anovelconsole Chapter 5: Never play super fun new games!
Chapter 5: Never play super fun new games!
The machine was repaired, but Lin Lixin didn't rush to erase the EPROM that stored the games.
This is Pac-Man, a true masterpiece. Playing Pac-Man on a machine that is practically an antique to Lin Lixin is a truly novel experience.
In later generations, the only way to experience this thing is through hacked devices like the Moonlight Box, which combines thousands of components.
The half-open, half-closed yellow bean darts through the scene, dodging ghosts while collecting as many beans as possible.
This game is so simple, yet it has sold millions of copies in this era.
Even Atari, a company known for its poor performance, managed to sell a staggering 1000 million units of the Atari 2600, which had a total sales volume of only 700 million units.
Lin Lixin played a few rounds casually, then Sam took over to say his final goodbye to it.
Looking at the classic image on the outer shell, Lin Lixin's mind raced with thoughts.
The developer of Pac-Man is none other than the renowned Namco Entertainment.
Even now, before it has merged with another behemoth, Bandai, Namco is not an opponent that Lin Lixin can easily deal with.
Pac-Man, Iron Fist, Tatsujin the Drummer...
With the support of numerous classic game IPs and derivative IPs from anime and manga, it is undoubtedly another dominant force in this era.
Sam reluctantly unplugged the arcade machine and looked at Lin Lixin beside him.
"Are you ready to begin the transplant procedure?"
He quickly forgot the brief sadness of parting. Pac-Man himself could play the Atari 2600 port, and Tetris was the only one that could do that!
These past few days, Lin Lixin has been busy with various development tasks and hasn't let Sam touch his computer at all, let alone let him play Tetris, which he still finds so exciting.
But it doesn't matter. Once Lin Lixin successfully installs Tetris on this arcade machine, he can play as long as he wants.
Damn it, just thinking about it is exhilarating!
Lin Lixin nodded, but as he looked at the machine in front of him, the hardware knowledge he had just acquired surged into his mind.
Suddenly, he had a brilliant idea that could more than double the coin-operated rate of this thing.
"Sam, I need some parts. Could you make a trip to RadioShack?"
RadioShack is a North American chain of electronics retailers, hailed as a "maker's paradise" in this era.
It is said that before Steve Jobs founded Apple, he would spend a lot of time at RadioShack making inventions.
"Parts?" Sam scratched his head, watching Lin Lixin write a lot of things on the note.
……
Lin Lixin and Sam were both extremely busy this week.
Aside from attending classes every day, the two of them devoted almost all their spare time to the arcade machine in the living room.
On Saturday night, Lin Lixin stayed up all night and finished the Tetris transplant before dawn.
The world's first Tetris arcade machine was born.
Sam was sprawled out on the short sofa in the living room, fast asleep, when the claw hammer in his hand slipped slightly and fell to the floor with a clatter, waking him from his dream.
He rubbed his eyes and looked at the arcade machine, the drool still fresh from his mouth.
After a week of extensive modifications, this thing is completely unrecognizable from its original form. No one would guess that this machine was once a second-hand Pac-Man arcade machine.
He heard an 8-bit sound effect coming from the arcade machine; it was the Tetris he knew and had longed for for countless days and nights!
"It's finished? It's finished?!"
Sam, no longer caring about being tired, sprang up from the sofa and went to the arcade machine.
"She's so beautiful... I've never seen such a beautiful and elegant girl."
He was practically lying on the fuselage, completely unrecognizable as human.
"Dude, stop disgusting me." Lin Lixin's lips twitched as he disgustedly pulled Sam off the mech, who was now completely mounted on it. "Help me carry this thing to the door. It's Sunday, maybe we can win over a few players."
"What?!" Sam let out a shrill scream, clutching the Tetris arcade machine tightly, his eyes like those of a dog guarding its food.
This game console is so much fun... If it were moved outside and discovered by other people, Sam doesn't know how many people would fall in love with it!
Sam's heart ached at the thought of his beloved machine being used and played with by someone else.
Why did it turn out like this...?
For the first time, I had a favorite game and saw the dawn of a revival for video games.
The two joys overlapped, and this double joy brought even more joy.
They should have been enjoying a dreamlike period of happiness, but why did it turn out like this...?
"What's wrong with you? Hurry up, I'm so sleepy."
Lin Lixin kicked Sam off the arcade machine and, without saying a word, lifted one side of it.
"Once it's installed, you can still play it. Besides, we don't even know if anyone will be here today."
The Atari crash damaged the North American gaming industry far more severely than it appeared.
So severe that even though Atari released several new products of relatively good quality in an attempt to salvage its reputation, it couldn't reverse the avalanche of negative publicity.
For North American gamers of this era, "Video games are dead" is more than just a slogan.
Getting them to accept video games again will have to be done step by step.
……
Vivian loves going for a run in the morning, even in hot California.
However, there was a slight mishap during my morning run today.
"Huff, huff..."
Vivian was panting heavily, her body covered in sweat, which made her fair skin appear shiny and smooth.
After running through the apartment area, today's morning exercise will be successfully completed.
Her gaze casually swept across both sides of the street; appreciating the beautiful scenery along the way was one of the great pleasures of outdoor sports.
But she saw something strange.
A scene that she found hard to understand yet deeply shocking.
There were two men carrying a huge arcade machine onto the porch.
One of the handsome young Chinese men was punching and kicking another young white man; it was a truly tragic scene.
The white guy who had been beaten didn't fight back. He clung to the arcade machine, crying and screaming, refusing to let go no matter what.
Out of a sense of justice, empathy, and curiosity, Vivian decided to stop her morning run and go over to stop this horrific beating.
"What are you two doing! Stop bullying him!"
Vivian shouted loudly and ran quickly across the street.
But no matter how hard she racked her brains, she couldn't imagine that the young man she had helped stand up for and who had been beaten up would scream in terror the moment he saw her coming:
"Don't come any closer! There aren't any super fun new arcade games here!"