Autopsy:

This is a mechanical Pong-type game. All of the game play is mechanical, powered by a wind-up timer mechanism. The batteries are only there to light up the single red LED light that represents the ball.

You can actually play the game with no batteries in a bright enough setting.

source: pongmuseum.com

Autopsy:

from Modojo:

Back in the old days, and we’re talking pre-1989, pre-GameBoy. The only way to get your handheld fix was from Nintendo’s Game & Watch games, their innumerable clones, and from the not-quite-so-handheld tabletop games.

These compact video games came around in the late 70′s and all kinds of Western and Eastern toy companies got in on the act. By the early 80′s there was, as was the case with the home videogame sector, a glut of samey games, with not a great deal to differentiate the gameplay on offer. So, how does a company make a product stand out of the crowd? Why, gimmicks, of course!

The Tomytronic games were at the time the ultimate in playground prestige, they cost more than other games, and heck, they were about as future as a 6 year old could get their hands on. You felt like you were Luke Skywalker looking through his crazy space binoculars.

They even came with a neckstrap so that you’d never have to physically put the game down in between bouts, which believe me, when you first got one, you didn’t want to do very often.

source: modojo.com