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Gallery- Mid 70's PONG Clones
Soon after Atari released their legendary home version of PONG in 1975, nearly every electronics and toy company in the world wanted a piece of the home video game action.
Video game systems at the time were very different than they are today. Game cartridges didn't exist yet. Instead, game consoles came pre-programmed with a limited amount of games, usually variations of the ball-and-paddle theme found in PONG.
In the mid 70's three companies ruled the video game world. Atari with their line of official PONG games, Magnavox with their Odyssey consoles, and Coleco with their many Telstar models. However, there were literally dozens of other consoles out on the market as well. Some of these have unfortunately been lost to the mists of time, with only yellowed old magazine ads and tech specs to prove their existence. However, a great deal of them have been recently rediscovered.
Today, we present a gallery featuring some of these little known pieces of video gaming's earliest history.
In 1975, Universal Research Labs released both an arcade and home version of a PONG clone under the Video Action label. Their first machines did well enough that they offered a third Video Action console, pictured above.
Universal Research Labs Indy 500 (Video Action 4)-1976
The fourth Video Action game from Universal Research added two racing games and was given the name Indy 500.
Executive Games Electronic Television Tennis-1975
Little known Executive Games released one of home gaming's very first consoles in late 1975. This system is notable for it's wired controllers, which were uncommon on early PONG sets.
Executive Games Face-Off-1976
Executive Games followed up their mildly successful first console with a second model in 1976. Face-Off featured four game modes, including a soccer game where the player could "hold" the ball and move forward, an unusual function at the time.
First Dimension Video System-1975
Another of the earliest home consoles. First Dimension's initial offering featured a few more game modes than their competitors, and offered 4 player support.
First Dimension Video Sports-1976
The second console from First Generation. Financial difficulties forced the company to fold soon after Video Sports was released.
Allied Leisure Name of the Game-1976
A very interesting console. Four different game modes could be played, including a shooting game which used a light gun shaped like a pistol. The four controllers could be mounted on a center cube which had hollow compartments to store the cords.
Allied Leisure Name of the Game 2-1976
This was a cheaper version of the first Name of the Game. Two controllers were eliminated along with the light gun.
That was just a small sampling of what the kids were playing back in the mid 70's. Stay tuned tomorrow as we post some more PONG goodness.
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Comments
I have a "Name of the Game II", but it been a while since I've had it hooked up. I was wondering do you have any information on how to do it?
I'm using the VHF (2 screw posts) to 300ohm to 75 ohm (to a cable post in the television, but no luck
Any advice is appreciated,
Bill
Posted by: william Sabo | March 4, 2010 09:58 AM