126 replies to this topic

[Cebus Capucinis]

Metal Ghost, on Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:43 PM, said:

so other than the aforementioned Dabney, can you name anybody else from Atari who's here?

Owen Rubin logged on once, too. His favorite cookie is a macaroon but he never turns down a chocolate chip.

[Dan Iacovelli]

atarigal, on Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:51 PM, said:

Dan Iacovelli, on Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:26 PM, said:

I got most of it done but didn't finish.
if you want to give it a try I have the url to the video chat I did in my signature

Sure, I can do that. Do you have it in an audio-only format, perchance?

no I don't but I can't make one.

[atarigal]

Dan Iacovelli, on Thu Apr 28, 2011 8:26 PM, said:

no I don't but I can't make one.

Can or can't? LOL. It doesn't matter overly much, I can do it from the video, just a bit quicker with audio.

[wood_jl]

I emailed Warren Robinett one time (a few years ago) and he replied, was extremely kind, and I was extremely impressed. I felt like I'd corresponded with a celebrity, which, obviously, I had.

[Tempest]

Metal Ghost, on Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:43 PM, said:

so other than the aforementioned Dabney, can you name anybody else from Atari who's here?

Landon Dyer logs in now and then.

Tempest

[Dan Iacovelli]

atarigal, on Fri Apr 29, 2011 8:29 AM, said:

Dan Iacovelli, on Thu Apr 28, 2011 8:26 PM, said:

no I don't but I can't make one.

Can or can't? LOL. It doesn't matter overly much, I can do it from the video, just a bit quicker with audio.

meant can make one I just have voice recorder I can put near my pc to record.

[CommodoreStaffen]

I highly doubt he is still hanging around here, but I've been dying to know this.
What are your feelings on Jack Tramiel? Is there any kind of rivalry between you and him?

Edited by CommodoreStaffen, Thu Jun 9, 2011 10:06 PM.

[Goochman]

CommodoreStaffen, on Thu Jun 9, 2011 10:05 PM, said:

I highly doubt he is still hanging around here, but I've been dying to know this.
What are your feelings on Jack Tramiel? Is there any kind of rivalry between you and him?

Why would there be? Jack was way after Nolan's time - even before Atari and Commodore really starting competing in the early 80's

[Mark Wolfe]

so, looking at NolanB's profile, it looks like he joined us for about a week or so and then split leaving some unanswered questions from a closed thread concerning the origins of pong, etc. any idea why he has not come back?

Most Active In:Classic Gaming General (48 posts)Joined:25-April 10Profile Views:2,359Last Active: May 2 2010 12:42 PM

[nathanallan]

Maybe he's just a busy guy, and doesn't have time to deal with a 'fan site.' Um, I think we're his most active fan base these days.

[Mark Wolfe]

nathanallan, on Wed Jul 20, 2011 2:48 PM, said:

Maybe he's just a busy guy, and doesn't have time to deal with a 'fan site.' Um, I think we're his most active fan base these days.

no, I get that he's buys but if you read the thread that was closed before this one opened, there was some pretty heavy stuff being discussed if you follow the whole ralph baer, pong, magnavox thing and nolan seemed pretty eager to get it all worked out and on the record but then he disappears pretty soon after that. it's a shame because I think some things could have been put to rest that have been up in the air for a long time. he has not been active on the forums or even logged in since may of 2010. oh well.

[Retro Rogue]

Mark Wolfe, on Wed Jul 20, 2011 2:57 PM, said:

no, I get that he's buys but if you read the thread that was closed before this one opened, there was some pretty heavy stuff being discussed if you follow the whole ralph baer, pong, magnavox thing and nolan seemed pretty eager to get it all worked out and on the record but then he disappears pretty soon after that.

a) Ralph was never part of that thread, Nolan interjected him (i.e. started ranting about him) out of the blue.

b) What he stated was no different than what he's been stating in interviews over the last 8 or so years other than some of the usual contradictions or claims about stolen notebooks.

Quote

it's a shame because I think some things could have been put to rest that have been up in the air for a long time. he has not been active on the forums or even logged in since may of 2010. oh well.

What could have been put to rest and based on what? The two men have told their points publicly for years now and it hasn't solved anything.

[SoulBlazer]

I thought Bushnell and Baer had come to a understanding of sorts.

I remember reading a exchange that happened between them -- I'm not totally sure, I think it's from "The Ultimate History of Video Games" but could have been from "Phoenix", in which one day after the two of them had finished being in court Bushnell introduced Baer to someone as "The father of video games" to which Baer laughed and said "I wish you had said that on the record years ago!"

[Blues76]

I'm not sure if this was asked and I'm not sure if NolanB connects to AtariAge anymore. But in any case, I'm going ask the question that most people have been asking for a while.

