The much-anticipated Atari 40th anniversary reunion was held in California on Saturday.
The company’s coin-op division got together again to mark the occasion at the Sonoma Chicken Coop in downtown Campbell, close to the Silicon Valley headquarters of the old company. The 325 people who attended the gathering were former employees of the company, plus wives, partners, some distributors and other old friends. The guests included Jerry and Denise Marcus, Ira, Sandy and Andrea Bettelmann, Bob and Darby Boals from Betson, Rich and Bev Babich from Colorado Exchange and Eugene Jarvis of Raw Thrills, formerly Atari and Williams. The majority of those present were from the research and development department of the old company, but there were good representations from manufacturing, sales and administration. Names known on the international stage who were present included Nolan Bushnell, Susanne Elliott, Mary Fujihara, Elaine Shirley, Jim Newlander, Mike Taylor and Tom Keil. Also present were Kevin Hayes with his wife, Anne, from the old factory in Ireland.
