Tennis for Two - The Original Video Game

Tennis for Two is commonly regarded as the original video game. You can bounce on over and read, watch, listen and play the history of Tennis for Two at my video game history website The Dot Eaters: thedoteaters.c...
Designed by William Higinbotham in 1958 at Brookhaven National Labs on Long Island, NY, This video features a reproduced version of Tennis for Two built at Brookhaven using original components, for its 50th anniversary.
Facebook 🕹️ / thedoteaters
Twitter 🕹️ / doteaters
KZbin 🕹️ / umma6umma
Pinterest 🕹️ / thedoteaters
~-~~-~~~-~~-~
View the goofy glitch that makes playing Access Software's classic game Leader Board Golf so much fun:
• The Goofy Island Glitc...
~-~~-~~~-~~-~

[@doteaters]

I'm still active cranking out retro game videos. Here's a classic arcade game playlist if anyone wants to watch: kzbin.info/aero/PL8395DBBA914F9218 Or a general retro game playlist if anyone has a few hours to burn. Just play it in the background and take a peek now and then ;) kzbin.info/aero/PL29Nw7At9Gp0CfAhZ1sibVsAAFsGwFc2K

[@alpharazordx1798]

even after Years u are still active!!!!!!!!!

[@doteaters]

@@alpharazordx1798 Still crazy after all these years.

[@Warrior_478]

William Hunter is this the first gameplay video ???

[@doteaters]

@@Warrior_478 This video features a replica of the original game, recorded in the 80s. Lots of people define earlier systems as video games as well, including CRT Amusement Device made in 1947, and Naughts & Crosses, done on a UK computer in 1952.

[@Warrior_478]

@@doteaters og, u r still online even after 13 years

[@spunkflunk]

heard they are releasing dlc for this

[@ΠΣ2]

Just came out today, turned into a full on sequel. tennis for three.

[@JulianR2JG]

(I know it's a joke but, the first thing to have DLCs was the Dreamcast in 1998. Ok now you can kill me)

[@BrandonW95]

@@JulianR2JG I will do what I must. *R/WHOOOSH*

[@Fragmaster_tito]

Don’t you mean pong

[@xxmayhemxx6662]

Did it come out yet

[@Ponynstuff320]

Even though this is a super old game, the movement of the graphics was really impressive. I actually want to play this...

[@Kizylle]

I'm pretty sure it's all just behind the screen and the only graphic part about it is the line behind the ball

[@Ponynstuff320]

Jecoconono I'm not a military technician, so I guess it just makes it all interesting to me.

[@Kizylle]

***** all i'm saying is that its not actual graphics its just glowy parts behind a screen and the ball is being tracked to draw a line behind it

[@VeNuS2910]

that's why im thinking this vid cnt b real.

[@sallydorth648]

It is

[@hidde1626]

Not going to lie, those game physics are actually pretty good.

[@benzayb13]

That's because the computer used there is also used in computing ballistic missle trajectories. I know it's very late

[@thatguy7155]

@@benzayb13 Thank god they used it to play tennis instead

[@benzayb13]

@@thatguy7155 lol u got that right

[@spingleboygle]

@@benzayb13 imagine casually playing tennis and accidentally compute a ballistic missile trajectory

[@lazerpeabody8062]

@@spingleboygle ooh shit that would be terrifying I’d be freaking out in the base going “ the hell is your problem we’re are doomed soon and all you can do is play video tennis’s ahhhh.”

[@MichaelMikey320]

This just makes me sit in wonder and think about how far we've come.

[@CacaFartin]

The same thing

[@nesirsitsir]

+Michael Mikey 2 seconds before I read this comment I said out loud "oh how far we've come"

[@DanZhukovin]

+Michael Mikey Lol but we still published minecraft

[@bruh-fw7op]

James Bone lol

[@EuroNewsOppositionexit00]

100 years ago people thought you can jump from moon to earth because moon seems to be falt and high...😮 200 years ago you could walk faster than cars. 300 years ago there was no electricity 400 years ago you thought earth is flat now you can put supercomputer in your pocket, travel around world less than one day you can own car you can get food in fastfood places fews years from now you can go to hotel in space

[@masonhhoffman]

Looks like the Switch has some competition.

