Nolan Bushnell is the founding father of Atari and some would say the video game industry as a whole. He is credited with creating Pong (a variation on Ralph Bear’s “Brown Box” console game’s “table tennis”) and the Atari gaming systems which ushered in the video game industry and lead to that great pasttime that we know and enjoy today.
For his achievements, Nolan Bushnell will be awarded with the Fellowship at this year’s GAME British Academy Video Game Awards. The Fellowship is the highest honor that the Academy can bestow on an individual for their creative work.
Nolan was an electrical engineer, an entrepreneur and founder of Atari inc. He was born in the United States and was named one of Newsweek’s “50 Men That Changed America”. Pong was the first video game to achieve widespread popularity in both the arcade and home markets and even caused a coin shortage in the U.S., which had to mint additional coins to meet demand.
On being invited to receive the Fellowship, Bushnell said “I am humbled to be selected for this honor from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The British people are not only great game players but have historically been some of the best game creators. The pub culture and country house drawing room environments have been instrumental in spawning games and game players through the centuries. I am very grateful to receive an award from the people with a history of creating and embracing this type of entertainment.”
David Parfitt, Chairman of the Academy said “The Fellowship is the highest accolade the Academy can bestow on an individual for their creative work and we are very excited that Nolan is flying over to accept it at the Awards. His contribution is nothing short of remarkable; he ushered in an era, the legacy of which is the vibrant, evolving industry we see before us today.”
The GAME British Academy Video Games Awards, hosted by comedian and gamer Dara O’Briain, will take place on March 10 at the London Hilton on Park Lane.
Via WorthPlaying