Atari Breakout

Zud

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Just came across this:

The ultimate in Pong, Breakout was designed by "this non-degreed engineer, but sharp kid from Palo Alto, "explains Steve Bristow, "named Steve Jobs. "(Do you know him? He's only the iCEO of Apple Computer.) Jobs had an unusual working arrangement with Atari at the time. Bushnell would describe a game and specify a certain number of integrated circuits (ICs) he wanted jobs to use. For every IC he saved he received a $1OO bonus. Jobs turned out a very compact prototype of what turned into Breakout. "I think he brought it down from 80 to 30 ICs, " says Bristow. "It wasn't common but that's how that one happened. " In truth it was Job's friend Steve Wozniak who designed Breakout, not Jobs. However jobs received a $5,000 bonus and told Wozniak it was only $700 and gave Steve Wozniak his "50%" ... $350. Years later this truth would come out and it would add to the already increasing friction between the two which eventually lead to Steve Wozniak quitting Apple. Meanwhile at Atari, the Breakout design was ingenious, however no one could figure it out so production could not begin, so it had to be redesigned all over again by someone else.
 
Yes 100% true from what I've read over the years. Woz's design was so complex, Atari couldn't reproduce it. This also shows Jobs' true colors. Apple exsists only because Jobs was/is a great "front man", not a technical genius. He convinced HP to give them parts to build their first Apple in his garage back in 1978.
 
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Just picked one of these up!
 
I have one in storage... Modessit saw it today when he came over to pick up a Moon Patrol cab from me.

One day I'll have enough room to bring it home and redo it.
 
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