Pong

Pong bliver ofte anset for at være det første videospil, der opnåede bred popularitet. I løbet af blot det første år indtjente Pong over 36 millioner dollars i USA. Til stor glæde for fans blev en version af spillet til hjemmebrug udgivet i 1975. Nu kunne man spille det populære arkadespil med venner og familie i hjemmet. Pong blev markedsført som et spil for hele familien, og variationer af spillet bliver stadig spillet på de fleste konsoller i dag.

Da spilproducenten Atari åbnede i sommeren 1972, hyrede grundlæggerne, Nolan Bushnell og Ted Dabney, elektroingeniøren Allan Alcorn, til at udvikle nye videospil for deres virksomhed. Resultatet var Pong. Alcorns spil var så imponerende, at det blev sat direkte i produktion. Den kommercielle succes var en overraskelse for spilproducenten.

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When Atari first opened in the summer of 1972, its co-founders Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney hired the electrical engineer Allan Alcorn to develop new videogames for the company.

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Alcorn had no previous experience as a videogame designer. As a training exercise, Bushnell asked Alcorn to develop a prototype for a game, and the result was Pong. So impressed by Alcorn’s work, Pong was immediately brought into production. Pong is often considered to be the first videogame to gain widespread popularity.

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In its first year alone, Pong grossed over 36 million dollars in the USA. A home version of Pong was released in 1975 to much fanfare. Marketed as a game for the whole family to enjoy, versions of Pong continue to be played today on most major consoles.