In the beginning there was Pong. It was a simple game, in a simple time, and it made people happy.
So happy, in fact, that they couldn’t get enough of the Atari video game.
And so the game console company made a few more games, of increasing complexity, and the general public ate them up, too.
It was kids, for the most part, who played these games.
And then those kids grew into adults, old enough to play adult games in Las Vegas, for money; and all the while video games, just like life itself, evolved into a very sophisticated thing.
In the rush of these high-stakes and complex games, Pong was forgotten, and it was too bad. People had lost their happiness.
But then Bally Technologies, a Las Vegas company that makes slot machines, remembered Pong. And they are now bringing it back to Las Vegas, in the form of slots.
It will be a simple game. And it will be the first time Nevada’s gaming board has ever allowed hand-eye coordination to affect payout.
“It faithfully recreates the experiences of playing the world’s first video game,” says George Stamos of Bally Technologies, “right down to the game’s signature pong sound effects and memorable onscreen game play.”
It’s due out by the end of the year. People are enthused. The gaming board chairman, in fact, said that if Pong goes over well, it could lead to more sophisticated video-game-themed slots in the future.