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123-407: Pong is a table tennis –themed twitch arcade sports video game , featuring simple two-dimensional graphics , manufactured by Atari and originally released on 29 November 1972. It is one of the earliest arcade video games ; it was created by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise assigned to him by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell , but Bushnell and Atari co-founder Ted Dabney were surprised by

246-401: A matte finish. The choice of ball color is made according to the table color and its surroundings. For example, a white ball is easier to see on a green or blue table than it is on a grey table. Manufacturers often indicate the quality of the ball with a star rating system, usually from one to three, three being the highest grade. As this system is not standard across manufacturers, the only way

369-817: A slot machine version of the game. The game was also included as a loading screen minigame on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of TD Overdrive: The Brotherhood of Speed , however the Windows version doesn't include it. Bushnell felt the best way to compete against imitators was to create better products, leading Atari to produce sequels in the years following the original's release: Pong Doubles , Super Pong , Quadrapong and Pinpong . The sequels feature similar graphics, but include new gameplay elements; for example, Pong Doubles allows four players to compete in pairs, while Quadrapong —also released by Kee Games as Elimination —has them compete against each other in

492-454: A $ 75 Hitachi black-and-white television set from a local store, placed it into a 4-foot (1.2 m) wooden cabinet , and soldered the wires into boards to create the necessary circuitry. The prototype impressed Bushnell and Dabney so much that they felt it could be a profitable product and decided to test its marketability. In August 1972, Bushnell and Alcorn installed the Pong prototype at

615-681: A British defense consortium named Ultra Electronics. The company is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Ultra, manufacturing water and acoustic sensing and communications devices for military and civil defense. Among the defense products Magnavox manufactured were the AN/ARC-164 UHF radio , AN/SSQ-53 series sonobuoys, AN/ALQ-128 EW equipment, AN/SSQ-62 series sonobuoys, and the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System ( AFATDS ). The brand also has worked with Funai with their televisions after

738-403: A backhand stroke (most often topspin) known as a reverse penhold backhand by turning the traditional side of the racket to face one's self, and striking the ball with the opposite side of the racket. This stroke has greatly improved and strengthened the penhold style both physically and psychologically, as it eliminates the strategic weakness of the traditional penhold backhand. The shakehand grip

861-564: A ball may be used in official competition is upon ITTF approval (the ITTF approval can be seen printed on the ball). The 40 mm ball was introduced after the end of the 2000 Summer Olympics ; previously a 38 mm ball was standard. This created some controversies. Vladimir Samsonov , the World No. 1 table tennis professional at the time, threatened to pull out of the World Cup, which

984-522: A different meaning in the early days of radio and telephone. Magnavox manufactured radios, TVs, and phonographs . In the 1960s, Magnavox manufactured the first plasma displays for the military and for computer applications. In 1972 Magnavox introduced the Odyssey , the first video game console . In 1974, North American Philips acquired a majority stake in the Magnavox Company, which became

1107-450: A four-way field. Bushnell also conceptualized a free-to-play version of Pong to entertain children in a Doctor's office. He initially titled it Snoopy Pong and fashioned the cabinet after Snoopy 's doghouse with the character on top, but retitled it to Puppy Pong and altered Snoopy to a generic dog to avoid legal action. Bushnell later used the game in his chain of Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants. In 1976, Atari released Breakout ,

1230-478: A height clearance of at least 5 m (16.4 ft). For wheelchair events, the minimums are 8 m (26.2 ft) long and 6 m (19.7 ft) wide. Players are equipped with a laminated wooden racket covered with rubber on one or two sides depending on the grip of the player. The ITTF uses the term "racket", though "bat" is common in Britain, and "paddle" in the U.S. and Canada. The wooden portion of

1353-422: A home version of Pong that would connect to a television: Home Pong . The system began development under the codename Darlene , named after an employee at Atari. Alcorn worked with Lee to develop the designs and prototype and based them on the same digital technology used in their arcade games. The two worked in shifts to save time and money; Lee worked on the design's logic during the day, while Alcorn debugged

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1476-421: A large arcade printed circuit board (PCB) down to a small LSI chip for use in a home system. The initial development cost for a game on a single LSI chip was expensive, costing around $ 50,000 (equivalent to $ 376,000 in 2023), but once the chip was developed, it became significantly cheaper to mass-produce the game as well as more difficult to reverse-engineer . In 1974, Atari engineer Harold Lee proposed

1599-627: A limited number under license. In 1999, French artist Pierre Huyghe created an installation titled "Atari Light", in which two people use handheld gaming devices to play Pong on an illuminated ceiling. The work was shown at the Venice Biennale in 2001, and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León in 2007. The game was included in the London Barbican Art Gallery 's 2002 Game On exhibition meant to showcase

1722-420: A local bar, Andy Capp's Tavern. They selected the bar because of their good working relation with the bar's owner and manager, Bill Gaddis; Atari supplied pinball machines to Gaddis. Bushnell and Alcorn placed the prototype on one of the tables near the other entertainment machines: a jukebox, pinball machines, and Computer Space . The game was well received the first night and its popularity continued to grow over

1845-409: A mass of 2.7 grams (0.095 oz) and a diameter of 40 millimetres (1.57 in). The rules say that the ball shall bounce up 24–26 cm (9.4–10.2 in) when dropped from a height of 30.5 cm (12.0 in) onto a standard steel block thereby having a coefficient of restitution of 0.89 to 0.92. As of 2015, balls are now made of a polymer instead of celluloid , colored white or orange, with

