Atari’s Mini PONG Jr. Brings Arcade Nostalgia Home This Holiday Season
3 min read
Iconic Brand Atari® Joins Forces with Leading Entertainment Device Manufacturer UNIS and Long Term Partner in this Market, Arcade1Up, to Launch New PONG®-Inspired Small-Form-Factor Retro-Arcade Device in Asia, North America, and Additional Markets
Atari® — one of the world’s most iconic consumer brands and entertainment producers — in collaboration with amusement and entertainment device manufacturer UNIS Technology Ltd. today announced the Atari Mini PONG Jr., a new home arcade device based on the classic PONG® arcade game. The stylish small-form-factor digital Atari Mini PONG Jr. gaming device will arrive in time for the holidays in North America and Asia.
The Atari Mini PONG Jr. from UNIS allows players to experience PONG in a whole new dimension, bringing a high-tech yet retro ‘80s arcade experience to the home living room. The Atari Mini PONG Jr. measures just 30-centimeters in length and is outfitted with an LCD screen, fitting perfectly on any table surface. The device features single-player play against an AI, 2-player local multiplayer, retro arcade sound effects, and physical dials for players to control their respective PONG paddles. The device is powered by a USB cable and adapter; users can optionally install three lithium rechargeable batteries for portable play.
The Atari Mini PONG Jr. launches exclusively online this holiday season. UNIS Technology Ltd. will distribute the Atari Mini PONG Jr. in China and Asian markets, while Arcade1Up (Tastemakers, LLC.) will handle North American distribution. Atari will soon announce details on pricing and pre-orders, as well as additional gaming devices.
“We are delighted to collaborate with the creative minds at UNIS to create a new arcade-inspired PONG gaming machine for fans,” said Fred Chesnais, CEO of Atari. “Available soon online, the Atari Mini PONG Jr. is the perfect gift for Atari fans and collectors interested in experiencing the simple-yet-challenging gameplay of PONG in a tangible, more immersive way.”
“We are extremely excited to be working with Atari on developing the Atari Mini PONG Jr.,” said Steven Tan, General Manager of UNIS Technology (Canada) Ltd. “We previously launched several PONG tables for the amusement coin-op industry in partnership with Calinfer, and those products have done exceptionally well. PONG is truly an incredible license. I am looking forward to seeing the Atari Mini PONG Jr. hit the consumer market!”
- Lightweight and compact in size
- Perfect for home, office, and on-the-go
- Play with AI or friends
- Ten AI difficulty levels
- Intuitive interface, simple to use controls
- 7.9 Inch LCD Panel
- Lithium Rechargeable battery (3) for portable use
- USB powered
Created as a simple-but-challenging table tennis simulation, the influential PONG arcade game debuted on November 29, 1972. It was the first commercially successful video game and an immediate smash hit that effectively established the video game industry. PONG was originally meant to be a simple training exercise, assigned to newly hired engineer Allan Alcorn by Atari founder Nolan Bushnell to acclimate him to creating games. Alcorn went above and beyond, adding appealing features such as segmented paddles that changed the angle of the “ball” and accelerating speeds as play went on. Alcorn also elected to retain a “glitch” that didn’t allow the paddles to reach the top of the screen, which added to the game’s difficulty. Lastly, Bushnell had Alcorn add cheering crowd noises and other sound effects. The game was so well-received that Bushnell and the team were able to rapidly grow Atari and an entire industry was born.
