GameSpot News couldn't shake Nolan Bushnell if it wanted to. From the PGL-sponsored Pong matchup with Dennis "Thresh" Fong, to the E3News show floor, to the Atlanta airport at the end of the show, everywhere we turned - there was Nolan Bushnell.

Bottom Line? We couldn't get enough of him.

Here's the E3News interview we ran on the show's first day. If you missed it, enjoy.

Nolan Bushnell? For those readers who've been sleeping this past ten years or so, here's a not-so-brief bio of Mr. Atari, Mr. Pong, and now, Mr. In.10.City.

Nolan K. BushnellCommissioner , PGL (Professional Gamers League)CEO and Founder of In.10.City Inc.Chairman of Solid Light Inc.

Creator of Pong, the video game that started it allFounder and former CEO of AtariFounder and former CEO of Chuck E. Cheese Pizza Time Theater

Founder of Catalyst Technologies, a "nurturing ground" environment, which created and incubated numerous ideas that eventually turned several ventures into successful companies. The most noteworthy being Axlon (an innovative toy company, featuring the interactive talking A.G. Bear), ByVideo (the first touch-screen shopping video kiosk), and Etak (the first navigational system created for the auto industry, which is currently being used in autos today). In addition, he has been involved with many other start-ups, including OCTuS Inc. and PlayNet Technologies Inc.

He was voted 1997's Man of the Year by AMI (formerly known as ACME), a major trade show for the coin-operated amusement industry.

Additionally, he has been inducted into the video game industry's Hall of Fame, was named Babson College's Entrepreneur of the Year, as well as attaining numerous other distinctions. He holds a BSEE, is a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Utah, and briefly attended Stanford University.

With a passionate interest in our educational system and a desire to inspire, Bushnell frequently lectures at major universities around the country on entrepreneurship and innovation.

Mr. Bushnell was granted patents on some of the basic technologies utilized in early video games and is the inventor or co-inventor of numerous patented products in various industries throughout the world.

Now, the questions:

GameSpot News: Some would argue there's no crystal ball with a sharper picture of the future of computer gaming than Nolan Bushnell's crystal ball. Can you tell us what you see when you contemplate the future of computer/video/arcade gaming?Bushnell: I see a couple of things happening. First of all, computer games will become watchable and become part of TV programming. Perhaps in the beginning not as big of a draw as the Super Bowl, but trending that way.

Entertainment is about people and situations. Computer games have some flexibility which "physical games" cannot duplicate. Just imagine - wouldn't it be fun to watch a football game from the football's point of view?

I also think the "merge between mediums" will happen. Why not watch an episode of The X Files and then be able to download the scenario and play it? Mega happenings! Suppose that we have a mock battle - the East Coast against the West Coast. Everyone tries out. We could have a very large virtual map, with "flags" buried in a bunker. There could be a 5,000-person air force, 10,000 tanks, and a 100,000-person infantry. The best players get the "Big Iron" and everyone else is a foot soldier.

GameSpot News: There's an awful lot of talk about Nolan Bushnell being the father of video gaming, the architect behind Atari, and other quite laudatory titles. Do you spend much time thinking about your past and very impressive accomplishments?Bushnell: None. I think that the things I am working on now are so much more fun and interesting.

GameSpot News: Maybe not in ours, but in some circles, the words Nintendo, computer games, and video games are tantamount to four-letter words. I mean you can't read a news story about crime perpetrated by teens without the attendant slamming of computer games. Do you think the reputation that computer and video games have as contributing factors to teen and preteen violence is fair?Bushnell: Yes and no. The problem is that we are the sum total of everything we eat, see, learn, and experience. One of my dad's favorite sayings was that if you don't want to swallow "shit," then don't swim in a cesspool. Games are "games" and in some ways, chess is a mock war. I think kids can, for the most part, differentiate between "life" experiences and behavior and "game" experiences and behavior. The problem is that there are "edge kids" that cannot - and what to do about this is a problem for society. There is .001 percent that are going to be affected in a negative way. Does that damn the whole lot? It shouldn't, but I believe that the link is actually there between violence and these troubled kids.

On the positive side, evidence is mounting that the current IQ of the American teen is actually much higher than that of teens 20 years ago. It's been discovered that video game play actually makes you smarter, but that the educational establishment is attempting to suppress the data. Today's educators, for the most part, are doing such a horrible job in the classroom that anything giving credit to a source other than "themselves" is looked down upon and not typically recognized. But expect this newfound data to be published in popular media shortly, and when it comes out, it will give a tremendous boost to video gaming.

