Acquired

Season 5, Episode 5: Atari (with Nolan Bushnell)

Oct 15, 2019

Join Nolan Bushnell, the visionary founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese, as he shares fascinating tales from the early days of video game innovation. Hear about the origins of Atari, the creation of iconic games like Pong, and how he once hired Steve Jobs. Bushnell dives into his entrepreneurial journey, discussing his unique growth strategies and the cultural impact of gaming. Plus, discover the surprising connections between Atari and Chuck E. Cheese, and the challenges and triumphs that defined his groundbreaking career.

01:40:09

Creator website

Episode guests

Nolan Bushnell

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Pong and Female Empowerment

00:24

Silicon Valley Manifesto

00:29

Intro

2min

Marketplace Insights and B2B Strategies

5min

Childhood Ventures to College Hustles

13min

Pioneering Days of Gaming and Technology

18min

The Birth of Atari: Branding and Innovation

12min

Innovative Capital Management and Inventory Control

2min

The Evolution of Pinball and Its Financial Backing

2min

Atari's Unconventional Growth

21min

The Evolution of Chuck E. Cheese and Atari

21min

10.

Exploring Interactive Trends in Podcasting and Gaming

2min

We’re joined by the legendary Nolan Bushnell, founder not only of Atari, but also the only person ever to hire Steve Jobs, the recipient of Sequoia Capital’s first-ever investment, and the creator of Chuck E. Cheese, the canonical GPS navigation arrow, and a little project that would go on to become Pixar. We cover it all in this special episode!

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Links:

Spacewar!, the first video game: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacewar!
The meaning of Atari: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/atari
Nolan’s current project, St. Noire: https://www.amazon.com/St-Noire-Hosted-Cinematic-Exclusive/dp/B07P693BG1

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