The world’s smallest video arcade machine entered the record books Tuesday in London.
The tiny machine is the creation of a Fanshawe College student. As a new generation of public school students looked on, a current-generation electro-mechanical engineer prepared to display her innovation.
Her leap forward is a tribute to Pong by Atari, the first widely successful arcade machine.
“I figured would be the easiest to program. I love the style of the classic pong machine, which it is a replica of,” said its creator, Victora Korhonen.
Her version is micro at 63.5 millimetres (2.5 inches) tall by 27.9 millimetres wide.
The measurements are designed to qualify it as the tiniest arcade machine on earth in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Her breakthrough uses a minuscule screen.
“I think it was only about 10 bucks. And then the microcontroller, another $15. So, the whole thing was mainly the cost in time to take a lot of reprints. It took a lot of redesigning over and over and over again,” she said.
Fanshawe College civil engineering professor, Matt Carson as seen on Dec. 10, 2024. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)
The one-player game is fully playable. Using two tiny up and down buttons, gameplay flows much like the original 1972 Pong.
However, the look, down to the cabinet, is not the most important consideration for Guinness.
The machine had to live up to a long list of checks or it would be game over before the record attempt began.
A Fanshawe College civil engineering professor was tapped to ensure everything met requirements.
“They [Guiness] do a good job to ensure it’s fair and measured properly and to ensure it is done in a fair way,” said Matt Carson.
With the checks complete, Korhonen was invited over to view the results. Moments later, the crowd erupted in cheers.
“Oh my Goodnews!” Victoria repeated.
With this achievement, her next Guinness goal is to create the smallest humanoid robot, but the ultimate dream for the 26 year old, who already holds a Guinness record for creating the world’s longest selfie stick, is to create animatronic characters for Disney.
Until then, she is content to perhaps market her Micro-Pong machine despite the fact it is missing a key money-making component found on its larger arcade cousins — a quarter slot.
“It does have a micro spot for a mini quarter to go in,” Victoria laughed.