The History of Atari @ Gamasutra

Our interest in Atari comes mostly from their modern relationship with D&D, so this article detailing the early history of the real/original Atari is off topic but fascinating. In a lengthy 20 pages, Gamasutra looks at 1971 - 1977:

Instead, it hit them one day to go in the opposite direction and simplify their design to cut costs as much as possible. The pair decided that they did not need thousands of dollars in hardware to make their dream come to life, instead choosing a much simpler solution. They crafted a working game using TTL (Transistor To Transistor Logic)vii to create a computer whose sole purpose was to play Computer Space. While this might have seemed like a step-back technology wise, it was a huge leap forward for creating a commercial game. With a black and white G.E. TV and $100 worth of electronic parts, they created the first viable, commercial video game.

“I worked it out and the economics were overwhelming."viii - Nolan Bushnell

This seemingly simple decision towards simplification fueled the entire video game industry for most of the 1970’s.

More information.

Steve Fulton, the author, is an occasional contributor over at GamerDad as well - so we're very happy for him!

I remember when my son was growing up, "having an Atari" meant having video games, period. As in, "I want to go to Bill's house, mom—he has an Atari"

I just met David Crane when he gave a special lecture at the University. I've been planning a post about him as soon as I get time.

Thank you so much for pointing me and other games to this great article

I do think it is important that we as gamers also remembers the history of video games.