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History of video games/Platforms/Pong consoles

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History[edit | edit source]

Due to the popularity of Pong as an arcade game, a number of official and clone consoles were made to play Pong and similar games at home. While some of these were officially licensed, and while some simply played a number of built in sports games, these first generation dedicated consoles are commonly simply referred to as "Pong Clones".

A notable early attempt at a home pong console was the 1974 release of the Video Action II.[1][2] However it would be Atari's own release of Home Pong in 1975 that would help popularize the model of dedicated home video game consoles.[3][4]

While many of these are well documented, there are many examples, potentially with interesting history of their own, that are not well documented. This page catalogues these consoles, should they be of interest. In particular, a number of consoles from the Eastern Bloc feature innovative or unique designs not seen in the Western Bloc and non aligned countries.

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Eastern Bloc Consoles[edit | edit source]

Эврика[edit | edit source]

Электроника Экси-Видео 01[edit | edit source]

Видеоспорт-М[edit | edit source]

Videosport 3[edit | edit source]

Other Consoles[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Smith, Keith (3 November 2013). "The Golden Age Arcade Historian: URL's Video Action - The First US Consumer Video Game after Odyssey?". The Golden Age Arcade Historian. https://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2013/11/urls-video-action-first-us-consumer.html. 
  2. "Video Action II by Universal Research Laboratories – The Video Game Kraken". Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  3. "Atari Home Pong". www.atarimuseum.com. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  4. "Atari PONG - Game Console - Computing History". www.computinghistory.org.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2021.