Despite numerous debunkings, the idea that Pong was first persisted. In the world of video games, Pong has long been erroneously considered by specialists and fans alike, to be the first-ever video game. Computer Space became the first mass-produced arcade video game in 1971. It was released the year before its creators formed Atari and created Pong. Two months before Computer Space, the first non-mass produced arcade video game, Galaxy Game was installed at the Tresidder Union at Stanford University. Pong was not even the first coin-operated arcade game from Atari founder Nolan Bushnell. That distinction goes to 1971’s Computer Space. Both were coin-op arcade versions of MIT’s Spacewar!. The first arcade video games may have come out in the ’70s, but the first video games came out much earlier. The first video game wasn’t Pong (nor was the first arcade game). The first game is arguably Bertie the Brain, and the first arcade game is arguably Computer Space. Bertie the Brain was an arcade game of tic-tac-toe, built by Dr Josef Kates in 1950 for the Canadian National Exhibition. In October 1958 by physicist William Higinbotham, created a version of computer tennis similar to Pong called Table Tennis. This was arguably the first game created for entertainment purposes. Generally, the games created in labs in the ’50s can be considered the first video games. The first arcade game’s of the ’70s are variations of the “Spacewar!” style games created in the ’60s. Below we focus on the history of the first arcade games, see our page on the first video games for more information on the very first games.
The History of Arcade Video Games and Atari
Atari wasn’t the first company to create an arcade game, games like pinball had taken the world by storm before anyone knew what a computer was. Atari, despite popular belief, wasn’t even the first to invent video arcade games at all. Before Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney founded Atari, they founded an engineering firm called Syzygy Engineering. Under Syzygy they created one of the world’s first arcade video games Computer Space. Computer space was manufactured by Nutting Associates and sold between 500 – 1000 copies.
The First Space Shooter Computer Game: Spacewar!
Since the early 50’s engineers have been trying to create videos games using computers. In 1961 a team at MIT poured hundreds of hours into creating the first space shooter computer game Spacewar!. Ten years later Spacewar! would go on to form the basis of Computer Space and Galaxy Game, the first-ever video arcade machines. Silicon Valley isn’t just the home to computer companies, it’s also the birthplace of arcade video games. In 1971 Stanford and Syzygy were both independently creating the first-ever coin-op arcade video game. Stanford’s Galaxy Game was the first to be installed (at Stanford only) a full two months before Computer Space was released to the public. Both games used unique hardware to turn MIT’s then ten-year-old software Spacewar! into a full-fledged coin-op arcade game (it had failed as a home computer game). College kids liked the complex game-play of both games, but the arcade game failed to draw audiences at bars. Pong wasn’t the first arcade video game, but it was the first popular one and the first one that used unique software. Pong was created a full year after Computer Wars and was the first launch title of the new Silicon Valley company Atari. Pong would become one of the most well-known games of all time. Eventually, Pong would become the first home console game as well. All of this was made possible with a little help from venture capital.
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