Q 01/05

Which company released Pong in 1972?

A) Magnavox

B) Nintendo

C) Atari

D) Midway

Answer · why

C) Atari

Allan Alcorn built it as a training exercise set by Nolan Bushnell, and it turned out too good not to sell.

Q 02/05

Pong's concept was borrowed from a ping-pong game on which console, prompting a patent lawsuit?

A) Fairchild Channel F

B) Magnavox Odyssey

C) Coleco Telstar

D) Atari VCS

Answer · why

B) Magnavox Odyssey

Ralph Baer's 'Brown Box' became the Odyssey, the first commercial home console, in September 1972.

Q 03/05

What was the first commercially available arcade video game, released in 1971?

A) Computer Space

B) Galaxy Game

C) Space Race

D) Gun Fight

Answer · why

A) Computer Space

Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney based it on Spacewar! and sold roughly 1,300 to 1,500 fibreglass cabinets.

Q 04/05

How did players of the first home console, in 1972, get colour graphics for its games?

A) A colour add-on cartridge sold separately

B) Plastic overlays stuck to the TV screen

C) Hand-painted lenses clipped over the tube

D) They didn't; it only ever showed white dots

Answer · why

B) Plastic overlays stuck to the TV screen

The console came with dice, paper money and board-game bits; it sold 350,000 units before being discontinued in 1975.

Q 05/05

Which Japanese company released the 1978 alien-shooting hit that started the arcade golden age?

A) Taito

B) Namco

C) Sega

D) Konami

Answer · why

A) Taito

By 1982 Tomohiro Nishikado's game had grossed $3.8 billion, and it was the first video game with endless gameplay.