Editing Nolan Bushnell

{{Short description|American businessman and engineer (born 1943)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Nolan Bushnell
| image             = Nolan Bushnell 2013 (3x4 cropped).jpg
| caption           = Bushnell in 2013
| birth_name        = Nolan Kay Bushnell
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1943|2|5|mf=yes}}
| birth_place       = [[Clearfield, Utah]], U.S.
| alma_mater        = [[University of Utah]]<br />[[Stanford Business School]]<ref name="cal">{{cite web |url=http://cal-entertainment.com/portfoliotype/nolan-bushnell-2/ |title=Nolan Bushnell}}</ref><ref name="anti">{{cite web |url=http://www.anti-aginggames.com/team.html |title=Our Team |publisher=Anti-Aging Games |access-date=June 5, 2014|archive-date=September 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911042100/http://www.anti-aginggames.com/team.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="cmu">{{cite web |url=http://www.cmu.edu/silicon-valley/news-events/seminars/2013/nolan-bushnell-talk.html |title=CMU Silicon Valley |publisher=www.cmu.edu}}</ref>
| doctoral_advisor  =
| doctoral_students = 
| known_for         = Co-founding [[Atari, Inc.]]<br />''[[Pong]]''<br />Creator & founder of [[Chuck E. Cheese]]
| author_abbrev_bot = 
| author_abbrev_zoo = 
| awards            = Video Game Hall of Fame <br /> [[Consumer Electronics Association]] Hall of Fame
| footnotes         = 
| spouse            = 
| children          = 
| field             = [[Electrical engineering]]<br />[[Computer software]]
| work_institutions = 
| prizes            = 
| religion          =  
}}

'''Nolan Kay Bushnell''' (born February 5, 1943) is an American businessman and electrical engineer. He established [[Atari, Inc.]] and the [[Chuck E. Cheese|Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre]] chain. He has been inducted into the [[Walk of Game|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,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=222914730 |title=Brainrush, Inc.: Private Company Information |date=August 24, 2018 |website=Bloomberg}}</ref> that is using [[video game]] technology in educational software.

He is credited with [[Bushnell's Law]], an aphorism about games that are "easy to learn and difficult to master" being rewarding.<ref name="ianbogost">{{cite web | url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/persuasive-games-familiarity-habituation-and-catchiness | title=Persuasive Games: Familiarity, Habituation, and Catchiness |website=[[Gamasutra]] | date=April 2, 2009 | access-date=February 26, 2014 | author=Ian Bogost| author-link=Ian Bogost }}</ref>

==Personal life==
Bushnell was born in 1943 in [[Clearfield, Utah]], in a middle-class family who were members of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]].<ref name="inc bushnell 1984">{{cite magazine | url = https://www.inc.com/magazine/19841001/136.html | title = When The Magic Goes | first=  Steve | last = Goll | date = October 1, 1984 | access-date = April 2, 2021 | magazine = [[Inc. (magazine)|Inc.]] }}</ref><ref name="Metro1999"/> He attended [[Davis High School (Utah)|Davis High School]] in the nearby town of [[Kaysville, Utah]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ksl.com/article/29814938/4-famous-davis-high-alumni-from-the-last-100-years|title=4 famous Davis High alumni from the last 100 years}}</ref> Bushnell enrolled at [[Utah State University]] in 1961 to study engineering and then later business. In 1964, he transferred to the [[University of Utah]] [[University of Utah College of Engineering|College of Engineering]], where he graduated with a [[bachelor's degree]] in [[electrical engineering]].<ref name="ataridep1">{{Cite web|url=http://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2015/01/atari-depositions-part-1.html|title=The Golden Age Arcade Historian: Annotated Atari Depositions, Part 1|last=Smith|first=Keith|date=January 1, 2015|website=The Golden Age Arcade Historian|access-date=February 8, 2018}}</ref> He was a member of the [[Pi Kappa Alpha]] [[Fraternities and sororities|fraternity]].<ref name="NGen23">{{cite magazine|title=The Great Videogame Swindle?|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=23 |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=November 1996|pages=64–68, 211–229}}</ref>

He married his first wife, Paula Rochelle Nielson, in 1966 and had two daughters; in 1969, they moved to California.<ref name="rise and fall chp2">{{cite book | title=  Zap! The Rise and Fall of Atari | first=  Scott |last= Cohen | date = 1984 | publisher =[[McGraw-Hill]] | isbn =9780070115439| chapter= Chapter 2 | pages=15–24 }}</ref> They divorced in 1975, just prior to Warner Communication's purchase of Atari.<ref name="rise and fall chp6">{{cite book | title=  Zap! The Rise and Fall of Atari | first=  Scott |last= Cohen | date = 1984 | publisher =[[McGraw-Hill]] | isbn =9780070115439| chapter= Chapter 6 | pages = 51–61 }}</ref><ref name="atari fun chp5">{{cite book | title = Atari Inc: Business is Fun | first1 = Marty | last1 = Goldberg | first2 = Curt | last2 = Vendel | year = 2012 | isbn = 978-0985597405 | publisher = Sygyzy Press | chapter=Chapter 5 }}</ref> Around the end of 1977, he married Nancy Nino, with whom he had six children.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kent | first= Steven | authorlink = Steven L. Kent |year=2001 |title=[[The Ultimate History of Video Games]] |publisher=[[Three Rivers Press]] |isbn=0-7615-3643-4 | chapter = Chapter 8: Strange Bedfellows }}</ref> He also used his profit from selling Atari to Warner to purchase the former mansion of coffee magnate [[J. A. Folger|James Folger]] in [[Woodside, California]].<ref name="rise and fall chp7">{{cite book | title=  Zap! The Rise and Fall of Atari | first=  Scott |last= Cohen | date = 1984 | publisher =[[McGraw-Hill]] | isbn =9780070115439| chapter= Chapter 7 | pages = 62–70 }}</ref>

Although he was a [[Latter-day Saint]] in his youth,<ref name="rise and fall chp2"/> by the time of his first divorce he had forgone the teachings often being called a "lapsed Mormon".<ref name="Metro1999">{{cite journal|last=Learmouth|first=Michael|title=No Pain, No Game|journal=Metro |date=September 16, 1999|url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/09.16.99/cover/bushnell2-9937.html|access-date=June 7, 2015}}</ref><ref name="inc bushnell 1984"/><ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m5072/is_5_29/ai_n18766084/pg_3 Games people play] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106133811/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m5072/is_5_29/ai_n18766084/pg_3 |date=November 6, 2015 }}</ref> He said that he stopped practicing the faith after he got into a debate over the interpretation of the Bible with a professor at the University of Utah's [[Institute of Religion]] while in college.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://labusinessjournal.com/news/2007/jan/29/games-people-play/ | title = Games People Play | date = January 29, 2007 | access-date = April 8, 2021 | work = [[Los Angeles Business Journal]] }}</ref>

