Nolan Bushnell at CGE

[digitalpress]

For those of you who are both here and were THERE, what were your impressions of Mr. Bushnell's 2-hour keynote/Q&A/autograph/photo session?

I will have access to both the video and the audio from that particular keynote very soon; I'll see what I can do about making them available for all. In the meantime I'd really love to hear your thoughts.

[MarioAllStar2600]

IT WAS AWSOME! It was so cool to meet the god of games. I asked him if he really held his meetings in hot tubs and he said yea. Hes very nice.

[Raedon]

I don't think I've been more enthralled by a lecture.

[Raedon]

I don't think I've been more enthralled by a lecture.

..and I've been threw a BFA full of lectures..

[Charlie]

He looks like he lost weight.

BTW Joe, shave goddamnit. You look to old to be scruffy.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

You know what I think - the whole show rocked, but Nolan was a huge dollop of icing on what was already a very good cake. And a nice guy to boot - in going over my video from his lecture (which took up literally half of the four videotapes I brought with me to Vegas), he seems almost as awed by our interest in him as we were awed by just his presence. When he said "What do you guys want to know?" and turned it into a Q&A session...priceless. Some of the best stuff from his keynote came from that latter half of the session.

I was also amused when other alumni were in the autograph line like the rest of us; Dan Kramer (Atari home trakball creator) brought his early, pre-production development model of the 2600 for Nolan to sign and stood in line behind me. That was wild.

I'll never forget it. But the same really goes for the whole show. When's the next one? In a few weeks I hope?

Seriously, I came home from my trip and made it a holy decree from the man of the household that this WILL become an annual pilgrimage for me. What a year to start going to CGE!

[rolenta]

I was very dissapointed with Nolan's talk. As I mentioned in another post, when Nolan mentioned Ralph Baer, I thought that he was going to clear the air and finally give Ralph his due. But he didn't. Instead he admitted to seeing the Odyssey but he said that when he saw it, the Odyssey was already a failure. However Nolan had seen it before it was even released, so how could it have been a failure?

Then Nolan said that when he saw the Odyssey he noticed that the console was for two players only and games would be fun if they were only for one player. What was his point in saying this. After he saw the failing Odyssey for two players only, he went out and had Al Alcorn design Pong, which was a two-player game!

- Magnavox sold over 160,000 Odyssey's during it's first year, and that was by selling them only in Magnavox stores. Nolan said they manufactured 150,000 Home Pongs.

- Nolan referred to the Home Pong as the first home videogame game. Come on! Even if the Odyssey was a failure, it was still first.

Unfortunately, Nolan suffers from a selective memory. In the Atari episode of G4's Icons, Nolan said that the name Atari was actually his third choice. At his keynote he said it was his 4th or 5th choice.

I have nothing against Nolan and I enjoyed talking with him and presenting him. But please, let's get the facts correct!

[Raedon]

this is where documented audio and video come in handy.

[Boboduo]

I will have access to both the video and the audio from that particular keynote very soon; I'll see what I can do about making them available for all. In the meantime I'd really love to hear your thoughts.

That would be great DP! I had to leave and be at the airport at
3:00-was only able to catch part of Bushnell's keynote.
Looks like I missed the group photo too.

Next year i'll be staying through monday!

[digitpress Jim]

The Nolan Bushnell speech was so very AWESOME.I loved every second of it.This was such a rare treat to get to see Nolan Bushnell in person,YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!! I got his whole speech on tape and I am very proud of it I am so very grateful and honored that I got to see Nolan Bushnell a huge video game LEGEND.He was very nice and answered everybody's Questions,he would of answered more but he only had 15 min.left for his speech.Mr.Bushnell got very in depth with everything he talked about and I loved it.If you can get a hold of the tape,this is a must see speech.

[rolenta]

No, I didn't ask him. Being a moderator, I didn't want to stir up any trouble.

However, this goes beyond simple memory loss. He used to claim he never saw the Odyssey until it was proven that he did. Now he says he did see it, but the machine was a piece of garbage. Come on!

Sorry you didn't make the show Scott!

[RetroYoungen]

I was very pleased with it. The only real disappointment with the whole thing was when he, after a question about being in the California governor's race, he denied that he would run. I would have voted for him, definately.

He's one of the two people that I've always wanted to just SEE in person, let alone MEET. I didn't stand in the huge line to take a pic with him or get his autograph (which I really SHOULD have done), but I really just needed to hear him talk about the good ol' days from a legend's own words.

Next year, hopefully, maybe, could Ralph Baer come to CGE again? My first CGE he was scheduled to show up, but he was ill and couldn't make the trip. I've heard nothing about him since. Would it be possible to invite him again, or have you been and he denying?

[rolenta]

Next year, hopefully, maybe, could Ralph Baer come to CGE again? My first CGE he was scheduled to show up, but he was ill and couldn't make the trip. I've heard nothing about him since. Would it be possible to invite him again, or have you been and he denying?

Ralph will be 82 in March and his health is not great (although his mind is as sharp as ever). To make matters worse, his wife has also been ill during the past several months. I spoke to Ralph last Wednesday and he said he wished he was going to CGE and lately he is feeling well enough to do so. In fact, I was supposed to visit him this weekend but he had to cancel because he is travelling to New York to celebrate his 'little' sister's 80th birthday. If Ralph maintains the health he has been enjoying lately, he will attend CGE next year, God willing.

[john_soper]

Some of the history stuff was kinda boring to me because I already knew it (from reading Phoenix and Game Over of course). But I did like him discussing the Atari "starving years", especially how all the candidates for company president were no good because they only knew how to run a company with money. Nolan needed someone to run a company without money, and no one was any better than him.

I had a question for him, but time ran short and I wasn't agressive enough. "What if a few years from now, the Microsoft Xbox line is somehow the leading videogame system in America, and Microsoft was ordered to spin it off into a separate company. If they bought the rights and took on the name of Atari, how would that make you feel personally? And if they offered you a high position, would you be tempted?"

Anyone like that question?

[Buyatari]

I say next year we get Nolan and Ralph to settle this issue once and for all.......over who is the better Pong player.

Adam

[ubikuberalles]

I say next year we get Nolan and Ralph to settle this issue once and for all.......over who is the better Pong player.

Adam

Ya! I'd like to see that! Or at least they could shake hands and pose for pictures. Maybe we could have a Jerry Springer-like show going at CGE and they can yell accusations and throw chairs. It'lll be great.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I think they should get together and do the honorable thing: pick their respective "champions" from a bevy of bikini-clad lovelies and have them really go after it.

I think it's also customary to do this sort of fight-for-the-honor-of-the-old-unit in a tub of Jell-o.

[vespertillio]

Does anyone know if Nolans speech has been posted somewhere in either an audio or video format. I was not able to attend but would definately love to listen to all 2+ hours of it. Shoot, if I could get the video I would make a DVD of it and preserve the historical moment for prosperity.

[digitalpress]

Does anyone know if Nolans speech has been posted somewhere in either an audio or video format. I was not able to attend but would definately love to listen to all 2+ hours of it. Shoot, if I could get the video I would make a DVD of it and preserve the historical moment for prosperity.

It's not available just yet, but I do have access to both the video and high-quality audio. I'm working on it. Got a dozen follow-up thingies to knock out but I see this happening soon. Feel free to keep reminding me!

[Buyatari]

It's not available just yet, but I do have access to both the video and high-quality audio. I'm working on it. Got a dozen follow-up thingies to knock out but I see this happening soon. Feel free to keep reminding me!

Hey hey now I'd pay for nicely presented copy of that.

Adam