It all started with a few scattered Pong machines scattered around California. Now, 40 years later to the day, Atari, one of the world's most recognized publishers and developers of interactive entertainment, today celebrates its 40th anniversary.
"Over its 40 years of operation, Atari has become one of the most iconic and recognized brands around the world, responsible for mainstreaming video games with blockbuster franchises including Asteroids, Breakout, and Centipede," said Jim Wilson, CEO of Atari. "Today, we aim to keep the tradition alive through new and creative development efforts based on what made us great in our early days - offering our devoted and growing fan base fun but challenging games on mobile and online platforms."
Staff has included such notables as Steve Jobs, and Steve Wozniak. To date, Atari has published over 400 games on consoles ranging from their own home console, to Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3.
In honor of the celebration, Atari has announced a year of events and programs surrounding the 40th anniversary, and fans are invited to take part. Starting today, (U.S.) fans can visit Atari on Facebook for opportunities to win Atari Arcades, t-shirts and more!
If you're one of those young whippersnappers, pay some respect to your elders and check Atari's video below celebrating their contribution to gaming.
