Nolan Bushnell rubbishes online gaming

By Johnny Minkley Published 20 March, 2009

"It's not cool," says Pong man.

Atari founder Nolan Bushnell last night dismissed online gaming as "not cool", while talking up the future of social gaming exemplified by his current uWink venture.

The creator of Pong and the Atari 2600 was speaking during a Q&A session at BAFTA in London. Responding to a question about the potential of network gaming, Bushnell described the internet experience as "stilted and flat" and argued that real social gaming involved people playing together in person.

"Social is buying someone a drink," he said. "Sitting in a dark room in your underpants talking to thousands of people might seem social, but it's not cool. The public space is always going to be here."

Bushnell backed up his view by drawing a comparison with alcohol. He said that the main reason a Martini is more expensive in a bar than making one at home is because "the bar has people around".

uWink is Bushnell's latest gaming concept, described as an "entertainment dining experience" where people are able to play games via interactive video terminals at tables. He claimed that uWink was preparing for the future of home entertainment, around 20 years away, in which touch-screen coffee tables in the home would be the norm.

Bushnell is the latest gaming icon to receive a BAFTA Fellowship, which was presented to him last week at the BAFTA Games Awards.

Looking to the future, Bushnell revealed plans to dedicate the rest of his career to using games as an educational tool. "US schools are in disarray; it's just horrible," he said. "I think the next big wave of value is in education - games are good for you. I want to leave a legacy of more than just fun."

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About Johnny Minkley

Eurogamer TV's Johnny Minkley is a veteran journalist with a lifelong passion for games and the games industry. He uses Twitter more than most people use air.

Read more articles from Johnny by visiting the Johnny Minkley archive page.

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Comments (34) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • MyPointIs #1 3 years ago

    I agree. I'm learning drug trafficking right now!

  • Xerx3s #2 3 years ago

    Yeah, social was nice when all my mates where still living in one city but now that they aren't, do you really think that we are going to spend time on games when we meet up every couple of weeks? Fuck that, playing with EG regulars has been a good form of entertainment but that's gaming all really is. The social experience doesn't come from games and doesn't need games.

  • DanWhitehead #3 3 years ago

    Bushnell backed up his view by drawing a comparison with alcohol. He said that the main reason a Martini is more expensive in a bar than making one at home is because "the bar has people around".

    Actually, I'm pretty sure it's because the bar has to pay for overheads like premises, staff and stock.

  • MyPointIs #4 3 years ago

    With all my respect, I think the Nintendo case is different. Nintendo understood a simple concept, that people appreciates if gaming is also 'time well spent'. Nolan, on the other hand, is talking about making the world a better place. By some using some kind of coffee tables.

    Edit: Damn!, I promise there was a first post talking about Nintendo. And they deleted it to make me look stupid. Not cool, not cool.
    Edited by 1 at 20/03/09 @ 09:10

  • paul_haine #5 3 years ago

    "Yeah, social was nice when all my mates where still living in one city but now that they aren't, do you really think that we are going to spend time on games when we meet up every couple of weeks?"

    Can't you make some new friends that do live in your city?

  • DFawkes #6 3 years ago

    I'm under no illusion sessions of WAR are uncool, but going round a mates house and going online with Halo 3 is a proper social gaming experience, as is any experience that can result in actually getting slapped in the face from being inept. Make of that what you will :p

  • booner #7 3 years ago

    "he said. "I think the next big wave of value is in education - games are good for you. "

    Urm, no....you are incorrect Nolan. The British advertising agency contradicts this.....gaming leads to an early death, they are not good for you!!

  • Roamer #8 3 years ago

    Social gaming is found offline! Agreed!

  • gaselite #9 3 years ago

    Actually, I'm pretty sure it's because the bar has to pay for overheads like premises, staff and stock.

    .. which all exist to facilitate the service of multiple patrons



    The man's a bit of an anachronism, I find. His point about education is fair enough, even if it is pretty obvious, but does anyone really think that videogames/'interactive entertainment' are the key to solving the education crisis in America? It's a profoundly complicated, difficult issue.

  • jonsaan #10 3 years ago

    Sorry Nolan. I loved the past but things have changed. You are wrong. Social is still great but both experiences are valid. He is also discounting the fact that people do actually become friends through playing online together. It's not all totally faceless. It's also possible to have exactly the same kind of inane conversations that you have in pubs whilst playing online. He really does come across as someone who hasn't played online much frankly.

  • jaguarwong #11 3 years ago

    "Sitting in a dark room in your underpants talking to thousands of people might seem social, but it's not cool..."

    That is a statement with which it is very hard to disagree.

  • homerramone #12 3 years ago

    "Sitting in a dark room in your underpants talking to thousands of people might seem social, but it's not cool. "
    So some sort of pants are in order... And the caption becomes

    Wearing pants can make games cool

    They dont have put some pish on here these days.

