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History of Arcade Games
Home » Game Rooms » Arcade Games » History of Arcade GamesThe original arcade games were decidedly non-computerized. In the 1920's, you could visit your local fair or amusement park and find such midway games as the shooting gallery, ring toss, and high striker (also known as ring-the-bell). In those days, it was necessary to have a human managing each game to handle payment and reset everything before the next player began.
In the 1930s, a new trend in arcade games emerged: Pinball. The first big hit of the time was Baffle Ball by David Gottlieb. For a penny, players could get five balls, which was an important bargain for people living during the Great Depression. The inexpensive, coin-operated machines could be bought for under $18, making them popular installments at bars and drugstores. The game drew so many players, it sometimes paid for itself in a matter of days.
Pinball evolved through the years, gaining electric lights, motors, magnets and sound effects. In 1972, the next revolution was set to replace pinball: Pong. Created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, Pong was an electronic simulation of Ping Pong, also known as table tennis, that used a black and white TV screen to show the paddles, ball, and score. Aside from the novelty of playing on a screen, Pong had the additional advantage of having very few moving parts. This made it more reliable than pinball games, which increased its popularity among proprietors. Pong was the first of many video arcade games.
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