Obituary: Atari co-founder Ted Dabney

Atari co-founder Ted Dabney has passed away. He was 81.

Dabney, along with Nolan Bushnell, founded iconic video game company Atari in 1972. Dabney was an electrical engineer, playing a key role in creating the video technology used in Pong. He was instrumental in the foundation of the coin-operated arcade business.

The news came by way of video game historian Leonard Herman, who also said he was a friend of Dabney’s.

“I just learned that my good friend, Ted Dabney, the co-founder of Atari, passed away at the age of 81,” Herman wrote. “RIP dear friend. Your legacy will live on a long time!”

Dabney left Atari the year after co-founding the company, following a falling out with Bushnell. Though their relationship was strained, the pair worked together on Pizza Time Theater, which later would be known as Chuck E. Cheese’s.

Dabney continued to work for major electronics companies in the later part of his career.