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According to Bushnell, even 8-9 year olds can program a video game today. He has seen some, and they were beautiful too. Are we entering the golden age of video games? “Maybe yes – Bushnell answers – if I think that all generations today can develop video games, one thing is certain: the future looks great to me“.
A history of mistakes and successes
“When I started Atari, we didn’t have any money, we didn’t have a factory, we didn’t have any marketing skills. We only had one tool: innovation. But I was convinced that if we kept innovating enough, we could build a factory, learn marketing, solve all the other problems.“. So Bushnell recounts the lessons learned in 50 years of Atari.
“Atari did two things right – explains the entrepreneur – Yes is focused on innovation, and gave importance to results, not processes. All employees were treated as adults. There were no time stamps to stamp, we didn’t care when – or if – they came to the office: all they had to do was create what we asked of them. It’s difficult: a manager – or the president, which was me – has to develop goals so they’re not too difficult, not too difficult. But if you succeed, magical things happen“.
But there is a specific point for which Bushnell asks for the public’s gratitude: “When Atari started, the engineers came to work in white shirts, suits and ties. I made sure the engineers could come to work disgusting clothes. And you should all thank me for that!“
What about mistakes? “Of course, I’d rather not do it. But I don’t let them stop me. I turned down a third of Apple that I could have had for $ 50,000. Steve Jobs came to me wondering if I wanted to be his third investor. And I said no. Do you know what a third of Apple would be worth today? Not me. Or maybe yes, but I try not to think about it“.
You can’t help getting old. But you can avoid becoming more stupid
How does Bushnell manage to be so multifaceted? Simple: every year he carries out a part-time project outside its comfort zone. “You can’t help getting old. But you can avoid becoming more stupid. How? By training our mind to do something that is not right for us“. Bushnell’s method is eccentric and brilliant, as befits the character: “I don’t choose projects, because I would end up cheating. I draw them by lot putting cards in a hat. Five years ago this came out: write a book. Now, I am an engineer. I don’t know how to write. I don’t know spelling. My grammar sucks. But I had to do it. So I started. I like science fiction, so I started from there. I had a manuscript, I thought it was good enough, I went to the publisher and he said to me: no, your first book must be a business“.
Bushnell complied, and the result is “Who will be the next Steve Jobs? ”, A fairly successful book also published in Italy by Hoepli.
The lesson that Bushnell wants to leave to the Italian public gathered at Lucca Comics & Games is this: “Do weird things. And you may find that your brain is better suited to do just those. And more than that, life is an adventure. Live it fully“.
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