Table Tennis

By Ellie Gibson Published 3 April, 2006

Can Rockstar make Ping Pong cool?

It's hard to know what's more surprising, really. First off, there's the fact that Rockstar's first next-gen game isn't an open world action adventure involving lots of guns, gangsters and girls who'll do all the things you've seen on the Internet for five quid and a bag of chips.

Then there's the fact that said game is based around a sport which is far from trendy and, many people might argue, generally a bit crap. (Although many more people would disagree, but more of that later).

However, what might come as the biggest surprise of all is that Table Tennis is shaping up to be a seriously good game, as we found out when we visited Rockstar for a demo recently.

But before we get into that, let's deal with the issue of why Rockstar has decided to base their first Xbox 360 title around table tennis. The representative who's demoing the game admits that this is "obviously a huge departure for Rockstar," explaining that one of their key aims is "to make table tennis cool, because we love the sport, and since Pong there hasn't been a game that represents it."

It's not just Rockstar who are fans, either; they inform us that table tennis is in fact the most played sport in the world, thanks in large part to its popularity in China. It was the most viewed sport of the 2004 Athens Olympic games, fact fans.

So what's the best way to bring the world's favourite sport to the Xbox 360? Well, by going back to basics and taking your cues from good old Pong, according to Rockstar. In other words, by creating a game that "strips away everything" and is "just about the gameplay, nothing else."

Which is why you won't find any complex player customisation options or the like in Table Tennis. When it comes to modes, you've got four options - Training, Exhibition, which is designed for quick blasts of play and post-pub mucking about, Tournament, which sees you playing through regional, national and eventually global tournaments, and Online.

The details of that last one have yet to be locked down, but Rockstar has confirmed that you'll be able to set up and join in online tournaments via Xbox Live. There will also be a spectator mode so, for example, you can find out who you're due to play next in the tournament and watch how they perform against other opponents.

Need for speed

'Table Tennis' Screenshot 1

Liu Ping demonstrates his trademark pen grip.

There are 11 characters to choose from, and they all have different attributes divided into four categories - Spin, Accuracy, Speed and Power. They also have different playing styles; China's Liu Ping, for example, puts lots of spin on the ball, and uses a pen grip when holding the bat. Mark, who hails from the UK, packs a bit more of a punch and prefers the handshake grip, while Jesper moves extremely slowly but wallops the ball with a huge amount of power.

The female characters - of which there are four - tend to move a bit faster than the blokes, so it's easier for them to return some of the trickier shots. All of the players are fictitious, but their clothing and the table tennis, er, tables are licensed and feature branding from the likes of Adidas, Butterfly and Paddle Palace. All of the characters are individually designed and animated using around 30,000 polygons - that's roughly ten times the number you'd expect for a character in a game on the original Xbox.

But Table Tennis isn't about Adidas logos, character designs or lighting effects (although the lighting really is rather good, by the way, and it's cool how the players get sweat stains on their clothes as matches progress). It's all about the gameplay, bottom line, and the fact that Table Tennis - like all the best sports titles - is easy to get to grips with, but has plenty of scope for spending hours perfecting your technique.

There are two basic shots - top spin and slice - and these alone are enough if you just want to enjoy a bit of basic rallying and point scoring with anyone who's too rubbish at games or drunk to deal with anything more complex.

Depending on which shot you use, the return ball will show a coloured trail - green for top spin and yellow for slice - which indicates what type of spin you've put on it, and gives your opponent the chance to work out which shot is best to hit it back with. You can also determine the amount of spin when serving by releasing the shot button at just the right point.

Spin doctor

'Table Tennis' Screenshot 2

UK player Mark puts rubbish old Tim Henman to shame, and not just because of his lovely big thighs.

Plus you add right or left spin to shots, and pull off what Rockstar calls "dink shots", which neatly drop the ball just over the net. This forces your opponent to lunge forward, which can result in them hitting the ball out when they return.

And finally, there are focus shots - but you can only pull these off when the conditions are right. At the top of the screen, you'll see an 'intensity meter' next to your character's name, which is red at the start of the match. To fill it up, you need to charge your shots by holding buttons down for longer; then the meter will turn yellow and eventually green.

Providing you've at least partly filled up the meter, you can perform focus shots using the right shoulder button. Focus shots are a bit more powerful and easier to hit with precision, since the speed of play is temporarily slowed down.

The intensity meter is also there to change the pace and shake up the playing field. Get your meter green, fill it up enough and you'll go into intense mode - which means your character will move faster, and return shots harder. "So if you're at that point and the other person isn't, you can really get on top of them," Rockstar explains.

"The secret is to try and charge your shots as quickly as possible to get there before the other player."