==Business career==
===Early career and Syzygy===
Bushnell worked at [[Lagoon Amusement Park]] for many years while attending college. He was made manager of the games department two seasons after starting.<ref name="ataridep1"/> While working there, he became familiar with arcade [[electro-mechanical games]], watching customers play and helping to maintain the machinery while learning how it worked, developing his understanding of how the game business operates. He was also interested in the [[Midway Games|Midway]] [[arcade game]]s, where theme park customers would have to use skill and luck to ultimately achieve the goal and win the prize. He liked the concept of getting people curious about the game and from there getting them to pay the fee in order to play.<ref name="NGen23"/>

While in college, he worked for several employers, including [[Litton Industries|Litton Guidance and Control Systems]], Hadley Ltd, and the industrial engineering department at the U of U. For several summers, he built his own advertising company, Campus Company, which produced blotters for four universities and sold advertising space around a calendar of events. He also sold copies of ''[[Encyclopedia Americana]]''.<ref name="ataridep1"/>

After graduating, Bushnell had moved to California from Utah with the hopes of being hired by [[Disney]], but the company was not in the routine practice of hiring fresh college graduates. Instead, Bushnell got a job as an electrical engineer with [[Ampex]].<ref name="rise and fall chp2"/> At Ampex, he met fellow employee [[Ted Dabney]] and found they had common interests. Bushnell shared his ideas of creating pizza parlors filled with electronic games with Dabney, and took Dabney to the computing labs at [[Stanford University centers and institutes|Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory]] to show him ''[[Spacewar!]]''.<ref name="edge">{{cite magazine | title = The Untold Atari Story | first= Leonard | last = Herman | date = April 2009 | volume =200 | magazine = [[Edge (magazine)|Edge]] | pages = 94–99 }}</ref>

In 1970, Bushnell and Dabney formed Syzygy with the intention of producing a ''Spacewar!'' clone known as ''[[Computer Space]]''. They made an agreement with [[Nutting Associates]], a maker of coin-op trivia and shooting games, that produced a fiberglass cabinet for the unit that included a coin-slot mechanism.<ref name="arcadehistory">
{{cite web
  | title = Big History of the Arcade
  | url=http://dragonsden.emuunlim.com/ddhistory.htm
  | access-date = August 31, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070609102853/http://dragonsden.emuunlim.com/ddhistory.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = June 9, 2007}}</ref><ref name="moby">
{{cite web
  | title = Nolan Bushnell profile
  | url=http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,66816/
  | access-date = August 31, 2007 }}</ref><ref name="computerspace">
{{cite web
  | title = Computer Space History
  | url=http://www.computerspacefan.com/History.htm
  | access-date = August 31, 2007 }}</ref>

''Computer Space'' was a commercial failure, though sales exceeded $3 million.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.technologizer.com/2011/12/11/computer-space-and-the-dawn-of-the-arcade-video-game/3/|title=Computer Space and the Dawn of the Arcade Video Game |date=December 12, 2011 |publisher=Technologizer |access-date=February 3, 2018}}</ref> Bushnell felt that Nutting Associates had not marketed the game well,<ref name="NGen23"/> and decided that his next game would be licensed to a bigger manufacturer. Bushnell also knew that the next game they developed would need to be simpler and not require users to read instructions on the cabinet, since their target audience would likely be drunken bar patrons.<ref name="rise and fall chp2"/>

===Atari, Inc.===
{{main|Atari, Inc.}}
[[File:Magnavox-Odyssey-Console-Set.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Magnavox Odyssey]] provided the inspiration for Bushnell's successful [[Pong]].]]
In 1972, Bushnell and Dabney set off on their own, and learned that the name "Syzygy" was in use; Bushnell has said at different times that it was in use by a candle company owned by a [[Mendocino, California|Mendocino]] hippie commune<ref name="doteaters">{{cite web|title=PONG and Atari|url=http://thedoteaters.com/?bitstory=article-3|access-date=May 15, 2007}}</ref><ref name="videgamenet">{{cite web|title=Atari History|url=http://www.vidgame.net/ATARI/ATARI.html|access-date=May 15, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070505050437/http://www.vidgame.net/ATARI/ATARI.html|archive-date=May 5, 2007}}</ref><ref name="SteveKent">{{cite book|last=Kent| first=Steven L.|author-link=Steven L. Kent|title=The Ultimate History Of Video Games|publisher=Prima Publishing|year=2001|page=35|isbn=0-7615-3643-4 }}</ref> and by a roofing company.<ref name="moby"/> They instead incorporated under the name '''Atari''', a reference to a check-like position in the game [[Go (board game)|Go]] (which Bushnell has called his "favorite game of all time"<ref name="favoritegame">Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/cR9yJNf6R7Y Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20131103032149/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR9yJNf6R7Y Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite video|title=Video interview with Go as his favorite game|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR9yJNf6R7Y}}{{cbignore}}</ref>).

They rented their first office on Scott Boulevard in [[Sunnyvale, California]], contracted with [[Bally Manufacturing]] to create a video game and a pinball table, and hired their second employee, [[engineer]] [[Allan Alcorn]].<ref name="NGen23"/> Bushnell pitched Bally on a hockey video game.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bushnell |first1=Nolan |author1-link=Nolan Bushnell |last2=Weaver |first2=Christopher |title=Nolan Bushnell: Transcript of an interview conducted by Christopher Weaver |url=https://www.si.edu/media/NMAH/NMAH-AC1498_Transcript_NolanBushnell.pdf#page=37 |access-date=May 20, 2021 |work=[[Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation]] |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |date=November 17, 2017 |page=32-34}}</ref>

After Bushnell attended a [[Burlingame, California]] demonstration of the [[Magnavox Odyssey]], he gave the task of making a similar product to the Magnavox table tennis game to Alcorn as a test project. He told Alcorn that he was making the game as a consumer product for General Electric, in order to motivate him.<ref name="NGen23"/> Alcorn incorporated many of his own improvements into the game design, such as the ball speeding up the longer the game went on, and ''[[Pong]]'' was born. ''Pong'' proved to be very popular; Atari released a large number of ''Pong''-based [[arcade video game]]s over the next few years as the mainstay of the company.  After the release of ''Pong'', Bushnell and Dabney had a falling-out: Dabney felt he was being pushed to the side by Bushnell,<ref name="dabneyinterview">{{Cite web|title=Oral History of Samuel F. (Ted) Dabney|url=http://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2012/10/102746459-05-01-acc.pdf|date=July 16, 2012|website=Computer History Museum}}</ref> while Bushnell felt Dabney was holding back the company from larger financial success.<ref name="atari fun chp3">{{cite book | title = Atari Inc: Business is Fun | first1 = Marty | last1 = Goldberg | first2 = Curt | last2 = Vendel | year = 2012 | isbn = 978-0985597405 | publisher = Sygyzy Press | chapter=Chapter 3| pages = [https://archive.org/details/atariincbusiness0000gold/page/93 93–96] | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/atariincbusiness0000gold/page/93 }}</ref> Bushnell purchased Dabney's share of Atari for {{USD|250,000|long=no}} in 1973.<ref name="atari fun chp3"/>

