1972

In November29 1972, Nolan Bushnell and Al Alcorn wheeled a strange apparatus into Andy Capp’s Tavern in Sunnyvale, California USA

The game is called "Pong". A very simple contraption build from some dials, logic modules and connectors for a TV. Pong was the first to combine the critical elements: a simple interface, amusing play and technology that was cheap and easy to manufacture.
A decade after that first coin slot jammed, arcades full of play machines are bringing in $5 billion a year.