Pong
1972 · Sports · Arcade
Overview
Pong is the game that launched the commercial video game industry, released by Atari in 1972 as the first commercially successful arcade game. Designed by engineer Allan Alcorn as a training exercise, the game simulates a table tennis match with two paddle-controlled lines and a bouncing ball. Atari placed a prototype machine at Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, California, and within weeks it had broken down from being played too much — jammed with quarters. Pong was eventually released as a home console version in 1975, bringing video games into living rooms for the first time at mass scale.
Deep Dive
Atari founder Nolan Bushnell assigned Pong to new hire Allan Alcorn as a practice project inspired by the Magnavox Odyssey's table tennis game. Alcorn added realistic physics — making the ball angle change based on which part of the paddle it hit — that weren't in his specification. The original arcade cabinet used simple TTL logic chips rather than a programmable computer. After the Andy Capp's Tavern success, Bushnell mass-produced the cabinet and Atari grew from a two-person startup to a multi-million dollar company within a year. Dozens of clones appeared almost immediately, creating the first video game market. The home version sold 150,000 units in its first year through Sears and became the best-selling product in the Sears catalog for the 1975 holiday season.
Developer Story
Pong was designed by Allan Alcorn in 1972 as a training exercise assigned by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell. Bushnell told Alcorn to copy a simple ping-pong game from the Magnavox Odyssey, expecting it to be a throwaway project. Alcorn added features not in his brief — the ball speed increased over time, the angle of return depended on where it hit the paddle. The prototype installed at Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale jammed within weeks — not because it broke, but because the coin box was too full.
Did You Know?
- The Pong prototype at Andy Capp's Tavern broke down in its first week — technicians found the coin box had jammed from being overfilled with quarters.
- Alcorn added the "English" mechanic (ball angle varies by paddle hit position) on his own initiative — it was not in Bushnell's original brief.
- Magnavox sued Atari for patent infringement, claiming Pong copied the Odyssey's tennis game. Atari settled, becoming the first Magnavox licensee.
- Sears sold a home version of Pong in 1975, which sold 150,000 units during the Christmas season — the first major success of home video gaming.
- Bushnell gave Alcorn a $1,000 bonus for Pong. Atari went on to earn over $100 million from the game.
