Museum of the Game ®

International Arcade Museum® — Killer List of Videogames®

Pong

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Description

A Table Tennis type game. Most people are familiar with it. Keep the ball in play and hope your opponent misses.Pong was released commercially released in approximately November 1972. While the 1971 Computer Space machine was the first coin-operated videogame, Pong was the first commercially successful one.The Red and Blank countertop unit was the first prototype style placed on location. The Yellow and Brown floor model is the main production style model and can still be found on a regular basis in collections and for sale.

Pong was produced by Atari in 1972.

Atari released 139 machines in our database under this trade name, starting in 1972. Atari was based in United States.

Other machines made by Atari during the time period Pong was produced include: Doctor Pong, Gotcha, Snoopy Pong, Space Race, and Pong Doubles

Specs

Name	Pong
Developer	Atari (United States)
Year	1972
Type	Videogame
KLOV/MOG #	9074
Class	Wide Release
Genre	Ball and Paddle (Non Breakout)
Monitor	Orientation: Horizontal Type: Raster: Standard Resolution Color: Black and White Black and White TV
Conversion Class	unique
# Simultaneous Players	2
# Maximum Players	2
Game Play	Competitive
Control Panel Layout	Multiple Player
Controls	Rotary: Analog
Sound	Amplified Mono (one channel)
Cabinet Styles	Upright/Standard
PCB	Pong PCB Image

Pong KLOV/IAM 5 Point User Score: 3.47 (10 votes)

Fun Factor: 3.39

Overall Like	3.40
Fun (Social)	3.80
Fun (Solo)	1.88
Collector Desire	3.70

Technical Rating: 3.50

Gameplay	3.70
Graphics	3.00
Originality	4.00
Sound/Music	3.11

Personal Impressions and Technical Impressions each account for half of the total score. Within the Personal Impressions category, Like carries a little more weight than the other factors.

Images

Trivia

The legend of Nolan Bushnell and IPongI being rejected by Bally, and putting the prototype into Andy Capps Tavern, a ustic location in Sunnyvale, CA, is true at least, most of it is. According to the legend, the bartender called Al Alcorn who built the machine two days after it was installed and told him, The fing thing is broken, get it out of here When Alcorn went to check on it, he discovered that the juryrigged coin box was overflowing, preventing the mechanism from registering coins.PThe real story is that it was a polite call two weeks after it was installed, where the tavern manager, Bill Gattis, said to Alcorn, This is the weirdest thing. When I opened the bar this morning, there were two or three people at the door waiting to get in. They walked in and played that machine. They did not buy anything. I have never seen anything like this before. He suggested Alcorn should fix the machine since it had developed a following. Alcorn opened the coin box to treat himself to a free game when quarters came gushing out. He scooped up some of the quarters, put them in his pockets, gave Gattis his business card and said, Next time this happens, you call me at home right away. I can always fix this one. After that, Bushnell decided Atari would manufacture IPongI itself. Partial source Kent, Steven L., IThe First Quarter A 25Year History of Video GamesI Bothell, WA BWD Press, 2000, pp. 3536.

Cabinet Information

The original cabinet has wood sides, a flat top, and yellow wood in front of monitor. The word PONG is displayed in large black stylized letters above monitor TV glass. The instructions are as follows Insert Coin. Avoid Missing Ball for High Score.PThe first prototype cabinet was black and red and it had a cardboard bezel which hid a small, black white Hitachi TV. It was placed in Andy Capps Tavern where it sat on a barrel it was small enough to fit on a table. Pong Cocktail. This machine was not as pretty as a standard Pong cabinet and as such isnt as desired by collectors.

Miscellaneous

The boards name Syzygy as the manufacturer of the game. While both "Pong" and "Computer Space" say Syzygy Engineered on their control panels, Bushnell was not able to get the rights to this name, so Atari was chosen as the next best choice.

Pong was previously available on the iPad and iPhone via an Atari's Greatest Hits app.

VAPS Arcade/Coin-Op Pong Census

There are 15,370 members of the Video Arcade Preservation Society / Vintage Arcade Preservation Society, 9,709 whom participate in our arcade census project of games owned, wanted, or for sale. Census data currently includes 167,412 machines (7,024 unique titles).

Very Common - There are 80 known instances of this machine owned by Pong collectors who are active members. Of these, 70 of them are original dedicated machines. 2 of them are conversions in which game circuit boards (and possibly cabinet graphics) have been placed in (and on) another game cabinet. 8 of them are only circuit boards which a collector could put into a generic case if desired.

For Sale - There are 3 active VAPS members with a Pong machines for sale. There is one active VAPS member with an extra Pong circuit board for sale.

Wanted - Popular - There are 19 active VAPS members currently looking for Pong. There is one active VAPS member looking for a Pong circuit board set.

This game ranks a 18 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most often seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census ownership records.

This game ranks a 33 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most often seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census want list records.

Rarity and Popularity independently are not necessarily indications of value. [More Information]

Flyers

Legacy or Series

Manuals

Atari Pong Schematics - Pong Manual — **Atari Pong Schematics**
(5 pages, 1.1 MB File)

Atari Pong Schematics 16 pgs - Pong Manual — **Atari Pong Schematics 16 pgs**
(16 pages, 166 kB File)

Foto-Finder® (Books)

Arcade Treasures Kurtz (ISBN 088740619X) Page: 98; Color photo
The Encyclopedia of Arcade Video Games Kurtz (ISBN 0764319256) Page: 7-8; Color photo Price guide: No
Arcade Fever Sellers (ISBN 0762409371) Page: 16; Color photo

Additional References (logged in members often see more)

3D Model (External): Upright (4ccfa9b4b2367feac3864156e4194aad)

eBay Listings

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