November 29, 1972

In the bustling mammal metropolis called Zootopia, there was a bar called Andy Capp's Tavern. There were dozens of mammals in the bar. There was a recent addition to the bar. A strange arcade machine was installed in the bar. It was installed by a squirrel named Nolan Bushnell. Nolan Bushnell was the founder of a video game company called Atari. He had previously released a arcade game called Computer Space. It was a game in which you control a spaceship and you shoot at rocks. No one could understand the game. So, Nolan and his partner Al Alcorn, who was also a squirrel, designed a video game called Pong. Pong is a two-dimensional sports game that simulates table tennis. The player controls an in-game paddle by moving it vertically across the left or right side of the screen. They can compete against another player controlling a second paddle on the opposing side. Players use the paddles to hit a ball back and forth. The goal is for each player to reach eleven points before the opponent; points are earned when one fails to return the ball to the other. Bushnell and Alcorn decided to put the game in a bar. The bartender, a wolf named Tom, who had 3 children of his own and a beautiful wife, wasn't so sure he wanted a strange futuristic machine in his bar. What if the people don't like the machine. What if the patrons find Pong boring? This was the moment that would change Zootopia history forever. A group of mammals were hanging out. They were: a male wolf, a female cheetah, a male panther, and a male tiger. The wolf's name was David. The cheetah's name was Amy. The panther's name was Richard. The tiger's name was Samuel. "Hey guys, do you want to hear something funny." David said to his friends.

"Sure. Let's hear it." Richard said.

"Why didn't the skeleton go to the dance?" David said.

"I don't know. Why didn't the skeleton go to the dance?" Samuel said.

"Because he had nobody to dance with." David said.

All 4 animals laughed at the table. They were seated at a table. "Hey guys, do you see that machine over there." Amy said looking toward the Pong arcade machine.

Her 3 friends turned towards the Pong machine. "What is that machine?" David asked. The panther, the tiger, and the cheetah all shrugged. David got up from his seat and walked towards the machine. The Pong machine looked like a carved tree stump. The screen was caved in the machine. David looked at the machine. There was a coin box on the bottom right corner of the machine. It read: 25 cents. The wolf checked his pockets. He had 2 quarters. David went over to the machine and put a quarter into the Pong machine. Once the quarter was in, the screen flickered and it showed to rectangles on opposites ends of the screen. On the top of the screen were score numbers. Right now, they were 0. David noticed that there were circular knobs on the machine. The wolf tuned one of the knobs. The knobs moved the rectangle up and down. The same happened on the other knob. The ball, represented by a small square, floated towards the rectangle. David turned the knobs. The ball hit the paddle. The ball bounced back towards the other paddle. David turned the knob too late. The ball missed the paddle. The first score went from 0 to 1. David started to enjoy it after a while. His friends came up behind him to see the Pong machine. They were surprised at what they saw. David was winning Pong. When Pong was over David turned to see his friends looking at Pong in shock.

"How did you do that?" the panther asked his friend.

"I don't know." David said.

"Let me try." Samuel said.

David gave Samuel a quarter. Samuel played Pong for a little while. Samuel liked it. When Samuel was done, Amy went to play Pong. Eventually everybody in the bar played Pong. The bartender noticed a line forming in the bar and wanted to know what was going on. What he saw surprised him. Tom hadn't expected the machine to be successful. That's how Zootopia was introduced to video games.

Next chapter: Video games become popular in Zootopia, so popular that Atari starts to develop home video game consoles. A guy named Chester Cheetah sells home versions of Pong.