Home Video gaming game consoles is born
Item # 727216
October 05, 1976
THE NEW YORK TIMES, Here is a pair of issues that report the very beginning of the home video gaming market. These issues are dated Sept. 8, 1976 & Oct. 5, 1976.
* Home Video gaming game consoles is born
* Warner Communications buys out ATARI
The top of page 48 of the Sept. 8, 1976 issue has a one column heading: "WARNER SIGNS PACT TO PURCHASE ATARI" with subheads.
And the Oct. 5, 1976 issue has a discrete and brief report on page 64 with small heading: "Warner Communications Completes Atari Takeover" (see images)
I suspect these to be extremely rare items because there was really no reason to save them at the time.
Each issue is complete with 64 and 84 pages, foxing along the central fold of the front pages, generally in very nice condition.
Background: These consecutive September 8 and October 5, 1976 issues of the New York Times constitute an exceptionally rare and significant paper trail documenting the exact 28-day window when video games transitioned from a counter-culture Silicon Valley novelty into a mainstream corporate industry. At the time of publication, the mainstream media treated the $28 million buyout as a minor, discrete footnote in the business section, entirely unaware that this cash infusion was secretly salvaged to fund "Stella"—the internal codename for what would become the iconic Atari 2600 home console. Because vintage newspapers from this era were printed on cheap, highly acidic newsprint meant to be thrown away the next day, surviving copies of both the initial acquisition pact and the finalized closing announcement are incredibly scarce. Together, these artifacts capture the precise pivot point where Warner Communications’ backing allowed Atari to kickstart the multi-billion-dollar home console market and temporarily become the fastest-growing company in American history, making this matching pair an invaluable archive of foundational gaming history.
* Home Video gaming game consoles is born
* Warner Communications buys out ATARI
The top of page 48 of the Sept. 8, 1976 issue has a one column heading: "WARNER SIGNS PACT TO PURCHASE ATARI" with subheads.
And the Oct. 5, 1976 issue has a discrete and brief report on page 64 with small heading: "Warner Communications Completes Atari Takeover" (see images)
I suspect these to be extremely rare items because there was really no reason to save them at the time.
Each issue is complete with 64 and 84 pages, foxing along the central fold of the front pages, generally in very nice condition.
Background: These consecutive September 8 and October 5, 1976 issues of the New York Times constitute an exceptionally rare and significant paper trail documenting the exact 28-day window when video games transitioned from a counter-culture Silicon Valley novelty into a mainstream corporate industry. At the time of publication, the mainstream media treated the $28 million buyout as a minor, discrete footnote in the business section, entirely unaware that this cash infusion was secretly salvaged to fund "Stella"—the internal codename for what would become the iconic Atari 2600 home console. Because vintage newspapers from this era were printed on cheap, highly acidic newsprint meant to be thrown away the next day, surviving copies of both the initial acquisition pact and the finalized closing announcement are incredibly scarce. Together, these artifacts capture the precise pivot point where Warner Communications’ backing allowed Atari to kickstart the multi-billion-dollar home console market and temporarily become the fastest-growing company in American history, making this matching pair an invaluable archive of foundational gaming history.
Category: The 20th Century
