pong for other uses see pong disambiguation pongan upright cabinet of pong on display at the neville public museum of brown county developers atari publishers atari designers allan alcorn platforms arcade release29 november 1972 genres sports modes singleplayer multiplayer  monodisplayvertical orientation blackandwhite raster display standard resolution pong is one of the earliest arcade video games it is a table tennis sports game featuring simple twodimensional graphics the game was originally manufactured by atari which released it in 1972 allan alcorn created pong as a training exercise assigned to him by atari cofounder nolan bushnell bushnell based the idea on an electronic pingpong game included in the magnavox odyssey which later resulted in a lawsuit against atari surprised by the quality of alcorns work bushnell and atari cofounder ted dabney decided to manufacture the game pong quickly became a success and was the first commercially successful video game which helped to establish the video game industry along with the first home console the magnavox odyssey soon after its release several companies began producing games that copied pongs gameplay and eventually released new types of games as a result atari encouraged its staff to produce more innovative games the company released several sequels that built upon the originals gameplay by adding new features during the 1975 christmas season atari released a home version of pong exclusively through sears retail stores it was also a commercial success and led to numerous copies the game has been remade on numerous home and portable platforms following its release pong is part of the permanent collection of the smithsonian institution in washington dc due to its cultural impact pong has been referenced and parodied in multiple television shows and video games and has been a part of several video game and cultural exhibitions gameplay the two paddles return the ball back and forth the score is kept by the numbers 0 and 1 at the top of the screen pong is a twodimensional sports game that simulates table tennis the player controls an ingame paddle by moving it vertically across the left or right side of the screen they can compete against another player controlling a second paddle on the opposing side players use the paddles to hit a ball back and forth the goal is for each player to reach eleven points before the opponent points are earned when one fails to return the ball to the other development and history see also origin of atari inc atari engineer allan alcorn designed and built pong as a training exercise pong was the first game developed by atari alcorn first examined bushnells schematics for computer space but found them to be illegible he went on to create his own designs based on his knowledge of transistortransistor logic and bushnells game feeling the basic game was too boring alcorn added features to give the game more appeal he divided the paddle into eight segments to change the balls angle of return for example the center segments return the ball a 90 angle in relation to the paddle while the outer segments return the ball at smaller angles he also made the ball accelerate the longer it remained in play missing the ball reset the speed three months into development bushnell told alcorn he wanted the game to feature realistic sound effects and a roaring crowd the pong prototype that was used in the tavern in august 1972 bushnell and alcorn installed the pong prototype at a local bar andy capps tavern after hearing about the games success bushnell decided there would be more profit for atari to manufacture the game rather than license it but the interest of bally and midway had already been piqued home version ataris home pong console released through sears in 1975 after the success of pong bushnell pushed his employees to create new products bushnell and gene lipkin ataris vicepresident of sales approached toy and electronic retailers to sell home pong but were rejected retailers felt the product was too expensive and would not interest consumers while at the show they met quinn again and a few days later set up a meeting with him to obtain a sales order in order to gain approval from the sporting goods department quinn suggested atari demonstrate the game to executives in chicago alcorn and lipkin traveled to the sears tower and despite a technical complication in connection with an antenna on top of the building which broadcast on the same channel as the game obtained approval bushnell told quinn he could produce 75000units in time for the christmas season however quinn requested double the amount though bushnell knew atari lacked the capacity to manufacture 150000units he agreed the magnavox odyssey invented by ralph h baer inspired pongs development lawsuit from magnavox the success of pong attracted the attention of ralph baer the inventor of the magnavox odyssey and his employer sanders associates sanders had an agreement with magnavox to handle the odysseys sublicensing which included dealing with infringement on its exclusive rights however magnavox had not pursued legal action against atari and numerous other