PONG The World's First Arcade Game
For centuries, people have enjoyed playing table games, from the Bagatelle table in the 1700's to the earliest pinball machines in the 20's and 30's, and beyond. Pinball machines became a popular pastime for millions of people worldwide, and until the end of the "Golden Age of Pinball" in the late 1960's, it was the most popular game to play at arcades. All this began to change with the invention of the video game.
The world of arcade games changed in 1972 with one single word: PONG. PONG is the first video game to be developed by Atari Inc., the same year the company was founded. One of the earliest video games, PONG was a simple tennis game with two-dimensional graphics.
Basically, players volleyed the ball back and forth, and the person who missed the most "balls" lost. Of course, there had to be at least some challenge, so the game was designed in a way that the longer a person played, the faster the action became.
PONG Rolls Into Andy Capp's Tavern, As Well As The Hearts of Players
The first people to play the game PONG, with the exception of the creators and others at Atari Inc. of course, were patrons of a bar called Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnvale, CA. The game became so popular that many patrons were coming in just to play PONG, and at one point, tavern owner Bill Gattis reported to Atari that the unit was malfunctioning, because quarters were flowing out from the bucket. As it turns out, there was nothing wrong with the machine. So many people had been playing it that the quarter bucket was extremely backed up. At this point, the company knew it had a hit on its hands.
PONG Incites Lawsuit
PONG has an interesting history. Created by Allan Alcorn of Atari Inc., PONG was originally a training exercise from Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari Inc. Bushnell liked the idea from a game that was a part of the Magnavox Odyssey console. When the assignment was completed, Bushnell was so impressed with this new game idea that he decided to manufacture and market.
PONG quickly became a huge success, and at one point, Atari Inc. found itself in a lawsuit brought about by Magnavox Odyssey. In 1976, a settlement was reached, and Atari Inc. became a licensee of the game, at a cost of $700,000. Also, other companies producing similar games would have to pay royalties, and Magnavox was given rights to Atari Inc. products that were developed throughout the following year.
Thousands of PONG arcade machines were sold during the first two years of manufacturing, at three times the cost to make them, and in the end, 35,000 PONG machines were sold. The game became so popular that a home version was introduced by Sears Roebuck in 1974, which, as we all know, created a whole new world for video game enthusiasts.
About the Author:
Howard Symington is the owner and managing director of Southern Star Amusements and Vending. Australia's leading Amusement, Arcade, Pinball, Redemption and Vending Machine Hire, Rental and Sales Company. For all your Pinball, Arcade and Amusement Machine Sales, Rentals and Coin Share Programs for your Pub, Hotel, Club, Company or Venue requirements visit Southern Star Amusements
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