You’ll always be #1 in my heart, Atari…

40 years ago today, with only a $500 out-of-pocket investment, engineers Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney introduced Pong to the market on the Atari game system. From those two humble lines and a single, noble dot came a great pioneer in computer, arcade, and console gaming. Atari is even where Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak of Apple got their start.

If you have a moment, I highly recommend the documentary below. Even if you aren’t into games, the ads and moral panic (the kids’ brains will turn to mush!) are incredibly entertaining. (It does not, however, make a much-needed apology for that Sisyphean E.T. the Extraterrestrial game, but we can only hope to live through certain catastrophes.)