History VideoGame / Pong

* GameplayRoulette: In spades. In fact, a lot of levels bear little resemblance to ''Pong'' at all, ending the connection at using a ball and a paddle.

* PoisonMushroom: A skull powerup item usually counts as this, though it tends to be punishing to both players.

* ArtificialStupidity[=/=]TooDumbToLive: Lampshaded on the third fishing stage difficulty, where the fish outright swim ''straight for the edge'' where the shark hangs out. The difficulty title points out the fact that the fish are outright being dumb on this stage.

* PinballGag: "Pongball Wizard" is this.

** In Japan only, the Color TV Game 6, another Pong clone, was the first game console ever made by Creator/{{Nintendo}}. The Color TV Game series was the best-selling home video game hardware ''in the entire world'' in the 1970s.

''Pong'' is often thought of as "the first video game ever", [[OlderThanTheyThink but this is untrue]] — for one, the UsefulNotes/MagnavoxOdyssey debuted earlier in 1972 (and had been in development since 1968). Not to mention ''VideoGame/ComputerSpace'', also created by Bushnell, debuted a year earlier. Before that, it gets pretty complicated and still challenged due to varying opinions of what constitutes a VideoGame — the very first is either ''VideoGame/{{Spacewar}}'' (1962), ''VideoGame/TennisForTwo'' (1958), ''VideoGame/{{OXO}}'' (1952), ''Draughts'' (also 1952), or the ''VideoGame/CathodeRayTubeAmusementDevice'' (1947). What ''is'' true, though, is that ''Pong'' is the first video game to be put in mass market, as opposed to earlier attempts which were more like scientific experiments on computational power.

** In Japan only, the Color TV Game 15, another Pong clone, was the first game console ever made by Creator/{{Nintendo}}. It was the best-selling home video game hardware ''in the entire world'' in the 1970s.

** In Japan only, the Color TV Game 15 was the first game console ever made by Creator/{{Nintendo}}. It was the best-selling home video game hardware ''in the entire world'' in the 1970s.

** In Japan only, the Color TV Game 15 was the first game console ever made by Creator/Nintendo. It was the best-selling home video game hardware ''in the entire world'' in the 1970s.

** In Japan only, the Color TV Game 15 was the first game console ever made by UsefulNotes/Nintendo. It was the best-selling home video game hardware ''in the entire world'' in the 1970s.

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: As if the game already wasn't enough of a GameplayRoulette, the one stage that provides almost no connection whatsoever to the original concept would have to be the FishingMinigame. Yes, really. There's a fishing level in a ''Pong'' game. In addition, Frog Follies also effectively foregoes the whole concept of ''Pong'' by being more of a labyrinth type game where you roll a ball through a maze.

* OneWordTitle: As it's similar to ping-'''pong'''. Also named for an onomatopoeia of one of the sound effects in the game .

* ScoringPoints: Again, one of the earliest examples in video game history, with the scores being displayed at the top of the screen.

''Pong'' is often thought of as "the first video game ever", [[OlderThanTheyThink but this is untrue]] — for one, the UsefulNotes/MagnavoxOdyssey debuted earlier in 1972 (and had been in development since 1968). Not to mention VideoGame/ComputerSpace, also created by Bushnell, debuted a year earlier. Before that, it gets pretty complicated and still challenged due to varying opinions of what constitutes a VideoGame — the very first is either ''VideoGame/{{Spacewar}}'' (1962), ''VideoGame/TennisForTwo'' (1958), ''VideoGame/{{OXO}}'' (1952), ''Draughts'' (also 1952), or the ''VideoGame/CathodeRayTubeAmusementDevice'' (1947). What ''is'' true, though, is that ''Pong'' is the first video game to be put in mass market, as opposed to earlier attempts which were more like scientific experiments on computational power.

* NoPlotNoProblem: There's no story to the game at all, which is fairly reasonable considering, well, it's a game about balls and paddles. You don't exactly need a whole lot of lore for that. [[note]]Not that it stopped this game's indirect successor done by the same development team, ''VideoGame/{{Breakout}}'' on the PS1, from having a storyline.[[/note]]

* NoPlotNoProblem: There's no story to the game at all, which is fairly reasonable considering, well, it's a game about balls and paddles. You don't exactly need a whole lot of lore for that. [[note]]Not that it stopped this game's indirect successor done by the same development team, ''VideoGame/Breakout'' on the PS1, from having a storyline.[[/note]]

''Pong'' is often thought of as "the first video game ever", [[OlderThanTheyThink but this is untrue]] — for one, the UsefulNotes/MagnavoxOdyssey debuted earlier in 1972 (and had been in development since 1968). Not to mention VideoGame/ComputerSpace, also created by Bushnell, debuted a year earlier. Before that, it gets pretty complicated and still challenged due to varying opinions of what constitutes a VideoGame — the very first is either ''VideoGame/{{Spacewar}}'' (1962), ''VideoGame/TennisForTwo'' (1958), ''VideoGame/{{OXO}}'' (1952), or the ''VideoGame/CathodeRayTubeAmusementDevice'' (1947). What ''is'' true, though, is that ''Pong'' is the first video game to be put in mass market, as opposed to earlier attempts which were more like scientific experiments on computational power.

