Happy 40th birthday Atari! Welcome to middle age

3 hrs.

Winda Benedetti

It's official, Atari has hit middle age.?

Today marks Atari's 40th birthday.?That's right, it was waaay back?on?June 27, 1972, that Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney launched the game company which you may?or may not know was almost named Syzygy instead.

For many of us who grew up playing video games,?Atari looms large in our memory. Atari's first hit ??"Pong" ??was?the very first video game I ever played (which probably reveals a little too much about how old I am). A?friend who lived across the street?owned one of those blocky?Home Pong consoles?and?I can still hear the bip, bip, bip?sound?it made as we?bounced that ball back and forth.

Atari games like "Breakout" (developed by this one guy?named Steve Jobs)?and, of course, "Centipede" would go on to absorb many young lives just as?the Atari 2600 ?console would invade homes around the world.

It was exciting times for the burgeoning video game business. How exciting? Here, check out this blast from the past:

But don't worry, Atari, middle age ain't so bad. Sure, your joints ache when you wake up in the morning?and you can't stay out late?drinking like you used to, but at least you get to look back in?wonder at just how much things have changed?during the four decades you've been around.

In fact, looking back at how far video?games have come since "Pong" ... one can't help but imagine what the next 40 years of gaming might bring.

In celebration of its 40th birthday, Atari has released a nifty infographic outlining some highlights from its history. Check it out below (if you have a magnifying glass handy)?or, for a closer look, click this link.

Winda Benedetti writes about video?games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things?on Twitter?here?@WindaBenedetti?and you?follow her?on Google+. Meanwhile, be sure to check?out the?IN-GAME?FACEBOOK PAGE?to discuss the day's?gaming news and reviews.?

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