Human nature is a funny thing.
Here in Los Angeles, at the E3 video game conference, the makers of the ubiquitous Tetris celebrated 25 years of letting us conjoin falling bricks in one terribly addictive game, a longevity enjoyed by few in any industry. It has sold more than 125 million copies. Nice.
So what is one of the first questions asked of Alexey Pajitnov, the game’s Russian creator, at an E3 press conference? DUDE! DID YOU GET PAID?
Funny thing is, I interviewed Pajitnov, and after he explained how the rights to the game changed hands several times over the years — hey, he created it while working as an engineer for the Soviet Union — the first question I asked was: Dude, did you get paid?
His answer was cryptic, but you can see the smile between the lines:
“In 1996 the rights came back to me, and I am pretty fine with it.”
Check out this video, where he answers a similar question in front of the E3 crowd.