To get more arcade games to market and bypass exclusivity limitations that coin-op game distributors had set, Bushnell discreetly had his neighbor Joe Keenan establish [[Kee Games]] in 1973 to manufacture [[video game clone|near-copies]] of Atari's games.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/news/lists/ataris-forgotten-arcade-classics-w485407/quadrapong-w485411|title=Atari's Forgotten Arcade Classics|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=December 8, 2017|archive-date=December 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208101429/http://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/news/lists/ataris-forgotten-arcade-classics-w485407/quadrapong-w485411|url-status=dead}}</ref> Even with Kee's output, Atari had difficulty meeting demand for arcade games, and by 1974 Atari was facing financial hardships in part due to the competition in the arcade game market. Bushnell opted to merge Kee Games into Atari in September 1974 just ahead of the release of ''[[Tank (video game)|Tank]]'', a wholly original arcade game from Kee. ''Tank'' was an arcade success and helped bolster Atari's finances. Keenan became president of Atari and managed its operations while Bushnell retained his CEO role.<ref name="atari fun intermission pains">{{cite book | title = Atari Inc: Business is Fun | first1 = Marty | last1 = Goldberg | first2 = Curt | last2 = Vendel | year = 2012 | isbn = 978-0985597405 | publisher = Sygyzy Press | chapter=Intermission: Growing Pains }}</ref>

[[File:Atari-2600-Wood-4Sw-Set.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Atari 2600]] would go on to revolutionize the home gaming market, but Bushnell was forced out of Atari not long after its release.]]
With the company financially stable, Atari entered the consumer electronics market, with its home ''Pong'' consoles first released in 1975. Atari continued to make variants of its existing arcade games for dedicated home consoles until 1977.<ref name="Gamesutra-Pong">{{cite web| url = https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/the-history-of-i-pong-i-avoid-missing-game-to-start-industry| title = The History Of Pong: Avoid Missing Game to Start Industry| first = Bill| last = Loguidice| author2 = Matt Barton| website = [[Gamasutra]]| date = January 9, 2009| access-date = January 10, 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090112004852/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3900/the_history_of_pong_avoid_missing_.php| archive-date = January 12, 2009| url-status = live| df = dmy-all}}</ref> During this period, former Atari employees [[Steve Jobs]] and [[Steve Wozniak]] had approached Bushnell about investing in their home computer system, the [[Apple I]], that was built from borrowed parts from Atari and with technical support from Atari employees.<ref name="pcb">{{cite book|last=Young|first=Jeffrey S.|title=Steve Jobs: The Journey Is The Reward|publisher=Scott, Foresman and Company|year=1988|location=Glenview, Illinois, USA|pages=90–91, 94|isbn=0-673-18864-7}}</ref> They initially offered the design to Bushnell and Atari, but Bushnell wanted Atari to focus on arcade and home consoles. Later in 1975, Jobs offered Bushnell a chance for one-third equity stake in their budding company [[Apple Inc.]], for {{USD|50,000|long=no}}; Bushnell remarked in hindsight, "I was so smart, I said no. It's kind of fun to think about that, when I'm not crying."<ref>Book "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson, Simon & Schuster, 2011, Pg.75</ref> Bushnell also established the first [[Pizza Time Theatre]] in San Jose in 1977 as a means for Atari to stock its arcade games.<ref name="gamasutra history atari"/>

As Atari faced more competition in both arcade and home consoles from 1975 onward, Bushnell recognized that the costs in developing both types of systems with only limited shelf life were too high, and directed Atari's engineers at [[Cyan Engineering]] towards a programmable home console.<ref name="gamasutra history atari">{{cite web | url = https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/the-history-of-atari-1971-1977 | title = The History of Atari: 1971–1977 | first=  Steve | last =Fulton | date = November 6, 2007 | access-date = September 11, 2018 | work = [[Gamasutra]] }}</ref> This console eventually was released in 1977 as the [[Atari Video Computer System]] or Atari VCS and later known as the Atari 2600. However, before Atari had completed its design, the [[Fairchild Channel F]], the first home console to use [[game cartridge]]s, was released in November 1976. Bushnell realized they needed to speed up the Atari VCS's development. After initially considering become a [[public company]], he instead sought a buyer. [[Warner Communications]], looking to boost their own failing media properties, agreed to acquire Atari for {{USD|28 million|long=no}}, with Bushnell personally receiving {{USD|15 million}}, in November 1976.<ref name="inc bushnell 1984"/><ref name="NGen4">{{cite journal|title=What the Hell has Nolan Bushnell Started? |journal=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=4|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|date=April 1995|pages=6–11}}</ref> Warner provided a large investment into the Atari VCS to allow it to be completed early the next year and released in September 1977.<ref name="gamasutra history atari"/>

The first year of Atari VCS sales were modest and limited by Atari's own supply. While many of initial games were arcade conversions of Atari arcade games, the second wave of games in 1983 were more abstract and difficult to promote. Warner placed [[Ray Kassar]], a former vice president of [[Burlington Industries]], to help with Atari's marketing.<ref name="gamasutra history atari 2">{{cite web | url = https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3766/atari_the_golden_years__a_.php?print=1 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080825070916/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3766/atari_the_golden_years__a_.php?print=1 | url-status = dead | archive-date = August 25, 2008 | title = Atari: The Golden Years – A History, 1978–1981 | first= Steve | last= Fulton | date = August 21, 2008 | access-date = April 6, 2021 | work = [[Gamasutra]] }}</ref> Kassar created successful advertising and marketing throughout 1978, positioning the Atari VCS for a larger sales period at the end of the year.<ref name="gamasutra history atari 2"/> However, Bushnell had concerns on Kassar's plans and feared they had produced too many units to be sold, and at a board meeting with Warner near the end of the year, reiterated this position. Bushnell recommended that funds be used in R&D for developing a new, technologically superior console, as he feared rising competition would make the aging tech specs of the VCS obsolete. Bushnell's concerns never materialized as a combination of Kassar's marketing and the popularity of [[Taito]]'s ''[[Space Invaders]]'' at the arcade drove Atari VCS sales. Both Warner Communications and Bushnell commonly recognized he was no longer a good leader for the company, removing him as CEO and Chairman in early 1979. Warner offered Bushnell the opportunity to stay as a director and creative consultant, but Bushnell refused. Before leaving, Bushnell negotiated the rights to Pizza Time Theatre from Atari for {{USD|500,000|long=no}}. Keenan replaced Bushnell but left a few months later, with Kassar being named as Atari's CEO by mid-1979.<ref name="atari fun chp7">{{cite book | title = Atari Inc: Business is Fun | first1 = Marty | last1 = Goldberg | first2 = Curt | last2 = Vendel | year = 2012 | isbn = 978-0985597405 | publisher = Sygyzy Press | chapter=Chapter 7 }}</ref>

===Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre===
{{main|Chuck E. Cheese}}

In 1977, while at Atari, Bushnell purchased Pizza Time Theatre back from Warner Communications. It had been created by Bushnell, originally as a place where kids could go and eat [[pizza]] and play [[video game]]s, which would therefore function as a distribution channel for Atari games. Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre also had [[animatronic]] animals that played music as entertainment. It is known that Bushnell had always wanted to work for Walt Disney, but was continually turned down for employment when he was first starting out after graduation; Chuck E. Cheese was his homage to Disney and the technology developed there. In 1981 Bushnell turned over day-to-day food operations of Chuck E. Cheese's to a newly hired restaurant executive and focused on [[Catalyst Technologies]].

