On this day: Atari was founded

American Arcade games developer Atari is the name behind many popular gaming titles that have defined the gaming scene over the decades. These include games like Pong, Tetris, Badlands, Galaga ‘88, Primal Rage, and more. However, Atari’s early years were a very different story. Here’s a brief history of the company’s origins, beginning all the way back in the 1970s.

Atari’s origins

When electrical engineering student Nolan Bushnell worked on his first game called Computer Space in 1971, the project did not do well in the market, despite Bushnell’s then company Nutting Associates producing 1,500 Computer Space gaming cabinets (a dedicated gaming device with an attached coin machine to allow users to pay for currency).

This is partly due to the game being too complex for most people. Bushnell realised more people would be open to a simpler game that was more enjoyable and didn’t have a learning curve.

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Partnering with pinball game manufacturer Bally Manufacturing, Bushnell then began working on more ideas. In May 1972, he came across a tennis game and decided to create an arcade version of it. This game would go on to be the famous Pong game.

Meanwhile, Bushnell and associate Ted Dabney incorporated the company and called it Atari on June 27, 1972. A Japanese term originating from the strategy game Go, Atari referred to a state of being under attack, similar to a ‘check’ in Chess.

Atari’s journey across games and consoles

In the years since 1972, Atari developed and published several landmark games including, Space Invaders, Kaboom, Combat, Asteroids, Pitfall and even Adventure, believed to be the first game to feature ‘easter eggs’ for hard-core gamers.

Years later, Atari also created Home Pong, a version of the game that users could connect to their televisions at home, making it one of the first home game consoles. Eventually, developments in the segment led to the Atari 2600 console, also known as the Atari VS (Video Computer System). The first of its kind, the 1977 Atari 2600 console allowed users to switch game cartridges whenever they wanted to enjoy different games.

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Atari’s consoles would eventually drop out of popularity when rivals like the Sony PlayStation brought 3D games to users, making consoles like the Atari Jaguar seem outdated. Atari left the console market entirely soon after and European company Infogrames acquired the company in 2008, renaming itself to Atari SA. Atari, today completes 51 years, being one of the few game-developing/publishing companies with over half a century of experience in the game.