Computer Space is a 1971 arcade video game created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney as part of their company, Syzygy Engineering. It was the first arcade video game and the first video game sold to the public. The game was inspired by a 1962 computer game called Spacewar!, which may have been the first video game played on multiple computers. In Computer Space, a player controls a rocket that fights against two flying saucers controlled by the game. The background shows stars, and the goal is to hit the saucers more times than they hit the player within a set time. If the player scores enough hits, they get a free round of gameplay. The game is stored in a special cabinet made of fiberglass, which Bushnell designed to look futuristic.
Bushnell and Dabney created Computer Space in 1970–71 as a coin-operated version of Spacewar!. When they could not find a way to make the game run cheaply on a small computer like the Data General Nova, they decided to build custom hardware to run the game instead. While testing an early version of the game, Bushnell found a manufacturer, Nutting Associates. With Nutting’s help, they finished the game and tested it in August 1971, a few months before a similar game called Galaxy Game was shown. The game was first shown to reporters and sellers at the Music Operators of America (MOA) Expo in October. Nutting ordered 1,500 units to make, hoping the game would be very popular.
Computer Space sold over 1,000 cabinets by mid-1972 and reached sales of 1,300–1,500 units. While it was successful and proved that arcade video games could work, it was not as popular as Nutting had expected. One similar game, Star Trek (1972), was made based on Computer Space. Nutting later created a two-player version of Computer Space in 1973 without help from Bushnell and Dabney. In June 1972, Bushnell and Dabney left Nutting and started a new company called Atari. They later created Pong (1972), a successful arcade game. The release of Computer Space marked the end of the early history of video games and the beginning of the commercial video game industry.
Background
At the start of the 1970s, video games were mostly simple games shared among programmers and technicians who had access to computers, usually at research centers and large companies. One of these games was Spacewar!, created in 1962 for the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-1 by Steve Russell and others at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This two-player game had players control spaceships fighting each other on a flat surface near a star’s gravity, with a background of stars. After its first release, Spacewar! was copied to many early computer systems in American universities, making it likely the first video game available outside a single research institute.
Spacewar! became very popular among programmers in the 1960s and was often recreated on smaller and larger computers of that time. Later, it was also played on early personal computers. In 1972, computer scientist Alan Kay said, “Spacewar! appears everywhere there is a computer with a graphics display,” and in 1981, Martin Graetz remembered that the game was “on almost every research computer with a programmable screen.” Despite its wide use during that time, the game’s reach was limited because the PDP-1 computer, which cost $120,000 in the 1960s (about $1,277,000 in 2025), was very expensive. Only 53 of these computers were ever sold, most without monitors, so Spacewar! and other games of the time could not reach many people. The original creators of Spacewar! tried to find ways to sell the game but had no options because the computer it ran on was too costly. The first commercial video game based on Spacewar!, called Computer Space, was not released until 1971.
Gameplay
In the game Computer Space, the player steers a rocket as it tries to shoot two flying saucers while avoiding their attacks. The game takes place on a flat plane with a background of stars. Missiles are fired one at a time, and there is a waiting time between each shot. The rocket keeps moving even if the player is not pressing the thrust button. Turning the ship does not change its direction, but it can rotate at a steady speed. The flying saucers stay still or move in a zig-zag pattern across the screen, with one always staying directly below the other. If a ship or missile moves off one edge of the screen, it reappears on the opposite side. While a missile is flying, the player can turn it left or right by turning their rocket.
Players can rotate the ship clockwise or counterclockwise, push it forward, and fire missiles. If the player’s rocket is hit by a missile or saucer, the screen flashes, the rocket spins quickly, and then disappears and reappears in the same spot. If a saucer is hit by a missile, the screen flashes, and the saucer briefly disappears. Numbers on the right side of the screen track how many times the player’s rocket and saucers have been destroyed, as well as how long the current round has lasted. Each round has a time limit, which can be set between 60 and 150 seconds, with a default of 90 seconds. If the player’s score is lower than the computer’s when the time runs out, the game ends. If the player’s score is higher, the screen’s colors change to black and white in a "hyperspace" effect, and another round begins for free. If the player keeps winning, the colors keep changing each round. One round costs a quarter, or two quarters if the machine is adjusted incorrectly. If either the player or computer’s score reaches 9, the screen shows messy symbols. If the score reaches 16, it resets to zero for both visual and gameplay purposes.
In the two-player version of the game, a new mode is added where two players control rockets that fight each other instead of fighting computer-controlled saucers. The control panel has two sets of controls, and some machines use joysticks instead of buttons for movement.
Development
Nolan Bushnell studied electrical engineering at the University of Utah. During his studies, he worked part-time at an amusement arcade, where he learned about electro-mechanical games like Chicago Coin’s Speedway (1969). He watched customers play the games and helped maintain the machines, gaining knowledge about how arcade games operate. After graduating in 1969, Bushnell worked as an engineer in California for Ampex, a company that developed audio and video recording technology.
