Editing Pong (section)

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[[File:TeleGames-Atari-Pong.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Photo of a dedicated video game console with two knobs.|Atari's ''Home Pong'' console, released through [[Sears]] in 1975]]
After the success of ''Pong'', Bushnell pushed his employees to create new products.<ref name="PriceGuide-1"/><ref name="Ultimate-Home1">{{cite book| title = Ultimate History of Video Games| first = Steven| last = Kent| pages = 80–83| chapter = Could You Repeat That Two More Times?| publisher = Three Rivers Press| isbn = 0-7615-3643-4| year = 2001}}</ref> A new [[electronic technology]], the [[large-scale integration]] (LSI) chip, had recently become available, which Bushnell believed would "allow pioneering in new" game concepts. Atari began working on the reduction of ''Pong'' from a large arcade [[printed circuit board]] (PCB) down to a small LSI chip for use in a home system. The initial development cost for a game on a single LSI chip was expensive, costing around {{US$|50,000|1971|long=no|round=-3}}, but once the chip was developed, it became significantly cheaper to [[mass-produce]] the game as well as more difficult to [[reverse-engineer]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Albarardo |first=Sonny |title=Silicon Gulch cowboys aim to be top guns of games |magazine=[[Play Meter]] |date=October 1975 |volume=1 |issue=10 |pages=31–7 |url=https://archive.org/details/play-meter-volume-1-number-10-october-1975-600dpi/Play%20Meter%20-%20Volume%201%2C%20Number%2010%20-%20October%201975/page/31}}</ref>

In 1974, Atari engineer Harold Lee proposed a home version of ''Pong'' that would connect to a television: ''Home Pong''. The system began development under the codename ''Darlene'', named after an  employee at Atari. Alcorn worked with Lee to develop the designs and prototype and based them on the same digital technology used in their arcade games. The two worked in shifts to save time and money; Lee worked on the design's logic during the day, while Alcorn [[Debugging|debugged]] the designs in the evenings. After the designs were approved, fellow Atari engineer Bob Brown assisted Alcorn and Lee in building a prototype. The prototype consisted of a device attached to a wooden pedestal containing over a hundred wires, which would eventually be replaced with a [[integrated circuit|single chip]] designed by Alcorn and Lee; the chip had yet to be tested and built before the prototype was constructed. The chip was finished in the latter half of 1974, and was, at the time, the highest-performing chip used in a [[consumer product]].<ref name="Ultimate-Home1"/>

Bushnell and Gene Lipkin, Atari's vice-president of sales, approached toy and electronic retailers to sell ''Home Pong'', but were rejected. Retailers felt the product was too expensive and would not interest consumers.<ref name="Three Rivers Press">{{cite book|last1=Kent|first1=Steven L/|title=the Ultimate History of Video Games|date=2001|publisher=Three Rivers Press|isbn=0-7615-3643-4}}</ref> Bushnell contacted [[Sears, Roebuck and Company|Sears]] after coming across a [[Magnavox Odyssey]] advertisement in the sporting goods section of its catalog. Atari staff (including Bushnell and Lipkin) discussed the game with a representative, Tom Quinn, who expressed enthusiasm and offered the company an exclusive deal. Believing they could find more favorable terms elsewhere, Atari's executives declined and continued to pursue toy retailers. In January 1975, Atari staff set up a ''Home Pong'' booth at the American Toy Fair (a [[trade fair]]) in [[New York City]], but was unsuccessful in soliciting orders due to high price of the unit.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Alexander |title=They Create Worlds: The Story of the People and Companies That Shaped the Video Game Industry, Vol. I: 1971–1982 |date=2019 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=9780429752612 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cxy_DwAAQBAJ&q=Atari+home+pong+toy+trade+fair+1975&pg=PT207 |access-date=16 February 2020}}</ref>

While at the show, they met Quinn again, and, a few days later, set up a meeting with him to obtain a sales order. In order to gain approval from the Sporting Goods department, Quinn suggested Atari demonstrate the game to executives in Chicago. Alcorn and Lipkin traveled to the [[Sears Tower]] and, despite a technical complication in connection with an antenna on top of the building which broadcast on the same channel as the game, obtained approval. Bushnell told Quinn he could produce 75,000&nbsp;units in time for the [[Christmas and holiday season|Christmas season]]; however, Quinn requested double the amount. Though Bushnell knew Atari lacked the capacity to manufacture 150,000&nbsp;units, he agreed.<ref name="Ultimate-Home1"/> Atari acquired a new factory through funding obtained by [[venture capital]]ist [[Don Valentine]]. Supervised by Jimm Tubb, the factory fulfilled the Sears order.<ref name="Ultimate-Home2">{{cite book| title = Ultimate History of Video Games| first = Steven| last = Kent| pages = 84–87| chapter = Could You Repeat That Two More Times?| publisher = Three Rivers Press| isbn = 0-7615-3643-4| year = 2001}}</ref> The first units manufactured, branded with Sears' "Tele-Games" name, started to sell around the end of October<ref name="1975-10-11 Cash Box">{{cite magazine |title=Atari Markets 'Pong' TV Home Unit; Consumer Distribution Thru Sears |url=https://archive.org/details/cashbox37unse_19/page/48/mode/2up?q=pong |access-date=19 August 2023 |magazine=Cash Box |date=1975-10-11}}</ref> to mid November 1975<ref name="1975-11-15 Cash Box">{{cite magazine|title=Atari Brings 'Pong' Into The Livingroom |url=https://archive.org/details/cashbox37unse_24/page/44/mode/2up?q=pong |access-date=19 August 2023 |magazine=Cash Box|date=1975-11-15 |page=45}}</ref> with a 1-year warranty for $98.95 and an additional $7.95 for the optional AC adapter.<ref name="1975 Sears Christmas Catalog">{{cite book |title=Wish Book for the 1975 Christmas Season |date=1975 |publisher=Sears |page=410 |url=https://archive.org/details/1975-sears-christmas-wish-book/page/410/mode/2up?q=pong |access-date=19 August 2023 |language=English}}</ref> Atari later released a version under its own brand in 1976.<ref name="Gamesutra-Pong">{{cite web| url = https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/the-history-of-i-pong-i-avoid-missing-game-to-start-industry| title = The History Of Pong: Avoid Missing Game to Start Industry| first = Bill| last = Loguidice| author2 = Matt Barton| website = [[Gamasutra]]| date = 9 January 2009| access-date = 10 January 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090112004852/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3900/the_history_of_pong_avoid_missing_.php| archive-date = 12 January 2009| url-status = live| df = dmy-all}}</ref>