Things get even more exciting when both players are in this mode - the lights over the crowd will go down and the music will become more intense, which really does pile on the pressure. (Hence Rockstar came back from being five points behind during a deciding match to beat us into submission - nerves of steel are required, and it seems ours are made of cotton wool.)

Smash hits

'Table Tennis' Screenshot 3

Dink shots offer a highly effective and very satisfying way to score one over your opponent.

So those are the basic gameplay mechanics of Table Tennis - but it's more difficult to describe just how much fun it is to play. When you first start playing, there's a temptation to whack balls around as hard and fast as you can, Smash Court Tennis-style. But as you get to grips with the shots and start trying out different moves, it becomes clear that more subtlety and strategic play is required - and there's nothing quite so satisfying as watching the ball you've just hit sail swiftly over the net to just nick the very edge of the table, to much groaning and often swearing from your opponent.

Rockstar explains that down their way, "everybody from the secretary to the sales rep" has been taking part in office tournaments, "and it's been very interesting because we've had a lot of people who've never played games before do very well.

"But while it's easy to pick up and play, it's more difficult to master, which is the beauty of the gameplay - you can have a great rally with someone who's never played before, but then you might get someone who's putting in great spins and using focus shots, and it's a whole new level."

Over the course of the hour or so we spent with the game, it became clear that Rockstar's right about this - and that they were right to put the focus on pure, well-designed gameplay with Table Tennis. No, you can't select what colour sweatbands your character wears, or choose their name, or earn prize money to buy new bats or choose the weather conditions or steal a car and run over a prostitute. But with a game that's this entertaining, this addictive and simply this much fun to play, chances are you won't care.

Yes, Table Tennis does mark a big departure for Rockstar - but judging by what we've seen so far, it's a move in the right direction. Whether or not this game will indeed make ping pong cool remains to be seen, but it certainly makes it fun - and all for under 30 quid.

So what's next? Will Rockstar turn its attention to other unglamorous sports - badminton, perhaps, or curling? Apparently not; they just happen to like this sport in particular. Which, having played and enjoyed Table Tennis, we can't help thinking is a bit of a shame.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (58) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • madcrazy #1 6 years ago

    Surprising, this will probably end up being a mini-game in the next GTA.

  • krudster #2 6 years ago

    Clearly Rockstar never played Konami's awesome Ping Pong if they think it hasn't been represented since Pong.

  • OnlyMe #3 6 years ago

    The closing comment makes it sound like a bad game. Makes it sound like it's a shame Rockstar like Ping Pong.

  • Zero_ #4 6 years ago

    Hey Hey! - Ping Pong still cool! We pay later!

  • BartonFink #5 6 years ago

    Sounds all good to me.

  • UncleLou #6 6 years ago

    I pretty much agree with the conclusion (if I understand it correctly), even if the game will be really, really good, it'll still be a table tennis game. Which is just horribly unexciting.

    Although, judging by the rest of the article, i probably misunderstand it. :)

    /confused
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/06 @ 08:53

  • Scientist #7 6 years ago

    "The closing comment makes it sound like a bad game. Makes it sound like it's a shame Rockstar like Ping Pong."

    No it doesn't. It makes it sound like it is really good and that EG would be glad if Rockstar turned its attention to making other minor sports titles.

  • speedjack #8 6 years ago

    This could be great... A perfect post pub title.

  • UncleLou #9 6 years ago

    I get it now.

    /needs more coffee

  • crashVoodoo #10 6 years ago

    No it doesn't. It makes it sound like it is really good and that EG would be glad if Rockstar turned its attention to making other minor sports titles.

    beat me to it ... +1

  • Machiavel #11 6 years ago

    I'll wait for the Hot Ping Pong crack, unlocking the female players unleashing crack shots using a surprise part of their anatomy.

  • afray #12 6 years ago


    I like ping pong - I used to play it quite a lot at lunchtime in work - but can it make a whole game? Even at "less than £30?"

  • DaM #13 6 years ago

    Why ever not? What's the difference from tennis, apart from scale? I imagine there is much more skill and variety involved too.
    And yes, Konami Ping Pong was ace (I had it on the Spectrum).

  • trousers #14 6 years ago

    Imagine this with the Revolution's controller. Two player over a Nintendo style Live connection would be a bit tasty.

  • wolfen #15 6 years ago

    Dunno. I see table tennis as one of those sports that can only be enjoyed in a real table, but that varies from person to person. However, if this means that Rockstar will try to make Volleyball, Rink hockey and Handball titles, go for it.

