A Message from Nolan Bushnell (1984)

mclemore

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I was doing some cleanup in TAFA this morning... and came across a Sente flyer with a quote from Nolan Bushnell

"There is no question that the current state of the coin-op video game industry is of great concern to us all. For some time now I have had to watch from the sidelines as the industry which I helped create has gone from a thriving and profitable business, to one fighting for survival. All we hear are desperate cries for the next 'big' game! One that will 'save' the business. That one that will fill up the coin boxes and keep them filled for months. The trouble is all that's a dream. Those days are over. No one game is going to save this business..."

 
great way to introduce your products and try to sell it to the masses..

oh, its a partial quote.. he is trying to sell the BBD.
 
Was Atari's System One their response to SENTE? It's a good concept. Seems like it should have been more successful.
 
Sorry his Sente idea didn't pan out. Sell cabinets, lease game cartridges. Would have made him the largest operator in the world. He did finally sell cartridges. By then no one cared. I questioned his leasing cartridges. If it's a great earner does he want it back sooner ? If it's a flop how long are you stuck with it ?

The biggest problem as I see it was in the beginning of the video game fad so many new ideas. Then when like all fads ( tulip, hula hoop, cabbage patch kids, etc. ) that was the end of new ideas. Wash, rinse repeat, kind of like movies. Hey lets make another star wars movie rather than risk something new. Research and development went by the wayside. Fighting games are big, lets all build them, sports games are big, lets all build them, driving games are big, lets all build them. 1996 kind of the last good year, over ten new driving games came out. We couldn't buy them all.

There was a time we had it all. And we F'd it up huge. Many years ago there were a few hundred operators in Minneapolis alone. Now I don't think there is a dozen in the whole state.

LTG : )
 
The words of the prophet. Literally.

Profound and sadly accurate. We should revel in the days we had in this amazing time.
 
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