Nolan Bushnell Quotes & Sayings

Selling Atari when I did - I think that's my biggest regret. And I probably should have gotten back heavily into the games business in the late Eighties. But I was operating under this theory at the time that the way to have an interesting life was to reinvent yourself every five or six years. — Nolan Bushnell

The truth is just an excuse for lack of imagination. — Nolan Bushnell

Video games in some ways are too powerful, they have too much resonance with kids. And it's very easy to overdose on video games and to let the outside world go by. — Nolan Bushnell

The idea is to become a best-selling author first and then the rest of my books will be slam dunks. — Nolan Bushnell

Walk to work, even if it's four miles. Ride a bike to work. Drive a different way. On your way there, try to find beauty. You'd be surprised how much more of the neighborhood you can perceive and experience when you're looking for unique spots of beauty. — Nolan Bushnell

I'm a big believer in the Wii. I love the physicality of the Wii controller, and how you can get the feeling of throwing a bowling ball or swinging a golf club. Those are the kinds of games I really like. — Nolan Bushnell

Everybody believes in innovation until they see it. Then they think, 'Oh, no; that'll never work. It's too different.' — Nolan Bushnell

These days when you say 'videogame', people think of immersive games that take over your life and require three thumbs to control. My goal is to create games that almost retreat into the background. I'm interested in bringing them back to their role as a social facilitator, the way party games help people to interact. — Nolan Bushnell

I hate 'Mafia Wars'. — Nolan Bushnell

Being your own boss is much superior to working for the man. Including working for your father. — Nolan Bushnell

I must confess I've always had a couple of pinball machines in my home and really have enjoyed some of the old classics, like Fireball. — Nolan Bushnell

A good interviewer is able to ferret out what the applicant is really passionate about. Ask them what they do for fun, what they're reading, try and find out if they have a life outside of work. — Nolan Bushnell

When I was running Atari, violence against humanoid figures was not allowed. We'd let you shoot at a tank ... but we drew the line at shooting at people, with blood splattering everywhere. — Nolan Bushnell

If you're willing to work harder than anybody else, you can create your own luck — Nolan Bushnell

There are a lot of things about having money that are perceived to be cool but that aren't. Maybe if you're a CEO jerk who likes going coast to coast by himself in a G4, then that's fine. But that's not me. And it never will be. — Nolan Bushnell

I was actually the manager of the games department of an amusement park when I was at college, so I understood the coin-op side of the games business very well. — Nolan Bushnell

Atari showed that young people could start big companies. Without that example it would have been harder for Jobs and Bill Gates, and people who came after them, to do what they did. — Nolan Bushnell

The thing we don't want to do is overstate the benefits, but there is all kinds of proof that exercise, both physical and mental, increases brain activity. — Nolan Bushnell

Learning ballroom dancing is great for your brain. But it only works for three to six months. After that, you've got all the benefit you can get, and so you have to move on to yoga, and then Tai Chi, and then bridge, always keeping on the steep part of the learning curve. — Nolan Bushnell

Atari always was a technology-driven company, and we were very keen on keeping the technological edge on everything. There's a whole bunch of things that we innovated. We made the first computer that did stamps or sprites, we did screen-mapping for the very first time, and a lot of stuff like that. We had some of the most sophisticated sound-creating systems, and were instrumental in MIDI. — Nolan Bushnell

I think 'Something Ventured' is a nice piece because it celebrates venture capital in a unique and powerful way. — Nolan Bushnell

A lot of what is wrong with corporate America has to do with a culture filled with antibodies trained to expel anything different. HR departments often want cookie cutter employees, which inevitably results in cookie cutter solutions. — Nolan Bushnell

Creativity in life is about saying yes to new ideas. — Nolan Bushnell

If you don't hire at least one or two people that are smarter than you are, then you're a terrible manager and I don't need you. — Nolan Bushnell

People hate to and will not read instructions. — Nolan Bushnell

All schools will end up using game metrics in the future. — Nolan Bushnell

Remember that we can only in our forebrains handle 5-7 items. Our backbrains can handle massive amounts. So when you're given a problem, think about it before you go sleep, and chances are you can solve it by the next morning. — Nolan Bushnell

I had an awful lot of my soul invested in Atari culture. — Nolan Bushnell

Being successful is kind of dull. — Nolan Bushnell

We had some really powerful technology - Atari always was a technology-driven company, and we were very keen on keeping the technological edge on everything. There's a whole bunch of things that we innovated. We made the first computer that did stamps or sprites, we did screen-mapping for the very first time, and a lot of stuff like that. — Nolan Bushnell

