1972 in video gaming

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Following the poor sales of Computer Space, Nolan Bushnell leaves Nutting Associates to form his own company. Bushnell discovers that a roofing company has already adopted his initial preference for the name of the new venture (syzygy). In its place, the new corporation is named "Atari."<ref name="gamespot_timeline">{{

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On 24 May, Magnavox unveils the Odyssey, the first video game console, at a Burlingame, California convention. Nutting Associates, manufacturer of Computer Space, sends Nolan Bushnell to observe the launch. Bushnell reports back that he found the device underwhelming, and expresses no concern over the competition.<ref name="gamespot_timeline" /> Later that year, Magnavox files suit against Atari over Pong, claiming that Atari founder Nolan Bushnell appropriated the concept from Tennis, one of the games available for the Odyssey, after having witnessed it at the Odyssey's unveiling. The court finds against Atari, and forces the company to pay $700,000 USD in royalties.<ref name="lawsuit">{{

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Magnavox begins to sell the Odyssey through its retail stores.<ref name="gamespot_timeline" />
Atari releases its first arcade game, Al Alcorn's Pong.<ref name="gamespot_timeline" />
Gregory Yob programs Hunt the Wumpus, an early progenitor of the interactive fiction genre, in BASIC for mainframe computers.<ref name="wumpus">{{

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Don Daglow programs Star Trek on a PDP-10 mainframe computer at Pomona College.<ref name="startrek">{{

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