  • M_of_the_sys #13 3 years ago

    So no Pong Online then?

  • Toothball #14 3 years ago

    There does seem to have been a tendency away from local multiplayer games with this generation. When I first bought my Xbox 360 I was quite disappointed to find that I wouldn't be able to play Project Gotham with three of my friends as I had been able to to with previous revisions. Many multiplayer offerings these days seem to primarily allow for online gaming, although there are plenty of exceptions around.

    I play plenty of games online with friends, but we get together weekly at my place for sessions on Rock Band. The lack of an online mode in Rock Band 1 suited us fine, as we've had many evenings of banter and Rock as a result of that. And even when the second came along with its online career mode we still make the effort to get together and play, as it's far more fun that way.

    I wouldn't want to go back to an offline only approach anymore though, but it definitely helps when this option isn't forgotten about.

  • Kill_Crazy #15 3 years ago

    "He claimed that uWink was preparing for the future of home entertainment, around 20 years away, in which touch-screen coffee tables in the home would be the norm."

    Eh? He said online play at home wasn't his thing. Contradiction FTL.

  • paulf #16 3 years ago

    I was lucky enough to be at this event and Nolan came across as a bit of a genius, as an engineer and businessman.

    The thing that really stood out about him the most for me though was his awareness of human behaviour especially in social situations. He said that back in the day the majority of atari 2600's were bought by women for the family (something which is probably echoed now with the wii), it was the interaction around the game that was the important thing not the game itself.

    I'd recommend watching the interview once they put it up on the bafta site

  • dudefella #17 3 years ago

    Too bad uwink is a massive failure, innit Nolan?

  • sneetch #18 3 years ago

    @DanWhitehead

    That comment was good but you need to add a bit more bile, if you want to fit in seamlessly around here.

    Next time, try calling him a cock. ;)

    Although, you may not want to fit in seamlessly around here.

    @paul_haine
    Can't you make some new friends that do live in your city?

    Who said he hasn't? Should he drop his old friends because he has new, more "convenient" friends? Or do you think of a "friend" in the same way that Steam, Facebook or XBox Live does: someone whose email address or gamertag you know and have played at least one game with?

    I'm in the same position as Xerx3s, I returned to my home city a couple of years ago but most of my friends from University are in Dublin, London, Denmark or wherever and gaming is a great way of keeping in regular touch with them. These are people I've been friends with since '92, people I've spent the lions share of my life with. Why would I not keep in touch with them?

  • kangarootoo #19 3 years ago

    Good grief.


    1. Old dude looks at current state of play and says its not as good as it used to be back in the day. Well be still my madly beating heart.

    2. Gaming is far "cooler" now than it has ever been.

    3. Who seriously gives a f*ck whether it is cool or not anyway. What matters is the experience and whether it is fun.


    Methinks this guy doth protest too much. Yeah yeah, we get the analogies with the bar and how they are cool 'cos they are full of groovy people and so on.... but we all know that you spent far more hours in your youth sat at home in your pants than sat in a bar chatting to chicks. You can't change the past, get over it.

  • kangarootoo #20 3 years ago

    "!That comment was good but you need to add a bit more bile, if you want to fit in seamlessly around here.

    Next time, try calling him a cock. ;) "

    Proper lol.

  • kangarootoo #21 3 years ago

    On reflection, I feel bad. I shouldn't cast aspersions on Nolan's popularity in his youth. I just had my mean hat on for a moment there.

    I just have a general aversion to any industry veteran making profound statements about the entire industry. Some of what he says is no doubt completely on the money, but some of it I believe is also a view that isn't really grounded in the modern (much more widespread and diverse than it was back in the early 80s) games business.

  • Coughthulu #22 3 years ago

    July 23rd 1928

    Today the inventor John Logie Baird publically ridiculed suggestions that a televiser with audio was a good idea.
    "Who on earth wishes to hear the voices of the common populace," Baird spoke out.
    "What with the differences in accents across the globe, it would only be confusing and annoying for people to hear sounds of those being televised. I also can't see the point of these 'talkies' which seem to be sweeping the globe. People want to go to a movie-house to hear a piano and watch men chase each other round tables."

  • makeamazing #23 3 years ago

    "Social is buying someone a drink," he said. "Sitting in a dark room in your underpants talking to thousands of people might seem social, but it's not cool.

    Wow .. looks like this guy hasnt been playing or involved in games since pong then.... really out of touch!

  • kangarootoo #24 3 years ago

    "might seem social, but it's not cool"

    Now I think on it, that statement is total diversion.

    Instead of saying "it might seem social, but it isn't social, and here is why" he basically attacks the concept based on something that has nothing to do with the definition of social (i.e. whether it is cool or not).

