By the middle of March, Sears had placed an order for seventy-five thousand Home Pong machines.35 Atari now had what Valentine had been waiting for: a promising new product and a powerful distributor. At the beginning of June 1975, Valentine duly invested. He bought 62,500 shares for $62,500, making what would now be termed a “seed investment” in Atari.36 But it was only the start.
