Nolan Bushnell Quotes
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'Pong' hit the fancy. It was sort of the perfect storm of a game which has two players highly social, a game that women could play better than a guy, and sort of an acceptance of this social nature of games in a bar.
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Today, companies have to radically revolutionize themselves every few years just to stay relevant. That's because technology and the Internet have transformed the business landscape forever. The fast-paced digital age has accelerated the need for companies to become agile.
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I've been in navigation systems, robotics, restaurants, communications systems, touch screens, and now I'm back in games. I like to say I have five-year A.D.D.
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I think in terms of businesses, in terms of things that are really big and marry technology with entertainment. That's where I like to spend my time.
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These days when you say 'videogame', people think of immersive games that take over your life and require three thumbs to control. My goal is to create games that almost retreat into the background. I'm interested in bringing them back to their role as a social facilitator, the way party games help people to interact.
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How about keyboards in your mouth? How fast can you type with your tongue? People will think you're just masticating, when you're really talking to your girlfriend.
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If you really want you people to innovate, buy a science fiction book, tear off the covers, and tell them it's history.
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Innovation is hard. It really is. Because most people don't get it. Remember, the automobile, the airplane, the telephone, these were all considered toys at their introduction because they had no constituency. They were too new.
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Women were very, very good at 'Pong'. It was part of the dating scene. The number of people who told me they met their wife or husband playing 'Pong' was huge. They were shoulder to shoulder, talking and playing. It was body contact and verbal contact.
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I guess I'd like to be known for being an innovator, fostering creativity, thinking outside the box. You know, keeping people playful.
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We had some really powerful technology - Atari always was a technology-driven company, and we were very keen on keeping the technological edge on everything. There's a whole bunch of things that we innovated. We made the first computer that did stamps or sprites, we did screen-mapping for the very first time, and a lot of stuff like that.
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I think 'Something Ventured' is a nice piece because it celebrates venture capital in a unique and powerful way.
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I've always thought legal addictions are a great way to create a business. Starbucks is a wonderful example.
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We didn't do a square ball in 'Pong' because we thought it was cool. We did it because that was all we could do.
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It's a great project that allows a recurring revenue stream to happen in bars, restaurants and airline lounges. These aren't for arcades.
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In 1980, Atari was bringing in around two billion dollars in revenue and Chuck E. Cheese's some five hundred million. I still didn't feel too bad that I had turned down a one-third ownership of Apple - although I was beginning to think it might turn out to be a mistake.
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Everybody copied Atari products. So we started messing with them and it was fun. We bought enough chips that we could get them mislabeled. So we bankrupted at least two companies which copied our boards, and bought all the parts but they were the wrong parts, so they're sitting on all this inventory they can't sell because the games don't work.
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I'm a big believer in the Wii. I love the physicality of the Wii controller, and how you can get the feeling of throwing a bowling ball or swinging a golf club. Those are the kinds of games I really like.
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The game business reinvents itself every five years.
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A good interviewer is able to ferret out what the applicant is really passionate about. Ask them what they do for fun, what they're reading, try and find out if they have a life outside of work.
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My sweet spot is figuring out how to make a product that people love and how to refine it to make them love it more. All the rest is business noise.
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I always try to do something nobody else has done.
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Many kids with (attention deficit disorder) have been misdiagnosed, they're actually bored with teachers, as most won't even blink at concentrating on video games for hours.
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Any business that does not innovate will fail over time.