[@monicamendez4830]

Mason Hoffman ROASTED

[@barbaramcelroy2317]

@@monicamendez4830 thats what kids say...

[@laupoke]

@@pantstime4529 pOnG wAs bEttEr tHaN fOrtNiTe

[@vicviper9413]

That's a pretty smooth framerate for a 60 year old game.

[@lazyll_]

imagine having a higher frame rate in a 60-year-old game than in a modern, high-graphics title like Cod

[@dxizzxy3513]

@@lazyll_ the difference is COD is more advanced of a game and has more to process. This tennis game has way less. It’s a few lights.

[@genericyoutubeusername6462]

@@dxizzxy3513 ...? graphics is advanced? quite literally.. ballistic physics equations here

[@speggiman]

It's an oscilloscope,ofc it moves like that

[@TheApol93]

@@genericyoutubeusername6462 Ballistic physics equations are really not complicated.

[@spacewaffles3254]

can't wait for pong to come out so much hype

[@youngelink4200]

I know, Right?

[@theobserver4214]

youngelink4200 Those games suck! Computer Space is where it’s at.

[@johnny0821]

@@theobserver4214 pfft. What about maze war?! That's the real future!

[@2001CuisinartToasterr]

I been playing pong it was worth the wait

[@user-lj1ve4ml1t]

This game better be good I cannot wait for the game the trailer looks amazing I can't wait to play with my friends

[@TheOtherLioyd]

It actually seems to have aged pretty damn well. It's simple and precision-based; that sort of gameplay tends to last.

[@misteroof]

This is like Pong's forgotten older sibling.

[@ruler_of_everything]

oxo is their elder grandpa

[@donichiro]

@@ruler_of_everything oxo what?

[@rdo29-q6l]

@@donichiro OXO Was The Real First Video Game, It Was Made Back In 1952, And Was Basically A Digital Version Of Tic-Tac-Toe, Basically, Tennis For Two Is The 2nd Video Game Ever Made, OXO Is The Real First Video Game Ever Made

[@donichiro]

@@rdo29-q6l oh ok

[@otm1246]

@@rdo29-q6l Actually Bertie the Brain in 1950 was a thing before OXO (Bertie the Brain was just for a Canadian exposition and got removed soon after), but the Cathode-Ray tube amusement device being the oldest made back in 1947.

[@PapaSmurf320]

I'm impressed by the fact it actually uses legitimate physics, some games today don't have that

[@NikodAnimations]

It was on a computer made to calculate the trajectory of ballistic missiles

[@Luis_Facil]

They should remaster it

[@doteaters]

They did. It was called Mario Tennis Aces. ;)

[@Luis_Facil]

@@doteaters it was a joke

[@doteaters]

@@Luis_Facil so was that.

[@Luis_Facil]

@@doteaters what!?!??!!!

[@doteaters]

@@Luis_Facil You said they should remaster it. I say they did, it was called Mario Aces. You said it was a joke. I said so was that.

[@thatoneguy9549]

Man, the slow fade on the tail is really pleasing to the eye.

[@connorpaulsen4414]

this actually looks like a fun game.

[@typicalrobloxplayer8653]

im still AMAZED by how videogames evolved from an electric instrument to litral graphics designing machines

[@moisesnunez7096]

where it all started

[@splattt8088]

Moises Nunez no, this is the first full on video game, but the first video game code was written in 1948, nothing at the time could run it though

[@seweeslide9840]

Splattt808 what was it about?

