Have you ever met Nolan Bushnell?

[mos6507]

I'd be well qualified to answer this question since I interviewed him at his mansion in Woodside 10 years ago before he was forced to give it up.

 

At first he didn't want to participate but Al Alcorn was actually responsible for pulling him out of his shell. At that period in time I don't think he was really that open to the whole retro scene. I think he really agreed to do the interview for the chance to reunite with his old coworkers more than for my benefit. But once he did agree, the gates were open, so to speak. His wife was very personable also.

 

Before the interview proper I spent some time chatting with him. He took me down to his little hutch he had in the basement. It was the typical hacker desk with little drawers full of chips and things, and a broken Androbot. He let me up into the attic where he had a bunch of old Atari coinops and pinball machines, most of which were from the era that he was still part of the company.

 

The interviews were really more of a recording of a group event, so Nolan was mostly informal, like when he jumped in the pool off camera and cable back to the roundtable still wearing his swimming trunks, or his kids would run into the room and he had to tell them he was busy.

 

After the interviews were over and everyone was filtering out, I called Jim Nitchals (who bankrolled the shoot) on my cell phone. Jim was feeling too ill to attend and I at least wanted to allow him to speak to Nolan on the phone. Nolan was really gracious to him. He left an open invitation for Jim to visit him at some future date, something Jim, unfortunately, never followed up on. But I thought that was a really classy thing for Nolan to do. Neither of us realized how ill Jim really was at the time.

 

Through the course of the interviews it seemed to me that Nolan was responsible for establishing that quintessential spirit of Atari that is what we associate with its classic era, and is responsible for its lasting appeal. On a more pragmatic level, although his tenure was brief, he rattled off some anecdotes about individual executive decisions he made which were very smart strategic moves, some of which Kassar spoiled after they took over. The Activision guys said they would not have left had Nolan stayed with the company. So I walked away being sold on the idea that he has earned the credit he's gotten for Atari, regardless of what he did or didn't do afterwards.

 

Not long after I interviewed him, Nolan's business/financial problems came to a head, and it seemed that from that point onward he started using himself more openly as a "celebrity commodity". People may have experiences with him in that context where he may be more "in persona", so to speak.

 

I've heard many stories talking about his sneaky business tactics, but on a purely personal level, I had a great experience.

 

I think Nolan has a personality that is probably a lot like Steve Jobs, as far as the charisma and the eloquent way of speaking goes. He seems to be very well read and cultured without being outright snobbish or elitist. He does seems thin-skinned, though, at least nowadays, like with the recent interview where he goes off on Ralph Baer.

 

There was one awkward moment during the interview when Nolan was complaining about the stresses he was under which led to the sale to Warners, and Ron Milner spoke up with the zinger "you took the crap, and then you got the money". After a pregnant pause, Nolan broke into laughter. Nolan gave Ron and Steve Mayer work again after Atari with the AG Bear project at Axlon, so I don't think there is any real bad blood between them, but it seemed that there was at least a little envy over the fact that the Grass Valley guys didn't walk away set for life for having created (at the time) the biggest game console ever.

 

You know, when I interviewed these people I was a very young 27. Very inexperienced in my life and career. I was really more of an extended adolescent. 10 years hence, having become more of a formal programmer and having gone through some ups and downs in the dot com world, I regret not being able to get to know these people more as a peer, where I might have been able to glean more wisdom that I could apply to my real life.

Edited April 29, 2007 by mos6507

[* Alternative Reality *]

Wow!! Awesome story, and thanks so much for sharing. It's stuff like this that really helps clue one in as to what his personality is like. Again, thanks so much for taking the time to type all of that out!

 

So what program did your interview appear in? I would like to learn more about it.

[* Alternative Reality *]

Something i have been meaning to ask......

 

Has anyone here been to Nolan's uWink restuarant yet? I am heading out to CA in a few weeks and would like to hear some reviews.

 

What is the atmosphere like? Do you need to "dress nice" or is casual wear ( like t-shirts) ok? It's hard to tell based on the few photos and reviews i have found online. I am more interested in hearing from people here at AtariAge thought of the place.

 

Is it worth the trip?

