Tetris (film)

thumb|It's a combination of tetra, Greek for "four"... All the game's pieces are variants of four... and tennis. Tetris is a 2023 film based on true events around the race to license and patent the video game Tetris from Russia in the late 1980s during the Cold War. The plot follows Henk Rogers who becomes interested in the game Tetris, created by Alexey Pajitnov, during an electronics show, fighting legal battles over the game's ownership. Directed by Jon S. Baird and written by Noah Pink. Dialogue thumb|upright|His computer, a Stone Age, Soviet piece of crap called an Electronika 60, didn't even have a graphics card. His falling blocks were parentheses pushed together. thumb|upright|Alexey and a couple of buddies from work made the game IBM-compatible. Which meant color graphics, 8-bit music and floppy disks that people copied and shared for free. It spread like wildfire. Henk Rogers: It all began with a guy named Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov, four years ago. By day, he worked as a programmer for the government at the Soviet Computer Science Center. But by night, he invented games for fun. His computer, a Stone Age, Soviet piece of crap called an Electronika 60, didn't even have a graphics card. His falling blocks were parentheses pushed together. Alexey and a couple of buddies from work made the game IBM-compatible. Which meant color graphics, 8-bit music and floppy disks that people copied and shared for free. It spread like wildfire. But this is the Soviet Union, remember? Nothing gets out easily. It would take an entrepreneur to actually go there and monetize it. Nintendo translator: We publish our games in-house. We don't use outside partners. Henk Rogers: You don't do it often, true. [assistant translating in Japanese] But you do make exceptions. Because you know as well as I do, partners are what make us great. That's why Mario has Luigi. [video game beeps, boings] That's why Zelda has Link. [video game chiming] That's why Mike Tyson has whoever he's punching out in Punch-Out!! Henk Rogers: Is now the time for American emotion? Alexey Pajitnov: Good ideas have no borders. Alexey Pajitnov: Mr. Rogers, I don't have right to receive money from my game. Henk Rogers: Well, that's crime. Alexey Pajitnov: No. This is communism. Henk Rogers: I played Tetris for five minutes. I still see falling blocks in my dreams. Henk Rogers: Um, I like Pascal. Assembler is my go-to. But never underestimate... Alexey Pajitnov: ...the power of BASIC. Henk Rogers: Pioneers have to bet the house to win. Henk Rogers: How did you know where to find us? Alexey Pajitnov: It was easy. I thought "What would I never do?" Kevin Maxwell: The Soviet Union is about to implode. Everyone's snatching up what they can, and Gorbachev can't do a thing about it! thumb|Gentlemen, if you want to sell a couple hundred thousand Game Boys to little kids, package them with Mario. But if you want to sell millions of Game Boys to absolutely everyone, young and old, around the world... package them with Tetris. Henk Rogers: Gentlemen, if you want to sell a couple hundred thousand Game Boys to little kids, package them with Mario. But if you want to sell millions of Game Boys to absolutely everyone, young and old, around the world... package them with Tetris. External links Category:2023 American films Category:2023 British films Category:American biographical films Category:Cold War films Category:Films about video games Category:Films set in Japan Category:Films set in London Category:Films set in Moscow Category:Films set in Seattle Category:Films set in Tokyo Category:Films set in the 1980s Category:Films set in Las Vegas Category:Films set in the Soviet Union