1968-544: A merger with The Sonora Phonograph Distributor Company was finalized and the Magnavox Company was born. Frank Morgan Steers was chosen as the company's first President. Jensen moved on to found the Jensen Radio Manufacturing Company in Chicago, in the late 1920s. Pridham stayed on with Magnavox, which moved manufacturing to Fort Wayne, Indiana by the 1930s. The term "Commercial Wireless" had

2091-438: A million units—helped the company survive a difficult financial time, and spurred them to pursue video games further. After seeing the success of Pong , Konami decided to break into the arcade game market and released its first title, Maze . Its moderate success drove the company to develop more titles. In 2015, The Strong National Museum of Play inducted Pong to its World Video Game Hall of Fame . Bushnell felt that Pong

2214-417: A player may have a rubber that provides much spin on one side of their racket, and one that provides no spin on the other. By flipping the racket in play, different types of returns are possible. To help a player distinguish between the rubber used by his opposing player, international rules specify that one side must be black while the other side must be a bright color clearly distinguishable from black and from

2337-404: A roaring crowd. Dabney wanted the game to "boo" and "hiss" when a player lost a round. Alcorn had limited space available for the necessary electronics and was unaware of how to create such sounds with digital circuits . After inspecting the sync generator , he discovered that it could generate different tones and used those for the game's sound effects. To construct the prototype, Alcorn purchased

2460-553: A round racket head, for a more over-the-table style of play. In contrast, another style, sometimes referred to as the Japanese/Korean penhold grip, involves splaying those three fingers out across the back of the racket, usually with all three fingers touching the back of the racket, rather than stacked upon one another. Sometimes a combination of the two styles occurs, wherein the middle, ring and fourth fingers are straight, but still stacked, or where all fingers may be touching

2583-421: A second time on receiver's side of the table so that the ball passes the net and touches the opponent's court, either directly or after touching the net assembly. Thereafter, the server and receiver must alternately make a return until the rally is over. Returning the serve is one of the most difficult parts of the game, as the server's first move is often the least predictable and thus most advantageous shot due to

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2706-547: A single-player variation of Pong where the object of the game is to remove bricks from a wall by hitting them with a ball. Like Pong , Breakout was followed by numerous clones that copied the gameplay, such as Arkanoid , Alleyway , and Break 'Em All . A 3D platform game with puzzle and shooter elements was reportedly in development by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar in September 1995 under

2829-406: A smash when the opponent has returned a ball that bounces too high or too close to the net. It is nearly always done with a forehand stroke. Smashing uses rapid acceleration to impart as much speed on the ball as possible so that the opponent cannot react in time. The racket is generally perpendicular to the direction of the stroke. Because the speed is the main aim of this shot, the spin on the ball

2952-457: A solid base for striking and quick lateral movement. Players may tailor their stance based upon their personal preferences, and alter it during the game based upon the specific circumstances. Table tennis strokes generally break down into offensive and defensive categories. Also known as speed drive, a direct hit on the ball propelling it forward back to the opponent. This stroke differs from speed drives in other racket sports like tennis because

3075-564: A special retro "Classic Arcade Medley". Frank Black 's song "Whatever Happened to Pong?" on the album Teenager of the Year references the game's elements. Dutch design studio Buro Vormkrijgers created a Pong -themed clock as a fun project within their offices. After the studio decided to manufacture it for retail, Atari took legal action in February 2006. The two companies eventually reached an agreement in which Buro Vormkrijgers could produce

3198-471: A test of reaction times and very simple strategy stripped down to its barest essentials." Entertainment Weekly named Pong one of the top ten games for the Atari 2600 in 2013. Many of the companies that produced their own versions of Pong eventually became well known within the industry. Nintendo entered the video game market with clones of Home Pong . The revenue generated from them—each system sold over

3321-611: A wholly-owned subsidiary the following year. Philips acquired the similar-sounding company Philco in 1981, and Philips was able to freely use the Philips name, alternating with the Magnavox name for some electronics, with the personal care business continuing to use the Norelco name. In the late 1970s, Philips developed LaserDisc technology, producing an optically read, 12 inch disc that would contain recorded video material. In

3444-433: Is a two-dimensional sports game that simulates table tennis . The player controls an in-game paddle by moving it vertically across the left or right side of the screen. They can compete against another player controlling a second paddle on the opposing side. Players use the paddles to hit a ball back and forth. The goal is for each player to reach eleven points before the opponent; points are earned when one fails to return

3567-513: Is enjoyed worldwide not just as a competitive sport, but as a common recreational pastime among players of all levels and ages. Table tennis has been an Olympic sport since 1988 , with event categories in both men's and women's singles, and men's and women's teams since replacing doubles in 2008 . Table tennis is governed by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), founded in 1926, and specifies

3690-430: Is for the players to play the ball back and forth three times and then play out the point. This is commonly referred to as "serve to play", "rally to serve", "play for serve", or "volley for serve". Another common method is referred to as "Ping for serve" or "Pinging for serve" where players will begin playing by hitting or bouncing the ball and playing a rally spelling out the word ping P-I-N-G with each hit then playing out

3813-483: Is generally accepted that shakehands is easier to learn than penholder, allowing a broader range of playing styles both offensive and defensive. The Seemiller grip is named after the American table tennis champion Danny Seemiller , who used it. It is achieved by placing the thumb and index finger on either side of the bottom of the racquet head and holding the handle with the rest of the fingers. Since only one side of

