V. Video Invaders

Attract Mode

Man plays Computer Space, one of the first commercial video games (1972).

The coin-operated amusement industry has always been defined by novelty and innovation, showcasing the latest mechanical marvels and electronic breakthroughs along the way. As the digital age was dawning, access to computers was still relatively limited outside of government and university labs. While their high cost prohibited ownership for most, a curious public was soon able to experience this new technology for little more than pocket change.

Having had some prior experience servicing electro-mechanical games while working summers at a local amusement park, Nolan Bushnell and his partner, Ted Dabney, were among the first to try and commercialize the "video game" beginning in 1972. While the established coin-op companies at the time might have dismissed the futuristic looking Computer Space as just an oddity, Bushnell and Dabney's Atari would soon see their rivals scrambling to catch up when their next game, Pong, showed the new medium could have strong commercial success.

“The only legitimate use of a computer is to play games.”

EUGENE JARVIS

Four people playing Atari’s T-Mek game in an arcade (1994).

While these early games may seem primitive by today's standards, they introduced audiences to an entirely new form of interactive entertainment. Following the classic arcade principle of "easy to learn, difficult to master," these pioneering titles laid the groundwork for what would become a revolutionary shift in how people play and interact with technology. Though video games would eventually find their way into homes, arcades remained vital proving grounds for new technology and gameplay concepts. Even today, as virtual reality and motion controls push the boundaries of interactive entertainment, manufacturers continue to test their most ambitious ideas in public spaces first. This "location-based" approach allows developers to refine their innovations through real-world player feedback before attempting wider commercial release — a practice that has helped launch numerous gaming revolutions over the decades.

"The cost of the computers at that time were over 300 bucks... and so what had to happen is that the games needed to establish themselves as a marketplace where people could rent them 25 cents for three minutes."

NOLAN BUSHNELL
"We were thrown into an environment. we were given this technology and said, 'What can you do with it?' And so, we were inventing the language of video games without knowing it... we were just trying to have some fun."

WARREN DAVIS
"Making something look good, you know, out of something so blocky at that scale. Blending the very few colors, I had 16 colors. To blend that, try to make something look good, it was a challenge and I really enjoyed it. It was kind of liberating in a way, to be so constrained."

JEFF LEE
"For a long time, science fiction had proposed an inevitable meeting of man versus machine, science fiction stories. But suddenly, for the first time, it was man versus the computer, playing a video game. And what was unexpected though that no science fiction story could have ever predicted was the amount of devotional love that the player, the population, the gamers, the people, felt toward the games."

WALTER DAY

V. Video Invaders

Attract Mode

“The only legitimate use of a computer is to play games.”

"The cost of the computers at that time were over 300 bucks... and so what had to happen is that the games needed to establish themselves as a marketplace where people could rent them 25 cents for three minutes."

"We were thrown into an environment. we were given this technology and said, 'What can you do with it?' And so, we were inventing the language of video games without knowing it... we were just trying to have some fun."

"Making something look good, you know, out of something so blocky at that scale. Blending the very few colors, I had 16 colors. To blend that, try to make something look good, it was a challenge and I really enjoyed it. It was kind of liberating in a way, to be so constrained."

FOUR

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