Through 1981 and 1982, Bushnell concentrated on PTT subsidiaries [[Sente Technologies]] and Kadabrascope.  Sente was a reentry into the coin-operated game business. Arcade cabinets would have a proprietary system with a cartridge slot so operators could refresh their games without having to buy whole new cabinets.<ref>
{{cite web
  | title = The Games Examiner – "Sente Technologies" Feature
  | url=http://showbizpizza.com/info/documents/ptt/ptt_gamesexaminer-sente.pdf
  | access-date = February 11, 2017 }}</ref> Kadabrascope was an early attempt at computer assisted animation. In 1983 as the restaurants started to lose money, Sente, though profitable, was sold to Bally for $3.9 million and Kadabrascope was sold to [[Lucasfilm]] which became the beginnings of what became [[Pixar]].

During this time Bushnell was using large loans on his Pizza Time stock to fund Catalyst. By the end of 1983, Chuck E. Cheese was having serious financial problems. President and long-time friend Joe Keenan resigned that fall. Nolan tried to step back in, blaming the money problems on over-expansion, too much tweaking of the formula and saturation in local markets by the management team. He resigned in February 1984, when the board of directors rejected his proposed changes, and Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theater (now named after its famous rat mascot) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March of 1984.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Potts |first=Mark |date=March 29, 1984 |title=Pizza Time Files for Bankruptcy |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1984/03/30/pizza-time-files-for-bankruptcy/b4baa402-b9c9-4684-b8cc-bedc5f132bc6/ |access-date=September 23, 2024 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}} {{subscription required}}</ref>

[[ShowBiz Pizza Place]], a competing Pizza/Arcade family restaurant, then purchased Pizza Time Theatre in May 1985 and assumed its debt. The newly formed company, ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc., operated restaurants under both brands before unifying all locations under the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza brand by 1993. Today over 560 locations of this restaurant are in business.

===Catalyst Technologies Venture Capital Group===
Bushnell founded [[Catalyst Technologies]], one of the earliest [[business incubator]]s. The Catalyst Group companies numbered in the double digits and included [[Topo (robot)|Androbot]], [[Etak]], Cumma, and Axlon.

Axlon launched many consumer and consumer electronic products successfully, most notably [[AG Bear]], a bear that mumbled/echoed a child's words back to it.  In the late 1980s, Axlon managed the development of two new games for the Atari 2600, most likely as part of a marketing attempt to revive sales of the system, already more than a decade old. This included Motorodeo, a [[monster truck]]-themed games that was one of the last games developed for the Atari 2600 system, being released in 1990.<ref name="Weiss">{{cite book |last1=Weiss |first1=Brett |title=Classic Home Video Games, 1972–1984 A Complete Reference Guide |date=2011 |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers |isbn=9780786487554 |page=83 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BzxTtml8Jq4C&dq=%22Motorodeo%22+%22Atari%22&pg=PA83 |access-date=February 21, 2021}}</ref> The company was largely sold to [[Hasbro]].

Etak, founded in 1984, was the first company to digitize the maps of the world, as part of the first commercial [[automotive navigation system]]; the maps ultimately provided the backbone for [[Google Maps]], [[mapquest.com]], and other navigation systems; it was sold to [[Rupert Murdoch]] in the 1980s. In May 2000 the company, headquartered in [[Menlo Park, California]], became a wholly owned subsidiary of [[Tele Atlas]].

While many of the ideas eventually led to current-day innovations, most of Catalyst's companies eventually failed due to a lack of underlying technology available in the 1980s to sustain these high-tech innovations.  For example, Catalyst's companies included CinemaVision, which attempted to develop high-definition television.  Cumma attempted to distribute video games using special vending machines that would write the game onto discs on demand. ByVideo developed an early online shopping experience using kiosks and Laser Discs that allowed shoppers to virtually purchase products that would then be delivered later.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Edwards|first1=Benj|title=The Untold Story of Atari Founder Nolan Bushnell's Visionary 1980s Tech Incubator|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3068135/the-untold-story-of-atari-founder-nolan-bushnells-visionary-1980s-tech-incubator|website=Fast Company|date=February 17, 2017|access-date=April 24, 2018}}</ref>

===PlayNet/Aristo===
After a failed bid to purchase [[Atari Games]] in 1996, the company which carried on Atari's arcade legacy,<ref>{{cite magazine |date=May 1996 |title=Tidbits... |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |page=17 |issue=82}}</ref> Nolan Bushnell became senior consultant to the small game developer Aristo International<ref>{{cite magazine|title=News Bits|magazine=[[GamePro]] |issue=96|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|date=September 1996|page=21}}</ref> after it bought Borta, Inc., where he was chairman.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/782145/0000910680-96-000010.txt}}</ref> Aristo's CEO and chairman was [[Mouli Cohen]]. In association with Aristo, Bushnell spearheaded TeamNet, a line of multiplayer-only arcade machines targeted towards adults, which allowed teams of up to four players to compete either locally or remotely via internet.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Svensson|first=Christian |title=Nolan Bushnell is Back!|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=23 |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=November 1996|page=26}}</ref> Aristo was later renamed PlayNet. Borta Inc. Developed video games that included versions of ''[[Urban Strike]]'' and ''[[Jungle Strike]]'' along with online Sports Games. Aristo developed two main products: a touchscreen interface bar-top/arcade system that would also provide internet access, phone calls, and online networked tournaments;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nethelper.com/article/Androbot|title=Review of companies associated with Nolan Bushnell}}</ref> and a digital jukebox, capable of storing thousands of songs and downloading new releases.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ryanwolfe.prosite.com/1892/28884/gallery/playnet-music-station|title=PlayNet Music Station|website=ryanwolfe.prosite.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304041631/http://ryanwolfe.prosite.com/1892/28884/gallery/playnet-music-station|archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref> By late 1997 the company was facing financial troubles and was planning to withdraw the units it had released in the field and relaunch the line with improvements to the credit card swipe system and internet connections.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Marcus |last=Webb |title=PlayNet Restructures |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=36 |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=December 1997|page=33}}</ref> The company died shortly before the [[dot-com bubble]] burst with its prototype machines still in development in 1997.