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3936-452: Is often minimal, although it can be applied as well. An offensive table tennis player will think of a rally as a build-up to a winning smash. Smash is used more often with penhold grip. The push (or "slice" in Asia) is usually used for keeping the point alive and creating offensive opportunities. A push resembles a tennis slice: the racket cuts underneath the ball, imparting backspin and causing

4059-710: Is owned by Osram . In the late 1980s, Magnavox sold the Magnavox/Philips VideoWriter with some success. Released in 1985, the VideoWriter was a standalone fixed-application word processing machine ( electronic typewriter ). Philips Computers , primarily based in Canada, sold its products in North America under the Magnavox brand with minor rebadging in logo and color scheme of computers, monitors, peripherals and manuals. Philips exited

4182-462: Is so-named because one grips the racket similarly to the way one holds a writing instrument . The style of play among penhold players can vary greatly from player to player. The most popular style, usually referred to as the Chinese penhold style, involves curling the middle, ring, and fourth finger on the back of the blade with the three fingers always touching one another. Chinese penholders favour

4305-622: Is so-named because the racket is grasped as if one is performing a handshake. Though it is sometimes referred to as the "tennis" or "Western" grip, it bears no relation to the Western tennis grip , which was popularized on the West Coast of the United States in which the racket is rotated 90°, and played with the wrist turned so that on impact the knuckles face the target. In table tennis, "Western" refers to Western nations, for this

4428-582: Is the grip that players native to Europe and the Americas have almost exclusively employed. The shakehand grip's simplicity and versatility, coupled with the acceptance among top-level Chinese trainers that the European style of play should be emulated and trained against, has established it as a common grip even in China. Many world-class European and East Asian players currently use the shakehand grip, and it

4551-421: Is uniformly dark colored and matte, divided into two halves by a net at 15.25 cm (6.0 in) in height. The ITTF approves only wooden tables or their derivates. Concrete tables with a steel net or a solid concrete partition are sometimes available in outside public spaces, such as parks. ITTF regulations require a playing space of at least 14 m (45.9 ft) long by 7 m (23.0 ft) wide, and

4674-410: Is usually a counterattack against drives, normally high loop drives. The racket is held closed and near to the ball, which is hit with a short movement "off the bounce" (immediately after hitting the table) so that the ball travels faster to the other side. Kenta Matsudaira is known for primarily using counter-hit for offense. When a player tries to attack a ball that has not bounced beyond the edge of

4797-608: The International Court of Arbitration ruled in favour of Philips, awarding compensation of € 135 million in the process. Magnavox brand name products are currently made by Funai and Craig Electronics under license from trademark owner Philips. Jensen and Pridham founded the Commercial Wireless and Development Company in Napa, CA in 1911, moving to San Francisco, and then Oakland in 1916. In July 1917,

4920-822: The Sega Genesis , Paired with Asteroids and Yars Revenge on the Game Boy Advance . Atari Classics Evolved on the PlayStation Portable , Retro Atari Classics on the Nintendo DS , and Atari: 80 Classic Games in One! for personal computer , and the Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration (2022) compilation for Nintendo Switch , PlayStation 4 , Steam , and Xbox One . Through an agreement with Atari, Bally Gaming and Systems developed

5043-460: The "Top 100 Games of All Time", recounting that " Next Generation staff ignor[ed] hundreds of thousands of dollars of 32-bit software to play Pong for hours when the Genesis version was released." In 1999, Next Generation listed Pong as number 34 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time", commenting that, "Despite, or perhaps because of, its simplicity, Pong is the ultimate two-player challenge –

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5166-434: The 1930s Soviet Union, partly because of the promotion of team and military sports, and partly because of a theory that the game had adverse health effects. In the 1950s, paddles that used a rubber sheet combined with an underlying sponge layer changed the game dramatically, introducing greater spin and speed. These were introduced to Britain by sports goods manufacturer S.W. Hancock Ltd. The use of speed glue beginning in

5289-490: The 1960s, the loop is essentially the reverse of the chop. The racket is parallel to the direction of the stroke ("closed") and the racket thus grazes the ball, resulting in a large amount of topspin. A good loop drive will arc quite a bit, and once striking the opponent's side of the table will jump forward, much like a kick serve in tennis. Most professional players nowadays, such as Ding Ning , Timo Boll and Zhang Jike , primarily use loop for offense. The counter-hit

5412-506: The 40th anniversary of Pong by releasing Pong World for iOS , which was developed by zGames. In 2020, a new game titled Pong Quest was developed by Chequered Ink and released by Atari on Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. A remake of Pong has been announced for release exclusively for the Intellivision Amico . The game is featured in episodes of television series including That '70s Show , King of

5535-566: The Hill and Saturday Night Live . In 2006, an American Express commercial featured Andy Roddick in a tennis match against the white, in-game paddle. Other video games have also referenced and parodied Pong ; for example Neuromancer for the Commodore 64 and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts for the Xbox 360 . The concert event Video Games Live has performed audio from Pong as part of

5658-500: The ITTF instituted several rule changes that were aimed at making table tennis more viable as a televised spectator sport. First, the older 38 mm (1.50 in) balls were officially replaced by 40 mm (1.57 in) balls in October 2000. This increased the ball's air resistance and effectively slowed down the game. By that time, players had begun increasing the thickness of the fast sponge layer on their paddles, which made

5781-568: The MESC operation during the late 1980s and early 1990s were C-Cubed ( Command, Control, and Communication ), Electronic Warfare , and sonobuoys . When Hughes Electronics sold its aerospace and defense operations to Raytheon , the former Magnavox defense operations were transferred as well. Shortly thereafter, Raytheon spun off the sonobuoy operation to form Under Sea Systems Inc (USSI), in Columbia City, Indiana . In 1998, Raytheon sold USSI to

