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Nolan Bushnell Talks His 600 Trillion Games, Pong Dates
Posted by Leigh Alexander at 4:00 AM on June 13, 2008
Atari founder Nolan Bushnell recently talked to GameDaily about his uWink business, a growing chain of restaurants that feature touch terminals on every table - not only do they let users order their food that way, but they can also play games together.
And Bushnell estimated the number of games he'd be able to serve through uWink at 600 trillion games across 100,000 restaurants Ambitious - but hey, it's Nolan Bushnell, right?
When we covered Bushnell's recent talk at Wedbush Morgan's annual management access conference, we heard him say that he misses the idea of gaming as a social activity, since the decline of arcades, and that part of what he hopes to do with uWink is to revive that group spirit and keep multiplayer that's actually in-person alive.
In the GameDaily interview, he cited an example - Pong used to be a hot tool for chicks to pick up guys at bars?
"What's the essence of that game experience?" Bushnell asks, pausing before answering his own question. "The essence of that game experience is the social experience".
And there's a precedent for such things. "Pong was highly social", he reminds us. Bushnell recalls the early days when the game was introduced to bars. "It was okay for a woman to pull a guy off the bar stool to come and play with her, because it was only a two player game. And so it was like a constant girl's choice in a bar. And it was right at the point of women's liberation...and the number of people who said they've met their husband or wife playing Pong over the years, you know, I bet over a thousand people have said that".
Interview: Nolan Bushnell's 600 Trillion Games [GameDaily]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Orionsaint
Posted 4:57 AM 13/6/08
Social? In general I don't like people
Orionsaint
Setzer IIDX
Posted 4:54 AM 13/6/08
But are the games any FUN?
I'll sit at this diner for hours if he can hook me up some Arcade SF action.
Setzer IIDX
freakoflink
Posted 4:49 AM 13/6/08
I think the name spells disaster.
Well - maybe not - look at the Wii.
freakoflink
ShikiMSHTS
Posted 4:42 AM 13/6/08
Nolan Bushnell is the most pimp man in existance.
Easily.
ShikiMSHTS
omnibot2000XL
Posted 4:38 AM 13/6/08
uWink is actually pretty rad. I went to one in Sherman Oaks or Thousand Oaks or something. The games are laughably bad, but the touch-screen ordering is really nice, the food is OK, and it's definitely a laugh if you're there with friends. It's not too pricey either -- you get a lot of credits just by buying food and drinks.
It would actually be a really good spot for a date -- the weirdness would make a good conversational topic.
omnibot2000XL
Witzbold
Posted 4:31 AM 13/6/08
Oh wow hes not naked and in a hot tub anymore.
What happened good sir Bushnell!?!
Witzbold
wild homes 5: treyarch attacks!
Posted 4:27 AM 13/6/08
Hm. Food, and touchscreens. Things you eat, and then, touchscreens.
This is a disgusting idea. Those screens are going to have so many germs on them. That's about the last thing I want to be touching while I'm eating. Well, maybe next to last-- there are anuses, after all.
Seriously, Nolan-- you really think this is a wise plan? Have you never been to a restaurant where the tables are sticky? Actually, have you ever been to a restaurant where the tables have been perfectly clean?
All I know is that when I see a dirty place, overflowing with germs, I think to myself, this looks like a great place to put some electronics.
wild homes 5: treyarch attacks!
Thorax
Posted 4:27 AM 13/6/08
And yet I've never seen a uWink before.
Thorax
Kounji
Posted 4:26 AM 13/6/08
LOSE BIG. Seriously, I appreciate people who try things like this. Who knows you might like it you might not, but its worth trying. Dave and busters does alright, but I'd love to see more of true gamer haven that goes beyond arcades.
Kounji
Werrick
Posted 4:14 AM 13/6/08
My girlfriend would probably like that...
I think this is a great idea, but not as good as my own idea for a themed restaurant! Nosir!
Werrick
Hubert Humphrey Methadone
Posted 4:11 AM 13/6/08
100,000 restaurants...
In comparison, there are about 14,000 McDonalds locations currently in the US.
I guess you have to aim high...
Hubert Humphrey Methadone
everybest
Posted 4:11 AM 13/6/08
@Hubert Humphrey Methadone: Haha. Sounds about right. Might work well with families with kids though, although I feel like that's already been done before.
everybest
Kamesen
Posted 4:07 AM 13/6/08
God bless Nolan Bushnell. Seriously.
Kamesen
Green-clad Gamer Dude
Posted 4:07 AM 13/6/08
This guy dreams big. TOO big.
Green-clad Gamer Dude
Hubert Humphrey Methadone
Posted 4:05 AM 13/6/08
If I brought my girlfriend to a restaurant where we were supposed to play video games together, I'm pretty sure that would guarantee a night of me on the couch.
Hubert Humphrey Methadone
KrelianAngel
Posted 5:17 AM 13/6/08
makes sense, they won't have to waste so much money on actually RUNNING the games, since people will spend the whole time trying to choose one worth playing.