===uWink===
{{main|uWink}}
Before BrainRush, Bushnell's most recent company was [[uWink]], a company that evolved out of an early project called In10City (pronounced 'Intensity') which was a concept of an entertainment complex and dining experience. uWink was started by Bushnell and his business adviser Loni Reeder, who also designed the original logo for the company. The company has gone through several failed iterations including a touch-screen kiosk design, a company to run cash and prize awards as part of their uWin concept and also an online Entertainment Systems network.<ref name="uWinkWeb">{{cite web|title=uWink website archive from 2002. |url=http://uwink.com/index.shtml |access-date=May 2, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011024005549/http://uwink.com/index.shtml |archive-date=October 24, 2001 }}</ref> After nearly 7 years and over $24 million in investor funding, the touchscreen kiosks/bartop model was closed amid complaints of unpaid prizes and lack of maintaining service agreements with locations to keep the kiosk/bartop units in working condition. The latest iteration (announced in 2005) is a new interactive entertainment restaurant called the uWink Media Bistro, whose concept builds off his Chuck E. Cheese venture and previous 1988–1989 venture Bots Inc., which developed similar systems of customer-side point-of-sale touch-screen terminals in addition to autonomous [[pizza delivery]] robots for [[Little Caesars Pizza]]. The plan was for guests to order their food and drinks using screens at each table, on which they may also play games with each other and watch movie trailers and short videos. The multiplayer network type video games that allowed table to table interaction or even with table group play never materialized. Guests often spotted the OSX based machine being constantly re-booted in order to play much simpler casual video games. Another factor that possibly led to the failure of the restaurants was the placement of the restaurants. The Woodland Hills location was on the second floor of a suburban shopping mall and the Hollywood location practically hidden with minimal visibility on a higher level of a shopping center complex. The first Bistro opened in [[Woodland Hills, Los Angeles|Woodland Hills, California]] on October 16, 2006. A second in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] was established, and in 2008 the company opened a third Southern California restaurant and one in [[Mountain View, California]].<ref name=Holbrook>{{cite web|title=Stett Holbrook, "The Poet of Play," ''Metro Silicon Valley'' Nov. 26, 2008|url=http://www.metroactive.com/metro/11.26.08/cover-Bushnell-0848.html|access-date = November 30, 2008}}</ref> All the restaurants have since closed.

===Atari, SA===
{{main|Atari, SA}}
On April 19, 2010, [[Atari SA]], the owner of the Atari brand and its home legacy since 2001, announced that Nolan Bushnell would join the company's board of directors.<ref>[http://www.thatgamingsite.com/id354-Nolan-Bushnell-Tom-Virden-Join-Atari-Board-of-Directors.html Nolan Bushnell, Tom Virden, Join Atari Board of Directors] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920202707/http://www.thatgamingsite.com/id354-Nolan-Bushnell-Tom-Virden-Join-Atari-Board-of-Directors.html |date=September 20, 2015 }}, That Gaming Site, April 19, 2010</ref> It marked his ''de facto'' return to Atari after more than 30 years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Webster |first=Andrew |date=2010-04-20 |title=Nolan Bushnell rejoins Atari, Phil Harrison leaves |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2010/04/nolan-bushnell-rejoins-atari-phil-harrison-leaves/ |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}</ref>

=== Modal VR ===
Bushnell is also one of the founders of Modal VR,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.modalvr.com/founders/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015064752/http://www.modalvr.com/founders|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 15, 2016|title=FOUNDERS|website=MODAL VR|language=en-US|access-date=June 18, 2017}}</ref> a company that develops a portable large-scale VR system for enterprises to train e.g., security forces.

=== Anti-Aging Games, LLC ===
Nolan is on the advisory board of Anti-AgingGames.com and was a co-founder of the company,<ref name="anti2">{{cite web|url=http://www.Anti-AgingGames.com/about.html|title=Anti-Aging Games|website=www.anti-aginggames.com|access-date=February 21, 2021|archive-date=November 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126064607/http://anti-aginggames.com/about.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> featuring online memory, concentration, and focus games for healthy people over 35.<ref name="anti"/>

=== BrainRush ===

BrainRush is a company that uses video game technology in [[educational software]] where he is Founder, CEO and chairman. The company was venture capital funded in 2012. It is based on the idea that many curriculum lessons can be turned into mini-games. Developers can take any body of knowledge from English language arts to foreign language, geography, multiplication table or chemistry tables, to parts of the human body and gamify the experience. BrainRush calls their underlying technology "Adaptive Practice." They have also developed an open-authoring system allowing users to quickly create games in different topic areas.

Between 2010 and 2012, BrainRush ran a test in Spanish language vocabulary learning with over 2200 teachers and 80,000 students across the country and got an increase in learning speed of between 8–10 times traditional learning.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} BrainRush rolled out the full platform in the fall of 2013.

=== Global Gaming Technologies Corp (CSE – GGAM.U) ===
On March 6, 2019, Nolan was appointed CEO and Chairman of publicly traded company Global Gaming Technologies Corp.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/43275/Global-Gaming-Appoints-Nolan-Bushnell-to-its-Board-of-Directors-Enters-the-eSports-Industry-Through-the-Acquisition-of-Videre-eSports-Corp.|title=Global Gaming Appoints Nolan Bushnell to its Board of Directors & Enters the eSports Industry Through the Acquisition of Videre eSports Corp.|last=Corp|first=Global Gaming Technologies|website=Newsfile|language=en|access-date=April 11, 2019}}</ref>

