16 Sep
2006
16 Sep
'06
9:38 a.m.
Definitely seems questionable, especially since
Missile Command (1980)
was NOT the first Atari arcade to use a trackball (spelled trakball in
Atari-speak) as there were several prior arcades in 78-79 using
trackball controllers (such as flyball, Soccer, football, basketball and
I think 1-2 others... its late and I'm a bit fuzzy right now, but I
think there should be a couple of others.)
Curt
William Donzelli wrote:
>> Where did you get this "trivia" from?
>
> Sounds pretty fishy - I think the patent on the trackball would have
> expired by the time Missile Command came out.
> --
> Will
I didn't say Missile Command was the only game in question. It just happened
to be the name used in the conversation.
This "trivia" came directly from the President of Orbit. They were the
sub-contractors for many of the Man-Machine Interfaces for my tactical
display consoles (including the trackball) from the mid-seventies into the
ninties.
As for patents; " A patent provides protection for up to twenty years,
counting from the filing date (the date given with reference numeral 22 on
the front page). US patents with a filing date before June 8, 1995 provide
protection for up to seventeen years counting from the date of grant (the
date given with reference numeral 45), or 20 years from the filing date,
whichever expires later. "
As to whether you believe it or not, I really don't care. I was working with
the guys at Orbit ( the Military Orbit ) when this happened.
regards, Steven