The Fabulous World of Nolan Bushnell
by ted2112, HSM guest contributor
Video games, social media and virtual worlds of today all owe their thanks to Nolan Bushnell.
The video game pioneer not only created video games that you could play in your own home; he also pioneered the idea of social gaming. Bushnell-created games were meant to be shared. Games that up to four people could play together, for instance. This was then further expanded with his Chuck E Cheese’s franchises as a place for people to interact socially while playing video games.
Personal computers and the 300GB home platforms of today were pure science fiction in the early 70’s. Social gaming meant meeting your friends at your local bowling alley and dropping quarters into a pinball machine.
Bushnell, who worked servicing the mechanical machines, dreamed of something more than the tables could deliver — and in 1971 put his electrical engineering degree which he received from University of Utah College of Engineering in 1968 to work. Along with friend Ted Dabney, he created the very first coin-operated video game, Computer Space. The scrolling rocket ship shooter was a technical triumph- the “counter slip” state machine technology was patented and would serve as the core technology for all arcade games until 1975 – but it was a commercial flop. What Computer Space did however was give this fledgling concept of video games the confidence it needed to get to the next level.
The next year, Bushnell and Dabney created Atari (they originally planned to call their company “Syzygy” but it was already in use) and with it, Pong.
The video game industry was born on Christmas 1975, when many lucky kids awoke to find the home version of the game under the tree. It was about the experience, and Bushnell knew that. It was much more than a little dot on the screen; it was you in the game. The hugely successful Atari 2600 brought out the kid in adults, and generational boundaries were smashed as kids found a new way to bond with their parents.
With the success of the 2600 came the rise of other software developers, who put their imagination to work and created the games that got better and better as the industry grew, and pushed the hardware forward. Gamers as kids grew up to be gamers as adults, and their kids in turn became the next generation of gamers who insisted that the bar keep being raised. Multiplayer gaming gave birth to the on-line game and the MMO titles of today. Nolan Bushnell’s vision has been like a wildfire out of control. Video games of today are geared more towards bringing people together, more than the stereotype of the lone isolated gamer.
Nolan Bushnell is still up to his neck in gaming. Considered today to be one of the founding fathers of all gaming, Bushnell has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consumer Electronics Association Hall of Fame. He received a BAFTA Fellowship in 2009, the Nations Restaurant News “Innovator of the Year” award, and was named one of Newsweek’s “50 Men Who Changed America.”
He again sits on the board of directors of Atari, and with his new company, Anti-Aging Games, is designing games to stimulate brain activity in our aging population. On top of that, the company gives 20% of their pre-tax profits to worthy charities to improve lives around the world. These charities include International Medical Corps, RAINN (T: this particular Editor’s favorite charity), Mercy Corps, and the Alzheimer’s Association. That’s right: video games that help people.
In 2008 the social gaming community broke the billion-person mark. A billion people meeting, socializing, playing and raising the bar even further. That same year, it was announced that Leonardo DiCaprio would portray him in an upcoming film. This year, he was featured in the documentary film Something Ventured.
Bushnell sits atop the mountain admiring the snowball he pushed down the hill forty years ago – and it’s still rolling.
July 12th, 2011 by ted2112 | 10 comments
ted2112 is a writer and a Bass player that has been both inspired and takes to heart Kurt Vonnegut words...."we are here on planet Earth to fart around, and don't let anyone tell you different."
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I played Pong! I owned an Atari 2600! OMG -- Nolan Bushnell, my hero!
Good article. I never knew how Pong was invented or by who I just knew that my Dad loved games and he instilled that love in his kids, and because of that I had a Pong and Atari 2600 and so on. I have, like keara, been playing video games all of my life and will continue to do so. It is good to hear from whence all this came.
Thanks for the enlightening article, Ted.
Yay, Mr. Bushnell!
And lets tip a hat to Ralph Baer as well..
“What I had in mind at the time was to develop a small “game box” that would do neat things and cost, perhaps, twenty-five dollars at retail.” (http://ralphbaer.com/)
First console I owned was a Commodore VIC-20, and first handhelds I played were the Nintendo Game & Watch. Things have come a long way; been gaming ever since. Thanks Mr. Bushnell!
I have been a gamer all my life, so this article is of great interest to me. It’s nice to read about the person who pioneered social gaming. My family owned a Pong and an Atari 2600. I would love to play my Atari again, although I am sure the graphics would look funny. Thanks again, for a great article!
I hope everyone also follows the link that Halday provided to the Ralph Baer information. Now all we need is Lord British (Richard Garriott) to round out the history of the beginnings of the best entertainment in the world: the electronic game!
Hmm… Sounds like a great potential for a mini-series of articles about the founders of electronic gaming.
and I nominate ted2112 to do it! Great start, Ted -- keep going.
Thanks for the great article and thanks to Nolan Bushnell for starting this crazy ride!
Could we have a classic working atari in Home? I bet we could. Talk about another cash cow.