40 Years Ago, Born World's First Video Game
Bangalore: Exactly 40 years ago, from the headquarters of a Silicon Valley game company Atari, emerged Pong, the first ever commercially successful video game, that led to the birth of an industry which is now bigger than Hollywood and is entertaining billions worldwide.
The simple two-dimensional arcade video game developed by the company where young Steve Jobs had worked, was launched on November 29, 1972. Even though Atari wasn’t the first one to develop video games, Their Pong, which featured a basic black-and-white screen divided by dotted lines and two control pads at each side, made spectators crowded around to watch the action.
The tennis like game featured two players controlling the pads at each side and trying to get a ball past their opponent. With the commercial success of this game, Atari also released a home version which swept across all living rooms in the 1970s. The game has been remade on numerous home and portable platforms following its release. The success also made Atari, a major corporation.
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Today’s gamer generation might be engaged with Xbox and World of Warcraft and will feel embarrassed with this game. But it had entertained a generation, who were unaware of Nintendo Wiis and Xbox consoles.
