Microprocessors: Design case history: The Atari Video Computer System: By omitting lots of hardware, designers added flexibility and gave video-game programmers room to be creative

In late 1975, sales of devices that made it possible for consumers to play Pong on home television sets were booming. At Atari Inc., which had first introduced Pong as an arcade game and had manufactured one of the most popular home versions of Pong. engineers began looking for the next arcade game to put in consumer hands, anticipating that people would grow tired of two paddles and a ball.