[mos6507]

Wow!! Awesome story, and thanks so much for sharing. It's stuff like this that really helps clue one in as to what his personality is like. Again, thanks so much for taking the time to type all of that out!

 

So what program did your interview appear in? I would like to learn more about it.

 

That would be Stella at 20.

[* Alternative Reality *]

Ah...nice!

 

I thought it might be that one, but was'nt 100% sure. Very cool.

 

I someday hope to see this show, as i have heard it is highly recommended viewing for anyone interested in the "real story".

[TheGreatPW]

For anyone interested in reading more about Nolan Bushnell, here's an article covering Mr. Bushnell's visit to the 2003 Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas where he was introduced by videogame historian Mr. Leonard Herman.

 

http://www.gooddealgames.com/articles/CGE2...an_Bushnell.htm

 

Nolan Bushnell at 2003 Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas

[rolenta]

For anyone interested in reading more about Nolan Bushnell, here's an article covering Mr. Bushnell's visit to the 2003 Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas where he was introduced by videogame historian Mr. Leonard Herman.

 

Please don't bring that up. That's where I lost all respect for the man.

[accousticguitar]

However I just didn't see the "Atari Love" that I was expecting to see from him. Sure he was proud of Atari, but it almost seemed like it was just another business venture for him and he had moved on.

I think it was all about the money for him. He made millions, but he could have made hundreds of millions if he had stuck with Atari. I'm sure he regrets it to this day. He has been chasing his fortune ever since, but his one big chance is long gone.

[godzillajoe]

For anyone interested in reading more about Nolan Bushnell, here's an article covering Mr. Bushnell's visit to the 2003 Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas where he was introduced by videogame historian Mr. Leonard Herman.

 

Please don't bring that up. That's where I lost all respect for the man.

 

Why? What happened?

[rolenta]

Please don't bring that up. That's where I lost all respect for the man.

Why? What happened?

 

As everyone knows, Bushnell has always denied seeing the Odyssey at a trade show in early 1972, and that was where he came up with the idea of Pong, even though evidence proved otherwise.

 

Well, at his keynote at CGE, the first thing Bushnell said was 'yes, he did see the Odyssey, BUT IT WAS ALREADY A FAILURE WHEN HE SAW IT!'

 

First of all, the Odyssey had not even been put on the market yet when Bushnell saw it, so how could he call it a failure? And when it was sold, it sold around 300,000 units in its first year. Is that considered a failure? Yes, the Odyssey probably garnered a lot of sales when Pong came out, but it also lost many sales because of its poor distribution network (sold only at Magnavox stores) and the public's failure to understand that it would play on any TV set, not just Magnavox ones.

 

Bushnell simply refuses to give Ralph Baer any credit and for that he just lost all credibility and respect from me.

 

And then, in 2006, after Ralph Baer received the award from President Bush, an IEEE journal wrote an article about Baer. Bushnell actually wrote Ralph an email and actually ACCUSED Ralph of stealing his lab notebooks in which he described Pong, and that was how Ralph was able to come up with the Odyssey.

[+Psionic]

...and that was where he came up with the idea of Pong, even though evidence proved otherwise.

You mean "that was where he came up with the idea of Pong, even though he claims otherwise".

 

And then, in 2006, after Ralph Baer received the award from President Bush, an IEEE journal wrote an article about Baer. Bushnell actually wrote Ralph an email and actually ACCUSED Ralph of stealing his lab notebooks in which he described Pong, and that was how Ralph was able to come up with the Odyssey.

I think Ted Dabney can refute any claims that Bushnell was any kind of technical genius or innovator.

[mos6507]

I think Ted Dabney can refute any claims that Bushnell was any kind of technical genius or innovator.

 

I've never read any recent interviews of the guy. Is he even still alive? Another guy who has shunned interviews is Larry Rosenthal, the founder of Vectorbeam and the designers of the CCPU.

Edited March 23, 2008 by mos6507

[rjchamp3]

Yes he is a very nice guy

[rolenta]

I've never read any recent interviews of the guy. Is he even still alive?

 

Yeah, I've been corresponding with him the last two years. He gave me a lot of new information which will be in the next edition of Phoenix.