5904-539: The Odyssey game and I didn't think it was very clever." After considering his options, Bushnell decided to settle with Magnavox out of court in June 1976. Bushnell's lawyer felt they could win; however, he estimated legal costs of US$ 1.5 million, which would have exceeded Atari's funds. Magnavox offered Atari an agreement to become a licensee for US$ 1.5 million payable in eight installments. In addition, Magnavox obtained

6027-564: The Olympic Games since 1988 and the Commonwealth Games since 2002. In doubles, all the rules of single play are applied except for the following. Service Order of play, serving and receiving If a game is unfinished after 10 minutes of play and fewer than 18 points have been scored, the expedite system is initiated. The umpire interrupts the game, and the game resumes with players serving for one point in turn. If

6150-470: The Philips Magnavox name was popular. Magnavox also has a brand licensing deal where several of their consumer electronics are manufactured by Craig Electronics and sold under the Magnavox brand. In Australia, the rights to the Magnavox brand are not owned by Philips but by Mistral Ltd, a Hong Kong trading company that uses it to sell audio/video equipment of a different make. In Europe,

6273-541: The Sears Tele-Games versions are often cheaper than those with the Atari brand. Several publications consider Pong the game that launched the video game industry as a lucrative enterprise. Video game author David Ellis sees the game as the cornerstone of the video game industry's success, and called the arcade game "one of the most historically significant" titles. Kent attributes the "arcade phenomenon" to Pong and Atari's games that followed it, and considers

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6396-470: The United States' five participants in the World Championships used it. 'A good ready position will enable you to move quickly into position and to stay balanced whilst playing powerful strokes.' The stance in table tennis is also known as the 'ready position'. It is the position every player initially adopts when receiving and returns to after playing a shot in order to be prepared to make

6519-422: The United States, where Jaques sold the rights to the "ping-pong" name to Parker Brothers . Parker Brothers then enforced its trademark for the term in the 1920s, making the various associations change their names to "table tennis" instead of the more common, but trademarked, term. The U.S. trademark for "Ping-Pong" is currently owned by Indian Industries, Inc. d/b/a Escalade Sports . The next major innovation

6642-498: The announcement of the Atari 2600 by a few months to avoid disclosing information about the system under the settlement agreement. The Pong arcade games manufactured by Atari were a great success. The prototype was well received by Andy Capp's Tavern patrons; people came to the bar solely to play the game. Following its release, Pong consistently earned four times more revenue than other coin-operated machines. Bushnell estimated that

6765-402: The average length of rallies and to reduce the server's advantage, effective in 2002. For the opponent to have time to realize a serve is taking place, the ball must be tossed a minimum of 16 centimetres (6.3 in) in the air. The ITTF states that all events after July 2014 are played with a new poly material ball. The international rules specify that the game is played with a sphere having

6888-545: The back of the racket, but are also in contact with one another. Japanese and Korean penholders will often use a square-headed racket for an away-from-the-table style of play. Traditionally these square-headed rackets feature a block of cork on top of the handle, as well as a thin layer of cork on the back of the racket, for increased grip and comfort. Penhold styles are popular among players originating from East Asian countries such as China , Japan , South Korea , and Taiwan . Traditionally, penhold players use only one side of

7011-468: The ball to float slowly to the other side of the table. A push can be difficult to attack because the backspin on the ball causes it to drop toward the table upon striking the opponent's racket. In order to attack a push, a player must usually loop (if the push is long) or flip (if the push is short) the ball back over the net. Often, the best option for beginners is to simply push the ball back again, resulting in pushing rallies. Against good players, it may be

7134-481: The ball to the other. Pong was the first game developed by Atari . In 1971, Bushnell and Dabney found Syzygy Engineering to develop the concept of a standalone computer system with a monitor and attaching a coin slot to it to play games on. Drawing inspiration from Spacewar! , the duo created Computer Space . As the game did not fare well commercially, Bushnell decided to form a company to produce more games by licensing ideas to other companies. The first contract

7257-445: The blade is about 17 centimetres (6.7 in) long and 15 centimetres (5.9 in) wide. Although the official restrictions only focus on the flatness and rigidity of the blade itself, these dimensions are optimal for most play styles. Table tennis regulations allow different rubber surfaces on each side of the racket. Various types of surfaces provide various levels of spin or speed, and in some cases they nullify spin. For example,

7380-484: The building which broadcast on the same channel as the game, obtained approval. Bushnell told Quinn he could produce 75,000 units in time for the Christmas season ; however, Quinn requested double the amount. Though Bushnell knew Atari lacked the capacity to manufacture 150,000 units, he agreed. Atari acquired a new factory through funding obtained by venture capitalist Don Valentine . Supervised by Jimm Tubb,

7503-515: The center of the table as a net, two more books served as rackets and were used to continuously hit a golf-ball. In 1883, British sporting goods company Slazenger filed a patent for a net for table tennis. The name "ping-pong" was in wide use before British manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901. The name "ping-pong" then came to describe the game played using the rather expensive Jaques's equipment, with other manufacturers calling it table tennis. A similar situation arose in

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7626-433: The color of the ball. The player has the right to inspect their opponent's racket before a match to see the type of rubber used and what color it is. Despite high-speed play and rapid exchanges, a player can see clearly what side of the racket was used to hit the ball. Current rules state that, unless damaged in play, the racket cannot be exchanged for another racket at any time during a match. According to ITTF rule 2.13.1,

