Crosswalk Pong: Germany May Have Just Found Out How To Eliminate J-Walking, Find Out Why


Pong, the game that most would probably presume has outlived its usefulness in the 21st century, might have finally found new life in Germany. Though, one does not normally associate Germany and Pong, but Bored Panda begs to differ. How you might say?

Integrate the game into a crosswalk. Crosswalks themselves tend to be plagued by a few things. Slow walkers, fast moving cars, and people who would prefer to J-walk to save time.

Students at HAWK University in Germany seem to have single-handedly solved the entire problem with one design, reports Bored Panda. It seems to make sense that the world’s first video game is the first crosswalk game to exist.

According to Global Times, a northern city in Germany is the very first place to have this crosswalk edition of pong. Pong was installed at a crosswalk in the city of Hildesheim.

The game was installed in a German intersection by University of Applied Sciences and Arts students Sandro Engel and Amelie Kunzler. The Global Times describes the set up that the two German college students installed at the Lower Saxony intersection in Hildesheim.

“Small touchscreens attached to posts on either side of the road to allow pedestrians to face off in a version of the classic 1972 arcade game “Pong” while waiting for the walk signal.”

According to Sandro Engel, one of the two German college students who came up with the crosswalk version of Pong, he came up with the idea two years ago. It came to him while waiting at a slow intersection. He also seemed to express that not only was it a way to pass the time, but you also “play with people you haven’t seen before,” which he felt was “cool.”

The German crosswalk pong creators Engel and Kunzel said that the pong variation will remain at the crosswalk for four weeks. The reason for the specific time period is to test if their crosswalk game will continue to captivate crowds, or simply be a flash in the pan.

The mayor of the German town that the students chose to install their pong variation is quite pleased with their crosswalk innovation, and its implementation in his city.

“We are not only very pleased that the innovative idea comes from Hildesheim, but also that it’s also been implemented here first.”

ActiviWait, originally branded StreetPong, had to wait two years for approval to install the devices that run their crosswalk pong. According to ThisisColossal the hope is that it will distract busy pedestrians from darting out into the road.

What are your thoughts? Will this crosswalk installed Pong have its intended public safety effect, or will it fizz out? Would you like to see it at a crosswalk near you?

Leave your thoughts below.

[Images Via ActiWait concept video And PopUP City]

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