While playing the board game Go at a club, Bushnell met Jim Stein, a researcher at Stanford University’s Artificial Intelligence Project. Stein showed Bushnell Spacewar!, a game running on a PDP-6 computer at Stanford’s laboratory. Bushnell had previously managed arcade games at Lagoon Amusement Park in Utah and believed an arcade version of Spacewar! could be popular. However, the high cost of computers needed to run the game made it seem unaffordable. In 1970, Bushnell saw an ad for the Data General Nova computer, which cost $4,000 (about $33,000 in 2025). He thought this price might make an arcade version of Spacewar! possible if he could connect four monitors and coin slots to allow multiple games to run at once.
Bushnell showed Spacewar! to his office mate, Ted Dabney, an Ampex engineer. The two agreed to work together to design a prototype. Bushnell had some knowledge of computers and digital engineering, while Dabney had more experience with analog and hardware engineering. They began designing a prototype based on the Nova computer. During the summer of 1970, they planned the game’s development and later invited Larry Bryan, an Ampex programmer, to join. Bushnell and Dabney each contributed $100 to start a partnership named Syzygy.
They faced challenges with the Nova computer, which lacked the power to run multiple games or refresh monitors quickly enough. Bryan left the project before Syzygy was officially formed. Bushnell and Dabney continued working on the design but struggled with technical issues. They tried using specialized hardware to reduce the computer’s workload, but this was not enough. By late 1970, Bushnell decided to abandon the project, as the Nova’s limitations made it unworkable.
Later, Bushnell realized he could create a solution without relying on a computer by manipulating the video signal directly. He and Dabney designed custom hardware to handle parts of the game. In January 1971, they successfully displayed a dot on a screen. They planned to purchase six Nova computers but later found their calculations were incorrect. They realized they could replace the Nova entirely with custom hardware, which would be cheaper. However, the custom hardware was less powerful, so they simplified the game. Spacewar!’s original features, like two-player dogfights around a star, could not be supported, so they created a single-player version where the player fought two computer-controlled spaceships in open space.
In January 1971, Bushnell and Dabney officially formed Syzygy Engineering, each contributing $350. They approached Ampex and others but found no interest in their prototype. Arcade game companies in Chicago limited their ability to demonstrate the idea. During a dentist visit in early 1971, Bushnell mentioned his game to the dentist, who introduced him to Dave Ralstin, a sales manager at Nutting Associates. Nutting, which had previously made the Computer Quiz game, was looking for a new hit. After meeting Bushnell, Ralstin believed his game could replace declining sales of Computer Quiz.
Nutting agreed to manufacture the game and hired Bushnell as their chief engineer. Syzygy retained ownership of the game, and Nutting provided space to build the prototype and manufacture the game. Syzygy would earn 5% of each cabinet sold. Bushnell negotiated to work on the game outside his normal hours to keep it separate from his job at Nutting, preventing claims of ownership. Dabney stayed at Ampex until summer 1971, when he joined Bushnell at Nutting after more proof of the game’s success.
Location tests and release
After moving to Nutting, Bushnell took over most of the engineering work for the game. Dabney said he gave Bushnell advice on some parts of the design. When Dabney joined Bushnell at Nutting, he helped create the cabinet, including the coin slot, control panel, and power supply. He also designed a sound system that made a noise like a rocket engine. By August 1971, the first version of the game—named Computer Space to be like Computer Quiz—was finished. Syzygy tested the game at the Dutch Goose bar near Stanford University, where it was very popular. Nutting was happy with the response and quickly made several cabinets for the Music Operators of America (MOA) Music & Amusement Machines Exposition in October. Later tests showed some customers were confused by the game’s controls, so Syzygy changed the instructions to make them clearer.
The final Computer Space design did not use a microprocessor. Instead, the computer system used simple electronic parts called 7400-series integrated circuits. Monochrome graphics were stored in diode arrays, which Bushnell designed to allow the rocket to move in 16 directions using only four sets of parts. These arrays were shaped like the ships, making it easy for game operators to know which parts to replace if something broke. The arrays reduced the work needed to update the screen: unlike Spacewar!, which refreshed the entire screen for changes, each element in Computer Space could move independently. The ships on the screen were made of dots, not connected lines, and were hardwired bitmaps. These are considered an early version of sprite graphics. The cabinet used a General Electric 15-inch black and white television screen, modified for the game. In Bushnell’s simple algorithm, enemy ships fired toward the area of the screen where the player’s rocket was located, not directly at it.
