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IMDbPro

Nolan Bushnell

  • Writer
  • Additional Crew
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Nolan Bushnell
"St. Noire" is the first board game to integrate with Amazon Alexa. At San Diego Comic-Con 2019, Nolan Bushnell, the man who brought us "Pong" and Chuck E. Cheese, outlines his intentions for "St. Noire," which he created with Zai Ortiz, to bring families back together to solve a murder mystery.
Play interview2:48
"Pong" Creator Wants to Bring Families Back Together With "St. Noire"
3 Videos
6 Photos
Bushnell received a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Utah and later went to Stanford U as a graduate student. While at Utah, Bushnell was introduced to the world of computers. Back then, computers were big, bulky mainframes, and the only people who had access to them were computer students. One of his favorite games was a game called "Space War", a game where two simplistic spaceships fly around the screen while they have to conquer the gravity of the sun and the inertia of their ships.

In 1970, Bushness decided to make such "video games" accessible to the general public, so he formed a game company and worked on his first game. The company was originally called Syzygy, but when Bushnell went to register the name, he found out it was already taken, so he had to find another name. Bushnell was an avid player of the ancient Japanese game "Go", and decided to name the company "Atari", which is also a term in "Go" which is the equivalent of the term "Check" in chess. Bushnell's first game was "Computer Space", which was a part of the Space War game he played in college. Players found the 1971 game too confusing and too frustrating, and the game never became a hit. Bushnell suddenly realized that popular games had to be "easy to learn, but difficult to master". So Bushnell and a partner went to work on a new game: Pong.

After Pong was completed in 1972, Bushnell put a Pong machine in a bar called Andy Capp's for a trial run. Later that night, the owner of the bar called Bushnell told him to come get the machine because it was broke. When Bushnell got there, he opened the coin box and found out that there were so many quarters put in the machine that they shorted out the machine. Bushnell knew he had a hit. However, Magnavox, who released a Pong-type game in 1970 as the Odyssey 1 video game system, sued Atari because Pong was too similar to their ping-pong game on the Odyssey. Atari and Magnavox reached a settlement, with Magnavox receiving part of Atari's profits until 1976.

Bushnell got Sears to sell a home version of Pong in their stores, and it was the hottest item in the 1975 Christmas season. However, Pong soon grew tiresome, and Bushnell realized that he needed to make a machine that could play any type of game.

The Atari 2600 VCS was originally scheduled for a 1976 release, but Atari waited until 1977 because if the 2600 had been released in 1976, Magnavox would earn part of the profits from sales of the system. Also in 1976, Bushnell sold Atari to Warner Communications and remained president of Atari. The 2600 was released in 1977 along with about 10 game cartridges. Back then they thought the 2600 would have a lifespan of about 3 years, but the 2600 actually lived almost 15 years when Atari Corp. (owned by Jack Tramiel, former owner of Commodore Business Machines) discontinued the 2600 (along with its big-brother, the 7800) in 1992.

In 1978, Warner bigwigs made several changes to Atari, including mandatory dress codes and punch clocks. Gone was the old laid-back Atari...in was the corporate-run Atari. Bushnell didn't like the changes, and he didn't like the fact that Warner wanted Atari to enter the home computer market...Bushnell thought the computer research should be applied to the successor to the 2600. Finally in 1979, Bushnell left Atari...it's been rumored that he got himself fired.

After Bushnell left Atari, he started Chuck E. Cheese's Showtime Pizza, a pizza place for the whole family with robots and fun games. It started off good, but it almost quickly went downhill and Bushnell had to fold the company.

Bushnell has done many things since then. He created a new game company called Axlon, which produced software for the aging 2600 system in the late 1980s...one of the best games Axlon made for the 2600 is "Space Quest".

The 1990s, however, were not very kind to Bushnell. He had to declare bankruptcy and his possessions were seized by the bank. However, in 1999, Bushnell got back on his feet and started a daring gaming venture called uwink.com, which combines arcade games and the internet.
BornFebruary 5, 1943
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornFebruary 5, 1943
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 BAFTA Award
      • 1 win total

    Photos5

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    Known for

    Computer Space (1971)
    Computer Space
    6.5
    Video Game
    • Writer
    • 1971
    Secret Quest (1989)
    Secret Quest
    Video Game
    • Writer
    • 1989
    St. Noire (2019)
    St. Noire
    Video Game
    • Director
    • 2019
    Off the Wall (1984)
    Off the Wall
    Video Game
    • Writer
    • 1984

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Writer



    • Secret Quest (1989)
      Secret Quest
      Video Game
      • designer
      • 1989
    • Off the Wall (1984)
      Off the Wall
      Video Game
      • original concept
      • 1984
    • Pong (1972)
      Pong
      7.5
      Video Game
      • conceived by
      • 1972
    • Computer Space (1971)
      Computer Space
      6.5
      Video Game
      • creator
      • 1971

    Additional Crew



    • The Christmas That Almost Wasn't (1983)
      The Christmas That Almost Wasn't
      4.2
      Video
      • presenter (as Nolan K. Bushnell)
      • 1983
    • Breakout (1976)
      Breakout
      7.2
      Video Game
      • game designer
      • 1976
    • Pong (1972)
      Pong
      7.5
      Video Game
      • engineer
      • game designer
      • 1972

    Director



    • St. Noire (2019)
      St. Noire
      Video Game
      • co-director
      • 2019

    Videos3

    "Pong" Creator Wants to Bring Families Back Together With "St. Noire"
    Interview 2:48
    "Pong" Creator Wants to Bring Families Back Together With "St. Noire"
    Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine
    Trailer 2:16
    Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine
    Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine
    Trailer 2:16
    Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine
    Gameplay
    Trailer 2:34
    Gameplay

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Alternative name
      • Nolan K. Bushnell
    • Born
      • February 5, 1943
      • Clearfield, Utah, USA
    • Spouse
      • Nancy Nino-Bushnell? - present (6 children)
    • Publicity listings
      • 1 Portrayal
      • 2 Articles

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      currently owns uwink.com

    FAQ

    Powered by Alexa
    • How old is Nolan Bushnell?
      82 years old
    • When was Nolan Bushnell born?
      February 4, 1943
    • Where was Nolan Bushnell born?
      Clearfield, Utah, USA
    • Is Nolan Bushnell married?
      Yes, to Nancy Nino-Bushnell
    • How many awards has Nolan Bushnell won?
      1 award

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