companies that released pong clones after considering his options bushnell decided to settle with magnavox out of court bushnells lawyer felt they could win however he estimated legal costs of us15 million which would have exceeded ataris funds magnavox offered atari an agreement to become a licensee for us700000 other companies producing pong clonesataris competitorswould have to pay royalties in addition magnavox would obtain the rights to atari products developed over the next year impact and legacy dedicated pong consoles made their way to various countries like this russian turnir meaning tournament see also history of the video game industry the pong arcade games manufactured by atari were a great success the prototype was well received by andy capps tavern patrons people came to the bar solely to play the game home pong was an instant success following its limited 1975 release through sears around 150000units were sold that holiday season telegames pong iv sears version of pong sequel pong doubles was one of the many consoles that flooded the market by 1977 several publications consider pong the game that launched the video game industry as a lucrative enterprise bushnell felt that pong was especially significant in its role as a social lubricant since it was multiplayeronly and did not require each player to use more than one hand it was very common to have a girl with a quarter in hand pull a guy off a bar stool and say id like to play pong and theres nobody to play it was a way you could play games you were sitting shoulder to shoulder you could talk you could laugh you could challenge each other as you became better friends you could put down your beer and hug you could put your arm around the person you could play lefthanded if you so desired in fact there are a lot of people who have come up to me over the years and said i met my wife playing pong and thats kind of a nice thing to have achieved sequels and remakes bushnell felt the best way to compete against imitators was to create better products leading atari to produce sequels in the years followings the originals release pong doubles super pong ultra pong quadrapong and pinpong atari remade the game on numerous platforms in 1977 pong and several variants of the game were featured in video olympics one of the original release titles for the atari 2600 pong has also been included in several atari compilations on platforms including the sega genesis playstation portable nintendo ds and personal computer in popular culture the game is featured in episodes of television series that 70s show dutch design studio buro vormkrijgers created a pongthemed clock as a fun project within their offices after the studio decided to manufacture it for retail atari took legal action in february 2006 the two companies eventually reached an agreement in which buro vormkrijgers could produce a limited number under license video games portal golden age of arcade video games history of video games list of arcade video games painstation cohen scott 1984 zap the rise and fall of atari mcgrawhill isbn9780070115439 herman leonard 1997 phoenix the fall rise of videogames rolenta press isbn9780964384828 kline stephen dyerwitheford nick de peuter greig 2003 digital play the interaction of technology culture and marketing mcgillqueens press isbn9780773525917 lowood h 2009 videogames in computer space the complex history of pong ieee annals of the history of computing 31 3 pp519 doi101109mahc200953 wikimedia commons has media related to pong pongstorycom the most comprehensive site about pong and its origins the atari museum an indepth look at atari and its history pong owners manual 1976 the pong flyer pong variants at mobygames vte1970s atari arcade gamessyzygy engineering 1971 computer space 1972 pong 1973 gotcha space race 1974 gran trak 10 qwak rebound tank 1975 antiaircraft crash n score doctor pong hiway indy 800 jet fighter pursuit shark jaws steeplechase 1976 breakout indy 4 lemans night driver outlaw quiz show sprint 2 stunt cycle 1977 canyon bomber destroyer dominos starship 1 super bug triple hunt 1978 atari football avalanche fire truck sky diver tournament table 1979 asteroids basketball lunar lander list of atari inc games vteatari hardwarededicated video game consoles pong stunt cycle video pinball flashback series video game consoles vcs2600 2800 5200 7800 xegs lynx jaguar cd vcs 2019 personal computers 400800xlxe st mega ste tt030 atari transputer workstation falcon portable computers stacy st book portfoliopc folio cancelled prototypes game brain tank ii cosmos 2700 panther sierra other arcade games atari video music atari cx40 joystick vtevideo game consoles first generationtypes home video game console list handheld game console list microconsole list dedicated console list generations first 197280 second 197692 third 19832003 fourth 19872004 fifth 19932005 sixth 19982013 seventh 200517 eighth 2012present firstgenerationhome magnavox odyssey dedicated apf tv fun color tvgame gameroom telepong magnavox odyssey series pong coleco telstar video pinball second generation emulator game history list manufacturer authority control gnd 76847573 