website/content/museum/atari-pong-model-c-100.md

title, categories, origins, years, cpus, params

title	categories	origins	years	cpus	params
Atari PONG (Model C-100)	Pongs	U.S.A.	1976	Atari chipset	name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread photos links docs videos oc_id source PONG (Model C-100) /media/museum/photos/atari_c100_1s.jpg /companies/atari Atari label value NAME PONG (Model C-100) label value MANUFACTURER Atari label value ORIGIN U.S.A. label value YEAR 1976 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE Simple pong game (the original one!) label value KEYBOARD Two built-in spinners label value CPU Atari chipset label value SPEED Start label value CO-PROCESSOR Power on/off label value RAM On screen label value COLORS Black & white label value SOUND Built-in speaker label value SIZE / WEIGHT Unknown label value I/O PORTS RF TV video output label value OS Unknown label value POWER SUPPLY External power supply unit label value PERIPHERALS No label value PRICE 55$ (USA) photos links docs videos 853 title subtitle text image ATARI PONG /media/museum/photos/atari_c100_1.jpg title subtitle text image FRONT VIEW /media/museum/photos/atari_c100_2.jpg title subtitle text image RIGHT SIDE /media/museum/photos/atari_c100_r-side.jpg title subtitle text image DETAIL /media/museum/photos/atari_pong-c100_detail.jpg title subtitle text image BOX #1 /media/museum/photos/atari_c100_box_1.jpg title subtitle text image BOX #2 /media/museum/photos/atari_c100_box_2.jpg title subtitle text image BOX #3 /media/museum/photos/atari_pong_box_3.jpg title subtitle text image BOX #4 /media/museum/photos/atari_pong_box_4.jpg title url text ATARI.ORG http://www.atari.org/ All Atari... :-) title url text PONG-STORY http://www.pong-story.com The source site for everything pong related title url cover text OWNER'S MANUAL null /media/museum/docs/couvs/atari_pong-c100_user-manual.jpg **OWNER'S MANUAL**\ written by Atari  compiled/archived by Umpqua\  type of document : PDF\  size : 1 MB\  source : www.old-computers.com title url text TV commercial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X53eJ8AWQ9Y Length: 29 s 872 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230614010947/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=872 2023-06-14

As early as 1974, Atari started to design a home version of PONG, originally proposed by Harold Lee in 1973. The system was designed by three engineers: Harold Lee, Alan Alcorn and Bob Brown.

Because Magnavox Odyssey was already being left behind by customers (mostly due to their lack of satisfaction, and also the bad rumor that it would only work with a Magnavox TV set), sellers were not attracted by Atari's PONG game until Sears goes ahead and sells the system under their Tele-Games label for Christmas 1975. Following this huge success, Atari released its own version of PONG in 1976.

The system had an important feature that most others didn't have in 1975: the use of a single chip that provided games with digital on-screen scoring and attractive sound. As a matter of fact, other systems were still using analog or digital circuits using discrete components. Digial on-screen scoring would have required more components in the circuits, hence an increase of the retail price. Because Atari designed a special PONG chip, the system could sell at normal price with advanced features.

In 1975, Atari was rejected by toys and electronics manufacturers as most other PONG systems didn't sell much. One of Atari's directors decided to contact Tom Quinn, who worked at Sears/Roebuck. After several meetings with Bushnell, Sears ordered 150,000 PONG systems for Christmas. Assembled by Atari, the system sold under the Sears Tele-Games label (Pong model 25796). Some people still remember Christmas 1975 when they were going to the shops early in the morning and wait several hours to sign a list allowing them to receive a PONG system.

Pong will be a huge success, and will be the cause of multiple imitations and several law suits. However, its popularity did not fall until more advanced systems came on the market.

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Source : PONG-STORY.COM