| Ping-O-Tronic | |
| Aka: | Zanussi Ping-O-TronicSéleco Ping-O-Tronic |
| Manufacturer: | Zanussi |
| Type: | Dedicated home video game console |
| Generation: | First generation |
| Release Date: | Late 1974 |
| Retail Availability: | Late 1974 |
| Lifespan: | 1974-1983 |
| Price: | Estimated 70.000–130.000 Italian lira (Play-O-Tronic) |
| Units Sold: | (as of 1983) |
| Predecessor: | None |
| Successor: | Play-O-Tronic |
The Ping-O-Tronic (stylized on its logo as ping • o • tronic and also known as Zanussi Ping-O-Tronic or Sèleco Ping-O-Tronic) is a dedicated first-generation home video game console produced by Zanussi, an Italian home appliance company, and released under their Sèleco brand in late-1974 only in Italy.[1] [2] It was the first Italian video game console, excluding Magnavox Odyssey imports and clones.[3]
Ping-O-Tronic came in an orange and white plastic container with a paddles housing. The control logic is based on three 7400 chips. Usable games are only three similar ones: Pong, Squash/Solo and Automatic/Attract. The last one was the only game that did not require players and was used by stores to demonstrate the system without having anyone play it.[4]
There are several versions of the Ping-O-Tronic, marked by the abbreviations PP-1 up to PP-10. Starting from the PP-5, there was a new slot to which an optical gun could be connected to play a new aiming game. This accessory is called Gun-O-Tronic (stylized as gun • o • tronic). The only other known consoles at the time which allowed the user to play aiming games were the Magnavox Odyssey and Philips Tele-Game ES 2201.
On April 21, 1975, Zanussi obtained the license to implement Pong from Sanders Associates.
In 1977, Zanussi produced and sold a new model of a Pong-like console called Play-O-Tronic (stylized as play • o • tronic and also known as Zanussi Play-O-Tronic or Sèleco Play-O-Tronic). Unlike the Ping-O-Tronic, which was built with discrete components, the Play-O-Tronic was built from a single AY-3-8500 chip.[5]
The console was also sold in Germany by German mailorder company Quelle, who sold the console under the name Universum TV Multi-Spiel (stylized as UNIVERSUM TV Multi-Spiel).[6] [7] A built-in power supply comes with the Multi-Spiel.[8]
Zanussi was reported to have sold 21,514 units of the Play-O-Tronic from October 1, 1977 to December 31, 1977 and earned a total of 620,408,000 Italian lira (US$127,782,334), of which 5.5%, 34,122,440 lira (US$7,028,028) went to Sanders Associates.
As of 1983, around 1 million units of both the Ping-O-Tronic and Play-O-Tronic have been sold.[9]