  • tonynibbles #16 6 years ago

    Rockstar = w1n

  • Bi50N Verified Head of Global Communications, THQ #17 6 years ago

    My favourite film of recent years is Ping Pong - as a result I am stupidly excited about this game! If only they had the Ping Pong license (although one of the screenshots features a character who looks suspiciously like Dragon)...

    http://www.pingpong-mo vie.com



  • Dizzy #18 6 years ago

    "But with a game that's this entertaining, this addictive and simply this much fun to play, chances are you won't care. "

    Interesting.. I wasn't really watching this game.... but looks like it might have solid gameplay. All good? Hope so...

    >Imagine this with the Revolution's controller

    I have my doubts that the Rev controller will actually be able to keep up with fast moving games like this. I guess E3 will show the possibilities...
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/06 @ 09:59

  • Furbs #19 6 years ago

    frod, do you mean like why people play football?

  • space_ace #20 6 years ago

    how fresh! go for it, r*!

  • Daikon #21 6 years ago

    I'll wait for the Hot Coffee mod to be released for this before handing over my hard earned cash...

  • dr_zoidthrob #22 6 years ago

    There's no Rev version :( (one of my friends is a character artist on it) - it's 360 only.

    I'd still like to see a few actual gameplay shots.

  • hilts #23 6 years ago

    Tennis games are fun and popular, the dynamic isnt too different, although on the face of it it sounds lame, I can see this being popular. Lets hope it becomes a popular live title and has some longevity ( I had top spin on the xbox some time after release and only managed to find one session on live over several months - everyone else was playing Halo 2 evidently)

  • Furbs #24 6 years ago

    ?

  • MaxiSleep #25 6 years ago

    "Imagine this with the Revolution's controller. Two player over a Nintendo style Live connection would be a bit tasty"


    I have no difficulty imagining it. Without the 3d cues that exist in the real world it would be an umitigated disaster, or a complete cheetfest.

    And as for lag.....



  • Furbs #26 6 years ago

    Yeah, they could call it Hypersports or summat.

  • mezzomorto #27 6 years ago

    Seems like a smart move on R*'s part: no only do they manage to sneak in-game corporate advertising in there, but also virtually eliminate any probability of GTAesque "bad press" (but then is there any such thing?) which could risk offending the "mainstream" audience they're obviously hoping to target with this title.

    Sit back and watch the money roll in...

  • PearOfAnguish #28 6 years ago

    I'm not a sports fan but this is a fun game, very easy to pick up and learn. Multiplayer is great.

  • Kiigan #29 6 years ago

    I have no difficulty imagining it. Without the 3d cues that exist in the real world it would be an umitigated disaster, or a complete cheetfest.

    Actually there was some Korean arcade table tennis game at ECTS a few years ago. Can't remember the name but it worked pretty well. Used bats with Revolutionish sensors or some other magic.

  • indotoonster #30 6 years ago

    Can anyone confirm if this is a 360 exclusive, or will it be coming out on current-gen? Believe it or not, this is the first game that is seriously making me consider getting a 360. Everything else has been 'meh' -- with the possible exception of PGR3, but then I'm still happily playing PGR2 anyway!

  • feinry #31 6 years ago

    reminds me a lot Table Tennis in EyeToy: Play2 ^^
    great idea from Rockstar. And how can some people not like Table Tennis?

  • smelly #32 6 years ago

    meh :-)

  • space_ace #33 6 years ago

    are they pulling a rope - like the hitchcock film, which takes place in one room in one take?

  • Tyronne #34 6 years ago

    So not going to bother with this game.

  • amswong #35 6 years ago

    Re: Glitch
    03-Apr-06 09:51:54
    I think this is a great move for R*, its the most played game in the world? the Chinks & Japs will love it, 360 n Live will boom, R* will be rich, everyones a winner.

    Do we really need racial slurs when we're talking about R* releasing a table-tennis game? What's sad is that in general, I agree with your point, but language like that just isn't polite.

  • Artemis_Matsas #36 6 years ago

    Ping Pong on the 360??? that's the killer app that's going to make the difference... NOT

  • BremXJones #37 6 years ago

    Amswong: Beat me too it.

    "Chinks"? Christ, man, don't do it.

    KG

  • The_Aardvark #38 6 years ago

    @Amswong - Well said.

    I'm depressed by the number of people that are dismissing this game just because it's based on Table Tennis.

    If it's well made (which it sounds like it is) it could be a subtle, skillful and bloody exciting two-player game.

    I'd rather have a game that does one thing exceptionally well than a whole load of things badly.

  • smoison #39 6 years ago

    I'm surprised soo many poeple are interested in this.

    I really can't imagine playing a table tennis game on the TV rather then in real life.

    I can't help but think this is gonna be a crappy (but good looking) virtual tennis.