[@MrMarsFargo]

​@@seweeslide9840 "Turochamp" by Alan Turing, who invented the computer and considered by many, including myself, quite possibly the most intelligent person that ever lived. His brain was superhuman. It's much more than just a chess engine though. The way Turing designed it was he played a game of chess with a fellow programmer at his facility that lasted a few weeks. The reason was so that Turing could mathematically calculate the best move to retaliate against your opponent. It would take him between 15 minutes to a half hour for him to calculate the move, using pencil and paper in a separate room. Then, when he built Turochamp, he programmed the computer opponent to possess all the calculations Turing had made; thus being able to calculate from whatever you do the strategically best solution. It replicates the exact moves he would have made to your moves. So what makes it so much better than other Chess engines is you're not playing against some computer... You're playing against Alan Turing. The most intelligent opponent of all time.

[@handsomebrick]

@@MrMarsFargo Alan Turing didn't invent the computer. Depending on how you see it, it was either Joseph Jacquard (who invented a mechanism which could automatically read and execute instructions written in binary), Charles Babbage (who adapted this mechanism to perform mathematical calculations and theorized that a similar device could run computer programs), Konrad Zuse (who invented the first device capable of running computer programs), Jack Kilby (who invented the microchip), or Federico Faggin (who designed the first practical microchip).

[@MrMarsFargo]

@@handsomebrick Right, but he did program the first video game. I don't where this myth nothing could run it at the time came from, that isn't true. He ran it, he just couldn't run it the same way its run on modern computers. He had to manually input codes to get an outputted instruction for a move, versus now where the computer just inputs those codes to make moves automatically.

[@koolaid33]

"Captain, how did we let that torpedo hit us!?" "Because Jimmy on the radar was using it for videogames!"

[@doteaters]

That's like the air traffic controllers playing Atari Basketball in Airplane!

[@GuitarLessonsBobbyCrispy]

Still way better than Medal of Honor: Warfighter

[@ashskullz]

Still better than fortnite

[@pressplayproductions1040]

With this one, at least you don't have to buy V-bucks!

[@justabadplaya215]

ahs Every game > fortnite

[@williamckinley]

ash, every game is better than fortnite.

[@potat0424]

@NostalgicGamer9507 why you have Fortnite pic?

[@user-gw9zh1it4b]

@NostalgicGamer9507 fucking sad child

[@dadrumma8608]

Still a better love story than Twilight.

[@FyjerStorm]

+Da Drumma ha ha lol

[@WALDENSOFTWARE]

Twilight of the Gods

[@TheInkPitOx]

Anything is better than Twilight

[@MsJoshisfat]

sounds so pleasing to the ears

[@PearangeProductions]

This is how the awesomeness all started. I love it!

[@SuperWiiBros08]

For being the first videogame ever it amazes me how it has very advanced physics and visual effects that were impossible for many retro games (I'm pretty sure the components used make these graphics easily possible and is probably based on real physical moving pieces getting visualized into the screen)

[@Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu01]

why isn't it on steam?

[@shasta4501]

+I'm Blue™Spacewar! is on Steam.

[@bon2yan88]

not anymore just checked it

[@Fredboy]

I'm Blue™ I

[@byron-mitchell]

I'm not exactly sure but I believe the patient is having a heart attack

[@commanderjnm2008]

This game (albeit uber-simplistic) still has a better storyline than most Hollywood movies today. :P

[@NikodAnimations]

The storyline is real life :)

[@coreygraft799]

With the analog clicks and pops, this is the most mesmerizing thing I've watched in a while. 10/10

[@Jesus_Onee]

It is impressive how technology has advanced a lot in the area of video games, from going from a simple game to a game that more or less confuses you with reality 😯

[@doteaters]

What a long, strange trip it's been. While the game itself is dated (literally and figuratively), I always think "From this to Red Dead Redemption II".

[@jinn._]

Can I run this game on my PC my specs: GPU:none Keyboard:pizza box Vram:3b OS:windows 95 Ram:10 KB monitor stuffed with moldy potato Speakers: Beehive stuffed with honey and 2 dead bees inside it

[@doteaters]

Add a paper tape reader to that and you've got it.