==Other ventures==
* In 1981, Bushnell created the TimberTech Computer Camp in [[Scotts Valley, California]].
*[[File:Charley 2017.jpg|thumb|Nolan Bushnell's 67ft boat ''Charley'' ([[Ron Holland]] design, 1983)]]In 1982, Bushnell commissioned ''Charley'', a 67-foot racing yacht designed by [[Ron Holland]]. ''Charley'' went on to win [[Line honours]] in the 1983 [[Transpacific Yacht Race|TransPacific Yacht Race]].
* In 1983, Bushnell introduced the first "Androbot" TOPO. It was shown at the First Annual Consumer Robotics Show in Albuquerque, NM.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nolan Bushnell Introduces the Androbot TOPO as "A Mobile Extension of Your Personal Computer" |url=https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=5420 |website=History of Information |access-date=18 June 2023}}</ref> 
* In 1984, Bushnell purchased the arcade game company Videa and renamed it [[Sente Games]]. Among the games developed by the company before it closed in 1987 included the hockey video game ''[[Hat Trick (arcade game)|Hat Trick]]''.
* In 1991, Bushnell endorsed the [[Commodore International]] [[CDTV]],<ref name="NGen4"/> a [[CD-ROM]]-based version of the [[Amiga]] 500 computer repackaged for the consumer electronics market.
* In Summer 1995 Bushnell announced a new line of amusement centers called E2000, which would be similar to Chuck E. Cheese's, but based on a video game theme.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=E2000 in 1995|magazine=[[GamePro]]|issue=83|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|date=August 1995|page=116}}</ref> However, an unrelated multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed against Bushnell by [[Merrill Lynch]] prompted most of E2000's investors to back out, leaving him unable to fund the project.<ref name="Metro1999"/>
* In June 1999, Bushnell joined the board of directors of Wave Systems Corp.
* In 2005, he served as a judge on the [[USA Network]] [[Reality television|reality series]] ''Made in the USA''.
* In 2007, Bushnell joined the board of [[NeoEdge Networks]] as chairman.
* In 2007, Bushnell joined the advisory board of GAMEWAGER.<ref name="VentureBeat">{{cite web
  | title = Nolan Bushnell bets on GameWager.
  | date=January 26, 2009
| url=https://venturebeat.com/2009/01/26/nolan-bushnell-bets-on-raffle-gaming-firm-gamewager/
  | access-date = January 26, 2009 }}</ref>
* In 2008, Bushnell became a member of AirPatrol Corporation's board of directors.
* In 2009, Bushnell announced his intention to move into the game-education market with a venture called Snap. He also announced that he would make an appearance at SGC, a gaming convention organized by [[ScrewAttack]].
* In May 2016, Bushnell joined the board of directors of MGT Capital Investments. [[John McAfee]], proposed Executive Chairman and chief executive officer of MGT Capital, stated, "Nolan is one of the brightest minds in cyber technology. In his career, he has founded more than 20 high tech companies, giving him unprecedented knowledge of the tech industry. As a director, he will help MGT identify and cultivate the necessary strategic partnerships to position the company as the world leader in cyber security."<ref>{{cite web|title=MGT Appoints Nolan Bushnell to its Board of Directors|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mgt-appoints-nolan-bushnell-board-130000055.html|website=Yahoo Finance|access-date=June 7, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611120837/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/mgt-appoints-nolan-bushnell-board-130000055.html|archive-date=June 11, 2016}}</ref>
* In 2016, Bushnell co-founded Black Sheep Ventures Ltd, a [[private equity]] firm with [[Ronald Bauer]]. The firm operated from 2016 to 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BLACK SHEEP VENTURES LTD people - Find and update company information - GOV.UK |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/10998415/officers |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref>
* In January 2017, Bushnell joined the board of directors of [http://www.perronerobotics.com Perrone Robotics], a maker of robotics software platforms for autonomous vehicles and mobile robots.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Nolan Bushnell joins Perrone Robotics Board |date=January 18, 2017 |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nolan-bushnell-joins-perrone-robotics-board-300392349.html |language=en |access-date=February 16, 2017 |website=www.prnewswire.com}}</ref>
* In March 2021, Bushnell co-founded [https://www.moxy.io Moxy.io], a blockchain powered esport competition, tournament, and event platform.

==Media appearances==
Bushnell was featured in the documentary film ''[[Something Ventured (film)|Something Ventured]]'' about venture capital development,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2013-jan-17-la-fi-tn-atari-founder-on-vc-documentary-and-finding-the-next-steve-jobs-20130117-story.html|title=Atari founder on venture capital documentary, Steve Jobs|last=O'Brien|first=Chris|date=January 17, 2013|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=December 8, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> as well as ''[[Atari: Game Over]]'', which documented the unearthing of the [[Atari video game burial]].<ref>{{Citation|title=Atari: Game Over (2014)|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3715406/fullcredits|access-date=December 8, 2017}}</ref> He was also featured in animated TV show ''Code Monkeys'' in Episode 3 of Season 1. For the 50th anniversary of Atari, Bushnell was interviewed by then-current Atari CEO Wade Rosen for the ''[[Atari 50]]'' video game where he discussed his history with the company and its relevance in the modern era.<ref>{{Citation |title=Atari 50th Anniversary Interview with Nolan Bushnell | date=June 27, 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A__XuCDgss |access-date=2024-01-29 |language=en}}</ref>

== Accolades ==
Bushnell is considered to be the "father of electronic gaming" due to his contributions in establishing the arcade game market and creation of Atari.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/bushnell_hi.html | title = Who Made America? Nolan Bushnell | publisher = [[PBS]] | access-date = January 31, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2009/mar/18/nolan-bushnell-interview-atari | title = Meet Nolan Bushnell, the man who created the videogames industry | first = Steve | last= Boxer | date = March 18, 2009 | access-date = January 31, 2018 | work = [[The Guardian]] }}</ref> There had been debate between whether Bushnell or [[Ralph H. Baer]], who is credited with creating the first home video game console, should be considered the father of video games, which had led to some bad blood between the two inventors. However, the industry recognized that Baer should be considered the father of home video gaming, while Bushnell is credited with innovating the arcade game.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/the-history-of-i-pong-i-avoid-missing-game-to-start-industry | title = The History Of Pong: Avoid Missing Game to Start Industry | first1 = Mat | last1 = Barton | first2= Bill | last2 = Loguidice | website = [[Gamasutra]] | date = January 9, 2009 | access-date= December 8, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Atari Inc.: Business Is Fun | first1 = Curt | last1 = Vendel | first2 = Marty | last2 = Goldberg | publisher = Syzygy Press | year = 2012 | isbn = 978-0985597405 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/atariincbusiness0000gold/page/26 26] | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/atariincbusiness0000gold/page/26 }}</ref>

At the [[British Academy Video Games Awards]] on March 10, 2009, the [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]] awarded the Academy Fellowship to Bushnell in recognition of his outstanding achievement as a founding father of the video games industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bafta.org/press/video-games-fellow-nolan-bushnell,45,SNS.html|title=Pong Pioneer Nolan Bushnell to Receive the Academy Fellowship|date=January 29, 2009}}</ref>

===Planned biographical film===
Since 2008, there has been interest to a [[biographical film]] about Bushnell's life. While Bushnell had been approached by others to make such a film and turned these offers down, he accepted an offer made by [[Paramount Pictures]] in June 2008 with a script by Craig Sherman and Brian Hecker, with [[Leonardo DiCaprio]] envisioned to star as Bushnell.<ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://www.wired.com/2008/06/leo-dicaprio-at/ | title = DiCaprio to Play Nolan Bushnell in Atari | first = Hugh | last = Hart | date = June 9, 2018 | access-date = May 26, 2018 | magazine = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://variety.com/2008/digital/features/leonardo-dicaprio-to-play-with-atari-1117987072/ | title = Leonardo DiCaprio to play with 'Atari' | first =  Tatiana | last= Siegel | date = June 8, 2008 | access-date = May 26, 2018 | work = [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] }}</ref> While news of the film was quiet over the next ten years, in March 2018, film financing company Vision Tree was working to start an [[initial coin offering]] for [[cryptocurrency]] to raise up to {{USD|40 million}} for the film, which was set to be produced by DiCaprio's studio [[Appian Way Productions]], Vision Tree, and Avery Productions.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/atari-movie-token-sale-1202732406/ |title= Atari Movie Makers Plan to Raise $40 Million via Bushnell Token Sale |first= Janko |last= Roettgers |date= March 21, 2018 |access-date= May 27, 2018 |work= [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] }}</ref>