7749-471: The company had filled 2,500 orders, and at the end of 1974, sold more than 8,000 units. The arcade cabinets have since become collector's items with the cocktail-table version being the rarest. Soon after the game's successful testing at Andy Capp's Tavern, other companies began visiting the bar to inspect it. Similar games appeared on the market three months later, produced by companies like Ramtek and Nutting Associates . Atari could do little against

7872-749: The company released the Odyssey² , in Europe also known as Philips Videopac G7000 . In the early 1980s, Philips merged Sylvania , Philco and Magnavox into one division headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee , with a manufacturing plant in Greeneville, Tennessee . The Sylvania plant in Batavia, New York , was closed and all operations moved to Greeneville. Philips also abandoned the Sylvania trademark which

7995-470: The competitors as they had not initially filed for patents on the solid state technology used in the game. When the company did file for patents, complications delayed the process. As a result, the market consisted primarily of " Pong clones"; author Steven Kent estimated that Atari had produced less than a third of the machines. Bushnell referred to the competitors as "Jackals" because he felt they had an unfair advantage. His solution to competing against them

8118-417: The concept of electronic ping-pong based on detailed records Ralph Baer kept of the Odyssey's design process dating back to 1966. Other documents included depositions from witnesses and a signed guest book that demonstrated Bushnell had played the Odyssey's table tennis game prior to releasing Pong . In response to claims that he saw the Odyssey, Bushnell later stated that, "The fact is that I absolutely did see

8241-634: The consumer as to the difference between "Philips Magnavox" products and "Philips" products, resulting in Philips marketing the two brands separately again. The defense electronics group, centered in Fort Wayne, Indiana , remained independent under the Magnavox Electronic Systems name, first under Philips and later in the Carlyle Group , until it was acquired by Hughes Electronics in 1995. The three areas of business of

8364-412: The designs in the evenings. After the designs were approved, fellow Atari engineer Bob Brown assisted Alcorn and Lee in building a prototype. The prototype consisted of a device attached to a wooden pedestal containing over a hundred wires, which would eventually be replaced with a single chip designed by Alcorn and Lee; the chip had yet to be tested and built before the prototype was constructed. The chip

8487-568: The early 1980s, Philips worked with Sony to create a standard for optical audio discs (CDs), using the technology developed for the LaserDisc. Teamed with Sony , Philips used the Magnavox brand name to introduce the CD-DA standard and equipment for consumer audio with the Magnavox player sold in department stores while the Sony CDP-101 went to high-end audio stores. During the late 1970s

8610-403: The expedite system is introduced while the ball is not in play, the previous receiver shall serve first. Under the expedite system, the server must win the point before the opponent makes 13 consecutive returns or the point goes to the opponent. The system can also be initiated at any time at the request of both players or pairs. Once introduced, the expedite system remains in force until the end of

8733-559: The factory fulfilled the Sears order. The first units manufactured, branded with Sears' "Tele-Games" name, started to sell around the end of October to mid November 1975 with a 1-year warranty for $ 98.95 and an additional $ 7.95 for the optional AC adapter. Atari later released a version under its own brand in 1976. In April 1974 Magnavox filed suit against Atari, Allied Leisure, Bally Midway and Chicago Dynamics . Magnavox argued that Atari had infringed on Sanders Associates' patents relating to

8856-745: The first official World Championships in 1926. In 1933, the United States Table Tennis Association , now called USA Table Tennis, was formed. In the 1930s, Edgar Snow commented in Red Star Over China that the Communist forces in the Chinese Civil War had a "passion for the English game of table tennis" which he found "bizarre". On the other hand, the popularity of the sport waned in

8979-426: The first service is decided by lot, normally a coin toss . It is also common for one player (or the umpire/scorer) to hide the ball in one or the other hand, usually hidden under the table, allowing the other player to guess which hand the ball is in. The correct or incorrect guess gives the "winner" the option to choose to serve, receive, or to choose which side of the table to use. (A common but non-sanctioned method

9102-427: The game earned US$ 35–40 per day (i.e.   140–160 plays daily per console at $ 0.25 per play), which he described as nothing he'd ever seen before in the coin-operated entertainment industry at the time. The game's earning power resulted in an increase in the number of orders Atari received. This provided Atari with a steady source of income; the company sold the machines at three times the cost of production . By 1973,

9225-421: The game excessively fast and difficult to watch on television. A few months later, the ITTF changed from a 21-point to an 11-point scoring system (and the serve rotation was reduced from five points to two), effective in September 2001. This was intended to make games more fast-paced and exciting. The ITTF also changed the rules on service to prevent a player from hiding the ball during service, in order to increase

9348-417: The game more appeal. He divided the paddle into eight segments to change the ball's angle of return. For example, the center segments return the ball at a 90° angle in relation to the paddle, while the outer segments return the ball at smaller angles. He also made the ball accelerate the longer it remained in play; missing the ball reset the speed. Another feature was that the in-game paddles were unable to reach

9471-706: The game was inspired by previous versions of electronic tennis he had played before; Bushnell played a version on a PDP-1 computer in 1964 while attending college. However, Alcorn has claimed it was in direct response to Bushnell's viewing of the Magnavox Odyssey 's Tennis game. In May 1972, Bushnell had visited the Magnavox Profit Caravan in Burlingame, California where he played the Magnavox Odyssey demonstration, specifically

