When PONG ruled computer games

[LynneSin]

Then again, it was the only computer game out there. Anyone else remember PONG

[immoderate]

1. And it was hundreds of dollars!

--IMM

[Bertha Venation]

2. hell, yes, I remember it

When I was home a couple of weeks ago, whenever my nephew talked about problems w/ his video games or about one that was too expensive for him to buy, etc., I just said, "Pong."

As in: "IN MY DAY WE WALKED FIVE MILES UPHILL TO SCHOOL! BOTH WAYS! IN THE SNOW! And we LIKED IT!"

[sui generis]

3. barefoot! over broken glass!

I remember playing Pong on a Vic Commodore 64 with a casette tape drive. It took ten minutes to load the damn thing and it would randomly lock up or crash.

Oh my gawd I feel so old!!!!! This is how old: that was w-a-y before Jordache jeans.

[LynneSin]

4. HEY!! I owned a pair of Jordache jeans

:eyes:

[sui generis]

10. you fashion horse!

gosh when did they come out, in the late seventies or something right? eek.

[Bertha Venation]

5. Wasn't it before Pet Rocks and Dittos, too?

:decrepit:

We had the kind you hooked up to the TV, w/ a console the size of a toaster oven that the two players had to hold between them, because the control (yes, singular) was just a turny-knob.

[Dr.Phool]

7. Who ever thought a pet rock

Would grow up to be preznit?

[sui generis]

12. yah I remember that!

sort of bronze colored, and you are right, about the size of a toaster - :passthegeritolplease:

[qnr]

14. Older than yours - An Atari 400. n/t

[DebJ]

6. Oh yes, I remember pong. Played it on our black and white set

with the antena!

[sybylla]

8. My brother and I got a pong knockoff for x-mas a year or so after debut

We had a blast for about a month. And then we'd dig it out on those rainy days of spring and summer when there was nothing else to do.

I liked it because you could play by yourself, too, so I didn't have to wait for my brother to decide to be nice to me that day.

And then I got good enough that I could play the two-player game alone - a hand on each controller. But I never got good enough to get out of the lower speeds.

I think my mom still has it in the attic.

on edit: I really felt old when I had to explain to my kids who Pong was in the Reboot cartoon.

[Sporadicus]

9. First Encountered Pong

in the spring of '73 - a bar in Key West. People needed to sign-up to play, it was so popular.

[Locut0s]

11. If you're nostalgic for the good old arcade days I highly recommend...

MAME!!

Of course you will have to track down the ROMS yourself on Usenet. I've been hooked now for several years.

[bleedingheart]

13. yup...playing Pong on a black and white TV...

hahaha...