{"id":486802,"date":"2022-08-22T14:00:59","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T11:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/why-was-atari-called-atari\/"},"modified":"2022-08-22T14:00:59","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T11:00:59","slug":"why-was-atari-called-atari","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-was-atari-called-atari\/","title":{"rendered":"#Why Was Atari Called Atari?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2d57595a015\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2d57595a015\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-was-atari-called-atari\/#%E2%80%9CWhy_Was_Atari_Called_Atari%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Why Was Atari Called Atari?&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-was-atari-called-atari\/#Nolan_Bushnell_Was_a_Fan_of_Go\" >Nolan Bushnell Was a Fan of Go<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-was-atari-called-atari\/#Why_Did_They_Choose_Atari_as_the_Name\" >Why Did They Choose Atari as the Name?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CWhy_Was_Atari_Called_Atari%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Why Was Atari Called Atari?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage alignnone size-full wp-image-812374\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/atari_color_hero_1.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Atari, Inc. vintage logo with colors in the fuji symbol\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/p>\n<p>With powerful branding and design, Atari became a household name in video <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>s and computers during the 1970s and early \u201980s. We\u2019ll explain how its founders came up with the name and what it means.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Nolan_Bushnell_Was_a_Fan_of_Go\"><\/span>Nolan Bushnell Was a Fan of Go<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Believe it or not, the roots of the name \u201cAtari\u201d stretch back 2,500 years, even though video games themselves are only about 60 years old.<\/p>\n<p>Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney founded Atari in 1972. A few years before that, they shared an office while working as engineers at Ampex, an audio and video recording <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> company. Bushnell and Dabney <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.technologizer.com\/2011\/12\/11\/computer-space-and-the-dawn-of-the-arcade-video-game\/\">often played<\/a> the ancient East Asian board game called <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Go_(game)\">Go<\/a> together in the office.<\/p>\n<p>In 2009, Dabney <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.technologizer.com\/2011\/12\/11\/computer-space-and-the-dawn-of-the-arcade-video-game\/\">told me<\/a> that he built a Go board they could set up between their desks. When not in use, he\u2019d flip it over and hang it on the wall\u2014the other side had an <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=H4U1Ei2hJBk\">Ampex Videofile<\/a> emblem painted on it.<\/p>\n<lite-youtube videoid=\"cR9yJNf6R7Y\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/cR9yJNf6R7Y\/hqdefault.jpg');\">\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"lty-playbtn\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"lyt-visually-hidden\">Play Video<\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/lite-youtube>\n<p>Bushnell, who I also spoke to in 2009, recalled the Go board at Ampex. \u201cIt was behind there by the side of the desk,\u201d he said, \u201cand we\u2019d pull out the garbage cans, and [they] acted as the base when we played.\u201d Who won? I asked. \u201cI was the better Go player,\u201d said Bushnell. \u201cI taught him, so he was kind of my pupil, but I regularly beat him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the game of Go, a player\u2019s pieces get captured if they are surrounded on all four sides by the opposing player\u2019s stones (with all four of their \u201cliberties\u201d occupied). If a piece or group of pieces <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/senseis.xmp.net\/?Atari\">could potentially be captured<\/a> in the next move, it\u2019s in a state known as \u201catari,\u201d which <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly means the piece or pieces are threatened with capture.<\/p>\n<p>Among beginning Go players, it is sometimes considered polite to warn the other player when this condition occurs by saying \u201catari,\u201d similar to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Check_(chess)\">saying \u201ccheck\u201d<\/a> while playing chess. But the etiquette is not clear-cut: High-level Go players <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/senseis.xmp.net\/?CallingOutAtari\">typically frown upon<\/a> the practice and consider warning \u201catari\u201d a bad habit.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-823901 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/go_piece_in_atari_arrow.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"In this diagram of the board game Go, the white piece is in &quot;atari.&quot;\" width=\"650\" height=\"322\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/training-position-black-white-stones-on-1660135981\" data-credittext=\"Shyjo\/Shutterstock.com\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">On this Go board illustration, the white piece is in \u201catari,\u201d or threatened with capture. <span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/training-position-black-white-stones-on-1660135981\">Shyjo\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But what does \u201catari\u201d really mean? It\u2019s a Japanese word (\u5f53\u305f\u308a), and like many words, it has <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/englishwithnab.com\/why-words-have-different-meanings-in-different-contexts\/\">several different meanings<\/a> based on context. Its meaning in relation to Go we\u2019ve already covered, and that one has no direct translation in English. But Wiktionary <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/%E5%BD%93%E3%81%9F%E3%82%8A\">cites<\/a> the <em>Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary<\/em> in defining \u201catari\u201d with two other English meanings: a hit, or a winning or correct guess. In the case of the company name, \u201catari\u201d only related to Go, so the other definitions don\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ly.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Did_They_Choose_Atari_as_the_Name\"><\/span>Why Did They Choose Atari as the Name?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We know Bushnell loved Go, but how did it become the name of his pioneering video game company? During the earliest phase of Bushnell and Dabney\u2019s business partnership, the pair called their venture \u201cSyzygy\u201d (meaning a straight line of three celestial bodies). Syzygy contracted with Nutting Associates to develop <em>Computer Space<\/em> in 1970-71.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-812744\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/atari_vcs_1.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Atari Video Computer System logo\" width=\"650\" height=\"337\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\">Atari<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When it came time to break off and publish (build) video games on their own, Bushnell and Dabney attempted to incorporate in California under the name \u201cSyzygy,\u201d but it was taken by a roofing company. On the next incorporation attempt, the pair <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/mcurrent.name\/atariname.html\">submitted<\/a> three Go-related terms in order of preference: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/senseis.xmp.net\/?Sente\">Sente<\/a>, Atari, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/senseis.xmp.net\/?Hane\">Hane<\/a>. Atari was available, and it became the company\u2019s new name, apparently <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/datassette.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/livros\/zap-the-rise-and-fall-of-atari.pdf\">picked<\/a> by someone at the California Secretary of State\u2019s office. There\u2019s still some mystery in the historical record about how and why Atari won out.<\/p>\n<p>In the years that followed, Atari grew into an entertainment powerhouse, innovating a new type of electronic entertainment and becoming wildly successful. It hit the big time with <em>Pong<\/em>, <em>Home Pong<\/em>, and the Atari 2600 game console. It also branched out into <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/news\/the-golden-age-of-atari-home-computers\">home computers<\/a> such as the Atari 800.<\/p>\n<p>After several IP acquisitions over the decades, the original Atari company is long gone. But the Atari brand lives on as a French company, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Atari_SA\">Atari SA<\/a>, which was formerly known as Infogrames Entertainment. As for Bushnell, his love of Go continues. He has cited it as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20090522112427\/https:\/\/www.inc.com\/magazine\/20090401\/10-questions-for-nolan-bushnell.html\">his favorite game of all time<\/a>. In the early 1980s, Bushnell founded another company <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sente_Technologies\">called Sente<\/a> after he left Atari, but none of his other ventures had as much impact as the original.<\/p>\n<p>When I talked to Ted Dabney about Atari\u2019s origins back in 2009, I couldn\u2019t help but ask him: Did you and Bushnell ever say \u201catari\u201d to each other while playing Go at Ampex? \u201cYeah,\u201d he replied. \u201cThat was part of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>The First Commercial Video Game: How It Looked 50 Years Ago<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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We\u2019ll explain how its founders came up with the name and what it means. Nolan Bushnell Was a Fan of Go Believe it or not, the roots of the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":486803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/atari_color_hero_1.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-486802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=486802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/486803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=486802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=486802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=486802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}