Pong box art

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Pong

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Pong

Nov 29, 1972

Main game

3.12 average rating based on 264 ratings

5
28
4
31
3
157
2
39
1
8
Pong is a table tennis-themed twitch arcade video game with simple two-dimensional graphics. It was the first sports arcade video game and one of the earliest arcade video games in history, helping 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.
Release Dates
Nov 29, 1972 Full Release (North_America)
Arcade
1973 Full Release (Australia)
Arcade
Aug 1974 Full Release (Japan)
Arcade
Dec 1975 Full Release (North_America)
Plug & Play
Oct 1976 Full Release (Korea)
Arcade
Mar 12, 2004 Full Release (Worldwide)
PC (Microsoft Windows)
Nov 10, 2020 Full Release (Worldwide)
Legacy Mobile Device
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User Stats
518
In Collection
17
Wish Listed
0
Playing
12
Backlogged
How Long Is Pong?
Main story: 0.1 hours
Total completions: 2
CountDraculaGaming
CountDraculaGaming gave Nov 10, 2021
CountDraculaGaming gave Nov 10, 2021
CountDraculaGaming's review of Pong

They should have just stopped making games after this one

deadpixel1791
deadpixel1791 gave Mar 5, 2023
deadpixel1791 gave Mar 5, 2023
Father of the Industry
This review is for the Arcade version

Pong in a lot of ways helped start video games as a medium. It was the first real simulation/ sports game. It's a hugely influential game. It's also not very fun... Honestly it's not even a good representation of the game it's trying to emulate (ping pong) but is a decent imitation of a completely different game (air hockey).

scoopings
scoopings gave Nov 22, 2021
scoopings gave Nov 22, 2021
Important, and Fun Enough for a Playthrough

Look: 7/10 Nothing special, but obviously very early, influential, and important. Definitive for arcade games, surely.

Sound: Not sure about the sound to this, I didn't have it on, but I do wonder if I should look up the Atari 2600 sound for it. Because the Atari 2600 Superman sounds / "soundtrack" were phenomenal.

Play: 8/10 Essentially fun, and obviously early and definitive to videogaming. But quite dull for me, who is not much of an arcade person so it's not really fair anyway. It's at least true of the Atari 2600 release that, as long as you hit the ball at the corner of your rectangle, it almost always goes fast enough to go past the computer enemy. Not so much determined by your speed or angle, just simply whether you get corner in a way that allows the ball to bounce past the enemy. When I first started, I kept saying, "I wish there were an end, tho I appreciate the no lives factor "-- but as it turns out -- it's first to 21 (at least on atari 2600 verison). I guess my main complaint is, I wish there were more to it than where you hit …

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Look: 7/10 Nothing special, but obviously very early, influential, and important. Definitive for arcade games, surely.

Sound: Not sure about the sound to this, I didn't have it on, but I do wonder if I should look up the Atari 2600 sound for it. Because the Atari 2600 Superman sounds / "soundtrack" were phenomenal.

Play: 8/10 Essentially fun, and obviously early and definitive to videogaming. But quite dull for me, who is not much of an arcade person so it's not really fair anyway. It's at least true of the Atari 2600 release that, as long as you hit the ball at the corner of your rectangle, it almost always goes fast enough to go past the computer enemy. Not so much determined by your speed or angle, just simply whether you get corner in a way that allows the ball to bounce past the enemy. When I first started, I kept saying, "I wish there were an end, tho I appreciate the no lives factor "-- but as it turns out -- it's first to 21 (at least on atari 2600 verison). I guess my main complaint is, I wish there were more to it than where you hit it on the pong thing... like, how fast you are moving etc. But an undeniably fun, incredibly early arcade-style game to enjoy for a bit some day (don't spend days on it like I did ha).

Feel: 8/10 Again, important but not as fun as, say, space invaders cuz of how simple yet also frustrating these mechanics are. Sure, I finally pushed through and got to 21 against the computer--and was fun for sure--but not something I could ever call a favorite.

Attachment: 7/10 I will only ever replay this if I play through early arcade games, but it's important enough to warrant that replay. Like I've said a few times -- extremely important and innovative, but doubt I will return to it frequently. Maybe just to show off since I know I can get it down quite well (which is part of why it gets dull, after all!).

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b_n
b_n gave Nov 11, 2014
b_n gave Nov 11, 2014
b_n's review of Pong

1001 Games - #2

Pros: historically important, single or multiplayer available

Cons: gameplay doesn't stand the test of time well

Recommendation: while historically very relevant, I can't play this game for over 5 minutes without reaching for something else. Hardly a point making a recommendation as I'm sure everyone knows what they're getting into with this one.

internpepper
internpepper updated their status Dec 13, 2020
internpepper updated their status Dec 13, 2020

I mean...it's Pong. It's definitely influential in many ways and it can still be fun to casually play with another person for a few minutes.