Atari Pong reboot contest does not endear

Reboots are rather common – we see it in movies as well as video games, but somehow or rather, some things are not meant to be revisited – the memory of the game should be preserved as it was. Atari recently announced a new $100,000 Pong design contest, and it seems that the rules of the contest has riled the feathers of those would-be participants. Apparently, all rights to any contest entry is given to Atari, never mind if it is the winning entry or otherwise. Read it for yourself below and come to a conclusion.

All Entries become the sole and exclusive property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned,” reads section 6 of the fine print, preceded by, “Sponsor (whether itself or through its affiliates, contractors, vendors, agents or licensees) shall be free to create, develop, produce and publish any interactive game, even if such game is competitive with or substantially similar to any of Eligible Entrant’s actual or proposed Entry, anything to the contrary herein notwithstanding.

Yes sir, Atari’s contest can be said to be an “idea fishing expedition”, milking the public for what they are worth. I am not quite sure how many people with novel ideas on rebooting the Pong game are now willing to participate. Would you?

Edwin Kee
Categories: Gaming
Tags: atari, pong