Rare original two-player edition of the Computer Space arcade video game manufactured by Nutting Associates and released in July 1973, two years after the original one-player edition released by Syzygy Engineering, the company that evolved into Atari, made history by becoming the first arcade video game ever created and the first commercially available video game. The game is enclosed in its original futuristic green sparkle (metallic flake) fiberglass cabinet, the only color option issued for this version, and approximately measures 29.5˝ x 66.5˝ x 32˝, with the back bearing the Nutting Association parts label, which reads: “Model No. 724C, Serial No. 30543.” The front control panel features a 25-cent quarter slot, a coin return button, a red ‘Start Game’ button, a green “Two Player Operation” button, and two original rotational joysticks topped with red “Fire Missile” buttons. The game’s simple gameplay instructions, printed beneath the monitor, read as follows:
1. Insert quarter; press two-player if desired; press start button. (Two-player option must be selected before start button is pressed.)
2. In one-player operation, player one is pitted against the computer-controlled saucer.
3. In two-player operation, player one and player two are pitted against each other.
4. In one-player operation, outscore computer-controlled saucer for extended play.
Included with the arcade is a hand-drawn schematic entitled “Two-Player Computer Space, Chassis Wiring,” drawn by Walter Anderson on May 17, 1973; a “Pre-Installation Inspection” check sheet, and a “Two-Player Computer Space Trouble-Shooting Guide” from April 1973, which includes a 3-page section for “Some Typical Failure Symptoms.” The cabinet is in fine condition, with only some slight scuffing and scratching, mostly concentrated on the lower right side; one joystick is slightly loose, and the machine itself lights up and the screen is functional, but the game is not in proper playing status. Original working 2-player Computer Space arcades are practically unobtainable and very rarely offered for public sale, with this example all the more impressive for its immaculate cabinet and original parts.
A coin-operated derivative of the 1962 computer game Spacewar!, the original one-player Computer Space made its official public debut at the Music Operators of America (MOA) Expo, which was held at the Conrad Hilton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois on October 15-17, 1971. Syzygy founders Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney were thrilled with the early response, as was their manufacturer, Bill Nutting of Mountain View, California, whose company Nutting Associates greenlit initial production sometime in November or December, and then full production near the end of January 1972.
The ultimate sales tally was modest, but the game’s success led to a two-player sequel (offered here) and the game’s telltale cabinet even made cameos in the 1973 film Soylent Green (marking the first appearance of a video game in a movie) and Steven Spielberg's 1975 summer blockbuster Jaws. After parting ways with Nutting after the release of the original Computer Space, Bushnell and Dabney sought to incorporate Syzygy Engineering but learned that the name already existed in California. Inspired by the Japanese game Go, they changed the company name to Atari and ignited the video game revolution with PONG (1972), Home PONG (1975), and the Atari 2600 console (1977).
Although Computer Space didn’t bring video games to the masses, it established the blueprint for nearly all coin-operated arcade video games to follow: a cabinet, marquee, control panel, television monitor, audio speaker, circuit boards, power supply, and coin acceptor. It also inspired early professional game developers like Jerry Lawson, the engineer who led the creation of the first cartridge-based video game console in 1976, and Atari game designer Ed Logg, who based his best-selling 1979 space shooter Asteroids on elements borrowed from Computer Space and Space Invaders.
