ChronoFive
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Setting the scene
Atari founders Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dalsam wanted a simple arcade game anyone could understand; they adapted a ping-pong concept from an earlier Magnavox Odyssey demonstration.
What happened
Pong was released in November 1972; Bushnell installed the first cabinet in Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, California, where players fed so many quarters the machine jammed.
Why it still matters
Pong launched the arcade video-game industry and established Atari as the early home of coin-op entertainment. Memorable detail: the first cabinet failed because beer sloshed into the coin slot, not because players disliked the game.
Background
Nolan Bushnell placed the first cabinet in a California bar.