Atari is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French company Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc., founded in Sunnyvale, California, USA in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, was a pioneer in arcade games, home video game consoles, and home computers. The company's products, such as Pong and the Atari 2600, helped define the electronic entertainment industry from the 1970s to the mid-1980s.
Atari-Telegames Home Pong (1975)
The third version of the Atari 2600, which was sold from 1979 to 1986
Atari 5200 (1982)
Atari 7800 (1986)
Nolan Kay Bushnell is an American businessman and electrical engineer. He established Atari, Inc. and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre chain. He has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consumer Electronics Association Hall of Fame, received the BAFTA Fellowship and the Nations Restaurant News "Innovator of the Year" award, and was named one of Newsweek's "50 Men Who Changed America". He has started more than 20 companies and is one of the founding fathers of the video game industry. He is on the board of Anti-Aging Games. In 2012, he founded an educational software company called Brainrush, that is using video game technology in educational software.
Bushnell in 2013
The Magnavox Odyssey provided the inspiration for Bushnell's successful Pong.
The Atari 2600 would go on to revolutionize the home gaming market, but Bushnell was forced out of Atari not long after its release.
Nolan Bushnell's 67ft boat Charley (Ron Holland design, 1983)
