Rebound (video game)
Development of "Rebound" began in late 1973, as one of several variations they produced in 1974 on the gameplay of the successful "Pong" (1972), Atari's first game and the fourth-ever arcade game. Around the same time, Atari launched Kee Games, a subsidiary meant to produce clone games of Atari's products and act as a competitor in order to expand into more distribution channels in the same region than the industry typically supported. Kee's first game, released in March 1974, was "Spike", a clone of "Rebound", which added a "spike" button to the game that made the paddle jump up and attempt to bounce the ball downwards instead of up. In addition to the base game, Atari sold a conversion kit to convert any Atari two-player "Pong" variant into "Rebound", and in 1977 "Rebound" was included in "Video Olympics" for the Atari 2600, a collection of "Pong" variants.
Rebound (video game)
"Rebound" was developed by Atari, Inc. beginning in late 1973; the final schematics are dated November 31, 1973, and use the code name "Volleyball". 1973 was near the beginning of the start of the arcade game industry; after the success of Atari's "Pong" (1972), the first game by the new company and fourth arcade game ever produced, the nascent industry was largely composed of variations on the concept, called "ball-and-paddle games". While Atari created games with other gameplay types in 1973 and 1974, such as "Space Race" (1973) and "Gran Trak 10" (1974), it also created several "Pong"-like games. "Rebound" was a variation on that theme, featuring controls and gameplay similar to "Pong", with the addition of gravity arcing the ball and both paddles moved to the bottom of the screen. "Rebound" was released by Atari in February 1974, with a release announcement on February 16. Other Atari ball-and-paddle games from 1974 include "Superpong" and "Quadrapong", both of which were variations on the original "Pong" gameplay.