9594-536: The home console's success, many of which continued to produce new consoles and video games. Magnavox re-released their Odyssey system with simplified hardware and new features and, later, released updated versions. Coleco entered the video game market with their Telstar console ; it features three Pong variants and was also succeeded by newer models. Nintendo released the Color TV-Game 6 in 1977, which plays six variations of electronic tennis. The next year, it

9717-478: The latter half of 2013, and the video business in 2017. As part of the transaction, Funai was to pay a regular licensing fee to Philips for the use of the Philips brand. The purchase agreement was terminated by Philips in October because of breach of contract and the consumer electronics operations remain under Philips. Philips said it would seek damages for breach of contract in the US$ 200-million sale. In April 2016,

9840-588: The local unemployment office, but was unable to keep up with demand. The first arcade cabinets produced were assembled very slowly, about ten machines a day, many of which failed quality testing. Atari eventually streamlined the process and began producing the game in greater quantities. By 1973, they began shipping Pong to other countries with the aid of foreign partners. In Japan, Pong was officially released in November 1973 by Atari Japan, which would later become part of Namco . However, Pong had been beaten to

9963-472: The market by two Japanese Pong clones released in July 1973: Sega 's Pong Tron and Taito 's Elepong . After the success of Pong , Bushnell pushed his employees to create new products. A new electronic technology , the large-scale integration (LSI) chip, had recently become available, which Bushnell believed would "allow pioneering in new" game concepts. Atari began working on the reduction of Pong from

10086-461: The match. As it is intended as a rule to shorten the duration of a match, it is mainly deployed in defensive players' matches, which tend to have longer points. Though table tennis players grip their rackets in various ways, their grips can be classified into two major families of styles, penhold and shakehand . The rules of table tennis do not prescribe the manner in which one must grip the racket, and numerous grips are employed. The penhold grip

10209-506: The mid-1980s increased the spin and speed even further, resulting in changes to the equipment to "slow the game down". Table tennis was introduced as an Olympic sport at the Olympics in 1988 . The official rules and regulations are specified in the ITTF handbook, which was first published in 1927. The current (fiftieth) version was published in 2022. After the 2000 Olympics in Sydney ,

10332-403: The next one and a half weeks. Bushnell then went on a business trip to Chicago to demonstrate Pong to executives at Bally and Midway Manufacturing ; he intended to use Pong to fulfill his contract with Bally, rather than the driving game. A few days later, the prototype began exhibiting technical issues and Gaddis contacted Alcorn to fix it. Upon inspecting the machine, Alcorn discovered that

10455-413: The next shot. It involves the feet being spaced wider than shoulder width and a partial crouch being adopted; the crouch is an efficient posture for moving quickly from and also preloads the muscles enabling a more dynamic movement. The upper torso is positioned slightly forward and the player is looking forwards. The racket is held at the ready with a bent arm. The position should feel balanced and provide

10578-415: The numerous spin and speed choices at the server's disposal. A let is a rally of which the result is not scored, and is called in the following circumstances: A let is also called foul service, if the ball hits the server's side of the table, if the ball does not pass further than the edge, and if the ball hits the table edge and hits the net. A point is scored by the player for any of several results of

10701-547: The official rules in the ITTF handbook. ITTF currently includes 226 member associations worldwide. The sport originated in Victorian England , where it was played among the upper-class as an after-dinner parlour game . It has been suggested that makeshift versions of the game were developed by British military officers in India around the 1860s or 1870s, who brought it back with them. A row of books stood up along

10824-424: The opponent and the umpire must have a clear view of the ball at all times. If the umpire is doubtful of the legality of a service they may first interrupt play and give a warning to the server. If the serve is a clear failure or is doubted again by the umpire after the warning, the receiver scores a point. If the service is "good", then the receiver must make a "good" return by hitting the ball back before it bounces

10947-589: The original's gameplay by adding new features. During the 1975 Christmas season, Atari released a home version of Pong exclusively through Sears retail stores. The home version was also a commercial success and led to numerous clones. The game was remade on numerous home and portable platforms following its release. Pong is part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., due to its cultural impact. Pong

11070-597: The person. You could play left-handed if you so desired. In fact, there are a lot of people who have come up to me over the years and said, 'I met my wife playing Pong ,' and that's kind of a nice thing to have achieved." Atari remade the game on numerous platforms. In 1977, Pong and several variants of the game were featured in Video Olympics , one of the original release titles for the Atari 2600 . Pong has also been included in several Atari compilations on many different platforms, such as Arcade Classics on

11193-432: The point for service). In game play, the player serving the ball commences a play. The server first stands with the ball held on the open palm of the hand not carrying the paddle, called the freehand, and tosses the ball directly upward without spin, at least 16 cm (6.3 in) high. The server strikes the ball with the racket on the ball's descent so that it first touches the server's court, and then touches directly

11316-568: The problem was that the coin mechanism was overflowing with quarters. After hearing about the game's success, Bushnell decided there would be more profit for Atari to manufacture the game rather than license it, but the interest of Bally and Midway had already been piqued. Bushnell decided to inform each of the two groups that the other was uninterested—Bushnell told the Bally executives that the Midway executives did not want it and vice versa—to preserve

11439-492: The proprietary personal computer business in 1992. Philips sold the Greenville plant in 1997. In the 1990s, several Magnavox branded CD-i players were marketed by Philips. Starting in the early 1990s, some Philips electronics were marketed under the brand name "Philips Magnavox", in an attempt to increase brand awareness of the Philips name in the United States. While it did work to a degree, it also caused confusion to

