Pong Creator Smokes Dutch Mayor to Open Festival of Games
Pong Creator Smokes Dutch Mayor to Open Festival of Games
June 19, 2008
The NLGD Festival of Games opened yesterday with a special Pong match between the game's creator, Ralph Baer, and the mayor of the Dutch city of Utrecht.
Vertical Wire reports that the "heated" match was played on authentic, 1960's-era equipment. After dispatching the mayor 2-nil, Baer gave the keynote address to open the conference, which was designed to promote the Netherlands as a European gaming hub.
Among those presenting at NLGD are serious games guru Ben Sawyer and Spore design team member Chaim Gingold.
UPDATE: A reader, Rob F, writes in to advise that we've got an error in this story regarding the origins of Pong:
[I] just wanted to point out that Ralph Baer did not create Pong, Nolan Bushnell/Al Alcorn did. Also, Pong was released in the 70s, so I'm unsure what 60s era equipment they were playing on, maybe Baer's Brown Box? Think was also from the 70s, maybe late 60s. Bushnell viewed Baer's Table Tennis on the Odyssey (the first home console) and basically ripped Baer off. I'm not a big fan of wikipedia, but from what I scanned they got it right.
Ralph wrote a book a couple years ago, it's really good. You can view a sample here.
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Posted 10/15/08 at 06:54pm
GTCv Deimos: Also, you know if there's an FS3 (and therefore, a god), that Earth would be a big part of the game.
GTCv Deimos: Also, you know if there's an FS3 (and therefore, a god), that Earth would be a big part of the game.
Posted 10/15/08 at 06:53pm
GTCv Deimos: Shadowdragon: I.DON'T.KNOW!!! Ummm... Maybe the shivans bring in a chainsaw, the size of the horse head nebula?
GTCv Deimos: Shadowdragon: I.DON'T.KNOW!!! Ummm... Maybe the shivans bring in a chainsaw, the size of the horse head nebula?
Posted 10/15/08 at 06:45pm
GoodRobotUs: I suppose they could introduce the 'Something bigger' ;)
GoodRobotUs: I suppose they could introduce the 'Something bigger' ;)
Posted 10/15/08 at 06:44pm
GoodRobotUs: @Shadow: Volition always said the Shivans were a 'symptom of something bigger'...
GoodRobotUs: @Shadow: Volition always said the Shivans were a 'symptom of something bigger'...
Posted 10/15/08 at 06:40pm
DavCube: Good lord, JT really IS becoming a b-tard! His hypocricy is now complete.
DavCube: Good lord, JT really IS becoming a b-tard! His hypocricy is now complete.
Posted 10/15/08 at 06:38pm
Kincyr: Video Games May Do Some Good http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27198227#27198227
Kincyr: Video Games May Do Some Good http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27198227#27198227
Posted 10/15/08 at 06:25pm
ShadowDragon28: @Deimos: But how do you top something like that? Who do you bring in next, the Borg?
ShadowDragon28: @Deimos: But how do you top something like that? Who do you bring in next, the Borg?
Posted 10/15/08 at 05:44pm
GoodRobotUs: Maybe that's why he doesn't understand the concept of Parental Responsibilty?
GoodRobotUs: Maybe that's why he doesn't understand the concept of Parental Responsibilty?
Posted 10/15/08 at 05:44pm
GoodRobotUs: It's funny how Jack acts like a child who was never taught manners by his parents...
GoodRobotUs: It's funny how Jack acts like a child who was never taught manners by his parents...
Posted 10/15/08 at 05:41pm
Zevorick: JT supports DRM! Did i win?
Zevorick: JT supports DRM! Did i win?
