of five hundred plus two hundred can prohibit countless people.

Seven hundred dollars to play a game?

This kind of thing may be very common in the future, but now...

nonexistent!

Oh oh oh, my dear sister, today is not April Fools' Day...

Ethan's mouth trembled, his eyes stared straight at Evelin, his pupils filled with panic.

You're kidding me, right? He forced the corner of his mouth and showed a smile that was even uglier than crying. It must be less than 128KB, right? Are you trying to scare me because I'm too excited?

Such a question made Evelin tighten her lips, her apples bulged slightly, and she tried her best to show a smile full of peace. She looked at Ethan unabashedly, even without saying a word, but...

Her expression said it all.

Oh——No——

Ethan held his head and yelled helplessly: Why so——

Why is this happening? Why is this game so big?

If Ethan felt that he had been enveloped in victory a second ago and that all his competitors would surrender under his impact, then now, he felt that he had fallen into hell.

Because a 128KB game cannot be sold on a home console!

This is not a question of whether there are rich people in the world!

But this price has exceeded the consumption ability of the general public!

Today, buying a second-hand Ford only costs so much!

When a game has as much play value as a Ford...

Then people will definitely vote with their feet!

When he thought of this, Ethan, who had been playing games for six hours in a row, felt that his vision went dark. He had just wanted to get up and leave, but he instinctively fell on the sofa.

“Oh Ethan—are you okay—” Evelin was startled and raised her hands to support Ethan.

Ethan shook his hand, indicating that it was okay.

Then he shook his head violently, as if he wanted to get rid of the darkness, but more like he wanted to gain clarity.

He raised his head and frowned for a while. After opening his eyes again, he took a deep breath and asked, Is this the worst news I need to face? Or...are there any other problems with our previous plan?

At this moment, Ethan remembered a more important thing.

The cost of this host...

It shouldn't exceed the standard, right?

When deciding to develop a host, Ethan and Evelin reached a unanimous consensus. They both felt that $199.99 was the upper limit of the machine's selling price. Therefore, after excluding various expenses such as sales, marketing, transportation, and manufacturing, , the space they can operate should be only $150.

In this case, even if they can not make the first wave of money when the new product is released for the sake of the company's reputation and to occupy the market, the hardware cost of the entire machine must be controlled at around US$129.

No way, who wants money to make and copy games?

Evenly divided, one game is seven dollars, and three games are twenty-one dollars. This money cannot be saved.

And when they were stingy to this extent when calculating the cost of the host, Evelin suddenly regarded Apple's external floppy drive as the running core of the home host?

Oh - if that's the case, then Ethan can just declare that the console project has died violently!

Because after connecting Apple's external floppy drive, what they made is no different from the second generation Apple! In other words, what they are making is a crude version of the Apple II! If that's the case, why do they still sell a DER home console? Isn’t it good to just sell games that rely on the Apple II?

And when the girl heard Ethan's anxious inquiry, she immediately shook her head.

He stood up directly, walked to the storage cabinet, opened the bottom drawer, took out a wooden box the size of a shoe box and returned to Ethan, I told you, what you just played with was a test version of the machine.

Now this is the consumer version that we can sell.

These words made Ethan quickly take over the box, and then he saw that the appearance was roughly similar to the test version machine. This box did not have a built-in drive interface, but it also had a tape-sized embedded box, and on it , with a black plastic box inserted into it.

Although Evelin did not make any introduction to this, Ethan understood that this was the cassette technology he decided to use when he and his sister first discussed the production of home consoles.

People who have played Nintendo game consoles must be familiar with the cartridge. However, this thing actually has no technology at all. It just replaces the arcade game saving method with the console.

In arcades, games are saved in read-only memories, and they are soldered on the same circuit board as the CPU, but in consoles, they are separated, and the CPU is embedded into the console, and the inlay The circuit board with the read-only memory was turned into a cassette.

It's that simple.

It is precisely because it is simple that it is cheap, and when this mature technology appeared, Ethan knew clearly that Evelin still built the machine according to the original plan.

But even so, he was frightened and immediately got up and connected the machine in his hand to the TV. As the screen turned back on, a single game Snake also appeared in the game menu.

This fact made Ethan relieved, but the next second, he asked again: Are there any other games?

uh-huh.

Evelin pointed to the TV cabinet, where there were three cassettes.

Such a situation made Ethan reach out and take it, and just when he was about to replace the machine with a new game, his movements suddenly stopped. Evelin, who witnessed all this, laughed and said: It can be hot-plugged.

Don't worry, it won't be broken.

