Ted Dabney Atari co-founder dies aged 80

Ted Dabney born in San Francisco in 1937, the co-founder of Atari has passed away at the age of 80.

Atari was Co Founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney after their sucessful previous partnership called Syzygy where they created a video game called Computer Space.

Bushnell's 1971 title Computer Space was used for the basis of Pong, the video game that made Atari its early millions. Dabney learned that Bushnell had patented his video circuit idea without including him and felt overshadowed by Both Bushnell and Al Alcorn.

Dabney left Atari in March 1973 after a fallout with Busnhell he went to work at Teledyne for about ten years afterwards. After leaving the computer industry, Dabney and his wife Carolyn managed a grocery store and later a deli.

Dabney was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in late 2017, and, according to friends, decided against treatment after being told he only had eight months to live.