On This Day: Who knew Pong would be at the start of a $217 Billion industry? - Nov. 29, 1972
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Pong is a table tennis–themed twitch arcade sports video game, featuring simple two-dimensional graphics, manufactured by Atari and originally released in 1972. It was one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise assigned to him by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, but Bushnell and Atari co-founder Ted Dabney were surprised by the quality of Alcorn's work and decided to manufacture the game. Bushnell based the game's concept on an electronic ping-pong game included in the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game console. In response, Magnavox later sued Atari for patent infringement.
Pong was the first commercially successful video game, and it helped 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. Eventually, Atari's competitors released new types of video games that deviated from Pong's original format to varying degrees, and this, in turn, led Atari to encourage its staff to move beyond Pong and produce more innovative games themselves.
Atari released several sequels to Pong that built upon the original's gameplay by adding new features. During the 1975 Christmas season, Atari released a home version of Pong exclusively through Sears retail stores. The home version was also a commercial success and led to numerous clones. The game was remade on numerous home and portable platforms following its release. Pong is part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., due to its cultural impact.
[History]
Bushnell had difficulty finding financial backing for Pong; banks viewed it as a variant of pinball, which at the time the general public associated with the Mafia. Atari eventually obtained a line of credit from Wells Fargo that it used to expand its facilities to house an assembly line. The company announced Pong on 29 November 1972. Management sought assembly workers at the local unemployment office, but was unable to keep up with demand. The first arcade cabinets produced were assembled very slowly, about ten machines a day, many of which failed quality testing. Atari eventually streamlined the process and began producing the game in greater quantities. By 1973, they began shipping Pong to other countries with the aid of foreign partners.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pong
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The global video game market size was estimated at USD 217.06 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.4% from 2023 to 2030. The market's expansion is attributed to the ongoing trend of online gaming, the emergence of high bandwidth network connectivity, and the continuous demand for 3D games. In addition, an upsurge in the penetration of smartphones has made video games more accessible, portable, and social. This has further driven the industry growth with the emergence of technologically advanced and more powerful smartphones. The market players are also focusing on developing advanced gaming products and services to attract a larger customer base, which is positively influencing the overall industry.
The outlook of the market is being further enhanced by a steady growth in the number of video gamers year over year. The population growth, broadening demographics, increased accessibility, social interaction, and connectivity, and changing perceptions and cultural acceptance of gaming led to a significant rise in number of gamers. These factors have contributed to the mainstream popularity of video games as a form of entertainment, leading to a growing number of players worldwide. This, in turn, is expected to fuel the market demand over the forecast period.According to Newzoo, there are 3.22 billion gamers worldwide as of 2023. However, this number is expected to rise to 3.32 billion gamers worldwide by 2024.
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https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/video-game-market
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Top games are earning more than the big blockbusters [movies]. The top sellers include Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption Two, Fall Out 4 and the Call of Duty franchise. Looking into the numbers... The Grand Theft Auto V game has raked in more than $6BN, according to Marketwatch. Compare that to Avatar, the highest grossing movie ever at $2.8BN.
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https://www.thc-pod.com/episode/the-gaming-industry-is-now-bigger-than-movies-and-music-combined
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= new reply since forum marked as read
Does anyone remember a game utility included in early Windows versions that featured a gorilla tossing a banana? I played that a lot at work. 
