Nolan Bushnell - Academy Fellow in 2009

10 March 09

Nolan Bushnell, one of the founding fathers of the video games industry received the Fellowship at this year’s GAME British Academy Video Games Awards.

He ushered in an era, the legacy of which is the vibrant, evolving industry we see before us today...

Electrical engineer, entrepreneur and founder of Atari inc, Nolan Bushnell is credited by many for kick-starting the video games revolution.

PONG machine In 1972 he oversaw the release of what was to become one of the best-loved – and most-played – video games of all time: Pong. With its simple format and instantly accessible gameplay Pong was the first video game to achieve widespread popularity in both the arcade and home console markets.

At one stage, the sheer number of people playing the game was reputed to have caused a coin shortage in the US, with additional coins being minted to meet demand. Indeed, Bushnell’s impact on the mass video game market is such that in his native US he was named one of Newsweek’s ‘50 Men That Changed America’.

In recognition of his outstanding and exceptional contribution to the industry Nolan received the Academy’s highest honour, the Fellowship , at the GAME British Academy Video Games Awards on Tuesday 10 March.

Speaking to BAFTA, Nolan expressed his gratitude: “I am humbled to be selected for this honour. The British people are not only great game players but have historically been some of the best game creators. The pub culture and country house drawing room environments have been instrumental in spawning games and game players through the centuries. I am very grateful to receive an award from the people with a history of creating and embracing this type of entertainment.”

David Parfitt, Chairman of the Academy said “The Fellowship is the highest accolade the Academy can bestow on an individual for their creative work and we are very excited that Nolan is flying over to accept it at the Awards. His contribution is nothing short of remarkable; he ushered in an era, the legacy of which is the vibrant, evolving industry we see before us today.”

Nolan follows legendary games designer Will Wright to become only the Academy’s second fellow from the world of Video Games.