[@Theavragegamer1998]

William Hunter dude you have had this channel for a long ass time

[@doteaters]

Indeed

[@-_-catlover-_-4857]

William Hunter DJDJDJSJSKSDKDKELWPWLQQPQ AAAAAAA

[@mariotubegr]

ignorant................

[@Mitche23]

Before this 1947: Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device 1947-1958: Chess(Allan Turing) 1951: Nim 1952: OXO / Noughts and Crosses (Tic-Tac-Toe)

[@EndlessPsychoCycleOfDeath]

Nim is upgraded version of the game "Nimatron" Nimatron - is the first video game ever! (1940)

[@EndlessPsychoCycleOfDeath]

Nimatron (1939)

[@cool2467385]

Still better than cod.

[@عمرالعازمي-س1ز]

BOBBYS BOYS lol

[@hardtodescribe7628]

The Original Video Game > BF > COD

[@galaxydiamond6758]

Are you kidding me?

[@CloroxBleach-io3of]

R/woosh

[@gamingcomics9711]

BOBBYS BOYS true lol

[@Hologhoul]

Fantastic. Fascinating, and eerie - this needs to be in a Boards of Canada video!

[@twdneganfan4725]

Man takes our old viewers back

[@zvezdasampion382]

Still better than Infinite Warfare

[@ethant1372]

Rogati omg lol 😂

[@indigenoustruthspeaker3129]

That i can agree on that Tennis for two the first original classic video game 💚🕹🎮💚💚💚💚🕹🎮💚💚💚💚🕹🎮💚💚💚💚🕹🎮💚💚💚

[@Urdangarin-lb1rj]

1958: just a project 2024: just one of the successful, popular and wealthy industries in the planet

[@doteaters]

What a long, strange trip it's been.

[@elfspiros1]

GOTY 1958😛

[@obitwokenobi9808]

Ancient history, brothers. Look how far we've come.

[@game-sheriff]

Would you believe this was made as an escapism from reality?

[@trevorphillips8415]

The father of video games.

[@julianperez-ch6wx]

this is one of the first videos here and its footage of the first video game.

[@vancefr]

Dam, 2022 E3 lookin' sick af.

[@airbornegomez]

Thank you so much for your wonderful creation, Thomas Goldsmith, Jr.! You helped revolutionized the world of entertainment!

[@FaresMason]

Still better than Fallout 76

[@WALDENSOFTWARE]

I can't wait till Tennis For 3 comes out.

[@fluffbutt1]

I demand a sequel to this game

[@doteaters]

In effect, this WAS a sequel... or at least a reboot. This video features a reconstruction of the original Tennis for Two, done at BNL on the what I remember as the 40th anniversary of the game.

[@miguellourenco2040]

this was reproduced in p.e class in brazil

[@Joseph-lp8of]

That looks fun

[@guest19901990]

So William Hunter. Tennis for Two was the ancestor of all the video game industry....right?

[@imanbio]

I am almost sure the first video game was Doom 2

[@doteaters]

Ha, good one. I'm sure that an entire generation of people think that's true.

[@Allanmax1000]

Lol

[@frostyfire3102]

***** yeah the first video game that actually didn't suck

[@axylis7132]

before watching this vid,i thought that the first video game was pac-man

[@airbornegomez]

Bro, now that was funny!!!!!

[@indumatipngtuber2790]

This is really impressive for the first video game ever made. Dang. I could imagine this being on steam right now, or being made into a modern competitive game.

[@pingaslord9149]

better than COD Ghosts.

[@agl_minion5487]

Hell Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!

[@hardtodescribe7628]

Yeah

[@butteweippe]

Runs at 60fps and has simple yet engaging gameplay. How does this 65 year old video game run better than some modern games released in recent years?

[@THE_VictoryPictures]

Me watching this after seeing Ahoy's one hour long documentary on the first video game: Yeaaaahhhhh, I'm going to need to do some explaining...

