Nolan Bushnell companies to approach to buy Atari. Meanwhile, Steve Ross, CEO of Warner Communications, noticed that his children were hovering around video game cabinets at Walt Disney World. Warner Communications was contacted about Atari by one of its investors to discuss purchasing the company. For $28 million, Warner Communications (now WarnerMedia) bought Atari, bringing the capital they needed for the VCS launch, which took place in August 1977. In November 1978, Bushnell was forced out of the company after a dispute with Warner over its future direction, notably on the lifespan of the Atari 2600 and their closed software strategy, which
Nolan Bushnell E. Cheese's Pizza-Time Theaters. While in college, he worked for several employers, including Litton Guidance and Control Systems, Hadley Ltd, and the industrial engineering department at the University of Utah. For several summers, he built his own advertising company, Campus Company, which produced blotters for four universities and sold advertising space around a calendar of events. He also sold copies of Encyclopedia Americana. Bushnell's first marriage was to Paula Rochelle Nielson, with whom he has 2 children. Bushnell's oldest child, Alissa, worked with him at uWink. His second marriage was to Nancy, with whom he has 6 children. Bushnell was