This is our team's final project for the common core at 42 school in Barcelona (Spain).

Here is a quick story about the origin and relevance of Pong:

The importance of Pong in the entertainment industry cannot be understated. While it wasn't the first video game ever created, nor even the first tennis-like electronic game, its impact was profound.

The earliest game resembling Pong was "Tennis for Two," a science experiment created as an exhibit for the annual visitor’s day at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y. in 1958. In 1971, Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari, created "Computer Space", the first commercial arcade cabinet. Following this, in 1972, Bushnell hired computer engineer Allan Alcorn to develop a basic game with two paddles and a ball, likely inspired by the Magnavox Odyssey’s “Tennis”, which Bushnell had seen at an exhibition.

Alcorn began prototyping and found the initial concept too basic and boring, so he introduced additional mechanics. These included changing the ball's return angle after hitting a paddle and increasing the ball's speed over time if no points were scored.

In August 1972, the Pong prototype was displayed at a local bar called Andy Capp’s Tavern. It quickly became an overwhelming success. Seeing this, Atari decided to manufacture the game themselves, rather than relying on Bally or Midway as manufacturers.

Bushnell faced difficulties in securing financial backing, largely due to the association of arcade games like pinball machines and their mafia connections. Eventually, Wells Fargo provided the necessary funding and Pong was officially announced in November 1972 and entered production, despite initial challenges in meeting demand. Atari was only able to manufacture 10 cabinets a week at first but soon resolved production issues and began fulfilling international orders in 1973. Pong became a worldwide hit, likely due in part to its multiplayer aspect, which fostered social gatherings.

A home version of Pong was released at Christmas in 1975, following significant advances in integrated circuit technology. The home version was sold through Sears under their "Tele-Games" brand. This partnership allowed Pong to reach a wide audience, contributing to its massive success. Following the success of the Sears version, Atari began manufacturing their own home console versions, cementing Pong’s place in gaming history.

Pong truly kickstarted the first golden era of commercial video games, paving the way for future innovations in the industry. This era continued to evolve, culminating in new opportunities for companies like Nintendo after the video game crash of 1983, but that’s another story…