Today marks the 40 year anniversary of my generation’s first
popular gaming console, the Atari. Founded in 1972 by engineers Nolan
Bushnell and Ted Dabney, Atari was a pioneer in arcade
games, home video game consoles, and home
computers. Atari is even where Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak of Apple got
their start. I actually still have my original console alongside a dozen or so game
cartridges back at the home I grew up in and probably will never get rid of it.
All I can think looking at the photo above is that it would be pretty awesome
if a modern age game console was designed with a wood finish instead of the
clunky cheap plastic that has dominated product design for almost three
decades. Whatever the case, in
celebration of the anniversary this week’s Throwback Thursday is a make-shift documentary about the history of the gaming console, exploring the rise and fall
of the one-time giant. Grab some popcorn
and a comfy chair because it’s an hour and a half long but well worth your time
if you are a life-long vidiot like myself, and if you’re not? It’s at least worth a couple minutes of your
time to fast forward to the end to watch the crazy Star Wars game ad.