===GDC Pioneer Award controversy===
In January 2018, the Advisory Committee of the [[Game Developers Choice Awards]] announced that Bushnell would receive the Pioneer Award at the March ceremony at the [[Game Developers Conference]] (GDC), crediting his role at Atari.<ref name="GDC2018">{{cite web| url = https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/313891/Nolan_Bushnell_Tim_Schafer_and_Rami_Ismail_to_be_honored_at_the_2018_GDC_Awards.php | archive-url = https://archive.today/20180130210607/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/313891/Nolan_Bushnell_Tim_Schafer_and_Rami_Ismail_to_be_honored_at_the_2018_GDC_Awards.php | url-status = dead | archive-date = January 30, 2018 | title = Nolan Bushnell, Tim Schafer, and Rami Ismail to be honored at the 2018 GDC Awards! | date = January 30, 2018 | access-date = January 30, 2018 | work = [[Gamasutra]] }}</ref> That day, several people through social media, including [[Brianna Wu]], claimed Bushnell fostered a toxic work environment at Atari for women that became the foundation for the then-future video game industry, based on several documented interviews and accounts of Atari at the time of the 1970s and 1980s; a notable example was of Bushnell holding board meetings in a [[hot tub]] and invited female secretaries to join them. Wu and others asserted that while Bushnell had done much for the industry, recognizing him with this type of award during the ongoing [[Me Too movement|#MeToo movement]] was sending the wrong message.<ref name="glixel pioneer"/><ref name="kotaku female atari"/> Wu stated, "Nolan Bushnell deserves to be honored, but this is not the right time for it. It's easy to draw a line between the culture he created at Atari and the structural sexism women in tech face today."<ref name="vb gdc"/> The [[hashtag]] "#NotNolan" was shared by those with similar complaints about the GDC's choice.<ref name="kotaku female atari">{{Cite web | url = https://kotaku.com/sex-pong-and-pioneers-what-atari-was-really-like-ac-1822930057 | title = Sex, Pong, And Pioneers: What Atari Was Really Like, According To Women Who Were There | first = Cecilia | last = D'Anastasio | date = February 12, 2018 | access-date = February 12, 2018 | work = [[Kotaku]] }}</ref>

The following day, the Advisory Committee reconsidered the selection of Bushnell for the award<ref name="glixel pioneer">{{cite web | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/news/nolan-bushnell-metoo-gdc-award-w516148 | title = GDC Re-Examines Award for Atari Founder After Outcry Over Past Conduct | first = Stefanie | last = Fogel | date = January 30, 2018 | access-date = January 31, 2018 | work = [[Glixel]] | archive-date = June 20, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180620153436/https://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/news/nolan-bushnell-metoo-gdc-award-w516148 | url-status = dead }}</ref> and announced the Pioneer Award would not be awarded, and instead it would be used that year to "honor the pioneering and unheard voices of the past".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.usgamer.net/articles/gdc-pioneer-award-not-nolan-bushnell-atari-founder | title = GDC Announces It Will Not Award Atari Founder Nolan Bushnell After Controversy | first = Matt | last = Kim | date = January 31, 2018 | access-date = January 31, 2018 | work = [[US Gamer]] | archive-date = March 28, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190328214906/https://www.usgamer.net/articles/gdc-pioneer-award-not-nolan-bushnell-atari-founder | url-status = dead }}</ref> GDC further stated that they believed their selections "should reflect the values of today's game industry".<ref name="kotaku female atari"/> Bushnell released a statement agreeing with the committee's decision:<ref name="Crecente">{{cite web | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/news/gdc-rescinds-atari-founders-pioneer-award-amidst-outcry-w516156 | title = Game Developers Conference Rescinds Atari Founder's Award Nom Amid Outcry | first = Brian | last = Crecente | date = January 31, 2018 | access-date = January 31, 2018 | work = [[Glixel]] | archive-date = January 31, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180131220328/https://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/news/gdc-rescinds-atari-founders-pioneer-award-amidst-outcry-w516156 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

{{cquote|I applaud the GDC for ensuring that their institution reflects what is right, specifically with regards to how people should be treated in the workplace. And if that means an award is the price I have to pay personally so the whole industry may be more aware and sensitive to these issues, I applaud that, too. If my personal actions or the actions of anyone who ever worked with me offended or caused pain to anyone at our companies, then I apologize without reservation.|author=@NolanBushnell|source=Twitter, January 31, 2018<ref>{{cite tweet|user=NolanBushnell|number=958770585433120768|date=31 January 2018|title=A statement from me|link=https://twitter.com/NolanBushnell/status/958770585433120768}}</ref><ref name="Crecente"/> }}

In a later statement to ''[[Kotaku]]'', Bushnell cautioned that "exploring these kinds of issues through a finite, 40-year-old prism [does not offer] a productive reflection of our company", and referred to feedback from his former employees.<ref name="kotaku female atari"/> ''Kotaku'' spoke to a dozen female former Atari employees, some whom had already spoken out on social media. All who agreed that while the company's 1970s and 1980s workplace was influenced by the broader [[Sexual revolution|Sexual Revolution]], the allegations made against Bushnell were exaggerated or false, and that the culture was one that they all freely participated in.<ref name="vb gdc">{{cite web | url = https://venturebeat.com/2018/02/02/the-deanbeat-with-bushnell-award-history-became-herstory/ | title = The DeanBeat: With Bushnell award, history became herstory | first = Dean | last = Takahashi | date = February 2, 2018 | access-date = February 2, 2018 | work = [[Venture Beat]] }}</ref><ref name="kotaku female atari"/> Some of the more notable female employees of Atari spoke further of the situation at the company and Bushnell during the 1970s:
* Elaine Shirley, who worked at Atari during the Bushnell years, said, "Those were the times. He [Nolan Bushnell] hit on women and they hit on him. If the #MeToo movement was active when Atari was alive, I think half our company would be charged. To my knowledge, no one ever did anything they did not want to do."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.replaymag.com/proposed-bushnell-award-creates-metoo-firestorm/ | title = Proposed Bushnell Award Creates #MeToo Firestorm | first=  Casey | last = Minter | date = January 31, 2018 | access-date = February 1, 2018 | work = Replay Magazine }}</ref> 
* Loni Reeder, who was responsible for communications, security, and facilities at Atari and later cofounded uWink with Bushnell, stated, "I was treated fairly and paid well. I have fellow Atari women friends who also know Nolan. None of us were offended by him."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2018/02/01/metoo-le-fondateur-d-atari-approuve-l-annulation-de-sa-recompense_5250551_4408996.html | title = #MeToo: The founder of Atari "approves" the cancellation of his reward | first = William | last= Audureau | date = February 1, 2018 | access-date = February 2, 2018 | work  =[[Le Monde]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://twitter.com/lonireeder/status/958922473101078529 | title = Loni Reeder – "I worked there" | first = Loni | last = Reeder | publisher = [[Twitter]] | date = January 31, 2018 | access-date = February 2, 2018 }}</ref> Reeder further stated of the workplace at Atari, "I take great offense of people coming in today and saying we were oppressed...We had a united and cohesive environment. That was what the ’70s were about. It wasn't like we all got together to have an orgy."<ref name="vb bushnell gdc controversy"/>
* Carol Kantor, the first games user researcher and who led an all-female games user research team at Atari,<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Wiley handbook of human computer interaction set|others=Norman, Kent L.|isbn=9781118976005|edition= First |location=Hoboken, NJ|oclc=1004376487|last1 = Norman|first1 = Kent L.|last2 = Kirakowski|first2 = Jurek|year = 2018}}</ref> said, "I know there are people out there who are accused and really were guilty of sexual harassment. But not Nolan. It wasn't in his character. I certainly stand up for the Nolan that I knew. He certainly didn't hold his power over people."<ref name="vb bushnell gdc controversy">{{cite web | url = https://venturebeat.com/2018/03/09/the-deanbeat-ataris-groundbreaking-women-speak-across-the-decades/ | title = The DeanBeat: Atari's groundbreaking women speak across the decades | first=  Dean | last=  Takahasi | date = March 9, 2018 | access-date = September 25, 2019 | work = [[Venture Beat]] }}</ref>
The women interviewed by ''Kotaku'' generally considered the attack and decision related to Bushnell's award as unfair, and expressed anger at those that had raised the issue with the committee.<ref name="kotaku female atari"/> Some stated that those who accused Bushnell of sexism did not take into consideration the culture of the time, and there was a clear and distinct difference between the sexualized occurrences at Atari in the 1970s, and the real harassment and threats faced by women in the current #MeToo movement.<ref name="vb bushnell gdc controversy"/>

