Atari Age The Emergence of Video Games in America This item ships to Malaysia . Want it Monday, Aug. 28? Order within 35 hrs 45 mins and choose AmazonGlobal Priority Shipping at checkout. By Michael Z. Newman Overview Beginning with the release of the Magnavox Odyssey and Pong in 1972, video games, whether played in arcades and taverns or in family rec rooms, became part of popular culture, like television. In fact, video games were sometimes seen as an improvement on television because they spurred participation rather than passivity. These “space-age pinball machines” gave coin-operated games a high-tech and more respectable profile. In Atari Age , Michael Newman charts the emergence of video games in America from ball-and-paddle games to hits like Space Invaders and Pac-Man , describing their relationship to other amusements and technologies and s...