It may not have been the first arcade cabinet game, I think would go to its predecessor Computer Space, but it’s the one which really got the industry, namely Atari rolling! What I didn’t know is that Magnavox already sold a home version so a copyright infringement lawsuit kicked in shortly. I guess it didn’t pan out against Atari as you would see these Pong cabinets all over America in bars, laundromats and the new arcade businesses popping once pinball was declared legal in enough states.
I remember reading a story about how successful the game was. There was allegedly a bar near Atari’s headquarters, a guinea pig for their product. One day, Atari received a call from the watering hole to come look at the game, it appeared to be broken because it wasn’t responding. I think the description was on the vague side. When the tech showed up, he quickly discovered the problem. The machine’s coin box was stuffed and it was “broken” as it couldn’t take anymore money. Pretty amazing given how expensive it was the play 1972’s standards. Back then a quarter had the seven times the purchasing power it has today. Seems about right, if you go to the few video arcades remaining, the latest and great game runs around two bucks a pop. Paying a buck to a buck and a half is really a bargain after inflation kicks in.
To my few younger readers, Pong seems incredibly silly. How could a game some simple in its graphics and concept be such a hit? Why did I bug the hell out of my parents for one? Novelty is always a factor. I think it was impressive then due to it being on a video screen, similar to TV, instead of being mechanical which was how previous games functioned. Sure you were flying a jet fighter or driving a Formula-One race car but the Physics, the AI of your opponent and execution were often flawed. You could often figure out a pattern to what it was going to do. For me, it was the “graphics.”
Hard to believe it really began to take off 50 years ago. Given how far along we are with home consoles (PS5, Xbox Something and Nintendo Switch), tablets/phones, computers and arcades offering VR experiences; it feels like twice as long. Games are conspicuously present and young kids at any economic level aren’t deprived.
The Guardian did a piece about Pong’s anniversary over the Thanksgiving week too, you can read it here.