Basically the founding father of the video games industry and the one we should all say “Thanks!” to, Nolan Bushnell, the creator of Pong will receive the Fellowship award at this year’s GAME British Academy Video Games Awards. However, this fully deserved award is not the only one Bushnell received, since the Atari founder was also named one of the ‘50 Men That Changed America‘ by Newsweek.

On being invited to receive the Fellowship, Bushnell said: “I am humbled to be selected for this honour from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The British people are not only great game players but have historically been some of the best game creators. The pub culture and country house drawing room environments have been instrumental in spawning games and game players through the centuries. I am very grateful to receive an award from the people with a history of creating and embracing this type of entertainment.”

Pong was the first video game to achieve widespread popularity in both the arcade and home console markets. At one stage, the sheer number of people playing the game was reputed to have caused a coin shortage in the US, with additional coins being minted to meet demand. The GAME British Academy Video Games Awards will take place on March 10 at the London Hilton on Park Lane.