Konami's Ping Pong
Is a 1985 sports video game developed and published by Konami for arcades. It is the first video game to accurately reflect the gameplay of table tennis, as opposed to earlier simplifications like Pong. It was released in Japan in May 1985.
Also recorded as Smash Ping Pong · Smash Table Tennis · Konami's Table Tennis
Konami's Ping Pong
- Date
- 1985
- Publisher
- Konami · Nintendo
- Genre
- table tennis video game
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Documentary summary
Is a 1985 sports video game developed and published by Konami for arcades. It is the first video game to accurately reflect the gameplay of table tennis, as opposed to earlier simplifications like Pong. It was released in Japan in May 1985.
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q6428747 · wikipedia · Konami's Ping Pong
In this article
The object
The object
It was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Famicom Disk System, MSX, and ZX Spectrum.
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Konami's Ping Pong • Developer — Konami • Publisher — Konami Nintendo (FDS) • Released — Arcade'MSX'Famicom Disk System • Genre — Sports • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer • Platforms — Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Famicom Disk System, MSX, ZX Spectrum
Gameplay
Gameplay
• Illustration — Arcade screenshot Konami's Ping Pong can be played singleplayer or multiplayer, using 11 point scoring rules; the first player to attain a score of 11 or higher, leading by two points, wins the game (to a maximum of 14-14, at which moment the next point wins). The player must win the best of two out of three games in order to win the match. The playfield is shown from an isometric perspective with the players displayed as disembodied hands; players placed on the far-side of the table will find hitting the ball is much more difficult, but the player is always positioned on the near side during the single player mode. All the essential moves are represented: forehand, backhand, lob, and smash. The game includes the penguin protagonist from Konami's earlier title Antarctic Adventure on the title screen and as a member of the audience in the game. This penguin would be later be known as Penta. In the introductory animation, a pingpong ball bounces along the table, and finally hits Penta on the head, who appears to faint.
Ports
Ports
In 1985, the game was released by Konami for MSX computers and in 1986, the game was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum by Imagine Software and Doug Burns (credited in game to the pseudonym Bernie Duggs), under the name Ping Pong. Apart from scaled-down graphics and sound due to limited system capabilities, the ports perfectly replicate the arcade gameplay. In 1987, the game was ported to the Famicom Disk System as Smash Ping Pong and published by Nintendo. Nintendo's character Donkey Kong Jr. replaces Konami's Penta in the crowd. Diskun, a Famicom Disk System Mascot, also replaces Pentarou in a title screen.
Identity
Identity
Konami's Ping Pong is classed in the genre table tennis video game. Associated with Japan.
History of the object
Dated record
History of the object
The full dated record · 2 entries
1985
Konami's Ping Pong published.
1985
Konami's Ping Pong is recorded as published in 1985.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- Japan
Reception
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Konami's Ping Pong on their September 1, 1985 issue as being the nineteenth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.
Legacy
Legacy
The game was re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan and the PAL region (the latter got this as an import game under the title Smash Table Tennis). Konami's Ping Pong was made available on Microsoft's Game Room service for its Xbox 360 console and for Windows-based PCs in June 2010. Smash Ping Pong was digitally re-released in Japan only as part of Nintendo Switch Online's Nintendo Classics library in December 2020. Hamster Corporation released the game as part of their Arcade Archives series for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 as Konami's Table Tennis in November 2024.
Context
Primary material
Context
The circumstances in which Konami's Ping Pong stands. Issued for Famicom Disk System. Issued for Commodore 64. Issued for Amstrad CPC. Konami's Ping Pong was issued for ZX Spectrum. Published by Nintendo. Recorded as video game. Developed by Konami.
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
institutional register
- Internet Archive holdings naming Konami's Ping Pong
General reference · Internet Archive
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q6428747: Konami's Ping Pong
General reference · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Konami's Ping Pong”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.スマッシュピンポン (FC)の関連情報 ゲーム・エンタメ最新情報のファミ通.com. www.famitsu.com.
- 2.Akagi, Masumi. アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005). Amusement News Agency. 27. October 13, 2006. 978-4990251215.
- 3.Game review, Crash issue 28, May 1986, page 112
- 4.Amusement Press, Inc. Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos). Game Machine. 267. 25. 1 September 1985.
- 5."General info for: Ping Pong #ID: 3722". Spectrum Computing.
- 6.Nintendo Switch Online NES Update 5.1.0 and SNES Update 2.1.0 patch notes. 18 December 2020.
- 7.Arcade Archives: Konami's Ping Pong comes to Switch Nov. 14th, 2024. November 13, 2024.
- 8.Arcade Archives KONAMI’s TABLE TENNIS. March 19, 2025.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
institutional register
Internet Archive holdings naming Konami's Ping PongInternet Archive
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witnessinstitutional register
Wikidata, structured authority record Q6428747: Konami's Ping PongWikimedia Foundation
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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