Nolan Bushnell Quotes
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
If you really want you people to innovate, buy a science fiction book, tear off the covers, and tell them it's history.
-
I always try to do something nobody else has done.
-
Atari showed that young people could start big companies. Without that example it would have been harder for Jobs and Bill Gates, and people who came after them, to do what they did.
-
In 1989, SimCity introduced an entirely new brand of game play.
-
I guess I'd like to be known for being an innovator, fostering creativity, thinking outside the box. You know, keeping people playful.
-
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.
-
I've always thought legal addictions are a great way to create a business. Starbucks is a wonderful example.
-
Sometimes when you hire people who have to pass a Mr. Congeniality test, you end up losing some of the non-conformists who will give you different views and perspectives.
-
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.
-
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.
-
I'm the only one who was predicting the Nintendo Wii would beat Sony's PlayStation 3.
-
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.
-
Selling Atari when I did - I think that's my biggest regret. And I probably should have gotten back heavily into the games business in the late Eighties. But I was operating under this theory at the time that the way to have an interesting life was to reinvent yourself every five or six years.
-
Any business that does not innovate will fail over time.
-
One of the big concerns I have is that most of the HR departments in a lot of companies are hiring away from creativity and they don't know it. For instance, they are requiring everybody to have a college degree. The most creative people I know couldn't deal with college.
-
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.
-
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.
-
'Grand Theft Auto', in its deification of antisocial behavior, is where I heap the most of my scorn.
-
When I was running Atari, violence against humanoid figures was not allowed. We'd let you shoot at a tank... but we drew the line at shooting at people, with blood splattering everywhere.
-
It's a great project that allows a recurring revenue stream to happen in bars, restaurants and airline lounges. These aren't for arcades.
-
I was actually the manager of the games department of an amusement park when I was at college, so I understood the coin-op side of the games business very well.