If you really want you people to innovate, buy a science fiction book, tear off the covers, and tell them it's history. — Nolan Bushnell

I don't think people understand how much hard work innovation is. That it's not just getting an idea. You really have to cross your T's and dot your I's long before you ever start on the project. I don't think people perceive that about me. I work hard. — Nolan Bushnell

Every company needs to have a skunkworks, to try things that have a high probability of failing. You try to minimize failure, but at the same time, if you're not willing to try things that are inherently risky, you're not going to make progress. — Nolan Bushnell

Women were very, very good at 'Pong'. It was part of the dating scene. The number of people who told me they met their wife or husband playing 'Pong' was huge. They were shoulder to shoulder, talking and playing. It was body contact and verbal contact. — Nolan Bushnell

My sweet spot is figuring out how to make a product that people love and how to refine it to make them love it more. All the rest is business noise. — Nolan Bushnell

I've always thought legal addictions are a great way to create a business. Starbucks is a wonderful example. — Nolan Bushnell

Sometimes when you hire people who have to pass a Mr. Congeniality test, you end up losing some of the non-conformists who will give you different views and perspectives. — Nolan Bushnell

The subtle generational cues that make one thing cool and another uncool aren't always obvious to a parent. My children are my dinner-table sounding board. I've come up with some wonderful ideas that they universally dismissed as 'lame.' — Nolan Bushnell

I've been in navigation systems, robotics, restaurants, communications systems, touch screens, and now I'm back in games. I like to say I have five-year A.D.D. — Nolan Bushnell

I believe that in games, when you're talking about pitting my wits and my brain against your wits and your brain, that simplicity of the game becomes a dominant factor. — Nolan Bushnell

In 1980, Atari was bringing in around two billion dollars in revenue and Chuck E. Cheese's some five hundred million. I still didn't feel too bad that I had turned down a one-third ownership of Apple - although I was beginning to think it might turn out to be a mistake. — Nolan Bushnell

The truly creative people tend to be outliers. — Nolan Bushnell

I never, ever, saw the evil Steve Jobs. He was always the most well-mannered and respectful guy I knew. And we got to be pretty good friends. He didn't suffer fools gladly. I guess he didn't think I was a fool. — Nolan Bushnell

I appreciate the fact that technology and games are a big part of life. — Nolan Bushnell

People like secrets. Creative people really like secrets. — Nolan Bushnell

I just want the future to happen faster. I can't imagine the future without robots. — Nolan Bushnell

Today, companies have to radically revolutionize themselves every few years just to stay relevant. That's because technology and the Internet have transformed the business landscape forever. The fast-paced digital age has accelerated the need for companies to become agile. — Nolan Bushnell

We didn't do a square ball in 'Pong' because we thought it was cool. We did it because that was all we could do. — Nolan Bushnell

I like games where you can use stealth and guile. As you get older, it's like the difference between playing squash and racketball. Squash is an older man's game, because if you're stealthy and wily, you can beat a better-co-ordinated and stronger, younger person. — Nolan Bushnell

You wanna build your IQ higher in the next two years? Be uncomfortable. That means, learn something where you have a beginner's mind. — Nolan Bushnell

I've always been a tech-head. — Nolan Bushnell

'Grand Theft Auto', in its deification of antisocial behavior, is where I heap the most of my scorn. — Nolan Bushnell

'Pong' hit the fancy. It was sort of the perfect storm of a game which has two players highly social, a game that women could play better than a guy, and sort of an acceptance of this social nature of games in a bar. — Nolan Bushnell

Every one who has taken a shower has had an idea. It's the person who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it that makes a difference. — Nolan Bushnell

Any business that does not innovate will fail over time. — Nolan Bushnell

I try to get a vision of the future, and then I try to figure out where the discontinuities are. — Nolan Bushnell

I believe there are Steve Jobses all around us. Really, what is happening is that they're being edited out of importance. — Nolan Bushnell

I'm the only one who was predicting the Nintendo Wii would beat Sony's PlayStation 3. — Nolan Bushnell

I want to fix education in the world. As soon as I work on that, I am going to work on world hunger and then world peace. — Nolan Bushnell

In the early days of the video game business, everybody played. The question is, what happened? My theory - and I think it's pretty well borne out - is that in the '80s, games got gory, and that lost the women. And then they got complex, and that lost the casual gamer. — Nolan Bushnell

I'd love to design a school. — Nolan Bushnell

Innovation is hard. It really is. Because most people don't get it. Remember, the automobile, the airplane, the telephone, these were all considered toys at their introduction because they had no constituency. They were too new. — Nolan Bushnell

