Virtual Table Tennis Finally Gets Rid Of That Expensive Plastic Ball

Virtual Table Tennis Finally Gets Rid Of That Expensive Plastic Ball

How often do you find yourself interested in playing table tennis only to discover that small plastic ball either missing, crushed, or too sticky from a round of Beer Pong to bounce? The Sharper Image has the solution in the form of this $60 Virtual Pong game that projects a ball of light on the walls and ceiling, saving you from having to spend countless pennies replacing that white plastic IRL one.

The game plays out very similar to actual table tennis, except that in this case the table is replaced by three AAA and four AA batteries that power the projector and the included wireless paddles. In theory it sounds like a safer way to play because you're not sending a small projectile careening around a room, but the video embedded below seems to indicate players will be leaping left and right trying to make a shot. So the increased safety is probably dependent on how much energy you want to put into winning—or not.

Original Article at www.gizmodo.com