Dave Nutting

David Judd Nutting is an industrial design engineer who played a role in the early video game industry. He is a graduate of the Pratt Institute with a degree in industrial design.

After leaving the Army Corps of Engineers, Nutting joined the design firm of Brooks Stevens Associates. During his time there he was involved in a wide variety of projects, working on everything from Evinrude Outboard Motors, Mirro cookware, Bolens tractors, Studebaker, and 3M. For Willys, Nutting designed Jeep Grand Wagoneer, and went on to design the Enstrom Helicopter.

In 1970, Nutting started Dave Nutting Associates to create novelty coin operated amusement games under contract with Bally Manufacturing Corporation. When he learned about Intel's new microprocessor system, he convinced Intel to give them one of their first 50 development kits. Nutting and his associate, Jeff Frederiksen, proceeded to develop the first microprocessor pinball on a Bally game, Flicker. When Bally came forth with the new microprocessor pinball, all sales for the old electromechanical pinball machines stopped and Bally took over the pinball industry.

The other two companies, Gottlieb and Williams Electronics, had the choice of getting out of the business or copy Bally's example. They decided to copy, which resulted in a patent infringement lawsuit.

With their new-found knowledge of microprocessor use, Nutting and his team developed the first microprocessor video game hardware system for the Midway group of Bally Mfg. With the firm's expanded staff, they developed a series of successful video games pioneering the new emerging video game industry. The company's games included Gun Fight, Sea Wolf, Wizard of Wor, Baby Pac-Man (combining pinball and video) and Gorf. The company also developed the video chip used in the Bally Astrocade. Bally shut down Dave Nutting Associates in 1984.

Nutting has since become an author, writing on science and quantum mechanics in The Language of Nature.

References

• "David Judd Nutting", Xlibris