[@zebraz3839]

Sounds satisfying

[@ip2design]

So impressive. This guy was a genius !

[@Ndo01]

The physics on this is impressive. Didn't see anything else like that until years later.

[@ilEagle3696]

this unironically looks very fun

[@doteaters]

The most fun you can have on an oscilloscope.

[@oyamatoayei4497]

Still waiting for the dlc

[@synnek_music]

still better then PS4

[@Nipponing]

Wizzy Gamer than*

[@synnek_music]

Thanks :D

[@operationd--msday]

*xbone Cuck

[@Nipponing]

Cole Beshwate No.

[@operationd--msday]

***** Yes. Fucking weeb

[@epikplayer3374]

Brooo this game looks fire cant wait for the release!

[@nutcracker7736]

Man, the nostalgia.

[@bigsmoke2608]

I've watched this ten times now its just amazing

[@handsomebrick]

Seriously, I bet if they had made a nice cabinet for this game with a coin acceptor and put it in bars back then, it would have been huge.

[@deadeyedarwin]

It would have cost more than it was worth.

[@tody3233]

i cant belive that a 1947 game has a wireless controller

[@splattt8088]

I'm hungry the game itself was originally made in 1958 and what you're seeing is a recreation from, I believe, 1983

[@doteaters]

The dial on the controller turns to adjust the angle the ball will take, and pushing it knocks the ball back, so it's pretty much a matter of angle and timing.

[@stevenkral4782]

The first arcade game had the best sound effects for tennis

[@GuninGames]

this was confirmed to be the very first video game in history, the device was made in 1958 but was a prototype, it wasn't until 1970 that it was made into a public game known, as Pong, then in 1975 Atari 2600 was made and that was the beginning of what is now one of the best forms of entertainment to this day

[@Lukihim]

wow, ultra realistic graphics, few computers run this game at more than 60 FPS

[@buzzbang9164]

the best resolution until now

[@TheMalevomitOne]

Even if the graphics and gameplay are "godawful" by today's standards, I wish to play it.

[@doteaters]

Yep, even playing a replica using the original equipment would be an amazing brush with video game history.

[@doteaters]

No paddles, you just push the button to knock the ball back at the right time, at the correct angle, which you turn the dial to adjust.

[@stevenpacheco1002]

Whatever the purpose is I wanna play it!

[@diceb0mb]

it's just a little game where you go around a court hitting little lights (supposed to represent tennis balls). But I want to play it too!

[@TankTheMouse]

The Legend was born

[@BUGJACKDB]

una gran pieza de historia!

[@holyroller67]

0:46 Oooo,you got some veryyy complicated stuff there bro...

[@chiefkeefsson]

Great graphics! Whens the release date?

[@ianduffy7756]

Late 2020

[@ananas4064]

i heard they make a dlc of it naned:1 more ball boooiii

[@getthismanshavingkitorgett1428]

@Braydon The Gorilla r/woosh

[@ContentChurros-dp9br]

1959 - 1949 kids : this soo nostalgic

[@wannathrustshigoku-san3550]

I thought half - life 3 was a first game.

[@doteaters]

Heh heh.

[@brigganthewolf1461]

the first game was released in 1952! this is 1958!

[@deadpool-fl3ez]

half-life 3 isn't even out yet

[@keiandreodoms5033]

+therarehuskyGT S50 (thehuskygamer07 V4) this game right here is called the cathode ray tube game it came out in 1947

[@seattleskeleton9195]

That was never made.

[@doteaters]

The way it works, is the button bats the ball back towards your opponent, and the dial increases or decreases the angle of the return.

[@JoaoGabriel-td7qk]

Super idol

[@faultboy]

I knew I would see some ahoy fans down here.

[@Lancehendrix813]

And were not even 100 years into games yet and its already spectacular Imagine 200 years!

