henk rogers‘ The quest to license Tetris could easily be perceived as an act of greed on the part of a man who wanted to make it in the gaming industry. But we do not believe that it was greed that made you risk his life and led him to the Soviet Union. We don’t deny that Rogers was an extremely ambitious man, but we don’t think he was just running after big wins. When Rogers first saw the game in 1988 at the Las Vegas electronics show, he knew he had made a great discovery. Rogers was there to sell his own game, and when he saw Tetris, he knew it would take the entire gaming industry by storm. Rogers knew that the vendor selling the game had no idea of the hype he was going to create in the future. Rogers could be called naive and foolish for going all the way to the Soviet Union despite people warning him not to, but one thing that cannot be denied is that he was extremely determined and willing to risk his entire life to get the rights. to publish the game.
In a heartbreaking moment in the film, we see Henk lose his temper and slam his phone on the table when his wife, Akemi Rogers, surprises him with their daughter. Akemi told Henk that she had ruined everything they had. Henk went on to tell her that she was doing it to secure his family’s future, but we don’t think she was driven solely by that motive as well. Obviously, he wanted to take care of his family, but he also knew that he had a chance to make history. Henk knew that he had discovered a miracle that appealed to all age groups. He knew it was a rare phenomenon, and he couldn’t imagine it falling into someone else’s hands.
Henk was the type of man who didn’t want to shy away from his responsibilities to his family, but that didn’t stop him from pursuing his dream, taking risks, and living life on his own terms. He would never have missed his daughter Maya’s performance if it hadn’t been a life and death situation for him. Henk was like that player who longed for that last big win before folding his cards and leaving the table. But unlike the players, Henk wasn’t lying, and he didn’t stray from the truth or face the consequences. Whether asking Nintendo for money when Mirrorsoft told him the arcade rights belonged to them or telling Belikov he wasn’t a crook and was just trying to make a fair deal, Henk never tried to double-cross anyone by keeping them in the dark. like his counterparts.
Why did Belikov give the rights to Tetris to Rogers?
Henk arrived in the Soviet Union and realized that before he could ask for the rights to the game, he would have to prove that he was not a thief. Nikolai Belikov, head of Electronorgtechnica, also known as Elorg, had no idea of these deals that had been made between Mirrorsoft, Bulletproof Software, Atari, Sega, and Nintendo, viewing them all as con men who had come to his nation to exploit and corrupt it. Belikov was under a lot of pressure at the time, as the KGB and high-level politicians were recording and listening to the entire negotiation. Still, Belikov wanted to do the right thing because he was a man of principle.
Throughout his negotiations with Rogers, we gained an idea of the kind of man he was. Rogers was being treated with complete indifference and was further beaten, threatened and told to leave the country, but he was still adamant to stay and negotiate a fair deal. Belikov realized that Rogers had not stolen the rights to the game when they reviewed the contract that Robert Stein had signed with Elorg and Maxwell’s company, Mirrorsoft. Belikov realized that it was all a huge misunderstanding, and Robert Stein believed that he had the rights to the video game console and personal computer because the word “computer” was not defined correctly in the contract.
After proving his innocence, Rogers made an offer of $25,000, far less than the other parties were willing to pay. Henk Rogers could have made false claims just like Roberto Maxwell he did, and could have cheated the negotiations, but instead, he chose to be honest and told Belikov that he had no money to give him up front. Henk was shown not to be a greedy man when he offered to give Elorg a share of the royalty. Until that point, neither Mirrorsoft nor Robert Stein had talked about granting royalties, and that’s when Belikov realized that Rogers wanted to sign a fair deal, and there was no ulterior motive on his part.
At the same time, Belikov watched the kind of games that others played. Kevin might have been doing what he thought was fair, but his father was using him as a pawn and trying to get the rights through bribery. Kevin and Stein still enjoyed some state immunity, but Rogers was seen as enemy number one, especially by Trifonov. Henk Rogers complained that his family in Japan was being threatened by KGB officials, and the day before he made a $25,000 offer, he was attacked in the streets. Belikov could have pretended to be this ruthless Iron Curtain welder, but the truth is that he saw what Rogers was going through and realized he wasn’t being fair. Belikov’s hands were tied, but when the water overflowed and sharks began tearing apart his country, he decided he had to do something about it.
Belikov and Henk were similar in more ways than one, but mostly, they were both the type of people who were willing to take risks and do the right thing. Belikov was an honest man, and that’s probably why he decided to go against the whole system, risk his position and his life, and give the deal to the one guy who wasn’t trying to exploit his nation. Even after Henk Rogers returned, Belikov made sure to receive the fax, stating that the Maxwells had failed to satisfy the condition mentioned in the letter of intent, so the offer for the worldwide rights to Tetris remained open.
We believe that, in addition to his stamina and stubbornness, Henk’s honesty played a huge role in the whole process, as Belikov knew that it took a lot of strength and courage to accept the truth and follow the right path, no matter how . it may seem long and tedious.
