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Atari Interactive is a name used by several separate groups and corporations since the mid - 1990s . In 1996 , it was the name of Atari Corporation ' s PC ___MASK11___ division , bringing games like the Atari Jaguar ' s " Tempest 2000 " to the PC platform . From 1998 to 2001 , Atari Interactive , Inc . was the name of the corporate entity that held the Atari properties purchased from JTS by Hasbro in 1998 , and functioned as the retro ___MASK11___ subsidiary of Hasbro Interactive . It is currently the name of a wholly owned subsidiary of Atari , SA ( formerly Infogrames ), who is the current owner of the Atari brand and various other properties formerly belonging to Hasbro Interactive . It was formed in 2001 , when IESA acquired Hasbro Interactive and proceeded to rename it to Infogrames Interactive . In 2003 , IESA then changed the company name entirely to Atari Interactive , Inc . as part of its worldwide reorganization to focus on use of the Atari brand . The Atari 2600 ( or Atari VCS before 1982 ) is a home ___MASK68___ console by Atari , Inc . Released on September 11 , 1977 , it is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor - based hardware and ROM cartridges containing game code , a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F ___MASK68___ console in 1976 . This format contrasts with the older model of having non - microprocessor dedicated hardware , which could only play the games that were physically built into the unit . Atari , Inc . was an American ___MASK68___ developer and home ___MASK16___ company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney . Primarily responsible for the formation of the video arcade and modern ___MASK68___ industries , the company was closed and its assets split in 1984 as a direct result of the North American ___MASK68___ crash of 1983 . Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972 , currently by Atari Interactive , a subsidiary of the French ___MASK22___ Atari , SA ( ASA ). The original Atari , Inc . founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney was a pioneer in arcade games , home ___MASK68___ consoles , and home computers . The company ' s products , such as " Pong " and the Atari 2600 , helped define the electronic entertainment industry from the 1970s to the mid - 1980s . An arcade game or coin - op is a coin - operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants , bars and amusement arcades . Most arcade games are video games , pinball machines , electro - mechanical games , redemption games or merchandisers . While exact dates are debated , the golden age of arcade video games is usually defined as a period beginning sometime in the late 1970s and ending sometime in the mid - 1980s . Excluding a brief resurgence in the early 1990s , the arcade industry subsequently declined in the Western hemisphere as competing home - based ___MASK68___ consoles such as Playstation and Xbox increased in their graphics and game - play capability and decreased in cost . ___MASK16___ Space is a space combat arcade game developed in 1971 as one of the last games created in the early history of video games . Created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney in partnership as Syzygy Engineering , it was the first arcade video game as well as the first commercially available video game . " ___MASK16___ Space " is a derivative of the 1962 ___MASK16___ game " Spacewar !", possibly the first video game to spread to multiple ___MASK16___ installations . It features a rocket , controlled by the player , engaged in a missile battle with a pair of flying saucers set against a background starfield . The goal is to score more hits than the enemy spaceships within a set time period , which awards a free round of gameplay . The game is enclosed in a custom fiberglass cabinet in one of four colors , which Bushnell designed himself to be futuristic . A ___MASK68___ console is an electronic , digital or ___MASK16___ device that outputs a video signal or visual image to display a ___MASK68___ that one or more people can play . Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977 , and becoming common during the 1980s . They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that , for the first time , were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user . These computers were a distinct market segment that typically cost much less than business , scientific or ___MASK33___ - oriented computers of the time such as the IBM PC , and were generally less powerful in terms of memory and expandability . However , a home ___MASK16___ often had better graphics and sound than contemporaneous business computers . Their most common uses were playing video games , but they were also regularly used for word processing , doing homework , and programming . Island Officials , located in Woodbury , New Jersey , is a ___MASK16___ game developer founded in 2007 by Ryan Morrison and Ryan Harbinson . The company is responsible for the Hands On ! game franchise . Island Officials won the Atari Community Choice Award for their entry , Pong EVO , in Atari ' s Pong Indie Developer Challenge . Table tennis , also known as ping pong , is a ___MASK93___ in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball back and forth across a table using a small bat . The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net . Except for the initial serve , the rules are generally as follows : players must allow a ball played toward them to bounce one time on their side of the table , and must return it so that it bounces on the opposite side at least