KrelianAngel
theonlydoublej
Posted 5:00 AM 13/6/08
I play photo hunt with chicks all the time, I like where he is going with this
theonlydoublej
Goatfish
Posted 5:00 AM 13/6/08
I've been there. The food was surprisingly good. The touchscreen wasn't greasy and worked well for ordering food. Although, the UI is a bit confusing takes a getting used to.
The games were lame overall except when they did the restaurant wide trivia with the leader board projected up on the wall. That game is free and you can win candy bars.
Goatfish
9a3eedi
Posted 6:11 AM 13/6/08
Sounds really like how they sold more E.T. and Pacman atari games than actual atari 2600's,
which eventually led to their bankrupcy
just sayin'~
9a3eedi
flukielukie
Posted 5:55 AM 13/6/08
You gotta give it to him, hes tried.
Hes still attached to retro gaming though.
Somewhat desperately wanting it to work in todays society, which it can. But not in this way IMO. But if its a success props to him.
flukielukie
EmTeeZ
Posted 5:54 AM 13/6/08
Hey Nolan, how about making the games at your sole location in Woodland Hills fun and/or not incredibly expensive first?
Heck, games at those old arcades only cost a quarter. Even with inflation, a couple bucks for flash solitaire is not the equivalent today. Good intention, horrible execution.
EmTeeZ
firesign
Posted 5:50 AM 13/6/08
i hope the food is better than chuck e. cheese.
firesign
kingdong6
Posted 6:40 AM 13/6/08
Phil Jackson?
kingdong6
73mike
Posted 6:39 AM 13/6/08
Yep,because chicks have aways needed assistance when trying to pick up guys in bars. The old gambits of BEING WOMEN don't work too well in places where men consume alcohol.
Even if the estimates of 100,000 restaurants and 600 gagoogillion potential game sales were not a clue to his not-quite-in-touch-with-reality outlook, that basic misunderstanding about gender roles and alcohol would be fine signal not to invest.
73mike
Sentientv2
Posted 6:22 AM 13/6/08
Ralph Baer is watching you Nolan...
Someone's keeping score... and it isn't your "It wasn't Pong before I added a score to it" score.
Sentientv2
badasscat
Posted 7:17 AM 13/6/08
Kinda freaky, but Bushnell looks just like my dad in that photo.
@wild homes 5: treyarch attacks!: props on your avatar, dude. Got my tickets to see them in September.
badasscat
TDub301
Posted 6:55 AM 13/6/08
That's funny, he does kind of look like Phil Jackson.
Does he realize how many 600 trillion is? I can see him being like Dr. Evil and saying 600 gazillion, fophillian and a PR person rolling his eyes and saying "let's keep it down to 600 trillion for now, Mr. Bushnell" while straining not to laugh in his face
TDub301
riffleraffle
Posted 8:35 AM 13/6/08
There's only one Uwink that I know of, and it's in Woodland Hills (near Thousand Oaks, so omnibot was kinda close), and it's decent, albeit gimmicky.
riffleraffle
Ghede
Posted 10:45 AM 13/6/08
Those restaurants sound awesome. I wonder if the menu feature also has a "See a picture of an idealized copy of the food most likely not actually made with the food in question, so you vaguely know what it looks like" feature. Toss in nutritional guidelines, sorting features based on price, calories, allergens, etc... Computerized dining would be awesome. That isn't even counting the games. I wish to dine in the FUTURE-UR-Ur-ur-u.-..
Ghede
pmcizhere
Posted 8:23 AM 13/6/08
Wow, at 600 trillion games over 100,000 places, that'd entail every restaurant serving up 6 BILLION games...
Also, he says that the arcades' demise started with the fighting games! He claims they were less social, could anything be further from the truth? There'd often be lines for a particular fighter, many times with one person staying as the victor for quite a few rounds...We all know the home console killed the arcades.
pmcizhere
kablammyman
Posted 7:05 AM 13/6/08
pong was the first casual game??
kablammyman
SuFiAlliance
Posted 4:28 AM 13/6/08
My boyfriend is lucky that I'm a gamer too...
Good luck sir! And who says that Pong isn't hot anymore?!
SuFiAlliance
ThoughtStream
Posted 4:06 AM 13/6/08
Interesting idea, being able to play games as a group while waiting to eat. Curiously, what kind of games will be available? Pong? Checkers? I would hope for a game with a little more substance, but if you are waiting for food, you shouldn't have enough time for a RPG or something :P
ThoughtStream
Eltigro
Posted 11:51 AM 13/6/08
@firesign: Wonder if they'll get bought out by ShowBiz Pizza...
I actually remember going to a ShowBiz Pizza before they bought Chuck E. Cheese and all turned into Chuck E. Cheese.
Eltigro
dslsd64
Posted 3:19 PM 13/6/08
Pong, a chick magnet? Holy crap, I think I was doing it wrong. Then again, I was sitting alone in my room playing Pong, so there's that. He makes it sound as if just making those BEEP, BOOP sounds will magically incite a crotch-to-face migration or something.
dslsd64