Bushnell is father of the video game industry and founder of Atari. Nolan K. Bushnell was born in February 5, 1943 in Clearfield, Utah Bushnell received a BSEE from the University of Utah in 1968. Bushnell would sneak into the computer labs between 1 and 4 in the morning to play Space War and Fox and Geese on the university's $7 million mainframes. He moved to Santa Clara, CA in 1968. He built his first computer game in a spare bedroom, a knockoff of Space War called Computer Space. At age 27 he founded Atari with $250 of his own money and another $250 from business partner Ted Dabney. The original name of the company was Syzygy. Bushnell conceived Pong, what would become the world's first commercial video game, and in 1972 Atari's first full-time employee, Al Alcorn, built it. Atari had revenues of $11M in 1973. Two years later, revenues were $36M. Using parts from Atari, having the main PCB printed up by Atari employees Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, created their own computer and offered it to Atari. He sold Atari to Warner Communications in 1976 for $28M. He stayed on as a consultant for another two years. First Atari took on the coin-operated video-game market and soon dominated it. Atari started producing home game systems and Sears promised to buy them all. By 1982, Atari had $2 billion in annual sales. Atari introduced the 800 computer, which at the time contained superior technology to the Apple II and the IBM PC, with the exception of memory management. Warner's was slow at accommodating Dan Bricklin's spreadsheet program, VisiCalc. Apple got it first because the Atari machine wasn't ready. After a half-billion-dollar operating loss, Atari was fire-sold by Warner in 1984. Bushnell had left the Atari in 1978 to turn his attention to his next Big Idea. The first Chuck E. Cheese Pizza Time Theater opened in San Jose in 1978. The company went public in 1981 and pushed Bushnell's net worth to $70 million. By 1983, Pizza Time Theater has 200 restaurants operating internationally. He started a business incubator called Catalyst Technologies, where he would invest $500,000 a pop in a portfolio of startups, including Etak and Androbot. Etak, which made electronic maps for autos and other navigation uses. It was ultimately purchased by a Rupert Murdoch firm for $50 million. Bob To finance the Androbots marketing and R&D costs, he took out personal loans from Merrill Lynch Private Capital Inc. (ML), secured by Pizza Time stock. ML has announced to the public that it intended to take Androbot public in 1983. ML reneged on the Androbot IPO after Bushnell had more than $5 million invested. Pizza Time lost money in 1983 and Bushnell's worth dropped from $23M to $9M. In 1984, with Bushnell having racked up $22.8 million in debt financing Androbot and other ventures, Pizza Time filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11. He started paying Merrill Lynch back. By 1990, Bushnell had paid $27.5 million. In 1997, he was forced to sell his home to make the final payment to ML. His newest venture is
Bushnell is father of the video game industry and founder of Atari.
Nolan K. Bushnell was born in February 5, 1943 in Clearfield, Utah
Bushnell received a BSEE from the University of Utah in 1968.
Bushnell would sneak into the computer labs between 1 and 4 in the morning to play Space War and Fox and Geese on the university’s $7 million mainframes.
He moved to Santa Clara, CA in 1968. He built his first computer game in a spare bedroom, a knockoff of Space War called Computer Space.
At age 27 he founded Atari with $250 of his own money and another $250 from business partner Ted Dabney. The original name of the company was Syzygy.
Bushnell conceived Pong, what would become the world’s first commercial video game, and in 1972 Atari’s first full-time employee, Al Alcorn, built it.
Atari had revenues of $11M in 1973. Two years later, revenues were $36M.
Using parts from Atari, having the main PCB printed up by Atari employees Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, created their own computer and offered it to Atari.
He sold Atari to Warner Communications in 1976 for $28M. He stayed on as a consultant for another two years.
First Atari took on the coin-operated video-game market and soon dominated it.
Atari started producing home game systems and Sears promised to buy them all.
By 1982, Atari had $2 billion in annual sales.
Atari introduced the 800 computer, which at the time contained superior technology to the Apple II and the IBM PC, with the exception of memory management.
Warner’s was slow at accommodating Dan Bricklin’s spreadsheet program, VisiCalc. Apple got it first because the Atari machine wasn’t ready.
After a half-billion-dollar operating loss, Atari was fire-sold by Warner in 1984.
Bushnell had left the Atari in 1978 to turn his attention to his next Big Idea.
The first Chuck E. Cheese Pizza Time Theater opened in San Jose in 1978.
The company went public in 1981 and pushed Bushnell’s net worth to $70 million.
By 1983, Pizza Time Theater has 200 restaurants operating internationally.
He started a business incubator called Catalyst Technologies, where he would invest $500,000 a pop in a portfolio of startups, including Etak and Androbot.
Etak, which made electronic maps for autos and other navigation uses. It was ultimately purchased by a Rupert Murdoch firm for $50 million.
Androbot was developing personal robots Bob and Topo.
To finance the Androbots marketing and R&D costs, he took out personal loans from Merrill Lynch Private Capital Inc. (ML), secured by Pizza Time stock.
ML has announced to the public that it intended to take Androbot public in 1983.
ML reneged on the Androbot IPO after Bushnell had more than $5 million invested.
Pizza Time lost money in 1983 and Bushnell’s worth dropped from $23M to $9M.
In 1984, with Bushnell having racked up $22.8 million in debt financing Androbot and other ventures, Pizza Time filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11.
He started paying Merrill Lynch back. By 1990, Bushnell had paid $27.5 million. In 1997, he was forced to sell his home to make the final payment to ML.
His newest venture is Uwink.com. He plans to develop coin-operated game machines, networked over the Internet and placed in public places like bars and restaurants.
IT Predictions for the Next Ten Years
Some observations by Graeme Philipson
The Internet will become the "supernet.
Many devices connected to the internet are mobile (phones, cars, household appliances). That trend will continue toward "embedded computing," where the internet links objects as well as general-purpose computers.
The decline of the PC
This is a consequence of the first prediction. PCs will not die, but they will become only one of many types of computing device. Mobile phones and "thin clients" will be much more popular ways of connecting to the supernet.
The rise of software as a service
Data and processing and applications are moving off fixed computers – or even mobile computers – and on to the web. This is increasingly being called "cloud computing" as all processing takes place in the "cloud."
The decline of copyright
Attempts by record companies and film studios and book publishers to stop people copying digital media are doomed to failure Technology is forcing big changes to business models.
The threat from intelligent machines
Look up "The Singularity" in Wikipedia or somewhere. The term, invented by Ray Kurzweil, refers to the time in the near future when machines become more intelligent than humans and start replicating themselves.
Increased importance of technology for the aged
The population is aging. The rise of so-called "e-health" is a big trend in this direction – use of technology to remotely monitor people’s vital signs, to provide diagnoses at a distance and to supplement communications systems.
The decline of IT as a specialty
IT workers are going the same way as telephone operators a hundred years ago. Today we all program computers, by the very act of using them. There are fewer specialists, but many more generalists.
The death of newspapers
Newspapers as we know them are in decline. Are you reading this in hard copy or online? Around the world, newspapers are shutting down or moving to the web. Blogs are replacing the mainstream media.
The growth of internet TV
TV is going digital. At the same time, internet bandwidth is quickly increasing, and most of the data it carries is video. The existing pay TV model of expensive content over a proprietary distribution medium has only a few years left. And "free-to-air" will become "free-to-internet".