Atari celebrates Pong’s 40th anniversary with an iOS app - hoygoll1947

It wasn't the most sophisticated game, especially compared to the graphic-intensive masterpieces being played on consoles today, but millions of old-school gamers still have a soft spot for Ping-Pong classic Pong. Fans of the hit video game celebrated its 40th anniversary on Thursday.

Pong was the first palmy computer game to market. Developed by engine driver Allan Alcorn and introduced to the world by Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, the game tested to be so popular that it allegedly crowded up within days of being installed at Andy Capp's Tap house in Sunnyvale, California—as well many quarters, the handler said.

The halting was officially released November 29, 1972, and was available for home gamers to buy up two years subsequently.

Pong started the one halting per draw and quarter colonnade standard that became widespread end-to-end the 1970s and '80s. Prior to Pong, games were three plays per stern. At the peak of the game's colonnade laterality, more than 150,000 coin-operated Pong games were in circulation.

Pong catapulted Atari to succeeder, and the company released its classic 2600 gaming system five years after Pong's debut. The rest is video game history.

To lionise the game's day of remembrance, Atari on Thursday released a free iOS version of Pong called Niff World for a new genesis of gamers. The app is a teeny more advanced than the 1972 version, with varied settings and paddle upgrades, but the construct is the same. Atari chose indie game designer zGames as the winner in its Pong app competition.

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Caitlin covers Apple news, health and fitness tech, and social networks from IDG's Unaccustomed York bureau.