At the same time, the girl also explained, I have considered this issue during the design. If the cassette cannot be hot-swapped, then there is no possibility of selling this product.

Because there are too many ordinary people who don't follow the operating procedures.

Of course, when promoting it externally, we have to say that this will damage the machine.

Since his sister said everything was fine, Ethan became bolder in his actions. Under his operation, two games previously launched by Destiny Games, Pac-Man and Star Wars, also appeared one after another.

Not in the mood to play, Ethan continued to read.

The third box contains Minesweeper, which will be released together with the machine.

If he had seen this scene an hour ago, Ethan would have been happy that the production of Minesweeper was completed, but now... Ethan sat down on the ground and let out a sigh of relief.

Because the emergence of these games means that their home console project has not yet gone bankrupt.

After leaving Apple's external floppy drive, their home console can still play games.

Staring at the slightly larger consumer version of the console, Ethan knew that he still had a chance. He stretched out his hand and touched it. Expectation appeared on his face again, How much does this machine cost?

You want to know? Evelin did not answer directly, but kept it secret.

Of course! Ethan nodded vigorously, and he moved his eyes to his sister again.

Uneasiness flashed in his longing pupils.

This expression made Evelin laugh out loud. She stopped teasing Ethan and said directly: “The cost of this machine cannot be estimated for the time being, because it contains 6502 produced by Chuck Paddo Chip Company. Before, our purchase cost was ten dollars.”

This price will definitely fluctuate when producing home consoles in the future, because when we control the equity of Western Design Company and let Michael Blanco Manufacturing Company produce the chip, the cost of this chip will be almost under five dollars. ”

After excluding this guy whose cost cannot be calculated, other things such as audio chips, display chips, cassette slots, power switches, reset switches, handles, circuit motherboards, video cables connected to the TV, etc. all added up. It’s only a few dozen dollars. Based on those companies’ large-scale purchase quotations, the cost of this machine should be around ninety-eight dollars…”

When Evelin announced the word ninety-eight dollars, Ethan, who was sitting on the ground, was stunned.

After three to five seconds, he woke up and asked in a trembling voice: Are you sure?

Uh-huh. Evelin said with her nose and nodded.

Following her movements, Ethan, who received this information, immediately leaned back and gasped.

ah--

The next second, he shouted again.

To be honest, he was really scared just now!

He was really afraid that Evelin would make him a shrunken version of Apple II!

Because once their home console needs to be connected to an external disk to use it, all his waiting for more than a year will be in vain! This will not only cause a serious blow to his business layout, but may also wipe out their few advantages!

Thinking of this, Ethan turned to look at his sister again and complained loudly: Oh Evelin - you know? You really scared me to death just now!

Evelin, who understood the meaning of Ethan's words, refused to admit it.

The girl directly denied: You are obviously scaring yourself! I told you from the beginning that the host with the disk is a beta version, and you are the one here to spread your thoughts!

But you didn't tell me clearly!

I make sure I made it clear!

No way! You clearly misled me! If you didn't tell me that this scrolling shooting game is as big as 128KB, how could I have thought that you built an Apple external disk into the console?

Haha - look, you yourself said that the root of the problem is 'what you think'!

I said it was misleading!

think!

Misleading!

Amidst the bursts of roaring, Evelin, who was too lazy to continue the argument, raised her fist.

After a brief moment, Ethan fell silent.

Knowing that he was in the wrong, he coughed twice with evasive eyes. After he once again caught the host that cost only ninety-eight US dollars, he changed the subject.

“Oh Evelin, how did the cost of this machine get so low?”

Didn't you tell me before that the manufacturing cost of our machine is more than one hundred and twenty dollars? Now, after deducting 6502, its cost is only ninety-eight dollars?

This is incredible!

Although Ethan has long been aware of it and has already made the decision not to make money from the home console project, if this machine can really make money... then he will still happily accept it.

After all, the purpose of starting a company is to make money!

After removing the central processor, the cost price of ninety-eight dollars means that they can earn at least ten dollars in profit on a machine. Although this number cannot be compared with that of arcade machines, even the profit ratio will be Arcade machines crush it, but in terms of volume, this number is terrifying.

If their home console sells 10 million units, then they can earn 100 million!

If you sell 100 million units, you can earn one billion!

If this number is placed on the Internet in the future, it may not be enough. After all, many people think that a guy with an annual income of one million can only live in the magic city, and a guy with an annual income of tens of millions can only be considered well-off in the magic city. , only guys with an annual income of hundreds of millions are worthy of looking for a full-time wife.

