Pong arcade and Magnavox Odyssey home console
Máquina recreativa Pong y consola doméstica Magnavox Odyssey
- Date
- 1972 · confidence high
- Place
- Atari, Sunnyvale, California, United States; Magnavox, Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Credited to
- Nolan Bushnell and Allan Alcorn (Atari Pong); Ralph Baer (Odyssey, Sanders Associates)
- People
- 👤 Allan Alcorn1948–👤 Nolan Bushnell1943–👤 Ralph H. Baer1922–2014
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
The first commercially successful arcade video game and the first home console connectable to a domestic television. They created the video game industry and the habit of playing at home.
Bushnell saw the Odyssey before commissioning Pong; Magnavox sued Atari, which paid a licence fee.
What it led to
- The arcade industry and games-arcade culture
- The home console (Atari 2600, Nintendo) and family electronic entertainment
- Baer's patent lawsuits, which defined the sector's intellectual property
Built on
- Electronic television1927–1936
- Integrated circuit (Kilby)1958
- Video game (Tennis for Two, Spacewar!)1958
- Tennis for Two and Spacewar!
Made possible
- Space Invaders1978
- Simon1978
- Atari 2600
- Nintendo Entertainment System