Can liberty be destroyed by the truth? — Nolan Bushnell

The best ideas lose their owners and take on lives of their own. — Nolan Bushnell

We're moving away from a credentialed society to a merit society. — Nolan Bushnell

People can buy a bottle of gin and drink it at home for about a buck a drink, whereas they are willing to go to a bar and pay 12 bucks for the same cocktail. The difference is that man needs to be social. So I believe that there is a strong demand for games that are social. — Nolan Bushnell

How about keyboards in your mouth? How fast can you type with your tongue? People will think you're just masticating, when you're really talking to your girlfriend. — Nolan Bushnell

I'm glad to see the casual game play coming back now on the Internet, games that aren't violent, that aren't complex that you can sit down and you can have some fun. — Nolan Bushnell

Creativity is every company's first driver. It's where everything starts, where energy and forward motion originate. Without that first charge of creativity, nothing else can take place. — Nolan Bushnell

I think in terms of businesses, in terms of things that are really big and marry technology with entertainment. That's where I like to spend my time. — Nolan Bushnell

Engrave this Quote The ultimate inspiration is the deadline. — Nolan Bushnell

I don't feel 70. I am still looking out from 14-year-old eyes. — Nolan Bushnell

In 1980, business at my company, Chuck E. Cheese's, was thriving and I was feeling flush. So I bought a very large house on the Champ de Mars in Paris, right between the Eiffel Tower and the Ecole Militaire. The home was quite amazing: At six stories, it spanned 15,000 square feet and featured marble staircases and a swimming pool in the basement. — Nolan Bushnell

When it kind of went to 'Street Fighter', where you had to push 13 buttons with all 13 of your fingers and ripped the spine out of somebody, you know, violent games lost the women. Complexity lost the casual gamer. — Nolan Bushnell

I basically look at PR as something you do if there's an object in mind. But my ego doesn't need it. — Nolan Bushnell

When you're building something, you know all of the trade-offs ... — Nolan Bushnell

Some of the best projects to ever come out of Atari or Chuck E. Cheese's were from high school dropouts, college dropouts. One guy had been in jail. — Nolan Bushnell

A lot of people think that success is luck and being in the right place at the right time. But I think if you're willing to work harder than anybody else, you can create an awful lot of your own luck. — Nolan Bushnell

Do I really want to do a mobile game that's one of 300,000, where discoverability is everything? You really have to have a little more sizzle on the steak. I would rather be one of 100 apps for Google Glass than one of 300,000 for iOS and Android. — Nolan Bushnell

Hire for passion and intensity; there is training for everything else. — Nolan Bushnell

Everybody copied Atari products. So we started messing with them and it was fun. We bought enough chips that we could get them mislabeled. So we bankrupted at least two companies which copied our boards, and bought all the parts but they were the wrong parts, so they're sitting on all this inventory they can't sell because the games don't work. — Nolan Bushnell

The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer. — Nolan Bushnell

Young adults love to play games and they're thirsty for social interaction, but a lot of bar and restaurant experiences are quite unsatisfactory on the social level. What young people need is a place that has the feel of an unhosted party where they find themselves interacting with like-minded strangers. — Nolan Bushnell

I always loved both 'Breakout' and 'Asteroids' - I thought they were really good games. There was another game called 'Tempest' that I thought was really cool, and it represented a really hard technology. It's probably one of the only colour-vector screens that was used in the computer graphics field at that time. — Nolan Bushnell

The game business reinvents itself every five years. — Nolan Bushnell

I founded Atari in my garage in Santa Clara while at Stanford. When I was in school, I took a lot of business classes. I was really fascinated by economics. You end up having to be a marketeer, finance maven and a little bit of a technologist in order to get a business going. — Nolan Bushnell

In 1989, SimCity introduced an entirely new brand of game play. — Nolan Bushnell

One of the big concerns I have is that most of the HR departments in a lot of companies are hiring away from creativity and they don't know it. For instance, they are requiring everybody to have a college degree. The most creative people I know couldn't deal with college. — Nolan Bushnell

Radical innovation is difficult to fund. It seems scary. And the really radical things seem even more scary. — Nolan Bushnell

I guess I'd like to be known for being an innovator, fostering creativity, thinking outside the box. You know, keeping people playful. — Nolan Bushnell

The big problem that UWink had was we were essentially building tablets because they hadn't been invented yet. That drove up the cost a lot. — Nolan Bushnell

My perception is that I'm a guy who really does a lot of homework surrounding any project that I do. — Nolan Bushnell