Posted 10/15/08 at 05:40pm
DarkTetsuya: aw man there he is, I was *almost* going to screenshot it but it was replying to harmlessbunny, not me :P
DarkTetsuya: aw man there he is, I was *almost* going to screenshot it but it was replying to harmlessbunny, not me :P
Posted 10/15/08 at 05:35pm
VideolandHero: I'd rather shout about anti-DRM
VideolandHero: I'd rather shout about anti-DRM
Posted 10/15/08 at 05:04pm
ezbiker555: lol lets have a shout contest and find out XD
ezbiker555: lol lets have a shout contest and find out XD
Posted 10/15/08 at 05:04pm
Silphion: Huh, I wonder what's louder -- the anti-DRM protesters or "Make JT Go Away" fanatics?
Silphion: Huh, I wonder what's louder -- the anti-DRM protesters or "Make JT Go Away" fanatics?
Posted 10/15/08 at 05:02pm
Tarosan: You're not the only ones who want to smack this guy in the head with a blunt object here... I'm getting sick of this loser
Tarosan: You're not the only ones who want to smack this guy in the head with a blunt object here... I'm getting sick of this loser
Posted 10/15/08 at 04:51pm
HalfShadow: Could someone leadpipe him to death, please?
HalfShadow: Could someone leadpipe him to death, please?
Posted 10/15/08 at 04:46pm
Mnementh2230: JT's put another one of his press releases in the Take Two Story. Please delete at your convenience.
Mnementh2230: JT's put another one of his press releases in the Take Two Story. Please delete at your convenience.
Posted 10/15/08 at 04:30pm
lumi: Can someone please clean the spam and troll crap out of the TTWO-Getting_Sued comments section?
lumi: Can someone please clean the spam and troll crap out of the TTWO-Getting_Sued comments section?
Posted 10/15/08 at 04:15pm
VideolandHero: What did JT do this time?
VideolandHero: What did JT do this time?
Posted 10/15/08 at 04:11pm
Mnementh2230: Just heard on NPR a little bit ago about Obama putting his ads in games. Good article!
Mnementh2230: Just heard on NPR a little bit ago about Obama putting his ads in games. Good article!
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Comments
It has to be said:
Gaming, serious buisness!
Is that a deliberate double-entendre I see there Dennis? ;)
That is awesome! :D
Duuuddeee for a minete there I thouight it read bong smokes.....
I is fuzzy brained mew
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/
(in need of a bad overhaul)
This from a nation in the EU, where lately all we've been seeing is how badly video games and their companies get mistreated. Thank you, Netherlands, for not being stupid.
Mr. Baer rawks, and I'm glad to see he's still at it. He was kind enough to grant us an interview at Gamerdad a couple years ago and it was great to get his perspective on this whole thing.
To be overly technical, Al Alcorn was the man who invented Pong. The Odyssey had a game called Tennis or Tennis For Two, but it did not feature the characteristic sound effect of flipper physics that Pong features.
Don't get me wrong, I have a huge amount of respect for Ralph Baer and did have the utter priviledge of interviewing him and own a much valued copy of his book, but he didn't invent Pong.
It can be very confusing trying to figure out who stole what from whom.. Baer invented television gaming, Bushnell stole it, and Baer later stole Simon from Bushnell. And then you get into the specifics that Bushnell marketed and helmed the company behind Pong but Al Alcorn himself engineered, designed, and programmed it.
Just wanted to put in my two cents. Hope it helped and didn't annoy. :)
Having gone back and read the article again, it talked about it being played on a vintage 60's era machine, which could actually be the Brown Box of Baer's rather than the arcade Pong cabinet shown in the picture (it would have to be, actually, if it is indeed a sixties era machine), which would indeed be something Baer invented. It just ain't Pong.
All right, shutting up now.
LOL Actually, it's nice to hear a little bit more detail of the history of things.
I suppose it's like all major inventions, Television, Telephones etc, they seem to have risen in several places at once, and years later, there's a whole load of confusion about who invented what :)
According to my paperback book on video game history, Baer's brown box was made in 1969 and was a prototype to the Magnavox Odyssey. The Pong machine wasn't directly related to that. The first game Baer made with the box wasn't actually a Pong-like game but a simple light gun game where you shoot white squares on the screen.