    That is the kind of thing that bugs me. He has a product to sell, and in order to do so he paints a distorted picture using extremes that suit his purposes ("social" being cool people hanging out in a bar, vs "online" which is depicted as an inadequate loner sitting at home in their underwear). Objective? Not much.

  • creepylizard #25 3 years ago

    I play games stark bollock naked so I don't know where he gets the underpants thing from...

  • M_of_the_sys #26 3 years ago

    @creepylizard

    Same here... but only in bars.

  • Velios #27 3 years ago

    "Social is buying someone a drink," he said. "Sitting in a dark room in your underpants talking to thousands of people might seem social, but it's not cool. The public space is always going to be here."

    I 100% agree

  • kangarootoo #28 3 years ago

    But those are 3 entirely unconnected statements.

    Translation.

    Being in a bar with your friends is social.
    Spending all day at home in your underpants is not cool.
    People will probably always go to bars and hang out with their friends.

    So this has what to do with the state of online gaming (which we have learned is ALSO social, but perhaps not as cool as hanging out in bars with your friends)?


    I might also suggest that buying drinks for your friends in a bar is "cool", but playing pong (or any other arcade machine) in the very same bar is far less cool. Again, this has nothing whatsoever to do with the state of online gaming.

  • Sar #29 3 years ago

    Surprise surprise.

    Over the hill Dev makes shock claims, while having a new "game" in development.

    *sigh*

  • MattyD #30 3 years ago

    Yeah so next time I just want to kick back with some friends on Xbox Live I'll invite them over instead, and we'll all play with a postage-stamp sized area of the screen each whilst their various women and children annoy us ¬_¬

  • Nutts #31 3 years ago

    The writer of this piece is being a bit of an impish headline-grabber here (and fair enough mind).

    Bushnell had a lot of positive things to say about games and people who play them. He clearly loves both, that comes across plain and simple when you meet and speak with him.

    The comment about online games came in answer to a question about 'social' games - he really likes playing games with others in the same room, and this is something that's dying out which annoys him. He likes online games (he referred to playing Halo and C&C), particularly against real-life friends, but he doesn't like playing against strangers much. By 'not cool' I think he meant 'not what I consider a social activity'. He spent a good hour yesterday running through his moves on the seven iPhone chess games he has on the go against his family and friends.

    Although what's reported here is probably quoted verbatim, the spirit of what he said was friendlier.

  • DrRobotnik #32 3 years ago

    Respect to the guy for being a gaming legend and all, but...

    ‘Bushnell backed up his view by drawing a comparison with alcohol. He said that the main reason a Martini is more expensive in a bar than making one at home is because "the bar has people around".’

    What? Because you can’t possibly invite people round to your house to socialise, right?

    And what a terrible analogy - Martini is more expensive in a bar because you have to pay the staff to serve it, not because you get to meet other people while you drink it.

    And what's with his new venture - Gaming at a dinner table? What's social about that? Sounds like a pot calling the kettle black if you ask me.

  • Silvervein #33 3 years ago

    About his vision of touchscreen kitchen table games being 'cool and social'..
    Let me just quote what I heard once from an older person about this kind of activity:
    Getting together around the table and then not even looking at each other is not the way to go. End quote.
    And let me ask you, how many of you play, say, world of warcraft with your family. Hm?

    While bushnells sentence might lose some meaning taken out of whole speech, it strikes me more as a statement of his personal preferences than anything else. If he says that he thinks that playing online games is not his cup of tea, I nod and agree with him fully. But if the meaning is that playing online games means I'm lacking in some way and instead, I should conform to his standards, then I'm beginning to have problem with the guy.

  • Bander #34 3 years ago

    I'm rather keen to hear the whole session after Paulf and Nutts' comments.

    Prior to the mid-'80s, most videogames were marketed to adults. Just check out several of the commercials that people have found and put on YouTube. Likewise arcade games were usually found in coffee shops and pubs, which normally enjoy an adult patronage. The majority of them supported more than one player, even if it involved taking turns between lives or levels. Add high score tables and they were almost always designed to be a sociable experience.

    And by sociable I mean going outside and meeting completely new people on the spur of the moment. Like how I imagine people used to do things before the internet...

    Unfortunately arcades are now the domain of the elitist hardcore and obnoxious loiterers. Meanwhile the home version of the 'cool' adult hobby became a child's toy after Nintendo took over the market from the US console manufacturers. Since then gaming has only matured at the same rate as the children of the '80s growing up.

    I'm not sure what the solution is. Gaming solely at home is certainly lacking something, but arcades are no longer an easy environment in which to strike up a conversation about a game (advice, praise, encouragement, questions etc.) with a stranger. Come to think of it, the frequent rude behavior of online players may be partially responsible for many of us not wanting to chat with other gamers face to face!

    I'm curious as to what Nolan Bushnell thinks is a responsible way forward.

    Does any of that make sense? The more I think about it, the more I realise that I want to finish writing and go to the pub!