Something’s amiss in the US, Part 1

Something’s amiss in the US, Part 1

The Colossus of Maroussi, Henry Miller’s travelogue of Greece, was meant to inspire my visit to Heraklion’s Video Games Museum but teargas blurred that vision. I left The James Joyce Irish Pub (no, I didn’t start this journey in Dublin—I came across the pub in Athens)...
Adventure Land – by Ryan Burger

Adventure Land – by Ryan Burger

Before home computers ever had an “adventure game,” there was Colossal Cave Adventure (1976- 1977) by Will Crowther and Don Woods. Often referred to simply as Adventure or ADVENT, it ran on a PDP-10 mainframe, a machine that cost about $150,000 in the 1970s, roughly...
How To Look At PONG

How To Look At PONG

My most recent book, King PONG: How Atari Bounced Across Markets to Make Millions, shows how Atari established not one but two massive consumer technology categories by adopting innovative product positioning and market development strategies. I conclude the short...
Space Invaders – by Brett Weiss

Space Invaders – by Brett Weiss

I discovered Space Invaders in 1978,Space was visiting my aunt and cousins in McGregor, Texas (outside of Waco), a town of barely over 2,000 people. It was in a dingy, seedy arcade and was very imposing. I’d already played my share of pinball and electromechanical...