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Graph depicting the history of the video consoles

September 2, 2009

On September 3rd 2009, a graph depicting the history of the video console will be published in the German newspaper "Die Zeit". We are very pleased that a number of our collector's items will be used to illustrate the graph and the accompanying article. A special thanks to Adrian Scheel from www.console-picture-page.de for his support.

The graph will appear on September 3rd in the Thursday edition of "Die Zeit", Germany's biggest weekly newspaper. The following items will be presented from our collection: Intellivision VC 4000, the Philips/Magnavox - VideoPac Console "Odyssey II" and an ATARI 7800 Joypad.

Update: you can download the graph as a PDF file at zeit.de

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Morgen am 3. September wird ein ganzseitiges Schaubild über die Geschichte der Spielkonsole in der deutschen Zeitung "Die Zeit" gedruckt. Wir freuen uns das einige unserer Sammlungsstücke zur bebilderung des Schaubildes und des Artikels genutzt werden konnten. Ein besonderer Dank geht auch an Adrian Scheel von www.console-picture-page.de für die Unterstützung.

Das Schaubild erscheint in der Donnerstagausgabe am 3. September 2009 in "Die Zeit", Deutschlands größter Tageszeitung. Aus unserer Sammlung werden präsentiert: Intellivision VC 4000, die Philips/Magnavox - VideoPac Konsole "Odyssey II" und ein ATARI 7800 Joypad.

Update: Es gibt das Schaubild nun als PDF file bei zeit.de

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Zanussi - Ping-O-Tronic Advertisement

August 27, 2009

New in collection: original Zanussi Ping-O-Tronic and Gun-O-Tronic print advertisement from Italy.

Zanussi, a well known Italian furniture company, released two game systems: Ping-O-Tronic, an analog game first released in late 1974 but really successful during 1975, and Play-O-Tronic, an AY-3-8500 game released in 1977 (this particular model was also released by Universum in Germany). Zanussi obtained the Sanders Associates License Agreement on April 21st, 1975. Zanussi reported 21,514 Play-O-Tronic units sold between October 1st and December 31st, 1977 (3 months) for a total amount of 620,408,000 lire, on which a 5.5% royalty was paid to Sanders (34,122,440 lire). Considering this amount, each game would have cost around 28,800 lire during this period, which seems quite low. Unfortunately there is no similar information for Ping-O-Tronic.

Click on the pictures to get a bigger view.

More Info about the Zanussi Pong at pong-story.com

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Kee Games, Tank, and Combat - by A. Kator & J. Legaz

August 21, 2009

Immediately after Pong’s release,

Atari was having problems with Pong clones selling better than Atari’s machines. Part of their problem was the coin-operated amusement industry distribution system, in which regional vendors had exclusive contracts.

If one provider carried Atari, others in the area could not. Everyone wanted a piece of the lucrative Pong action, and clones were the solution for non-Atari vendors. Read the complete Article.

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Transformation: The PONG Table by Moritz Waldemeyer

August 10, 2009

The more Pong the better. Designed by Moritz Waldemeyer, this Corian table has been embedded with 2,400 LED lights along with a couple of trackpads, giving PONG a modern update.

The savvy designer incorporated a series of "LEDs and touchpad sensors" into the otherwise plainly-styled piece of furniture in order to provide a fresh rendition of a heralded classic.

The table was diplayed at MoMA in 2008.

Pong World |

Our Odyssey 200 is signed :-)

August 1, 2009

Mr. Ralph H. Baer, Inventor of Home Video Games and the Odyssey, signed our museum´s collectable in Berlin on July 29, 2009.

Mr. Baer visited Berlin to celebrate the online launch of the "History of Video Games Timeline" by Computerspiele Museum Berlin. See the photos here.

See the first 8 minutes of the keynote by Mr. Baer, a short introduction to the very first years of Video Games. Sorry for the sound - the PA was near to be defect.

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-History of Games Timeline- Release mit Mr. Baer

July 5, 2009

Einladung zum offiziellen "History of Games" Timeline Release in Berlin

Am 29.7.2009 wird der Erfinder der Heimvideospiele Berlin besuchen. Anlass ist die Veröffentlichung seiner Sammlung historischer Dokumente rund um die Erfindung des ersten Heimvideospiels, der Odyssey Konsole von 1972. Die Sammlung wurde in einer exklusiven Kooperation mit dem Computerspiele Museum nun in ein Onlinearchiv eingearbeitet, das am 29.7. der Öffentlichkeit als "Timeline History of Games" erstmals vorgestellt wird und von da an online frei zugänglich ist. Veranstalter des historischen Events sind das Computerspiele Museum, das Berlin Gaming Network und die A MAZE. GbR.

Ort:
homebase Lounge Berlin
Köthener Str. 44 (Lageplan)
10963 Berlin
Beginn: 29.7.2009 - 19 Uhr
Der Eintritt ist frei.

Pong World |

New in the collection: Pong Clock # 283

June 29, 2009

Pong Clock # 283

What's the score? The time. As Pong randomly plays, the score shown is the time of day on this unusual timepiece by Buro Vormkrijgers.

The release of the limited edition of 400 Pong Clocks created such a hype in 2006 that it sold out in 1 day. We are happy to have Pong Clock #283 from the original owner Julian Brannigan, UK in the museum's collection.