website/content/software/pin-pong.md

title, tags, years, params

title	tags	years	params
Pin Pong	pinball	1974	image specs screenshots machines company oc_id source /media/museum/software/arcade_atari_pinpong_ss1.jpg label value year of release 1974 label value companies Atari label value type game label value media arcade cabinet label value systems Arcade label value number of players 1 player title subtitle text image /media/museum/software/arcade_atari_pinpong_ss1.jpg title subtitle text image arcade cabinet /media/museum/software/arcade_atari_pinpong_cab_1.jpg title subtitle text image cab (left) /media/museum/software/atari_arcade_pinpong_cab_2.jpg /museum/misc-arcade-video-games /companies/misc 703 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230607051015/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/software_detail.asp?id=703 2023-06-07

Pin Ball from Atari is the very first pinball videogame! As often with Atari, and particularly in the early years, each of their release was synonym with innovation.

The promotional text reads:

Pin-Pong is so unique, it's in a class by itself. In facts, it's the only video game on the market that simulates the play of the classic pin-ball machine. Realistic video motion and sound is generated by a specialized computer designed specifically to make the game attractive and reliable. And because the game is stimulating. Pin-Pong is irresistible to players of all ages. It litteraly invites players to "try their skill" time after time. The Pin-Pong ball is generated by a patented motion circuit, and each target is surrounded by one or more zones that determine the direction of the bounce.

In Pin Pong, a gravity algorythm accelerates the ball downward to give realistic pin-ball play on the screen. The ball flipper is genuinely unique to video games and in the normal position, they angle downward toward the center of the screen. When the flipper buttons are pressed, the lower flipper image is blanked and a short time later another image appears, the time as a straight vertical line. The timing used in the flippers gives the illusion of continuous motion.

Looking at the official flyer it's amusing to notice that it's a ping-pong player which is graphically represented even though the game itself has nothing to do with ping-pong... An incomprehension from the marketing guys or just worth the wordplay (or too much weed?)