Why wasn't there ever just "Pong"?

[+Propane13]

So, here's a question, for those who were there back in the day.

I know Atari made "Pong Sports/Video Olympics".

But, is anyone besides me surprised that the first game for the system wasn't just plain Pong?

Was there ever such a simple thing in development that got scrapped, or was it just planned to make Pong Sports a "much bigger" Pong? I'm a little fuzzy on how popular regular Pong was when the VCS came out, so if it was in its dying stages, maybe that's the answer.

 

-John

[joeybastard]

Probably because by the time the VCS carts were being programmed many people already had a stand alone Pong unit gathering dust on top of the TV. Why spend the money on a cart for a game many people already have and grown tired of?

[Dr. Morbis]

Probably because they were trying to differentiate the VCS from the glut of Pong machines that had already killed the market...

[StanJr]

It's Pong. Great the first day it was invented, sheer Boredsville one hour later. I would be royally pissed if the new "video computer system" had come out and the launch title was "Pong."

 

But seriously, it's the reasons mentioned above. Too many stand alone Pong systems already out there.

[Vic George 2K3]

Combat eventually got boring to play after a while also. And building a collection of games I wanted to play back around 1982 wasn't easy, given my limited funds. Space Invaders. Bowling. Laser Blast. Pac-Man. Donkey Kong. And in between, having to wait for home visits to play any of that stuff, or for one of the counselors from another cottage who owned a 2600 to hook it up to my cottage's TV set, playing it in glorious black and white.

 

The summer of 1983 was when games came down to the point where I could spend $5 to $10 on something that looked interesting to try and maybe enjoy. Of course I got 2600 Smurf for my birthday that year, which really floated my boat considering it would be months before I got a ColecoVision, and a few more before I got CV Smurf for around $5.

 

But back to the subject: Pong got boring to play after a while, which makes it rather understandable that Video Olympics would do all sorts of variations on the Pong game theme to make it seem interesting enough for a prospective buyer to get this cartridge.

[+Psionic]

Related thread from a few years back...

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=56946

[opeygon]

i think they did a great job on video olympics. lots of variations, and pretty exciting two player gameplay. in my top five 2600 games for sure

[supercat]

But, is anyone besides me surprised that the first game for the system wasn't just plain Pong?

 

I don't know what the first games in development were, but I don't see any reason why Atari would want to release a "Pong" only cartridge. The whole purpose of the 2600 was to be better than the dedicated systems. Atari released Video Olympics so that people who wanted to play the style of games provided by older systems could do so, but they wanted very much to avoid having the 2600 be seen as a "glorified Pong machine".

 

That having been said, I do find the naming of "Video Olympics" and "Pong Sports" to be somewhat curious. Given the naming of other Atari/Sears cards, I would have expected those names to be interchanged (with Atari using its trademark on its own cartridge, and Sears using the more whimsical name).

[ovalbugmann]

Probably because they were trying to differentiate the VCS from the glut of Pong machines that had already killed the market...

 

This is the correct answer^

 

It took the public a little while to accept the new cartridge based system to be different from all the dedicated Pong machines. They were trying to show it was not just another Pong machine.

 

I'm currently reading; "The Ultimate History of Video Games" -2001 by Steven L. Kent and this is what it says in the book. Curt Vendel (here on AA) is acknowledged in the book as helping Mr. Kent with keeping everything straight and very accurate.

 

Besides isn't Video Olympics with it's variations better than just a Pong machine? They made Pong available for VCS people -just named something different.

Edited March 28, 2008 by ovalbugmann

[flowmotion]

Maybe Sears pulled some strings and demanded the 'Pong' brandname.

[Atariboy2600]

djmips had ported the Atari ARCADE Pong for the 2600 and he said that it going to be out this year and I made the label art for it.

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...p;#entry1226808

 

Download the beta rom he made,

APong.bin

[ratfink]

When did the first Pong unit come out? I remember that new "upgraded" versions were coming out every few months. The kids in my neighborhood used to brag "oh yeah? well my Pong has 16 game variations!" So by the time the 2600 came out, not only was Pong ancient history, but even the multi-game versions were old news.

[tcv]

When did the first Pong unit come out? I remember that new "upgraded" versions were coming out every few months. The kids in my neighborhood used to brag "oh yeah? well my Pong has 16 game variations!" So by the time the 2600 came out, not only was Pong ancient history, but even the multi-game versions were old news.

 

Perhaps 1975?

 

Or maybe Table Tennis on the Odyessy, 1972.

Edited March 29, 2008 by tcv

[mos6507]

djmips had ported the Atari ARCADE Pong for the 2600 and he said that it going to be out this year and I made the label art for it.

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...p;#entry1226808

 

Download the beta rom he made,

 

That looks pretty faithful.

 

The one on Flashback 2 is good.

[supercat]

1975?

 

I wonder if the Sears Pong unit pictured had 8 angles like the arcade? I saw an Atari Pong unit which featured 8 angles, but the Sears 4-in-1 I had when I was growing up only had 4 angles (I would guess it used the ubiquitous GI chip). Given that the case design was essentially the same as the Atari, I wonder why the step back?

[Retro Rogue]

djmips had ported the Atari ARCADE Pong for the 2600 and he said that it going to be out this year and I made the label art for it.

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...p;#entry1226808

 

Download the beta rom he made,

 

 

Not a bad version. Probably one of the more closer versions I've seen.

[Primordial Ooze]

If you looking for a dedicated pong clone, you are welcome to visit my site. I am working on a dedicated pong homebrew and so far for a 2k rom has many features. The one on the site is quite old and new features have been added since then. I have attached a beta version to this post. Feel free to try it out.

Edited April 13, 2008 by Open Source Pong

[Wickeycolumbus]

I have been working on this vertical pong clone:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...23455&st=25

[cosmosiss]

I am working on a dedicated pong homebrew

 

A Pong clone done in Batari Basic. You should name it Bong!!

[Retro Rogue]

BTW - In case anyone is interested, I had thrown this version together for fun last year.

 

http://www.atarihq.com/pongtest/homepong/homepong.html

 

The commercials before the game are all from 1976 (the year that Atari's own self branded one came out). A new commercial loads every time you reload the page, I think I have something like 12 or so commercials.

[jsoper]

i think they did a great job on video olympics. lots of variations, and pretty exciting two player gameplay. in my top five 2600 games for sure

Joe Santulli has a funny story. He gave the game a horrible review in the DP price guide, then met Joe Decuir, the programmer (and a 2600 hardware designer) one day at an event.

 

JD: "I want to read what your guide says about Video Olympics"

Dead silence

JD: "So what exactly is this review based on?"

JS: "Those are nothing more than MY opinions"

JD: "Well my kids like the game"