once . A point is scored when a player fails to return the ball within the rules . Play is fast and demands quick reactions . Spinning the ball alters its trajectory and limits an opponent ' s options , giving the hitter a great advantage . A ___MASK68___ is an electronic game that involves human or animal interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device such as a TV screen or ___MASK16___ monitor . The word " video " in " ___MASK68___ " traditionally referred to a raster display device , but as of the 2000s , it implies any type of display device that can produce two - or three - dimensional images . Some theorists categorize video games as an art form , but this designation is controversial . A sports game is a ___MASK68___ that simulates the practice of sports . Most sports have been recreated with a game , including team sports , track and field , extreme sports and combat sports . Some games emphasize actually playing the ___MASK93___ ( such as the " Madden NFL " series ), whilst others emphasize strategy and ___MASK93___ ___MASK18___ ( such as " Championship Manager " and " Out of the Park Baseball "). Some , such as " Need for Speed ", " Arch Rivals " and " Punch - Out !!", satirize the ___MASK93___ for ___MASK62___ effect . This genre has been popular throughout the history of video games and is competitive , just like real - world sports . A number of game series feature the names and characteristics of real teams and players , and are updated annually to reflect real - world changes . Pong is one of the earliest arcade video games and the very first sports arcade ___MASK68___ . It is a table tennis sports game featuring simple two - dimensional graphics . While other arcade video games such as " ___MASK16___ Space " came before it , " Pong " was one of the first video games to reach mainstream popularity . The aim is to defeat an opponent in a simulated table - tennis game by earning a higher score . The game was originally manufactured by Atari , which released it in 1972 . Allan Alcorn created " Pong " as a training exercise assigned to him by Atari co - founder Nolan Bushnell . Bushnell based the idea on an electronic ping - pong game included in the Magnavox Odyssey , which later resulted in a lawsuit against Atari . Surprised by the quality of Alcorn ' s work , Bushnell and Atari co - founder Ted Dabney decided to manufacture the game . The Magnavox Odyssey is the first commercial home ___MASK68___ console . It was developed by a small team led by Ralph H . Baer at Sanders Associates and released by Magnavox in the United States in September 1972 and overseas the following year . The Odyssey consists of a white , black , and brown box which connects to a ___MASK83___ set and two rectangular controllers attached by wires . It is capable of displaying three square dots on the screen in monochrome black and white , with different behavior of the dots depending on the game played , and has no sound capabilities . Players place plastic overlays on the screen to create visuals , and the one or two players for each game control their dots with the three knobs and one button on the controller in accordance with the rules given for the game . The Odyssey console came packaged with dice , paper money , and other board game paraphernalia to go along with the games , and a peripheral controller  the first ___MASK68___ light gun  was sold separately . Ted Dabney is the co - founder of Syzygy and Atari . While working at Ampex Dabney met Nolan Bushnell and the two jointly created Syzygy with their first product being " ___MASK16___ Space ", which was manufactured and sold by Nutting Associates . Following ___MASK16___ Space , Ted Dabney ' s video circuit that was created for ___MASK16___ Space was used by Al Alcorn to create " Pong ", with assistance from Dabney and Bushnell . Dabney remained out of the public eye after departing Atari and his role in creating the first commercially produced coin - op video game as well as Syzygy and Atari was often omitted or marginalized with several myths attached . Dabney appeared on the RetroGaming Roundup podcast in October 2010 and told his story in a two - hour interview . Magnavox ( Latin for " great voice ") is an American ___MASK29___ company founded in the United States . Today it is a subsidiary of ___MASK29___ corporation Philips . Allan Alcorn ( born January 1 , 1948 in San Francisco ) is an American pioneering engineer and ___MASK16___ scientist . He grew up in San Francisco , California , and attended the University of California , Berkeley , graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in ___MASK95___ and Computer Sciences in 1971 . Nolan Kay Bushnell ( born February 5 , 1943 ) is an American electrical engineer and businessman . He established Atari , Inc . and the Chuck E . Cheese ' s Pizza - Time Theaters chain . Bushnell has been inducted into the ___MASK68___ Hall of Fame and the Consumer Electronics Association Hall of Fame , received the BAFTA Fellowship and the Nations ___MASK92___ News  Innovator of the Year  award , and was named one of " Newsweek " s " 50 Men Who Changed America ." Bushnell has started more than twenty companies and is one of the founding fathers of the ___MASK40___ . He is currently on the board of Anti - Aging Games , but his latest venture is an educational software company called Brainrush that is using video game technology in educational software , incorporating real brain science , in a way that Bushnell believes will fundamentally change education . Nolan , who is co - founder and chairman of Brainrush , believes that Brainrush will be his biggest success .