A Conversation for The Console Wars
Pong and Atari
Baron Grim Started conversation Dec 20, 2002
Nice article, but where are the great grandaddies.
First there was Pong... one game, no options.
Then there was the Atari 2600 (and later a very similiar 5200).
*Then* came competition.
When the Atari 2600 was in the market, it ruled. There was seemingly no competition. Oh there were others, the Odyssey for instance, but none had anywhere near the number of available games that Atari had. So ubiquitus was the Atari 2600 that some sounds (and the voice of the 2600 was extremely limited) can still be heard today. Probably for copywrite reasons several films and TV shows use a short clip of the sound of PacMan for Atari whenever they need a generic computer or game sound. I think it's like using the 555 telephone exchange in American movies and tv shows. It must be a public domain sound. I giggle everytime I hear it.
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Pong and Atari
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