Most gamers today probably were not alive when Pong was first released in 1972 as a coin operated arcade unit. Well, November 29th marks the 36th birthday of the granddaddy of video games. It may not have been the first but it was the first successful game marketed. Not only did it give birth to the arcade, it launched the home console revolution and made Atari a household name.

Pong was not the first home console but it was the first to use integrated circuitry rather than discrete components, which the earlier Magnavox Odyssey used. Pong was also the first home console to feature sound, in the from of its distinctive "beep". If you've been living under a rock, pong was a virtual table tennis game. You controlled your virtual paddle (a white line) using a dial to move it up or down. The goal was to bounce a square shapped "ball" and knock it out of your opponents court. The console was released through Sears in 1975 and cost $98.95. That's about $380 in 2008 dollars, and all you got was one game. Still think the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 are expensive?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pong