But now, it is the late 1970s and early 1980s of the twentieth century!

A billion in cash in this day and age?

Even if you use a hundred US dollars to calculate it, you can still kill a lot of giants!

And Ethan's resignation also made Evelin curl up her lips, You have to thank Steve for this.

What? Ethan didn't understand.

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Evelin explained directly: If it weren't for the fact that their machines sold so well, many companies would want to become Apple's suppliers and thus increase their quotations. We won’t find those suppliers who are willing to take the initiative to lower prices even if they make concessions.”

Ethan felt that the manufacturing cost of his own console fluctuated a bit too much, but Evelin thought it was normal, because when she was making the console, many of the materials were not purchased in the name of Destiny Games, but directly asked Kubi next door. Tino's apple 'asked for it'.

When the two Steves were rampaging through the market with Apple IIs and external disks, and when Lawrence Rockefeller kept his word and helped Apple get education procurement, semiconductor suppliers wanted to get a piece of the huge market. They took the initiative to come to the door, hoping to get an order from Apple.

This kind of behavior may have been unbelievable in the past. After all, the production of computers is inseparable from various chip manufacturers. In this industry, they are the real predators in the upstream position. But when Apple makes a lot of money in the computer market After making special profits, those suppliers who made money with Apple naturally became a thorn in the side of their peers. Other suppliers also want to make money, and Apple allows them to make money. When this fact appears, bidding will happen.

Everyone wants Apple to use its own products.

More people expect Apple to develop new machines based on its own products.

Therefore, when Evelin discovered that the raw materials purchased by Destiny Game were actually more expensive than Apple, she directly called Steve Jobs to help her buy the goods, and classmate Xiao Qiao was also very smart. Evelin He bought whatever he wanted, and at the same time kept it secret, letting the material suppliers deliver the goods to Apple first, and then they would haul the goods to Palo Alto themselves.

During this period, their hosting costs dropped by nearly 20%.

As for why Destiny Games can’t get this price?

That's because electronic arcades don't have as much demand for materials as personal computers.

If we announce a large-volume purchase, our purchase price should be lower than Apple's. If we announce a joint purchase with Apple, the price we get will definitely be the lowest in the industry.

Evelin said: But I can't disclose the research and development plan of the home console to the outside world, right? So I can only ask Steve to buy me a batch first, and the rest... will be discussed during production.

This fact made Ethan nod.

In industrial production, it is a normal business method to reduce product costs through massive purchases. Ethan didn't think for a moment that it was just because he was not in this industry in his previous life.

Now, after being mentioned by Evelin, he was no longer surprised.

So, this is why our consoles can connect to Apple products?

Ethan felt that he seemed to understand why their console could be plugged in Apple stuff.

Evelin didn’t hide it either, saying: “Of course.”

When the materials used by our two companies are basically similar, when compared to the Apple II, that is my idea of ​​​​designing the host. When Woz is designing the computer, he is doing addition, and I am doing subtraction.

If this were not the case, how could I possibly finish both the console and the game in one year?

I'm not God!

Besides, it's very convenient to do this, right?

We originally designed the game on the Apple 2. In this case, making a simple version of the Apple 2 home machine can avoid a lot of problems when the game is running.

Ethan was convinced.

He really didn't expect that his sister had done such a thing in the past year.

However, when he thought about it again, he felt it was normal.

After all, my sister only has one person, and it would be really difficult for her to make both consoles and games.

Do they know? Ethan asked.

I didn't tell them, but they should be able to guess.

Evelyn said: When I was making the console, I asked Woz how to cut out some features that were useful for Apple but useless for the console, and he gave me a plan directly.

“When I asked them to help me buy materials, Steve Jobs also said that he must tell him when the new game is ready, because he felt that after we have been holding back on a project for so long, the new thing will be shocking. world, and he wanted to be the first witness.”

That's okay. Ethan nodded.

Since the two parties involved already knew these things, they copied it. Besides, Ethan didn't think these two people would object. After all, when they sold the iPhone 2 last year, it was a free copy of Snake. ”, Ethan has already handed over the game copyright to them for marketing, so it should be reasonable for his products to learn from the design of Apple II, right?

Even if there is a problem, it will be over if the two parties issue an authorization for patent interoperability.

There is no way, who lets him, who makes games, control the production tools for making games?

This is the advantage of industry connection!

Hehe~

After solving the host problem, Ethan turned his attention back to the five-and-a-quarter disk containing Contra.

This game really needs 128KB? He was still a little skeptical.

In other words, he didn't want to believe it.

