late news from us: Atari Pong review (1976)

Monday, 2 April 2012

Atari Pong review (1976)

Multiplayer gaming today is becoming an naturally and bewilderingly antisocial affair. You grab a controller, occupy just as much space as you possibly can in your couch in your own home, then connect with some random game located by some random server full of some random individuals with that you do your damnedest to fill with a few assortment of lead tossed from some range of advanced weaponry. On the way, you will be taunted, insulted and, if you are playing a Halo game, potentially physically killed.

In 1976, obviously, things were a little different. Pong was the peak of at-home multiplayer gaming. Two dials, one button and something switch is you'd, with your attacker relaxing in very close closeness for you, odds are the majority of the heckling will be the good-natured variety. It's a greatly simplified experience versus what we should have today, but somewhat a greatly superior one. Click right through to understand why.

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