Pong is a table tennis–themed twitch arcade sports video game, featuring simple two-dimensional graphics, manufactured by Atari and originally released on November 29, 1972. It was one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise assigned to him by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, but Bushnell and Atari co-founder Ted Dabney were surprised by the quality of Alcorn's work and decided to manufacture the game. Bushnell based the game's concept on an electronic ping-pong game included in the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game console. In response, Magnavox later sued Atari for patent infringement.
A slot machine, fruit machine, poker machine or pokies is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively as one-armed bandits, alluding to the large mechanical levers affixed to the sides of early mechanical machines, and to the games' ability to empty players' pockets and wallets as thieves would.
Bally Technologies, Inc. is an American manufacturer of slot machines and other gambling technology based in Enterprise, Nevada. It is owned by Light & Wonder.
WMS Industries, Inc. was an American electronic gaming and amusement manufacturer in Enterprise, Nevada. It was merged into Scientific Games in 2016. WMS's predecessor was the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded in 1943 by Harry E. Williams. However, the company that became WMS Industries was formally founded in 1974 as Williams Electronics, Inc.
Allan Alcorn is an American pioneering engineer and computer scientist best known for creating Pong, one of the first video games. In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time.
A video lottery terminal (VLT), also sometimes known as a video gaming terminal (VGT), video slots, or the video lottery, is a type of electronic gambling machine. They are typically operated by a region's lottery, and situated at licensed establishments such as bars and restaurants.
International Game Technology (IGT) is an American gaming company based in Las Vegas which manufactured and distributed slot machines and other gambling technology. It was acquired in 2015 by GTECH, which then adopted the IGT name.
International Game Technology PLC (IGT), formerly Gtech S.p.A. and Lottomatica S.p.A., is a multinational gambling company that produces slot machines and other gambling technology. The company is headquartered in London, with major offices in Rome, Providence, Rhode Island, and Las Vegas. It is controlled, with a 51 percent stake, by De Agostini.
Walker Digital is a privately held American research and development lab based in Stamford, Connecticut. It was founded in 1994 by Jay S. Walker, who also holds the position of chairman as of 2011. The company specializes in creating applications and business solutions that work with large-scale networks such as cell phones and the Internet. Walker Digital and its principals partner with Fortune 500 firms such as Time Warner and International Game Technology to bring its inventions to market. It also licenses other companies to do so. Walker Digital is considered a "non-practicing entity" or patent troll because it does not create products itself, instead of relying on lawsuits to generate revenue.
WMS Gaming is a manufacturer of slot machines, video lottery terminals and software to help casinos manage their gaming operations. It also offers online and mobile games. WMS was originally a subsidiary of WMS Industries, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of Scientific Games Corporation in 2013.
Light & Wonder, Inc., formerly Scientific Games Corporation (SG), is an American corporation that provides gambling products and services. The company is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jay Scott Walker is an American entrepreneur and chairman of Walker Digital, a privately held research and development lab focused on using digital networks to create new business systems. Walker is also curator of TEDMED since 2011, and a founder of Priceline.com and Synapse Group, Inc. In 2000, Forbes estimated his net worth at $1.6 billion. By October 2000, his estimated worth was down to $333 million. As of 2013, he is not on the Forbes list of the world's billionaires.
Space Race is an arcade game developed by Atari, Inc. and released on July 16, 1973. It was the second game by the company, after Pong (1972), which marked the beginning of the commercial video game industry. In the game, two players each control a rocket ship, with the goal of being the first to move their ship from the bottom of the screen to the top. Along the way are asteroids, which the players must avoid. Space Race was the first racing arcade video game and the first game with a goal of crossing the screen while avoiding obstacles.
Mikohn Gaming was a company founded Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1986 to produce original slot machines and signage for casinos. Formed by John Acres and Mike Stone, the company's principal activity was to develop, manufacture and market branded slot machine and table games, gaming machines, gaming products including signage, progressive jackpot systems, and table game management systems. The company was restructured and renamed to Progressive Gaming International Corporation (PGIC) in 2005, and was publicly traded on NASDAQ with the trading symbol PGIC. At its peak, the company had about 300 employees and had offices in various other cities around the world. It went bankrupt in 2009.
Ticket-in, ticket-out (TITO) is a technology used in more modern slot machines. It was originally developed circa 1992 by MGM Corporation who purchased technology from a Las Vegas firm Five Star Solutions as well as barcode ticket printing technology from Jon Yarbrough before his VGT success. They also worked with Pat Greene, an inventor in Boston of Triad Company who held a patent on a Bill Validator which could read bar coded tickets as well as accept cash. MGM created a consortium of game manufacturers and developed a protocol for its custom Universal Interface Board "UIB" based on a derivative of Bally Gaming's SDS System. They contracted local firm Applied Computer Technology, Inc. to develop the UIB, its firmware, and also facilitate the organization of the consortium. Later IGT acquired the rights to the TITO patents from MGM and began to modify their own protocol called SAS to implement TITO. It is incorrectly maintained that IGT developed TITO and Bally's Easy Pay which came out many years later.
Bally Manufacturing, later renamed Bally Entertainment, was an American company that began as a pinball and slot machine manufacturer, and later expanded into casinos, video games, health clubs, and theme parks. It was acquired by Hilton Hotels in 1996.
SHFL entertainment, Inc. was a manufacturer of shuffling machines, table games, slot machines, and other casino products, based in Paradise, Nevada. Founded in 1983, it was acquired by Bally Technologies in 2013. Bally was itself acquired the following year by Scientific Games, now Light & Wonder, which continues to use the Shuffle Master name as one of its core brands.
Sodak Gaming, Inc. was a gaming company based in Rapid City, South Dakota that distributed slot machines to Indian casinos and financed casino projects. It was acquired by International Game Technology (IGT) in 1999 for $230 million.
United Tote is an American company that provides totalizator equipment and services for parimutuel wagering at racetracks. It is owned by Churchill Downs, Inc.
Zowie Intertainment was a smart toy research company founded in 1998 by a group of engineers from Interval Research Corporation that focused on applying various computer and sensor technology research to smart toy development. In 2000, toy design and manufacturing firm Lego acquired ownership of Zowie Intertainment as part of their smart toy division.
