Pong
Pong was the first hit video game. This game is one that shaped the entire video game industry.
Pong was first introduced in 1972. Al Alcorn, one of the Atari's firt employees, created the first Pong arcade machine. It was esentially was a prototype mounted on pinball bars. The system was first tested in a bar in Sunnyvale, California. Its name was Andy Capp's Cavern. When the system was first put into place in this bar, only two people took notice of it and started playing. The very next day, people were lined up outside the store at 10 AM in the morning waiting to play.
Two weeks later, Magnavox will learn about Pong and how no one ever asked their permission to use their ball and paddle concept, which they had patented. Atari had to pay $700,000 for use of the rights, but they made up for it. By the end of March 1983, Atari had sold anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 coin-op Pong systems.
Many versions of Pong were released: Pong Doubles (a 4-player Pong), Quadra Pong, Doctor Pong, etc. Of course there were bootleggers. A classica example was Rally, a Pong clone that was made just after the original was released. Alos, make-it-yourself Pong kits were sold left and right.
The home version of Pong was conceived in 1973. The system was designed by Al Alcorn, Bob Brown, and Harold Lee in 1975. Because of the decreasing sucess of the Odyeesy1, retail outlets weren't interested by Atari's home console, but they would stock this. These systems has on-screen digital scoring, something absent from other versions of Pong.
Unfortunately, in 1975, Sears rejects the Pong system saying it doesn't sell well. An Atari sales directo contacts Tom Quinn, and after several meetings with Nolan Bushnell, Sears orders 150,000 Pong consoles. It was decided that Pong will sell under the Sears Tele-games label. Christmas 1975 was the most season for Pong, where people lined up in huge lines outside the stores waiting for Pong shipments.
The Pong systems would last until the late 70's, and in Europe till 1982-83. Pong is still considered today to be the game that shaped the console market.