Nearly five decades after Atari explored bringing interactive gaming into McDonald's restaurants, the original drawings and corporate presentation materials documenting that proposal are set to be auctioned. The archive, preserved by former Atari executive Roger Hector, will be offered by New Hampshire-based NobleSpirit on November 19, 2026, as part of The Roger Hector Archives Part I. The collection provides an unusual view of Atari's ambitions beyond the arcade and living room, illustrating how the company sought to apply video game technology to everyday consumer experiences.
In 1979, as video games were beginning to transform American entertainment, Atari was investigating an unexpected opportunity: integrating electronic entertainment into the fast-food experience. Hector, who served as Manager of Advanced Products at Atari from 1976 to 1981, personally developed the concepts before the company presented them to McDonald's executives at its Chicago headquarters. The surviving archive includes 10 original concept drawings, technical design materials, an internal Atari corporate proposal, and a presentation box marked "McDonald's / Atari 1979." According to Hector, the specially designed presentation boxes were deliberately made to resemble familiar McDonald's food packaging, providing a distinctive introduction to his proposals.
Among the concepts were interactive drive-through displays, specially designed children's ordering counters, and an overhead arcade game in which Ronald McDonald navigated a colorful, game-like environment. One proposal envisioned children receiving tokens with their food orders, which could then be used to play arcade games within the restaurant. Other designs explored integrating electronic entertainment directly into restaurant fixtures and customer interactions. The collection also includes an Atari Touch Me electronic game incorporated into the presentation materials, one of two games Steve Jobs helped produce when he was at Atari, and an original signed letter of provenance from Hector.
Hector recalls that elements of the proposed children's counter concept were adopted in limited test markets, although the broader collection of interactive entertainment proposals was not implemented as originally envisioned. "We prototyped a couple of the concepts, gave them to McDonalds, and they liked 'em a lot. But the negotiations fell apart (not sure why)…and we moved on and I kept one of the McDonalds presentation boxes and all of my original artwork in my portfolio," Hector said. "They have never been seen otherwise until now." The archive, offered as Lot 9, carries a pre-auction estimate of $4,000–$6,000 and is surrounded by 63 other lots of nostalgia from Sonic to Pac-Man, many providing insight into the artistic process of an industrial designer turned video game pioneer at Atari, Electronic Arts, Bally, Disney, Sega Technical Institute, and Namco.
The auction matters because it documents an earlier, little-known effort to integrate interactive entertainment into the physical restaurant environment, predating later video game-related promotions between Atari and McDonald's. The auction will take place November 19, 2026, at 7 p.m. Eastern, with online bidding available through LiveAuctioneers. Additional details are available at https://www.noblespirit.com/roger-hector-liveauctioneers-sale.