Evelin also knew that Ethan had difficulty accepting this fact, so she stood up, went behind the desk in the study, and took out a stack of thumb-length documents from the drawer.

This behavior made Ethan come over to take a look, and when he cast his eyes on the paper, the production ideas for Contra appeared in front of him.

Caressing the manuscript of ideas for making a game on the other side, Evelin asked: Ethan, do you still remember how big the index range of 6502 is? Is it the upper limit of the eight-bit central processor?

Two hundred and fifty-six, Ethan remembered, You told me before.

While doing Pac-Man.

Yes, two hundred and fifty-six. Evelin nodded and said: And all the image materials of the entire game can only be bound to this one, or in other words, I still use the same ones as before. It’s an index of 0-255. Of course, I didn’t use so many materials when I actually made it.”

But this number is easy to calculate, so I will use this as an example.

Since the size of these pixels is 8×8, each pixel can be blended with four colors, so the code to index it is basically 2-bit writing. In this case, one pixel The size of the slice is actually 8×8×2bit, 16byte.”

When we have 256 materials, our entire material library is 256×16byte, which is equal to 4096byte, which is 4KB in size.

And when a material library costs 4KB...

A game is 128KB. Isn't that too much?

After all, our resolution is 256×240.

Under Evelin's explanation, Ethan finally understood why this game is so big.

The resolution of their machine is 256×240. When the game covers the entire screen, the required pixels are (256÷8)×(240÷8), which is 32×30,960 pixels.

Since these things are indexed from the material library, each is 1 byte, so one screen has 32 × 30 × 1 byte, which is 960 bytes.

Therefore, the longer the map length, the greater the total amount of indexes required. For example, Evelin made about fifteen full screens in the first level, and the total size was 15×960bytes, about 14KB, and the entire The game has seven levels, with an average of ten full-screen levels, and the map alone is 67KB.

Of course, if you do this, the game Evelin can even be more than 200 KB. In order to compress the map size, she has even optimized it and marked all objects with abstract paintings, such as Attackers' bunkers, doors, alien eggs, and bosses are all marked independently, and then only the appearance positions of these special objects are saved in the level data. The size of an object is 2 bytes.

In addition to retaining a large amount of background, enemies, and other character information, such as the random positions of ammunition, she compressed the seven-level map to about 45KB.

In this case, how is 128KB used?

It's very simple, with various sound effects and an extremely exaggerated plot.

These things take up close to 30KB of storage.

Hearing such a fact made Ethan feel bald.

And when he was flipping through the production book and listening to his sister's words, suddenly, like a blind monk, he suddenly discovered a bright spot, Evelin, wait a minute. He interrupted his sister's words. .

You're saying...the reason why this game is so big is because I wrote a lot?

He was in disbelief.

Yes.

Evelin nodded seriously.

...

Such a fact left Ethan speechless.

Good guy!

You can rely on me to co-write anything!

But the next second, he shook his head again, feeling something was wrong.

Is the game so big because there are so many plots?

That's easy!

Wouldn't it be over if we just cut these things down?

Grass!

Is it that simple?

wrong!

My special code is really a genius!

Note: ① The cost suppression written in the article adopts Nintendo’s real-life method. I have made a note before about Hiroshi Yamauchi’s strong use of Ricoh’s cheap chips when there are no cheap chips, so I won’t go into details here. ②Memory chips were very expensive back then. According to the incomplete information I found, a 32KB ROM could sell for more than 20 US dollars in the early 1980s. Of course, this was Intel’s price. Others such as Toshiba, General Motors and Benzi Electric will be cheaper, but they still cost more than ten dollars. Shigeru Miyamoto was really forced out. The 128KB Contra written in the article could have been forced onto the market if it had been made into a cassette in 1978, because Intel had already launched a 64KB ROM that year, and the product code was 2364, but when it was first launched, they sold it for $75 a piece. The gadget is only affordable for arcade machines, and I personally cannot afford a game cartridge that costs US$150 a piece. It is said that this is also the reason why Hiroshi Yamauchi is engaged in disk peripherals and cooperates with Philips. Sony can really make a lot of money by selling optical discs.

[Correction]: There was a slight problem with the notes about Pac-Man in the previous chapter. I said that 6502 had a design flaw, and then players who cleared Pac-Man took advantage of this design flaw. I wrote this message incorrectly. . 6502 does have design flaws, but neither he nor Namco said whether Billy Mitchell, who got the highest score through Pac-Man, took advantage of him. This is a question raised by outside players and the media. They say that Mitchell used a bug called Phantom Reading to clear the game, blocking the CPU with meaningless instructions.