TFNY: Atari Founder Nolan Bushnell to Speak at Toy Fair New York's Creative Factor

At Toy Fair New York, the Creative Factor will present Pioneering the Future: An inside look at entrepreneurship, creativity, innovation and evolving the power of play.

The special presentation will be introduced by industry veteran Thomas Kalinske of Mixed Dimension.

Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese’s, and connected play expert Valerie Vacante will discuss how entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation continue to pioneer what’s next in the way we live, play, work, and interact with the world around us.

Bushnell has been hailed as “the father of the American video game industry,” and most recently has partnered with Hollywood creative director, Zai Ortiz to launch Virsix Games, a company that is working to “reimagine how people play together by remixing analog play with cutting-edge emerging technologies to create human connections that ignite imagination and power the next generation of play.”

The session will take place at Toy Fair New York, Sunday, February 23, at 11 a.m. in Level 1, E Hall, Room 1E09.

Click here to view the Toy Book’s full coverage of Toy Fair New York.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

TFNY: Atari Founder Nolan Bushnell to Speak at Toy Fair New York’s Creative Factor

About the author

James Zahn