I guess anything close to soccer can be considered Pong. But I always considered Rocket League to be the modern-day ball Blazer.
I gather its closest cousin is BallBlazer?
I loved BallBlazer on the Atari 800.
I wouldn't necessarily equate anything soccer related, FIFA for instance isn't similar. Interesting on BallBlazer, I had never seen or played it. Looks vaguely similar in that you hit the ball with a car-like object and try to get it into an opposing goal. RocketLeague had it's own predecessor, not nearly as popular but with a cult following that's named Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars. The cars in RocketLeague particularly remind me of a Pong bar because they are all rectangular shaped (3D cubes) with nearly identical hitboxes and physics etc. making the game outcome dependent solely on how well you can maneuver the car/bar in 3D space.
---steaming pile of meadow muffin---, really that good? Good replay value?
I was debating buying it for the Switch(it was on sale).
I've seen it but never been.
Is it really that much fun?
How many can play at once?
For me, yes it's super fun. I'm not sure the appeal is completely universal (though 40 million players is a good testament) I thought there might be some other RL fans here.
Competitive online play has 4 categories, 3v3 Standard, 2v2 Doubles, 1v1 Solo Duel and 3v3 Solo Standard. Most people play 3v3. The games are only 5 minutes so it's easy to get in a few games here and there quickly. It's super easy to learn but tough to master as you progress and rewards lots of practice. It has great training modes to practice and learn and for online non-competitive modes there are some crazier fun arena's and game types where you battle each other with power ups like a spring loaded boxing gloves or try to make the floor drop out of your opponents side of the arena. They also change up the arenas/aesthetics to make them seasonal and the car toppers, wheels etc. (which are purely aesthetic) are fun. The loot system is wholly optional and doesn't affect your car performance at all. I play it on a PC as well so I can jam tunes while I play.
Definitely give it a try, especially if you can pick it up for cheap!