  • Xerx3s #40 6 years ago

    Looks good enough. Perhaps worth to consider buying. Atleast it isnt another crappy chav gangsta game. \0/

  • Carrybagma #41 6 years ago

    Real table-tennis offers better graphics, more moves and a greater variety of opponents than XBOX Live. The resolution is sooo next-gen. Characters are are bit limited (just you), although customisation options are amazing, f'instance - I can wear my pants on my head and select the 'double-buttock' grip! *.

    * Thinks: "Good idea for Razz's Rev games thread."

  • Dizzy #42 6 years ago

    "that's the killer app that's going to make the difference... NOT "

    Welcome to last week when Oblivion hit the scene.

  • Xerx3s #43 6 years ago

    Dont bother dizzy, he just crawled out of his cave. Beware when he starts saying things like: "Gollum!". ;p

  • #44 6 years ago

    so awesome. day 1 purchase

  • smoison #45 6 years ago

    When do we get to see the Badminton game?

  • JonFE #46 6 years ago

    I wonder how many of the negative comments are nothing more than bitterness, because their (P)Sacred Rockstar decided to bring out a decent -not leftovers material - game on the x360...

  • ROCKSTORM #47 6 years ago

    very funny conclusion

  • smelly #48 6 years ago

    As Im apparently a fanboy, I reacon this should get a revo release, or something.

  • Carrybagma #49 6 years ago

    ohhh smelly!

    Take a day off!

  • Artemis_Matsas #50 6 years ago

    Gollum, Gollum...

    You see my precious, i bought the PC version of Oblivion... I don't really think that this kind of games are meant for consoles... yeeees

    Gollum, Gollum

  • miiiguel #51 6 years ago

    Let me tell you guys that most of you are mistaking ping-pong taht is played in bars and at someones homes, and table-tennis, wich is a professional sport in most countries, there's a huge difference. O.k, I'm bragging a bit, as I was a semi-professions table-tennis player, before I went full time sysadmin. Anyway I'm most impressed with this, and it's already pre-ordered at Amazon.
    There's some coments about Oblivion not meant to be played in consoles, I agree it's not to be played at consoles and any other place, BUT in X360 - I bet no-one has a better quality than we "proud X360" users had the moment we inserted the DVD, I bet you PC gamers had a lot of work, and twitching and trying stuff..., to end with a not-so-good overall quality after all (just thinking that you culd have a better "something" to put into those PCI slots, makes you wonder, right ?, I know I've been there...).

  • Artemis_Matsas #52 6 years ago

    Guys, i'm NOT trying to say that the 360 is not a great console... IT IS!

    I'm only expressing my personal opinion about games like Oblivion on consoles. They may be great, but i think that they work only if you can occupy the TV for hours without anyone busting your balls. Try it with a wife and a kid, and we'll see.
    Also, i'm not too convinced that the 360 controller is built for this stuff. I still prefer my trusty keyboard-mouse combo and my nice PC for this particular category of games, thank you very much.

  • Smugglarn #53 6 years ago

    Screw China and the UK - are there Swedish players in the game? If not - WHY NOT?

    Jan-Ove Waldner is a legend in China - R*'s target marketplace.

    :)

  • Talha #54 6 years ago

    Table Tennis (and Ping Pong) is played at loved by millions, maybe billions, around the world. I am personally a fan (though not very good at it), and I salute Rockstar for taking this up.

    My only concern is that since the real-life version is very accessible and relatively inexpensive (in contrast to, say, football or skiing), how much appeal will be there in the virtual version. Only time will tell, I guess.

  • miiiguel #55 6 years ago

    As I said before, I've been away from THE game from a while, but as far as I know in the mid 90's swedish were on top of the world, but nowdays China (because of the upcoming Olympics, I guess) are coming back big time. Most of them left the pen-hadling type approach and are using the "European" and more modern one, with a lot of success. But I must agree, that not including a swedish player is silly, they are good!
    Edited by 1 at 05/04/06 @ 14:01

  • Lubey #56 6 years ago

    I want a 360 just for this game :/

  • NthSimulachum #57 6 years ago

    This is more like it. A game where they actually try to just make a simple game fun. rather than yet another add on pack to GTA3. Not saying such innovation is pointless, but this is one of the few xbox 360 games I'm exited about.

  • Mauve #58 6 years ago

    I could imagine that this is Rockstar's attempt to offset the ever-present criticism of the GTA series (massively increased by the San An Hot Coffee fiasco) by producing an uncontroversial sports game.

    They can therefore be seen to have wider interests than the heinous crimes of murder and carjacking and having sex with their girlfriends.

    Or perhaps this is a graphics and physics demo for the GTA4 engine? :)

  • dmigsy #59 6 years ago

    Anyone know what perspective it's played from ie; first/third person?