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Atari got its start in the consumer electronics side of home entertainment with its release of Pong for the home. Originally Atari had planned to build 50,000 units, however Atari was approached by Sears and ended up making 150,000 for the Christmas 1975 season. People stood in line for nearly 2 hours in the cold to sign up to be on the waiting list for an Atari Home Pong.

Atari continued its foray into the home consumer electronics market with various versions of Pong, then bringing home other popular Atari coin-op games such as Video Pinball, Stunt Cycle and even a hand held version of its Touch Me coin-op. Atari delved into the unusual with its Video Music console which created pulsating patterns on the screen in sync with an owners home stereo system.

Pong was the first hit video game, per se. This game is one that shaped the entire video game industry.
Pong was first introduced in 1972. Al Alcorn, one of Atari’s first employees, created the first Pong arcade machine, a prototype mounted on pinball bars. The system was first tested in Andy Capp’s Cavern, a bar in Sunnyvale, California. When the system was first put into place in this bar, only two people took notice of it and started playing. The next day, people were lined up outside the store at 10am waiting to play.

Two weeks later, Magnavox learned of Pong, and notified Atari that they had a patent on the ball and paddle concept. Atari paid $700,000 for use of the rights, but saw a rapid return on the investment. By March 1983, Atari had sold between 8,000 to 10,000 coin-op systems.