GameSpot News: Along the same lines as the above question, recalling Pandora and the woes and troubles she unleashed upon opening that eponymous box of hers, do you ever feel any regret that you started the whole ball of video game wax rolling back with your invention of Pong?Bushnell: Not in the slightest. What I am disappointed in is the lack of the use of these terrific process solving, data-rich tools, which have had such little penetration into the education of our kids. Is money the problem? No way. The average high school classroom has a budget of $150,000 - a few Nintendo platforms with software are clearly feasible if there were the will and interest.

GameSpot News: Do you really believe what the PGL is trying to do - to promote arcade and video gaming as a spectator and team "sport" - is really a viable goal? Is theirs the model that's going to succeed?Bushnell: It will happen, and it is a viable goal. And it's all about timing. Computer games are just too much fun, and a powerful medium as well - it will be made even more fun to watch - and as we all know, it's already fun to compete! It's just a matter of time before it really catches on.

GameSpot News: Business, medicine, cinema, or computer game design. What do you say to the 12 or 20-year-old who wonders what the right career choice might be - and who mentions the above four options.Bushnell: Careers are a very personal choice. I just like the fact that game design is still a real career option for young adults today.

GameSpot News: In.10.City. Such a, well, cute name. But what I know of the project seems about as cute as Godzilla: 80,000 square feet of interactive multimedia entertainment, dining, and education under one roof! Can you explain what's going on (or what's going to be going on) at the In.10.City locations?Bushnell: The goal is to have something for anyone and everyone under one roof. Sort of a "super mall for fun." Touch screens everywhere - order your food from your table! Or play along in a group game with others in one of the theater dining rooms. Play networked games - 64 cars on the same virtual track! Play against others in remote locations over a low latency network that links the locations for competition. Basically - blur the distinction between sports and cybersports. It is going to be my magnum opus. But what sets In.10.City apart is... the facility turns into a sophisticated, hi-tech learning center during the hours that are traditionally deemed "non-entertainment" times. At 6:00am, we will provide the best hi-tech learning experience available - at the lowest prices available. As the facility and computer equipment will have more than been paid for by the entertainment uses during the "entertainment hours" - this will facilitate our ability to offer a reasonably priced educational environment. Twenty percent of the time will be for low-income kids that will be on partial or full scholarships. We'll also have courses for seniors, as well as for the "stay at home moms" and their children. In addition, the facility can be utilized by small companies or large corporations for the purpose of learning new software, hands-on meetings, new product introductions, or company-wide training sessions. As I said, there is something for anyone and everyone under one roof. It's truly an exciting and innovative project!

GameSpot News: How important a role in computer gaming do you see the Web playing in both the near and distant future?Bushnell: The Web is the world. Perhaps, when OB Wan talked about the "force" in "Star Wars," he was really talking about a non-wired Web. We will probably not need wires in a few years once the satellite systems get up and we have bio implants, and then later bio transceivers genetically engineered into our DNA.

GameSpot News: Is there a video or computer game out there that you absolutely wish you had created?Bushnell: Only about a hundred! Any game I fall in love with I wish I had done. But for some of them, the solving is the fun, and if you invent them you cannot solve them.

GameSpot News: If Sega came to you today and said, "Mr. Bushnell, if you can tell us how to beat Sony and Nintendo in the market place we'll implement your plan beginning immediately," would you have a solution for them? Can you tell us just a little bit of what that solution might be?Bushnell: Yes. They have some significant advantages that they aren't taking advantage of. Such as their tremendous coin-operated game operation and their manufacturing. They have not done a good job of levering those assets. But there are at least three strategies that would bring them back - but they do not seem to be doing any of them. Sony should be easy to beat. Nintendo a little bit harder.

GameSpot News: I know who the Chicago 7 were, but I haven't got the slightest idea who the Green Valley Group were. They certainly sound dangerous. Can you tell me who they were?Bushnell: It was the Grass Valley Group. They were a group of very creative and cool guys that wanted to live in the mountains and invent. Steve Mayer, Larry Emmons, Ron Milner, and Joe Decur were the main players, and they hired some very creative technically talented people.

GameSpot News: Of the thousands of computer and video games on the market today, which ones do you currently play?Bushnell: I currently play Quake, Warcraft, and Lords of the Realm 2. I just finished Riven, and I like the puzzle games. Brain Games 2 and Brain Games 1. The Microsoft puzzle collection - and a shareware game that I love and wish they would do an upgrade of called SLAY. Ages of Empire over the Net is fun, and I still play a lot of GO over the Internet. I also like Meta Squares.

E3 News: Thanks Nolan.