1972 in video games

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1972 marked an important landmark in the history of the video game industry with the releases of Pong and the Odyssey home console. The profile of electronic games rose substantially and companies began exploring the distribution of video games on a larger scale. Important mainframe computer games were created in this period which became the basis for early microcomputer games.

Contents

Events

Financial performance

United States

Arcade

Title Arcade cabinet units (Estimates)ManufacturerDeveloperGenre
Pong 8,500 [10]

8,000 [3] [Note 1]

Atari Inc. Atari Inc. Sports

Home consoles

TitleGame console units (Estimates)ManufacturerDeveloper
Odyssey69,000 [11]

80,000 [3] [Note 2]

Magnavox Co. Sanders Associates/Magnavox

Notable releases

Publications

Magnavox Odyssey Magnavox-Odyssey-Console-Set.jpg
Magnavox Odyssey

Arcade

Consoles

Computer games

Business

Notes

  1. Ralph Baer's numbers compiled in April 1976 are mostly estimates without direct access to sales figures.
  2. Ralph Baer's numbers for Odyssey units sold per year contradict those of official figures disclosed by Magnavox in 1974.

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. "Agreed Statement of Facts". Magnavox Company v. Chicago Dynamic Industries, et al. US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. November 3, 1976. p. 13. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  2. "Trial Transcript". Magnavox Company v. Chicago Dynamic Industries, et al. US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. January 5, 1977. pp. 1501–1505. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Baer, Ralph H. (2005). Videogames: In the Beginning. Rolenta Press. ISBN   978-0-9643848-1-1.
  4. Bushnell, Nolan K. (July 10, 1972). ""Letter to John Britz"". Magnavox Company v. Chicago Dynamic Industries, et al. US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  5. Britz, John A. (June 26, 1972). "Royalty Agreement". Magnavox Company v. Chicago Dynamic Industries, et al. US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  6. "Computer chess championship ends with '6400' winner". The Columbian. August 16, 1972. p. 14.
  7. Goldberg, Marty; Vendel, Curt (2012). Atari Inc.: Business is Fun. Syzygy Press. ISBN   978-0985597405.
  8. Brand, Stewart (December 7, 1972). "Spacewar, Fanatic Life and Death Among Computer Bums". Rolling Stone .
  9. US3793483A,Bushnell, Nolan,"Video image positioning control system for amusement device",issued 1974-02-19
  10. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Alexander (2020). They create worlds: the story of the people and companies that shaped the video game industry. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN   978-0-429-42364-2.
  11. "Magnavox will drop". Weekly Television Digest with Consumer Electronics. 14 (19): 9. May 13, 1974.
  12. Dear, Brian (2017). The friendly orange glow: the untold story of the PLATO system and the dawn of cyberculture. New York: Pantheon Books. ISBN   978-1-101-87155-3.