11562-822: The quality of Alcorn's work and decided to manufacture the game. Bushnell based the game's concept on an electronic ping-pong game included in the Magnavox Odyssey , the first home video game console . In response, Magnavox later sued Atari for patent infringement. Pong was the first commercially successful video game, and it helped to establish the video game industry along with the Magnavox Odyssey. Soon after its release, several companies began producing games that closely mimicked its gameplay. Eventually, Atari's competitors released new types of video games that deviated from Pong 's original format to varying degrees, and this, in turn, led Atari to encourage its staff to move beyond Pong and produce more innovative games themselves. Atari released several sequels to Pong that built upon

11685-432: The racket is primarily perpendicular to the direction of the stroke and most of the energy applied to the ball results in speed rather than spin , creating a shot that does not arc much, but is fast enough that it can be difficult to return. A speed drive is used mostly for keeping the ball in play, applying pressure on the opponent, and potentially opening up an opportunity for a more powerful attack. Perfected during

11808-464: The racket to hit the ball during normal play, and the side which is in contact with the last three fingers is generally not used. This configuration is sometimes referred to as "traditional penhold" and is more commonly found in square-headed racket styles. However, the Chinese developed a technique in the 1990s in which a penholder uses both sides of the racket to hit the ball, where the player produces

11931-465: The racket, often referred to as the "blade", commonly features anywhere between one and seven plies of wood, though cork, glass fiber, carbon fiber, aluminum fiber, and Kevlar are sometimes used. According to the ITTF regulations, at least 85% of the blade by thickness shall be of natural wood. Common wood types include balsa , limba , cypress , and hinoki , which is popular in Japan. The average size of

12054-542: The racquet is used to hit the ball, two contrasting rubber types can be applied to the blade, offering the advantage of "twiddling" the racket to fool the opponent. Seemiller paired inverted rubber with anti-spin rubber. Many players today combine inverted and long-pipped rubber. The grip is considered exceptional for blocking, especially on the backhand side, and for forehand loops of backspin balls. The Seemiller grip's popularity reached its apex in 1985 when four (Danny Seemiller, Ricky Seemiller, Eric Boggan and Brian Masters) of

12177-413: The rally) until the end of the game, unless both players score ten points or the expedite system is operated, when the sequences of serving and receiving stay the same but each player serves for only one point in turn (Deuce). The player serving first in a game receives first in the next game of the match. After each game, players switch sides of the table. In the last possible game of a match, for example

12300-412: The rally: A game shall be won by the player first scoring 11 points unless both players score 10 points, when the game shall be won by the first player subsequently gaining a lead of 2 points. A match shall consist of the best of any odd number of games. In competition play, matches are typically best of five or seven games. Service alternates between opponents every two points (regardless of winner of

12423-399: The receiver's court without touching the net assembly. In casual games, many players do not toss the ball upward; however, this is technically illegal and can give the serving player an unfair advantage. The ball must remain behind the endline and above the playing surface of the table at all times during the service. The server's body or clothing cannot be used to obstruct sight of the ball;

12546-542: The relationships for future dealings. Upon hearing Bushnell's comment, the two groups declined his offer. Bushnell had difficulty finding financial backing for Pong ; banks viewed it as a variant of pinball, which at the time the general public associated with the Mafia. Atari eventually obtained a line of credit from Wells Fargo that it used to expand its facilities to house an assembly line. The company announced Pong on 29 November 1972. Management sought assembly workers at

12669-399: The release of the home version the successful beginning of home video game consoles . Bill Loguidice and Matt Barton of Gamasutra referred to the game's release as the start of a new entertainment medium, and commented that its simple, intuitive gameplay made it a success. In 1995, Flux magazine ranked the game 56th on their "Top 100 Video Games." In 1996 Next Generation named it one of

12792-399: The right to full information on Atari products publicly announced or released over the next year. Magnavox continued to pursue legal action against the other companies, and proceedings began shortly after Atari's settlement. The first case took place at the district court in Chicago, with Judge John Grady presiding. Magnavox won the suit against the remaining defendants. Atari may have delayed

12915-530: The seventh game in a best of seven match, players change ends when the first player scores five points, regardless of whose turn it is to serve. If the sequence of serving and receiving is out of turn or the ends are not changed, points scored in the wrong situation are still calculated and the game shall be resumed with the order at the score that has been reached. In addition to games between individual players, pairs may also play table tennis. Singles and doubles are both played in international competition, including

13038-584: The sporting goods section of its catalog. Atari staff (including Bushnell and Lipkin) discussed the game with a representative, Tom Quinn, who expressed enthusiasm and offered the company an exclusive deal. Believing they could find more favorable terms elsewhere, Atari's executives declined and continued to pursue toy retailers. In January 1975, Atari staff set up a Home Pong booth at the American Toy Fair (a trade fair ) in New York City , but

13161-523: The subject, and an unofficial world championship was held in 1902. In those early days, the scoring system was the same as in lawn tennis . Although both a "Table Tennis Association" and a "Ping Pong Association" existed by 1910, a new Table Tennis Association was founded in 1921, and renamed the English Table Tennis Association in 1926. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) followed in 1926. London hosted

13284-415: The table tennis game. Though he thought the game lacked quality, seeing it prompted Bushnell to assign the project to Alcorn. Alcorn first examined Bushnell's schematics for Computer Space , but found them to be illegible. He went on to create his own designs based on his knowledge of transistor–transistor logic (TTL) and Bushnell's game. Feeling the basic game was too boring, Alcorn added features to give

