Nolan Bushnell, co-founder of Atari, has come back to the company as a member of its Board of Directors, IndustryGamers chatted with Bushnell on the phone to get his reaction to rejoining the company he’s best known for.
“It kind of is a homecoming. I think Atari has made some really nice strides in the last few years, and I feel like it’s the right time and right place,” he told us. “I’ve known [CEO] Jeff Lapin and some of the guys [for quite a while], and I bumped into them a few years ago at E3 and had some dialogue. It just all of a sudden felt natural I think for both sides.”
Although Atari has been around for well over three decades (at this point approaching four), Bushnell still feels like the brand resonates very well with consumers across the globe. “I feel like one of the real assets for Atari is it has a really, really cool worldwide brand, and I think there’s a lot of good things to do with that brand and name recognition. And with all of the things that are happening online and in the casual games space [there's a real opportunity] to revitalize some of the classic Atari games,” he said.
With that in mind, Bushnell thinks that his return to the company now is perfect timing since he knows so much about the legacy games. “I’m kind of a storehouse of legacy knowledge that I think will be helpful, and I think there are a lot of things that I can help the company with some unique capabilities,” he commented. “So I’m a Board member, which is very different than a line officer, but I think it’s the right thing for me at this stage in my life.”