1972 1 2 The first video-game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, is released. It allows games to be played on a TV, and includes plastic screen overlays to simulate color graphics. It has no sound effects. Atari releases the first commercially successful arcade video game. Pong is an electronic table-tennis game with a two-dimensional display. It leads to the start of the video-game industry. Three years later, Atari released a home version of Pong that connected to a TV. It was sold only through Sears stores.