Everyone else around here is doing something cool that has to do with gaming to add to the site. Soera has his Master System reviews thread, Flea has his old-school console reviews, and Turf has his game-hunt videos. So I thought I'd do a little something. This is what I call, "A Short History of Video Games".
I'm going by my personal knowledge I have acquired reading multiple books and watching interviews on the subject and such. Used Wikipedia a little to double-check facts. Though, I probably made a few mistakes, still.
This is from an American point-of-view of video games, and obviously a lot of smaller companies and consoles were omitted, here.
A Timeline of Video Game History
⦁ 1889 - Nintendo is founded as a Japanese playing-card company. It later expands into other games, children's toys, and eventually, of course, video games.
⦁ 1931 - "Coin-operated" games such as gun-shooting games and pinball hit the arcade-scene.
⦁ 1940 - Sega, which is shortened for "Service Games", is founded as an arcade game manufacturer for overseas American servicemen. It is originally an American company before being sold years later to a Japanese company.
⦁ 1946 - Sony is originally founded as an electronics store in Japan, post-WWII. It later grows into an electronics manufacturer.
⦁ 1958 - William Higginbotham creates Tennis For Two on a radar screen, which is an analog game (which somehow doesn't qualify it for first "official" video game, don't ask me why.)
⦁ 1962 - Steve "Slug" Russell creates the world's first "official" video game called "Spacewar!" on the PDP-1 mainframe computer, in order to originally show off the state-of-the-art monitor. It becomes a hit at Universities. Pong and Atari 2600 creator Nolan Bushnell is rumored to have been seen at a presentation of this mainframe computer and game.
⦁ 1971 - The world's first arcade video game, "Computer Space", is created by a young entreprenuer named Nolan Bushnell. The game is very similar to Steve Russell's "Spacewar!". It turns out to be a commercial flop.
⦁ 1972 - Pong is released to bars and arcades across America and officially marks the beginning of the first video game boom. Also released by Nolan Bushnell, and his company now named, "Atari". And programmed by Al Alcorn, which may be a familiar name to some older computer geeks.
The world's first home video console, The Magnavox Odyssey, is released to the United States (a year later to the rest of the world). Created by Ralph Baer (also famous for creating the "Simon Says" electronic game). It has very crude graphics and gameplay and uses screen overlays and accesories such as cards and dice to enhance the games. The default game is eerily similar to Nolan Bushnell's Pong. And according to most accounts, Ralph Baer had a prototype of this console he shopped around to other companies first, for years. A settlement is agreed upon by both parties outside of court.
⦁ 1974 - The Altair 8800 is released, making it the first "personal computer" to be released to the general U.S. public. But it is released as a build-it-yourself model, limiting it to a then very limited market of hobbyists and career technicians.
⦁ 1975 - A home version of Atari's Pong is released. Soon after, literally 100s of Pong-clone consoles flood the market made by any company with even a passing interest in electronics or games.
Microsoft is founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
⦁ 1976 - The Fairchild Channel F home console is released. This marks the first time a home console is able to play interchangable games. (The Magnavox Odyssey had different "game cards", but they essentially just altered the programming of one built-in game rather than them being actual different games.)
⦁ 1977 - The Atari VCS, which would become better known as the Atari 2600 is released to the U.S. (a year later in the rest of the world). It's a sales dud at first, at least until Space Invaders is released, which then makes it an unprecedented success and household name. (Space Invaders becomes home consoles' first "killer app".) Many revisions of the console would be released until it officially is retired in 1992 a full 15 years later. It still has independent and homebrew developers making games for it's library, unbelievably, even spawning a release in the popular Halo series.
The Apple II personal computer is released. This is the first commerically successful PC released to the general U.S. public and many revisions of this computer are released through the years being in general use well into the 80s.
Nintendo releases the Color-Game 6 exclusively to Japan. This is nothing more than a Pong-clone with game variations, but marks Nintendo's first-foray into the video game market.
⦁ 1978 - Space Invaders is released to arcades across the world by Taito. Becoming the highest-grossing arcade game released up until that point. It is so popular in Japan, it causes a nationwide coin-shortage.
The Magnavox Odyssey 2 home console is released. This time it plays real, interchangable cartridges. This marks the last time Magnavox, the maker of the world's first console, releases a home console. In-between this console and their first one, they did release a number of Pong-clone consoles.
⦁ 1979 - The world's first handheld game system is released by Milton-Bradley: The LCD-based Microvision. It's game cartridges, strangely enough, also act as faceplates to the system itself.
Atari releases it's first home computers: The Atari 800 and it's bargain-priced little brother the Atari 400.
⦁ 1980 - Pac-Man is released to arcades across the world by Namco and Pac-Fever hits. Pac-Man becomes the first major video game icon.
The Intellivision home console is released, becoming Atari 2600's first major competition in the home console market. It is technically and graphically superior to the Atari 2600. This marks the first so-called console war. This could be seen in the commercials which aired across America comparing screenshots of games from the two consoles to showcase Intellivision's capabilities; or Atari's commercials boasting it's larger library of games.