As Syzygy and Nutting prepared for the MOA show, Bushnell learned that Bill Pitts and Hugh Tuck were also making an arcade version of Spacewar!. In August 1971, Bushnell met with Pitts and Tuck, who were working for Mini-Computer Applications, to discuss how to run Spacewar! on an inexpensive computer. Pitts and Tuck were building a prototype called Galaxy Game when they met Bushnell. Their version used a DEC PDP-11 computer and a Hewlett-Packard 1300A Electrostatic Display, costing $20,000 (about $159,000 in 2025). Syzygy was relieved but also disappointed because Galaxy Game did not use an innovative solution Syzygy had missed. Pitts and Tuck thought Computer Space was a poor copy of Spacewar!, while Galaxy Game was a better version. They made two prototypes, displayed at Stanford’s student union, but never sold the game because it was too expensive.
Computer Space was shown at the MOA show from October 15–17, 1971. Dabney’s original wooden cabinet was replaced with a curvy, futuristic fiberglass cabinet designed by Bushnell using modeling clay and built by a swimming pool manufacturer. A control panel with four buttons extended from the cabinet. Syzygy wanted to use a joystick for movement but found it broke easily. Galaxy Game used expensive military joysticks to solve the same problem. The cabinet showed Nutting Associates’ name and logo, along with “Syzygy engineered.”
Nutting displayed four cabinets at the MOA show in red, blue, white, and yellow, suggesting the game was already in production. These were the only four cabinets made at the time. The cabinets were damaged during transport, and one monitor was broken. Syzygy fixed the three working cabinets and opened the fourth to show the inside to visitors. The game was popular, with a crowded display area, and a magazine called it “very promising” and “very glamorous.” Distributors, however, were unsure about the game, worried about its reliability and the monitor’s risk of being stolen. It is unclear if Nutting got any orders at the show. Nutting still ordered a large production run, expecting distributors to order more after seeing the game. Production began in November or December 1971 and fully started by the end of January 1972.
Reception and legacy
Nutting ordered the first production of 1,500 units of Computer Space, a hopeful choice because a popular arcade game at the time usually sold about 2,000 units, though some sold as many as 10,000. Distributors had mixed reactions to the game. Some were excited, while others found it confusing and thought it might only be a short-lived trend. By spring 1972, the game had sold more than 1,000 units. According to Bushnell in 1976, it sold between 1,300 and 1,500 units. While this was a commercial success, earning over $1,000,000 (about $7,697,000 in 2025), it was disappointing to Nutting, which had hoped for a major success like Computer Quiz.
The game’s limited success was linked to its complex controls and difficulty in learning, which discouraged customers who were used to simpler games. Bushnell noted that locations where the game performed well, such as the Dutch Goose playtest site, were often near university campuses. However, the general market for coin-operated games was in working-class bars, where players were less interested in complicated games. In the documentary Video Game Invasion: The History of a Global Obsession, Bushnell explained, “Sure, I loved it, and all my friends loved it, but all my friends were engineers. It was a little too complicated for the guy with the beer in the bar.” Bushnell also said that the game’s novelty made it harder for players to understand at the time, but he believed that if players had seen other video games later, the controls and gameplay would have been easier. At the same time, Bushnell and Dabney noted that the game’s novelty was also part of its appeal—most people had never seen a television screen displaying images controlled by someone in front of it, rather than showing a broadcast from a distant station.
Although Computer Space did not meet Nutting’s high expectations, it was successful enough for Nutting to produce a two-player version of the game in July 1973. This version was built by Steve Bristow with a green fiberglass cabinet. The design was originally planned by Bushnell, but his design was either not completed or not used. Bushnell and Dabney did not work further on the game, and it was not a major success. While most successful arcade games at the time inspired many copycat games, only one Computer Space clone is known: Star Trek, made in 1972 by For-Play Manufacturers. A custom white Computer Space cabinet appeared in the 1973 film Soylent Green as a futuristic entertainment device, marking the first time a video game appeared in a movie.
In June 1972, Bushnell and Dabney left Nutting Associates after Bushnell could not convince Nutting to give him a 33% ownership stake in the company. They formed a new company, which they named Atari after another company with a similar name. Bushnell later said that the success of Computer Space gave him confidence in future game ideas, as it was the first time he had created something that made so much money. He also felt that his time at Nutting taught him how to run his own company because he believed he “couldn’t screw it up more than they did.” Nutting Associates did not produce any more Computer Space games before closing in 1976. Bushnell’s confidence was proven correct when Atari’s first game, Pong, became far more successful than Computer Space.
Although Computer Space was not as influential as Pong, it was the first arcade video game and had a strong impact on future video game design. It used terms and designs from earlier mechanical arcade games and helped create a model for turning a medium previously used on research computers into a product for the general public. The game directly inspired several video games and designers, such as Steve Bristow, who created Tank (1974) to address the game’s difficulty by using easier-to-control tanks, and Jerry Lawson, who designed the Fairchild Channel F home console (1976). It also influenced Larry Rosenthal, who made Space Wars (1977) using vector graphics after disliking how Computer Space simplified Spacewar!, and Ed Logg, who combined Computer Space’s controls with elements from Space Invaders (1978) to create Asteroids (1979). The release of Computer Space marked the end of the early history of video games and the beginning of the commercial video game industry.