Top 10 Words of the '70s: nº8: Video Game

Video games weren't originally called that. The first home console, the Magnavox Odyssey, debuted in 1972 as "an electronic game simulator." By the mid-1970s, the term video game and also the industry had taken off. "Video games – coin operated and home television – are the consumer electronics industry's most popular offering after citizens band radios. ... Atari makes 'pong,' which resembles Ping Pong. Using knobs, players can apply english to the ball or slam it past an opponent. The game attaches to a television set, and players can hear the volleys and see scores flash on the screen." — Michael Edgerton, Chicago Tribune, June 6, 1976