Once Upon Atari: How I made history by killing an industry

by Howard Scott Warshaw

Atari achieved a significant milestone, becoming the fastest growing company in American business history.

“Be nice to people on your way up because you’ll meet them again on your way down.”

Nolan culture was Creativity culture. It was about rock stars and making better games. It was an engaged culture, connected to the source of the product.

Nolan nurtured programmers. He was a product-first kind of guy, and that’s how he managed. This inspired creative people.

It’s William Goldman’s fundamental rule of Hollywood: Nobody Knows Anything.

Launching a new software venture is easier than starting a traditional manufacturing effort. This fact leaves poorly run tech companies far more vulnerable to competition from former employees.

At 3DO, I realize game development hasn’t changed that much in some ways, people still spend tremendous amounts of time and energy doing the games, but now it feels more like obligation than inspiration.

Silicon Valley is where the world’s best, brightest and most ambitious people come to be average.

I enjoy its infamy. I still get a kick knowing I made the worst game of all time and it feels cool to be powerful enough to have brought a billion-dollar industry to its knees with just 8K of 6502 assembly code.

Every failure offers a choice; focus on the shame or the lessons. I tried shame for a while but settled on lessons.

Most people would appreciate a few extra years of life, but in Jerome’s case it would have blown his mind. Because in 2019, our E.T. game was featured in the Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror episode. Jerome and I were into the Simpsons. WAY into the Simpsons. Especially the earlier, funnier seasons. For instance…

What’s my take on making the worst video game of all time? It’s quite an accomplishment, but not necessarily a public service.

Are video games art? This is a great topic I’m not debating here. However, there is no debate that video games are their own medium. I believe any medium can potentially host art, and I’m proud to say the New York Museum of Modern Art agrees. They proved this in 2013, by selecting Yars’ Revenge as part of a modern art exhibit devoted to video games.

Atari showed me where I belong. It helped me find my path to satisfaction in life, and eventually to spot the pits…