"Mr. Lin, whether you've found any other buyers or not, believe me, Silicon Oasis is absolutely the most reliable distributor in all of California."
Meyer thumped his chest as he boasted to Lin Lixin.
Under the circumstances, it didn't matter whether he was boasting or stating facts. As long as he could keep this mighty figure here, anything was fine.
In Meyer's eyes, a talking money tree was standing right in front of him.
"Oh? Well, that's great. I just contacted another buyer, and the price they offered was honestly a bit too insulting."
Lin Lixin put on a suitably delighted expression and took Meyer's hand, shaking it up and down.
Hearing that he had approached another buyer, Meyer went pale with fright and hurriedly picked up the conversation:
"You should be careful of those people who only have eyes for money, Mr. Lin."
"Haha, not everyone understands games, that's true. I told them that although $3,000 a machine is expensive, with its earning power, there's no need to worry about the return."
As Lin Lixin finished speaking, the expression on Meyer's face slowly froze.
$3,000??
As an arcade machine distributor, Meyer knew the prices of the various machines inside out.
That price was already comparable to a large cockpit cabinet.
He was willing to believe in Tetris's commercial potential, and he wanted to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
But that didn't mean he was willing to be a sucker.
In this day and age, that god-tier company Atari had nearly kicked the video game industry to death. Only people like them, who dealt in arcade machines, were still scraping by.
With the overall market having shrunk so severely, expecting him to place an order at such a dangerously high price was pure wishful thinking.
But he wasn't afraid of not buying it himself. He was afraid another distributor really would throw caution to the wind and accept that outrageous quote.
"Ahem." Meyer cleared his throat, arranging his words. "Mr. Lin, I wonder if I might offer a little suggestion as a friend?"
"Hmm? Go right ahead."
"Mr. Lin, I observed that arcade machine before. At twenty-five cents a play, even if it ran at full capacity all day without a single breakdown, it would take far too long to earn back $3,000."
"You think a price of $3,000 is a little high too, Mr. Meyer?"
Lin Lixin furrowed his brow, showing a trace of displeasure, like an artist whose work had been disparaged.
"No, no, Mr. Lin. What I mean is, have you considered raising the price per game? Say, fifty cents, or even a dollar a game?"
Meyer first affirmed Lin Lixin's pricing, then tried to put forward his own ideas, using the coin price as his opening.
"Also, we could try selling a few machines cheaply first, let those merchants who can't see beyond their noses catch the scent of its value, then raise the price. What do you think?"
"Hmm..." Lin Lixin pondered. "Then what did you have in mind, Mr. Meyer?"
Sensing that Lin Lixin seemed willing to budge, Meyer felt a surge of delight, and his speech quickened further.
"If you ask me, we could release a small initial batch at $2,000 per machine, then raise it to $2,500, or even $3,000."
"$2,000..." Lin Lixin repeated the figure a few times, then sighed. "That would make it difficult for us to cover production costs, unless you could pay in advance."
Meyer licked his dry lips.
Silicon Oasis's growth in California had stagnated for a long time. Everyone had found their own niche by now, and the initial blue-ocean phase was long over.
To fight his way out of this red ocean, he needed an opportunity.
He had to consider whether this might be the only opportunity he would ever have in his life.
Meyer steeled himself and nodded firmly.
"Mr. Lin, even Silicon Oasis would struggle to come up with enough cash to pay in full in advance. But if it's a thirty-percent deposit... I think we could try working together."
"Then... here's to a successful partnership." Lin Lixin finally smiled and clasped Meyer's outstretched hand.
The two quickly settled on the broad details of their partnership. As for the remaining paperwork, a contract could only be drawn up once Lin Lixin had confirmed the situation with the contract manufacturer.
In any case, these partnership negotiations had finally gone smoothly.
"By the way, Mr. Lin, where did that prototype go?"
With one worry off his mind, Meyer felt much better, and only then remembered the arcade machine.
With Lin Lixin's permission, he took a look around the apartment, but didn't see the machine he couldn't stop thinking about.
If Tetris truly became a legend someday, that precious prototype would possess staggering commercial value. Putting it up for auction then would fetch another astronomical sum.
Even if this investment didn't work out, he could keep it as a collectible.
"Oh, that machine? I gave it to my buddy. He just opened an arcade recently. There, the one on the corner."
Lin Lixin stepped outside and pointed at the arcade on the corner. GAMENOVA's sign remained conspicuous in the sunlight.
Meyer raised an eyebrow.
If he remembered correctly, the last time he had come to survey this area, that shop had still been a "ruin" waiting for someone to take over.
"Then... I'll be taking my leave, Mr. Lin."
He said a proper goodbye to Lin Lixin, making a point of getting his landline number before leaving.
Meyer got into his car, but instead of leaving outright, he stopped in front of GAMENOVA.
He simply had to go check on that machine.
At a glance, the shop wasn't large, and plenty of places still showed its former dilapidation.
Apart from the newly ordered sign, it looked as though the place had only been given a simple cleaning.
Lin Lixin hadn't lied to him. This really was a newly opened arcade.
It took some passion and perseverance to throw oneself into the gaming industry at a time like this.
Meyer turned his gaze toward the glass door and looked inside, his eyes going wide.
The shop, scarcely bigger than a convenience store, was already packed wall-to-wall with people.
Those players had formed massive lines in front of the few Tetris machines occupying center stage.
Looking more closely, he saw two Xevious machines beside them, also with long queues in front of them, in stark contrast to the sparse scattering of players at the other machines.
This was very wrong!
Meyer simply pushed the door open and went inside, squeezing through the crowd to reach the Xevious machines.
He certainly hadn't heard anything about this game becoming popular again recently.
Ten minutes later.
Meyer silently shifted into reverse and drove back to the entrance of Lin Lixin's apartment.
At nine that evening, GAMENOVA officially finished its first day of business.
Sam spent nearly an hour emptying out the coin boxes, then carefully mopped the floor once more before returning to the apartment.
"God, today wore me out, but we're going to get rich! If every day is like today, we'll earn back what we invested in the machines this month!"
He stretched, walked into Jesse's room, and plopped down on his bed.
"By the way, how did it go with that arcade distributor you contacted today?"
Lin Lixin took a sip of soda and answered casually as he typed away on the C64. "$2,500 per machine, with a thirty-percent deposit up front. Get ready to contact a contract manufacturer."