[@guest19901990]

My favorite classic Video game Meter-O-Rama Fortnite: 21% Crash Bandicoot: 50% Tennis for Two and Pong series%90 Kao The Kangaroo *%100*

[@doteaters]

That's a pretty accurate ranking.

[@itz_edu4rdo23_yt]

Graphics: 10/10 enough for a oscilloscope Gameplay: 10/10 Easy to play, perfect ball physics Overall: 20/10 better than CS:GO

[@EndlessPsychoCycleOfDeath]

It's better than anything

[@b.sabbathh6904]

Better Than PS4

[@ag23415]

It blows my mind from how we went from this to Super Mario Odyssey.

[@Kaefer1973]

Yes, the degeneration of the medium is quite depressing. But ther's still some good games out there.

[@WilfredCthulu]

The original video game was actually the Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device.

[@Faren_]

That's not a video game, it's an electronic game.

[@stevestevens9770]

Aka toy

[@HackingAtLife]

Yeah but the CRTAD was still a game so yes it is the worlds first game?

[@johnathanclark79]

That's what it is!

[@Nipponing]

Wilfred Cthulu I'm trying to find footage of it but from what I can read about it, it is not a video game nor digital game and thus you're wrong.

[@daviddimalanta259]

Oh shit...the best HD graphics reso and physics in this primitive videogame I've ever seen...videogame fan here.

[@derekstiles4865]

I wonder how 1940's kids would react if we could travel back in time and show them Wii Sports...

[@agl_minion5487]

they would think u an alien :3

[@bigsmoke2608]

Derek Stiles oh my god yes

[@MsPaintMr]

They’d be more concerned with the bombs dropping on their heads.

[@dennisthechemist4413]

Thank you for this, I can hear now and 'get' what Andrew Ervin meant in his book as he lauded the sound of playing this device

[@GambleRogersYesJustinBieberNo]

Better than Fortnite

[@OneVision93]

I love the sound of the buttons!

[@scrabs6647]

Ever heard of OXO? What about draughts?

[@robertcherman]

My uncle was nerdy guy, and so was I. And, I always hung out with him. He had a motorhome camper that he turned into a technology room. He had computers in there, a HAMM radio. This was in the 80's. He had an oscilloscope and a controller. Played Tennis for two, and some type of top shooter game. He only had one controller, and you could play two players. So, the other person had to use the wire terminals as a joystick. You had to move the wire terminals near each other to move around, but once you touched the terminals; that was like touching the button. It's been so long I can't remember completely I was 7 to 13 years old. I remember you had to push the terminals together, but you had to do it at the right speed. I think there was a couple other games too, but you put a plastic sheet with the game design over the screen.

[@doteaters]

Sounds pretty amazing. The last game you mention sounds like the Magnavox Odyssey: thedoteaters.com/?bitstory=bitstory-article-1/odyssey

[@preciousjointer1413]

So this is where gaming started. We really have evolved

[@glitchmeisterz3947]

this shit was physics based most games now cant even get that right

[@nuramirahbintiismail3764]

if this was never made games would never exist what a legend who ever made this

[@Kaefer1973]

The person who made this also worked on the first Nuclear Bomb and later was than an activist trying to prevent further nuclear Warfare, he was a bit perplexed when people decided this is what he will be remembered for.

[@brockramsay5815]

is it just me or does it seem like you could play that for hours and never get bored

[@sharkyboy6711]

Bro the graphics are just like real life🤯

[@ParodyAccount_]

& there's still no remake of this game yet?!

[@doteaters]

They made a couple. Here's one: s13.postimg.org/4c65srss7/TE2013_023.png ;)

[@rihardsrozans6920]

William Hunter Shitty graphics, looks pixelated.

[@Darrylb500]

Wow, thanks for posting, I had never seen this one before! What a racket to play! (Uh, pardon the pun...)

[@deadeyedarwin]

I have nothing to add, I just wanted to reply to a thirteen year old comment.

[@Waterford1992]

Doesn't look half as tedious as COD