| Doctor Pong | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Machine at the National Videogame Museum | |
| Developer(s) | Atari, Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | Atari, Inc. |
| Designer(s) | Allan Alcorn Nolan Bushnell Steve Bristow |
| Series | Pong |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release | 1975-1977 (NA) |
| Genre(s) | Sports |
Doctor Pong, also known as Puppy Pong, is an adaption of the original arcade Pong for use in a non-coin-operated environment. It was conceptualized by Nolan Bushnell, Steve Bristow, and a marketing firm to move their arcade video games into a non-arcade environment—in this case, to help occupy children in pediatricians' waiting rooms. Originally designed to be a model of Snoopy's doghouse with Pong built into the side of it, when Charles Schulz declined Atari the use of Snoopy, the model was changed to a generic doghouse with a puppy looking over the top. Puppy Pong saw a limited production run and was tested at Chuck E. Cheese's early locations.[1]
Development
The original Snoopy Pong cabinet was designed by Regan Cheng of the Atari Industrial Design group. The follow-up Puppy Pong cabinet was designed by Regan's manager, Chas Grossman.[1]
Both cabinets consisted of a doghouse housing a Pong board modified to not use a coin drop as a start trigger. The original Pong automatically starts several seconds after a coin is inserted. In Doctor Pong and Puppy Pong, a "start button" was instead wired up to start the games, set under the vertically mounted television in the dog house "roof." Instead of a traditional control panel, spinners are mounted directly on the roof, as well.
References
- 1 2 Vendel, Curt. "Atari Puppy Pong". Retrieved 2007-07-27.
