Q 01/05

Which 1971 game by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney was the first commercial arcade video game?

A) Computer Space

B) Galaxy Game

C) Space Race

D) Star Cruiser

Answer · why

A) Computer Space

It was a coin-op adaptation of the 1962 mainframe game Spacewar!, and Bushnell designed its curvy fiberglass cabinet to look futuristic.

Q 02/05

Atari's Pong was built by engineer Allan Alcorn as what kind of assignment from Nolan Bushnell?

A) A training exercise

B) A bet with a rival company

C) A military contract demo

D) A college thesis project

Answer · why

A) A training exercise

Bushnell based the concept on the table-tennis game of the Magnavox Odyssey, and Magnavox later sued Atari for patent infringement.

Q 03/05

In which Sunnyvale, California bar was the Pong prototype test-installed in August 1972?

A) Andy Capp's Tavern

B) Bushnell's Tavern

C) The Rusty Bucket

D) The Silicon Saloon

Answer · why

A) Andy Capp's Tavern

The prototype was so popular its coin box jammed with quarters, convincing Atari it had a hit.

Q 04/05

Which retailer sold Atari's Home Pong console exclusively during the 1975 Christmas season?

A) Montgomery Ward

B) JCPenney

C) Kmart

D) Sears

Answer · why

D) Sears

Toy retailers had turned Atari down; Bushnell only approached the chain after spotting a Magnavox Odyssey ad in the sporting goods section of its cata...

Q 05/05

Space Invaders designer Tomohiro Nishikado modelled his aliens on the octopus-like creatures from which novel?

A) Dune

B) The Day of the Triffids

C) Starship Troopers

D) The War of the Worlds

Answer · why

D) The War of the Worlds

He also borrowed the space theme after seeing the anime Space Battleship Yamato and a magazine feature on Star Wars.