Mr. Nolan, Why can Atari start thinking about a new Console? Just the Atari brand itself should help to sell it. Is it funding? I would love to hear your answer. I would also like to know what do you envision of an Atari Console of the 21st century!

I heard people say that now it will be too hard because Xbox , Nintendo and Sony PS dominate the market. But it hasn't always been true and it will not always be true.

thanks

[Goochman]

Blues76 - at this point anyone that wants to create a mass market console needs to have deep deep pockets. You will lose $$ on the hardware and try to make it up on software. If you dont have a presence in Japan then forget about it.

Do you know that MSFT has yet to turn a profit on the XBox unit? Do you think Atari Games has pockets deep enough to post loses for almost 10 years to be a leader?

Atari would be better off marketing a gaming computer rig or all in 1 PC that plays off the shelf stuff with something unique.

Also remember that Atari would need to convince makers of popular games to port to any new console which wouldnt happen and Atari has no real blockbuster titles under their ownership.

[Dan Iacovelli]

that question has actually been asked about the console, he said no new consoles.
my job has given me longer hours so it's getting harder for me to finish the first transcript.
Also in our second interview he mentioned that for some reason (he can't disclose) he's no longer on the board

[wood_jl]

Blues76, on Wed Nov 30, 2011 11:58 AM, said:

I'm not sure if this was asked and I'm not sure if NolanB connects to AtariAge anymore.

Of course not! Bushnell's only interested in what makes money.

At the time of this thread, someone else tipped him off that he was being discussed here at that particular time, because he was joining the board of the modern Infogrames entity that currently calls itself "Atari." They probably thought the recognition of his name would pique investors' interest, and stem the losses of that floundering company. He didn't come here before, and he doesn't come here anymore - it was just to defend one incident. The original thread title was "Nolan weasles his way onto the board at Atari" and it was changed. He came to defend himself because the thread got a lot of attention. Now he's gone. This is a place for Atari enthusiasts, not money enthusiasts.

Blues76, on Wed Nov 30, 2011 11:58 AM, said:

But in any case, I'm going ask the question that most people have been asking for a while.

Mr. Nolan, Why can Atari start thinking about a new Console? Just the Atari brand itself should help to sell it. Is it funding? I would love to hear your answer. I would also like to know what do you envision of an Atari Console of the 21st century!

I heard people say that now it will be too hard because Xbox , Nintendo and Sony PS dominate the market. But it hasn't always been true and it will not always be true.

Good thing you don't need Bushnell to answer this for you. You can get your answer here, where you'll quickly see that money is a barrier to entry.....

Forbes: Xbox lost Microsoft 4 billion

......and that was years ago. They had to take it in the shorts to the tune of $4 billion FOR AN ENTIRE CONSOLE GENERATION and didn't make ANY money until the Xbox 360 in the next. Considering that, there's your answer as to why there won't be any new console. Plus, things are even worse now, since Microsoft DID succeed with the Xbox 360, you'd have to compete with them, too!

Couple more links:

The making of the Xbox - part 1

The making of the Xbox - part 2

It took a $200 BILLION company to do it, with enormous risk that they could afford. The company currently masquerading as "Atari" is totally incompetent to even produce a hit game, much less design/engineer/produce/support a console, even if they had $200 BILLION, which they don't. I'm wondering when they're going to fail. It'd be nice if they did, and the old Atari properties went to another entity - one with a clue - who could manage and market them properly.

[jaybird3rd]

Dan Iacovelli, on Wed Nov 30, 2011 6:45 PM, said:

Also in our second interview he mentioned that for some reason (he can't disclose) he's no longer on the board

Marty Goldberg talked about this in another thread:

Quote

He's a "special advisor" to the board. I.E. he was let go from his original board position (which was purely as a representative of BlueBay's shares for BlueBay) and they wanted to keep the name involvement there somehow. Most people were confused (which was done on purpose) and thought Atari had brought him in and he was running things there. BlueBay brought him in for publicity to try and help the company through PR, by having him represent their board seat. That gave him a cubicle at Atari SA in California (where the headquarters of the brand and the board is now) and they'd run some of the in-production games by him to say "Cool, great game" so they could say it was "approved" buy Nolan Bushnell (Star Raiders was one of those), had him involved in some of the press releases that went out, and had him going around to different shows and events to generate more PR. When it was clear that wasn't working to help Atari SA last year, BlueBay took him off the position (and he lost his cubicle) and switched efforts towards selling their majority ownership. Wilson had Nolan still be involved in name by having him become a "special advisor".

