Adam Fisher:
Nolan Bushnell, an engineering student at the University of Utah in the mid-1960s, played Spacewar in his school’s computer lab, and it left a lasting impression. After graduating, he moved to Silicon Valley and in just a few short years figured out how to bring computer games to the masses with Pong. It was a massive hit, and Bushnell, still in his twenties, suddenly found himself in charge of what was arguably the most important company ever to rocket out of the Valley.
Bushnell not only single-handedly created an industry around a new American art form — video games—he also wrote what has become the quintessential Silicon Valley script. The story goes like this: Young kid with radical idea hacks together something cool, builds a wild freewheeling company around it, and becomes rich and famous in the process.
When I was a kid, everyone wanted an Atari system.
The Atari 2600, my baby. I played the hell out of Space Invaders, Stampede, and Boxing. Even Pac-man, but that was kind of a mess. I kinda wish I had one now to show my kids, especially the classic 1 button joystick.
Looking forward to reading this. I probably played on some of Bushnell’s earliest stuff.
I won a 2600 on a radio call-in contest, and almost immediately gave it away to a friend. At the time, I’d decided I didn’t want to get sucked in at home by the habit that I’d spent enormous numbers of quarters on at my college arcade.
It was probably the smart thing to do, but I still regret the decision.
what a great time…i wish i could have experienced it