Under Ethan's demonstration, Sam quickly understood what this so-called "password save" system actually meant.
Whenever the player saved the game, the game would generate a string of numbers.
As long as they entered that mysterious code the next time they played, they would return to their previous game state.
"Shit... this design is absolutely genius."
Now that he understood how it worked, Sam naturally realized exactly what Ethan intended to do.
By simply adding an encoding function to the software, the game could gain a save feature without increasing the hardware cost by even a single cent.
Ethan returned to his computer and sat down, beginning the necessary preparations.
In this era, implementing game saves was extremely difficult.
The first company to truly accomplish it was actually Nintendo, which was currently preparing across the Pacific.
They would release a disk drive peripheral for the Famicom capable of reading floppy disks.
Only after that did saving data on home consoles become commonplace.
And the first game to use that system was The Legend of Zelda.
Thinking of this, the sense of urgency in Ethan's heart grew even stronger.
Against an opponent as overwhelmingly powerful as Nintendo, the capital he currently possessed was nowhere near enough.
Fortunately, Contra wasn't The Legend of Zelda.
It had very little data to save. Only the current stage, remaining lives, and weapon status.
That was precisely why a password save system was possible.
...
July, New Mexico.
"If only I had muscles as amazing as Arnold's..."
"John, you've already watched Conan the Barbarian five times! Five times!"
"Just one more time, Mike! I swear!"
Inside a small apartment, two young men were arguing noisily.
An old television sat before them, currently playing the opening of Conan the Barbarian.
Inside the cramped apartment, that secondhand television was one of the few forms of entertainment they owned.
But there were two of them.
And only one television.
As a result, arguments over who got to use it broke out almost every day.
The veins on Mike's forehead bulged, and his temples throbbed.
He glared viciously at the television, wishing he could yank out the Conan the Barbarian VHS tape and smash it to pieces.
Damn it!
Mike admitted that the movie had indeed been very entertaining the first time he watched it.
But...
Five times!
From this morning until now, John had watched it five full times!
"Listen, John. I know you like Arnold, but I need to watch my TV! Please go stare at one of his posters and keep fantasizing!"
Ignoring John's protests, Mike forcibly stopped the tape, unplugged the VCR, and switched the television back to broadcast channels.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
He turned the dial several times, searching for something that interested him.
Before he had even changed a few channels, a burst of energetic synthesizer music suddenly blasted from the speakers.
Its rapid tempo and powerful rhythm instantly caught his attention, causing him to stop changing channels.
But the moment he recognized the person on the screen, he immediately regretted it.
Standing in the center of the screen was none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger, John's idol.
He held a machine gun in his hands, dressed in special forces combat gear, looking every bit the imposing action hero.
As the music grew increasingly intense, the camera shifted, revealing a horde of grotesque alien monsters.
Without the slightest hint of fear, Arnold embodied the perfect tough guy, raising his machine gun and opening fire.
Then the scene suddenly changed.
The visuals transformed into pixel art, and the perspective switched to a side scrolling 2D view.
It was actual gameplay footage from Contra.
The massive title appeared in the center of the screen, with the flaming letter "C" burning brilliantly.
Afterward came the game's release information and the words.
GAMENOVA ENTERTAINMENT
The short commercial ended almost immediately after that.
Mike's hand, which had been about to change the channel, froze in midair.
He looked toward John.
John looked back at him with the same stunned expression.
The two simply stared at one another.
"A... a video game? Arnold really endorsed a video game?!"
John swallowed hard.
Living in New Mexico, they had personally witnessed Atari bury enormous quantities of unsold game cartridges in the Alamogordo landfill.
With the video game market having shrunk by more than 97%, John simply couldn't understand why the man he admired most would endorse a video game.
As long as Arnold continued making movies, steadily building his career with his talent, he was certain to become the next great action superstar.
John looked down at his own skinny arms.
Once again, Arnold's magnificent physique appeared in his mind.
If only he could have a body like his idol's.
But between his demanding studies and his part time job, he had no opportunity to work out.
The only way he could satisfy his fantasy was by watching Arnold's movies over and over again.
"A video game..."
He murmured, looking at Mike with conflicted eyes.
"Should... should we go take a look?"
He still wanted to believe in Arnold.
Maybe...
Maybe this game was different from all those pieces of plastic garbage that had been buried.
...
There happened to be a fairly lively arcade near where they lived.
After a little more than ten minutes of walking, the two of them arrived.
What they saw nearly made their jaws hit the floor.
People!
People everywhere!
The arcade, which had always been nearly deserted, was somehow packed so tightly today that it was impossible to squeeze through.
As they approached, the deafening noise at the entrance became clear.
"Hey man… Where's the Contra arcade cabinet?! Haven't you gotten it yet?!"
"Several arcades in the neighboring state already have it installed! Come on, man, can you even run an arcade?!"
"We're all waiting to play! If you can't even get the machine, why are you still in business?!"
The arcade owner was drenched in cold sweat, forcing a smile as he desperately tried to calm everyone down.
"Everyone, please calm down! I've already paid the deposit! The supplier said we'll definitely have stock this month!"
How could he not want a Contra cabinet?
With the earning power of that thing, it wouldn't even take a week for him to recover his investment, and after that, he'd be making money hand over fist.
But getting one wasn't that easy.
Turning around, he looked helplessly at the equally long lines inside for Tetris and 1942, then wiped away another bead of sweat.
"Please enjoy these two new games for now! I promise I'll get a Contra cabinet as quickly as possible!"
Just purchasing those two games had already cost him a considerable amount of money.
No matter how much he argued with that damned distributor, the man stubbornly insisted there was no stock available.
Production capacity wasn't enough!
"Fuck! If production capacity isn't enough, then expand it! What the hell are they doing?!"
He spat the curse through gritted teeth before immediately putting his smile back on and continuing to deal with the players, who had already descended into complete frenzy.
The famous poet Emily Dickinson once wrote.
I could have endured the darkness, if I had not seen the sun.
Now these lunatics had seen Contra.