Industry pioneer and founder of Atari Nolan Bushnell has hit out at modern video games, in a
new interview on website Electronic Design. Dismissing them for a perceived lack of focus on fun, social interaction and education, Bushnell commented: "Video games today are a race to the bottom. They are pure, unadulterated trash and I'm sad for that.”
While evangelizing for his new entertainment themed restaurant uWink, which allows dinners to play tabletop games and use other interactive devices, Bushnell, who is also the founder of the Chuck E. Cheese Pizza Time restaurant chain, appeared to decry the decline in offline multiplayer options in modern games.
"Social games represent something that has been missing. Most of the board games are purchased by women for families. It is this gaming world that can be re-energized. We used to have families sit down and play a game together," said Bushnell.
"A lot of video games today are very isolated. You don't see mom and dad, sister and brother, sitting down like they used to play, say, Monopoly," he added. "That represented good mentoring time for families that just isn't happening now."