13407-467: The table's net onto the opposing half of the court using small rackets until they fail to do so, which results in a point for the opponent. Play is fast, requiring quick reaction and constant attention, and is characterized by an emphasis on spin, which can affect the ball's trajectory more than in other ball sports. Owed to its small minimum playing area, its ability to be played indoors in all climates, and relative accessibility of equipment, table tennis

13530-443: The table, the player does not have the room to wind up in a backswing . The ball may still be attacked , however, and the resulting shot is called a flip because the backswing is compressed into a quick wrist action. A flip is not a single stroke and can resemble either a loop drive or a loop in its characteristics. What identifies the stroke is that the backswing is compressed into a short wrist flick. A player will typically execute

13653-503: The time was the biggest-selling electro-mechanical game at his amusement arcade . However, Bushnell had concerns that it might be too complicated for Alcorn's first game. To acclimate Alcorn to creating games, Bushnell gave him a project secretly meant to be a warm-up exercise. Bushnell told Alcorn that he had a contract with General Electric for a product, and asked Alcorn to create a simple game with one moving spot, two paddles, and digits for score keeping. In 2011, Bushnell stated that

13776-555: The title Pong 2000 , as part of their series of arcade game updates for the system and was set to have an original storyline for it, but it was never released. In 1999, Hasbro Interactive released a new title known as Pong: The Next Level for home computers and the PlayStation . This game was released as part of a trend within the time period of popular arcade games being remade with 3D graphics and art styles. The game also featured many power-ups . In 2012, Atari celebrated

13899-418: The top of the screen. This was caused by a simple circuit that had an inherent defect. Instead of dedicating time to fixing the defect, Alcorn decided it gave the game more difficulty and helped limit the time the game could be played; he imagined two skilled players being able to play forever otherwise. Three months into development, Bushnell told Alcorn he wanted the game to feature realistic sound effects and

14022-409: The various aspects of video game history, development, and culture. Table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong ) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of two, players take alternating turns returning a light, hollow ball over

14145-522: The worst option because the opponent will counter with a loop, putting the first player in a defensive position. Pushing can have advantages in some circumstances, such as when the opponent makes easy mistakes. Magnavox On January 29, 2013, it was announced that Philips had agreed to sell its audio and video operations to the Japan-based Funai Electric for €150 million, with the audio business planned to transfer to Funai in

14268-497: Was by James W. Gibb, a British table tennis enthusiast, who discovered novelty celluloid balls on a trip to the US in 1901 and found them ideal for the game. This was followed by E.C. Goode who, in 1901, invented the modern version of the racket by fixing a sheet of pimpled, or stippled, rubber to the wooden blade. Table tennis was growing in popularity by 1901 to the extent that tournaments were being organized, books were being written on

14391-540: Was especially significant in its role as a social lubricant , since it was multiplayer-only and did not require each player to use more than one hand: "It was very common to have a girl with a quarter in hand pull a guy off a bar stool and say, 'I'd like to play Pong and there's nobody to play.' It was a way you could play games, you were sitting shoulder to shoulder, you could talk, you could laugh, you could challenge each other ... As you became better friends, you could put down your beer and hug. You could put your arm around

14514-425: Was finished in the latter half of 1974, and was, at the time, the highest-performing chip used in a consumer product . Bushnell and Gene Lipkin, Atari's vice-president of sales, approached toy and electronic retailers to sell Home Pong , but were rejected. Retailers felt the product was too expensive and would not interest consumers. Bushnell contacted Sears after coming across a Magnavox Odyssey advertisement in

14637-554: Was followed by an updated version, the Color TV-Game 15, which features fifteen variations. The systems were Nintendo's entry into the home video game market and the first to produce themselves—they had previously licensed the Magnavox Odyssey. The dedicated Pong consoles and the numerous clones have since become varying levels of rare; Atari's Pong consoles are common, while APF Electronics' TV Fun consoles are moderately rare. Prices among collectors, however, vary with rarity;

14760-419: Was scheduled to debut the new regulation ball on 12 October 2000. The table is 2.74 m (9.0 ft) long, 1.525 m (5.0 ft) wide, and 76 cm (2.5 ft) high with any continuous material so long as the table yields a uniform bounce of about 23 cm (9.1 in) when a standard ball is dropped onto it from a height of 30 cm (11.8 in), or about 77%. The table or playing surface

14883-442: Was to produce more innovative games and concepts. Home Pong was an instant success following its limited 1975 release through Sears; around 150,000 units were sold that holiday season. The game became Sears' most successful product at the time, which earned Atari a Sears Quality Excellence Award. Atari's own version sold an additional 50,000 units. Similar to the arcade version, several companies released clones to capitalize on

15006-565: Was unsuccessful in soliciting orders due to high price of the unit. While at the show, they met Quinn again, and, a few days later, set up a meeting with him to obtain a sales order. In order to gain approval from the Sporting Goods department, Quinn suggested Atari demonstrate the game to executives in Chicago. Alcorn and Lipkin traveled to the Sears Tower and, despite a technical complication in connection with an antenna on top of

15129-458: Was with Bally Manufacturing Corporation for a driving game . Soon after the founding, Bushnell hired Allan Alcorn because of his experience with electrical engineering and computer science; Bushnell and Dabney also had previously worked with him at Ampex . Prior to working at Atari, Alcorn had no experience with video games. Bushnell had originally planned to develop a driving video game , influenced by Chicago Coin 's Speedway (1969) which at

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