[Blues76]

jaybird3rd, on Wed Nov 30, 2011 9:13 PM, said:

Quote

He's a "special advisor" to the board. I.E. he was let go from his original board position (which was purely as a representative of BlueBay's shares for BlueBay) and they wanted to keep the name involvement there somehow. Most people were confused (which was done on purpose) and thought Atari had brought him in and he was running things there. BlueBay brought him in for publicity to try and help the company through PR, by having him represent their board seat. That gave him a cubicle at Atari SA in California (where the headquarters of the brand and the board is now) and they'd run some of the in-production games by him to say "Cool, great game" so they could say it was "approved" buy Nolan Bushnell (Star Raiders was one of those), had him involved in some of the press releases that went out, and had him going around to different shows and events to generate more PR. When it was clear that wasn't working to help Atari SA last year, BlueBay took him off the position (and he lost his cubicle) and switched efforts towards selling their majority ownership. Wilson had Nolan still be involved in name by having him become a "special advisor".

What is BlueBay? I try searching BlueBay and BlueBay games but didn't find anything...
so he was hired by BlueBay and not Atari... How does BlueBay relates to Atari?

thanks for the info

[Retro Rogue]

Blues76, on Thu Dec 1, 2011 11:57 AM, said:

jaybird3rd, on Wed Nov 30, 2011 9:13 PM, said:

Quote

He's a "special advisor" to the board. I.E. he was let go from his original board position (which was purely as a representative of BlueBay's shares for BlueBay) and they wanted to keep the name involvement there somehow. Most people were confused (which was done on purpose) and thought Atari had brought him in and he was running things there. BlueBay brought him in for publicity to try and help the company through PR, by having him represent their board seat. That gave him a cubicle at Atari SA in California (where the headquarters of the brand and the board is now) and they'd run some of the in-production games by him to say "Cool, great game" so they could say it was "approved" buy Nolan Bushnell (Star Raiders was one of those), had him involved in some of the press releases that went out, and had him going around to different shows and events to generate more PR. When it was clear that wasn't working to help Atari SA last year, BlueBay took him off the position (and he lost his cubicle) and switched efforts towards selling their majority ownership. Wilson had Nolan still be involved in name by having him become a "special advisor".

What is BlueBay? I try searching BlueBay and BlueBay games but didn't find anything...
so he was hired by BlueBay and not Atari... How does BlueBay relates to Atari?

thanks for the info

Finance firm -

http://www.bluebayinvest.com/

They're the ones who have chiefly been floating Infogrames/Atari SA for years now, via multiple loans. They own a majority of the stock as well. Nolan was on the board as a representative of their seat for about 6-7 months until BlueBay switched efforts to their "recovery" division and had a member of that on the board instead. Nolan was asked to stay involved in the board as a "special advisor".

[Blues76]

Just a dream... but wouldn't it be nice that we all give money to buy it... of course, we could not afford it! but it would be nice... say that it will be owned by all atari age members!
I know... it is just a crazy idea!

[jaybird3rd]

Blues76, on Thu Dec 1, 2011 12:13 PM, said:

Just a dream... but wouldn't it be nice that we all give money to buy it... of course, we could not afford it! but it would be nice... say that it will be owned by all atari age members!
I know... it is just a crazy idea!

I wish we'd had that idea back in 1998. Considering how little Hasbro Interactive paid to pick it up from JTS ($5 million, I believe?), we probably could have found a way to pull together enough money!

[Emehr]

This site, its members, and Legacy Engineering are more "Atari" than any corporation with the rights to the logo will ever be. Watching the follies enacted with the Atari license in the past decade has been like watching an elderly person drive in a manner that is unsafe. You see them driving on the road but you know deep down that they shouldn't be. All you can do is grimace and hope they don't crash. It's unsafe and they should just hand over the license and keys. The one thing the current rights holders to the Atari name and logo did right was release the Flashback 2, but that was all Legacy anyway.

[AtariDude]

Hi Mr. Bushnell,

I remember hearing about a movie based upon your life and Leonardo de Caprio (maybe misspelled) would be playing you in the movie. What is the current status of this movie?

[PFL]

jaybird3rd, on Thu Dec 1, 2011 12:27 PM, said:

Blues76, on Thu Dec 1, 2011 12:13 PM, said:

Just a dream... but wouldn't it be nice that we all give money to buy it... of course, we could not afford it! but it would be nice... say that it will be owned by all atari age members!
I know... it is just a crazy idea!

I wish we'd had that idea back in 1998. Considering how little Hasbro Interactive paid to pick it up from JTS ($5 million, I believe?), we probably could have found a way to pull together enough money!

Well, if we wait for Infogrammes to go down the toilet maybe we could get a deal!?

It would be cool if this place and Legacy became the official Atari though...