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: As if the game already wasn't enough of a GameplayRoulette, the one stage that provides almost no connection whatsoever to the original concept would have to be the FishingMinigame. Yes, really. There's a fishing level in a ''Pong'' game.

!!''Pong'' provides examples of:

* {{Sequel}}: Received an official one by the name of ''Pong: The Next Level'' for the [=PC=] and original Playstation with 20 stages, each containing three variations, adding [=3D=] graphics, environmental hazards, and power-ups to the gameplay. It features a one-player adventure mode and multiplayer for up to 4 players. Naturally, it has the original game as an EmbeddedPrecursor.

''Pong'' is often thought of as "the first video game ever", [[OlderThanTheyThink but this is untrue]] — for one, the UsefulNotes/MagnavoxOdyssey debuted earlier in 1972 (and had been in development since 1968). Not to mention VideoGame/ComputerSpace, also created by Bushnell, debuted a year earlier. Before that, it gets pretty complicated and still challenged due to varying opinions of what constitutes a VideoGame — the very first is either ''VideoGame/{{Spacewar}}'' (1962), ''VideoGame/TennisForTwo'' (1958), ''VideoGame/{{OXO}}'' (1952), or the ''VideoGame/CathodeRayTubeAmusementDevice'' (1947).

* FollowTheLeader: Dozens of companies made Pong clones and, later, home Pong clones, including the future industry standard Nintendo. Pong itself can be considered this as well - electronic tennis was not a new idea by the time Bushnell made it, and there's proof that he saw and possibly played the Odyssey before creating ''Pong''.

In more detail: ''Pong'', developed by Nolan Bushnell (who would later create the Creator/ChuckECheese franchise[[note]]Oh, [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and some company called]] Creator/{{Atari}}[[/note]]), is one of the oldest video games. It dates from 1972, making it OlderThanTheNES. The company that was founded to publish it, Atari, became synonymous with video games for years afterwards. It was also packed with many first-generation consoles, and Atari made a separate console that only played the game.

''Pong'' is often thought of as "the first video game ever", [[OlderThanTheyThink but this is untrue]] — for one, the UsefulNotes/MagnavoxOdyssey debuted earlier in 1972 (and had been in development since 1968). Not to mention VideoGame/ComputerSpace, also created by Bushnell, debuted a year earlier. Before that, it gets pretty complicated and still challenged due to varying opinions of what constitutes a VideoGame — the very first is either ''VideoGame/{{Spacewar}}'' (1962), ''VideoGame/TennisForTwo'' (1958), ''VideoGame/{{OXO}}'' (1952), or the ''VideoGame/CathodeRayTubeAmusementDevice'' (1947). ''Pong'' was, however, the game that started the video game industry.

* NoPlotNoProblem: There is nothing here even resembling a plot, but the game still got popular. Though this hasn't stopped a few devoted fans from making their own [[http://www.fanfiction.net/game/Pong/ Pong fanfiction]].
* OneWordTitle: As it's similar to ping-'''pong'''.
* PlayerVersusPlayer

* ScoringPoints
* {{Sequel}}: Received one by the name of ''Pong: The Next Level'' for the [=PC=] and original Playstation with 20 stages, each containing three variations, adding [=3D=] graphics, environmental hazards, and power-ups to the gameplay. It features a one-player adventure mode and multiplayer for up to 4 players. Naturally, it has the original game as an EmbeddedPrecursor.

''Pong'' is often thought of as "the first video game ever", [[OlderThanTheyThink but this is untrue]] — for one, the UsefulNotes/MagnavoxOdyssey debuted earlier in 1972 (and had been in development since 1968). Not to mention VideoGame/ComputerSpace, also created by Bushnell, debuted a year earlier. Before that, it gets pretty complicated and still challenged due to varying opinions of what constitutes a VideoGame — the very first is either ''VideoGame/{{Spacewar}}'' (1962), ''VideoGame/TennisForTwo'' (1958), ''VideoGame/{{OXO}}'' (1952), or the ''VideoGame/CathodeRayTubeAmusementDevice'' (1947). It was, however, the game that started the video game industry.

* DemandOverload: The first Pong machine set up in public stopped working a few days thereafter, due to being clogged with coins.

* CompilationRerelease: ''VideoGame/VideoOlympics'' for the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}} is the oldest example in video game history, being one of the 2600's nine launch titles in 1977. It includes ''Pong'', ''Super Pong'', ''Pong Doubles'', and ''Quadrapong'', along with a few other of Atari's early arcade games.

* NoPlotNoProblem: There is nothing here even resembling a plot. But the game still got popular.
** Though this hasn't stopped a few devoted fans from making their own [[http://www.fanfiction.net/game/Pong/ Pong fanfiction]].

Pong is a 1972 video game, the first one released by Creator/{{Atari}}. You control a paddle that goes along one line — in the classic version, up and down. Your opponent has another paddle. You bounce a square ball against the paddle. If your opponent misses, you get a point. If you miss, your opponent gets a point. First to reach 21 wins.