Christian Wacker, a member of the International Pierre de Coubertin Committee (IPCC), and Qatar Museums have created an exhibition dedicated to Esports, based on the story of a fascinating global phenomenon that brings together different cultures and societies through their shared passion for gaming and competition. The exhibition presents the history of Esports, its socio-cultural challenges and the future of the movement, as well as the logistical and financial aspects behind this rapidly growing and exciting scene.

Christian Wacker, who is also Deputy Director for exhibitions of the Qatar Sports Museum and President of the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH), organised a guided tour for a group of IPCC members who were in Paris on 2 August. He gave a presentation on the past and present of Esports in the world, covering its beginnings and development to the present day.

The fathers of gaming

Allan Alcorn

Allan Alcorn’s journey into the world of video games began in 1971 when he was a budding engineer at Atari, a young video game company co-founded by Nolan Bushnell. As Atari’s first employee, besides its two founders, Alcorn was tasked with designing a simple game to showcase his and Atari’s abilities in new arcade cabinets. This undertaking would quickly result in the global phenomenon and the first commercially successful video game, Pong (1972).

Gabe Logan Newell

Gabe Logan Newell, often nicknamed “Gaben”, is a prominent figure in the video game industry and is best known as the co-founder and managing director of Valve Corporation, one of the most influential and successful video game development and distribution companies. Some of its popular video games include Half-Life (1988), Counter-Strike (2000) and Dota 2 (2013).

Harry Williams

Harry Williams played a significant role in the history of video gaming as an early arcade game designer and engineer. He paved the way for the industry by being one of the most important contributors to electrifying pinball machines and other mechanical games.

Nolan Bushnell

Nolan Bushnell is an American entrepreneur and pioneer in the video game industry. He famously founded early video game giant Atari with his co-founder Ted Dabney, using the money the two made from creating one of the first arcade game devices, Computer Space (1971). Atari would later establish itself by releasing iconic video games such as Pac-Man (1980) and Pong (1972).

Ralph Baer

Ralph Baer was a German-American inventor, engineer and video game pioneer. During his stint as a military supplier, he conceived the idea of creating an interactive television-based entertainment system. This concept eventually led to the development of the first home video game console, The Magnavox Odyssey (1972), which would light the spark of the home gaming industry.