The situation has led to discussion of how the Atari workplace may have influenced the current video game industry.<ref name="kotaku female atari"/> In an [[editorial]], [[Dean Takahashi]] suggested the current environment within the video game industry was more heavily influenced by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, which took drastically different approaches to workplace culture.<ref name="vb gdc" />

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* ''Atari Inc.: Business Is Fun'', by Curt Vendel, Marty Goldberg (2012), {{ISBN|0985597402}}
* ''Zap: The Rise and Fall of Atari'', by Scott Cohen (1984), {{ISBN|0-7388-6883-3}}
* ''Gaming 101: A Contemporary History of PC and Video Games'', by George Jones (2005). {{ISBN|1-55622-080-4}}
* ''The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokémon—The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World'', by Steven L. Kent (2001), {{ISBN|0-7615-3643-4}}
* ''High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games'', by Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson (2003), {{ISBN|0-07-223172-6}}
* ''The First Quarter: A 25-year History of Video Games'', by Steven L. Kent (2000). Bothell, WA: BWD Press. {{Isbn|9780970475503}}. {{Oclc|45849134}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090520083655/http://www.bafta.org/learning/webcasts/nolan-bushnell,727,BA.html Nolan Bushnell: A Life in Video Games], filmed [[BAFTA]] event
* [http://www.mercextra.com/listen/index.php?id=241 San Jose Mercury News Podcast Interview] with Bushnell
* [http://wetalkgames.com/WTG5.mp3 Podcast Interview] Nolan Bushnell on "We Talk Games." [Timecode, 00:38:05].
* [http://thedoteaters.com/?bitstory=article-3 The Dot Eaters entry] on Bushnell and Atari
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060424175550/http://www.thetech.org/revolutionaries/bushnell/i_a.html An interview] with Bushnell
* [http://www.bestofgooglevideo.com/video.php?video=272 Discovery Channel Interview] with Bushnell
* [http://gigaom.com/2007/11/24/father-of-videogames-joins-latest-ad-driven-game-network/10739/ gigaom.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921091013/http://gigaom.com/2007/11/24/father-of-videogames-joins-latest-ad-driven-game-network/10739/ |date=September 21, 2013 }} on Bushnell and NeoEdge Networks
* [https://archive.today/20130113190147/http://newlearning.blip.tv/file/1905445/ Nolan Bushnell Keynote Address] at Game Based Learning 2009, London, March 2009
* [http://www.thebusinessmakers.com/episodes/shows/2007/december/episode-132/nolan-bushnell-atari-inc.html An interview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911155023/http://www.thebusinessmakers.com/episodes/shows/2007/december/episode-132/nolan-bushnell-atari-inc.html |date=September 11, 2013 }} with Bushnell on The BusinessMakers Show
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100407022345/http://quotes.nobosh.com/nolan-bushnell-quotes/quotations/ quotes.nobosh.com] Nolan Bushnell Quotes
* [http://twit.tv/show/triangulation/60 Nolan Bushnell with Leo Laporte on TWiT -Triangulation No.60 ](video and audio – Wed July 11, 2012 – duration 87 minutes)
* [http://www.inspiredinsider.com/nolan-bushnell-one-question-inspires/ Nolan Bushnell with Dr. Jeremy Weisz on InspiredInsider -Bushnell Opens up about Low Times and Proud Moments](video and audio duration 12 minutes)
* {{cite web| url=http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/national-public-radio/how-i-built-this/e/atari-chuck-e-cheeses-nolan-bushnell-49269472| title=How I Built This / Atari & Chuck E. Cheese's: Nolan Bushnell| access-date=March 12, 2017| archive-date=March 13, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313043650/http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/national-public-radio/how-i-built-this/e/atari-chuck-e-cheeses-nolan-bushnell-49269472| url-status=dead}} (audio interview)
* https://web.archive.org/web/20160611120837/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/mgt-appoints-nolan-bushnell-board-130000055.html

{{S-start}}
{{S-bus}}
{{s-bef|before=Start}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Atari, Inc.|CEO of Atari, Inc.]]<br /><small>[[WarnerMedia#Warner Communications (1972–1990)|(A Warner Communications Company)]]</small>|years=1976–1979}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ray Kassar]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{Early history of video games}}
{{Authority control}}
{{BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award |state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bushnell, Nolan}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:21st-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:American chief executives of food industry companies]]
[[Category:American corporate directors]]
[[Category:American electrical engineers]]
[[Category:American entertainment company founders]]
[[Category:American food company founders]]
[[Category:American retail chief executives]]
[[Category:American technology chief executives]]
[[Category:American technology company founders]]
[[Category:American video game businesspeople]]
[[Category:Atari people]]
[[Category:BAFTA fellows]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Utah]]
[[Category:Engineers from California]]
[[Category:Former Latter Day Saints]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Clearfield, Utah]]
[[Category:People from Woodside, California]]
[[Category:Pizza chain founders]]
[[Category:University of Utah alumni]]
[[Category:Utah State University alumni]]