False legacy.
Not Pong.
The first computer video game was Spacewar, designed by Steve Russell, a computer programmer at MIT in 1962. Russell and a group of colleagues created this game, which featured two competing spaceships, both armed with missiles. Despite the success, Russell was modest on this accomplishment, saying that someone else would have gotten there first if he hadn't.
Still was not Pong.
The first video game played on a television was Ralph Baer's Chase in 1967. Later, Baer went to be a development leader in the creating of the Magnavox Odyssey, the first video game console.
But it wasn't Pong.
The first arcade game was Computer Space, created in 1971 by Nolan Bushnell, the Atari founder credited with Pong's creation, and Ted Dabney. The game was based off Spacewar. It was the first game also made widely available to the public, and fared well on college campuses, but flopped in bars and taverns since it was too complicated.
But still, not Pong.
Where's Pong's place in history? It was the first commercially successful video game. Wasn't original, wasn't the first game, wasn't the first ping-pong game, even. It wasn't the first for anything important, it was just that Pong was the first time the public actually took notice of the technology.
And Pong's been given a false legacy ever since.
How many times was it said, that we wouldn't have video games if not for Pong? Hundreds for mostly anybody, and more for those who love video games like I do. They speak of Pong's false legacy to sucker you into thinking they're credible, or a cheap gimmick made to represent their "appreciation for the classics" and thus know what's good and what isn't. So Pong is again, blindly thanked.
The assumption is that since it was the "first", all technology advances would cease to exist, even though Pong isn't original nor an advancement. So, apparently, Pong is to thank for Super Mario Brothers, or Halo, or Doom, or A Link to the Past, or Final Fantasy?
No. Thank Pong for nothing.
Remember the quote by Russell, that someone else could have gotten there, he was just first? It rings true here. If Pong hadn't caught on, we'd simply credit a different title. Possibly a better one, too. The real pioneers of gaming, Bushnell, Baer, Higinbotham, were determined people, known to have dropped out of school and bet all of their future in the hope that the media known as interactive art (or video gaming) would grow, flourish, and be accepted in society. They're ideas were rejected countless times before, but persevered through those. What makes anyone think Nolan Bushnell would have suddenly abandoned his dream if just his second attempt at an arcade game failed? What makes anyone think video games wouldn't exist without Pong?
Actually, Pong wasn't even the game Bushnell wanted. Bushnell envisioned a driving game, but the electronic engineer that was hired was fresh out of college, and Bushnell changed the idea to a ping-pong game out of worry that a driving game would be too complex. But when the game turned out to be fun, the project was marketed and quickly took off from there.
And there's another unfortunate truth, one either not noticed when mentioning Pong's history or ignored--it wasn't original. Bushnell directed his electronic engineer to devise a ping-pong game, AFTER witnessing the Magnavox Odyssey's ping-pong game. Guestbook records verify that Bushnell actually played the Magnavox game. Of course, Magnavox had already had a patent on the concept; so Pong was based on what was already a copyrighted idea. Though Pong was probably more well-executed, and probably more accessible, Pong was nevertheless a stolen idea. Magnavox filed a lawsuit against Atari and a settlement was eventually reached, with Atari agreeing to pay $700,000 to license the patents. The game often credited with being the first videogame isn't even the first of its kind. Its nothing more than a copycat.
This false icon has been worshipped for long enough. Pong doesn't deserve to be one of the top ten video games of all time; it's an archaic piece of programming wrongfully credited for its place in history. Gaming would exist in the same capacity it does today if Pong never existed, we'd just credit a different title. Games have evolved so much since Pong for a reason; novelty doesn't last forever, and no game lasted on novelty as much as Pong.
I understand this review will be unpopular. Nobody likes to have their beliefs questioned and their long-time thoughts provoked. But even as your mouse pointer is approaching the unrecommendation button, think about it. Think about who you should really thank for the games you play today. Thank Higinbotham. Thank Russell. Thank Baer and Bushnell. Thank the true pioneers, not the media-created false deity. Thank the pioneers, whose true history becomes more obscured all the time when some nobody tells you to "trace any video game's roots, and it'll lead you to..."
Not Pong.