⦁ 1980 - Nintendo releases it's first Game & Watch handheld game, Ball (also known as "Toss-Up"). These are individual, LCD-based handheld games. Their asthetic design, however, is later used by Nintendo in their NES controllers, in the Game Boy handheld, and in the DS clamshell design. Many more are released through the decade and even up into the 90s. These were originally the idea of Game Boy creator Gunpei Yokoi.
Rogue is released for computers, an early RPG that is so popular it spawns it's own genre dubbed "Rogue-likes".
⦁ 1981 - Donkey Kong is released to arcades across the world by Nintendo and gives Pac-Man a run for his money. It also introduces the world to Mario, then known simply as "Jump Man", who will make a bigger impact to video games in a few years. It is created by a young Japanese programmer, Shigeru Miyamoto, who goes on to also create Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda.
⦁ 1982 - The ColecoVision home console is released. This marks the first time a home console could replicate, or at least come close to, replicating arcade-level graphics.
The Vectrex is also released, which, to date, is the only home console to replicate authentic, arcade-vector graphics with it's own built-in monitor. The system also used screen overlays to simulate color and add graphics.
⦁ 1982 - The popular Commodore 64 computer is released.
Atari releases the Atari 5200 home console, it's successor to the Atari 2600. It is technically superior, with fantastic arcade-ports; but still does not meet Atari's sales goals. Many consumers opt not to buy the system due to the lack of backwards compatibility with Atari 2600 cartridges.
⦁ 1983 - Dragon's Lair is released to the arcades, which has jaw-dropping, fully hand-drawn, animated graphics. The game runs on then, state-of-the-art, LaserDisc technology.
The video game crash hits the U.S. Home console and game sales plummet. Many retailers even refuse to carry them during this period. The market had become too bloated with mediocre merchandise. It was rumored for years that Atari had so much unsold merchandise that they buried it in a landfill in New Mexico, which has recently been unearthed and proven to be true. Arcades are also hit hard in the U.S. during this period. Two games in particular are pointed to as representative of mediocre game quality and over-production of the era: E.T. and Pac-Man both for the Atari 2600.
In Japan the video game crash doesn't exist and Nintendo releases the Famicom, which is a smashing success. This is the system that the American Nintendo Entertainment System, released in 1985, would be based on.
Sega also releases their first home console exclusively to Japan; the Sega SG-1000. It is also a success for Sega.
⦁ 1984 - The Macintosh personal computer is released by Apple. It is a smashing-success and simplifies user-interfaces forever; making computers more-user friendly and accessible.
Tetris is first released to the Commodore 64 computer. It goes on to be released on a number of consoles and platforms and becomes the single highest-selling video game of all-time. It originally had to be smuggled out of the then Communist Soviet Union by it's creator.
⦁ 1985 - The Nintendo Entertainment System is released in the U.S., marking the end of the U.S. video game crash. Super Mario Bros. is released as a pack-in game with the system, a move that would ensure the system's success and forever cement Mario as a video game icon who is still prominent to this day. A smaller, top-loading model would be released later.
The first version of Microsoft Windows operation system is released for PCs, making a platform that was compatible across many different computer platforms, making PCs even more user-friendly and accessible.
Quantum Link also becomes available to Commodore 64 users in the U.S. and Canada. This is the first publically available internet service and did allow for some networked games. It used 300-2400 baud speed modems. Quantum Link goes on to become the better known "America Online" in the 90s and today.
⦁ 1986 - Sega releases the Master System worldwide, becoming the Nintendo Entertainment System's main competitor in the market. However Sega's Master System does little to sway the NES's dominance over the home console market in the U.S. Worldwide, however, it is a huge success for Sega. A budget-model would later be released, known as the Master System II, which would drop the "Sega Card" functionality.
Atari releases the Atari 7800 home console to abysmal sales. It was originally developed in 1983, but due to the U.S. video game crash, was shelved. Then was re-released after the success of the NES, but hardly could put a dent in the NES's stranglehold on the market.
⦁ 1988 - NEC releases the CD-attachment for it's PC-Engine console (better known as the TurboGrafx-16 in the U.S.); making it the first console to use CD-ROM technology. This attachment would be released for the U.S. TurboGrafx-16 in 1990. (BEWARE OF THE FMV GAMES!)
⦁ 1989 - Sega gives it another shot against Nintendo and releases the world's first "official" 16-bit home console (the TurboGrafx-16 uses two 8-bit processors, while the Genesis has an actual 16-bit processor), the Sega Genesis, or Sega Mega Drive as it's known outside the U.S. This time Sega gives Nintendo a run for it's money and a new console war begins. It also boasts backwards compatibility with Sega's Master System (granted you have the accessory). This console is arguably Sega's biggest success in the console market. Two later revisions and even a handheld version (known as the "Sega Nomad") of the console would be released before Sega retires it in 1997. It would still be produced while licensed to Majesco until 1999, though. A Sega CD attachment is released for it in 1991 that allows for the use of CD-ROM games. And a Sega 32X attachment that allows for the use of 32-bit cartridges is released in 1994.
Nintendo releases the black & white Game Boy handheld with the pack-in game, Tetris. The handheld is the brainchild of Gunpei Yokoi. It is a worldwide success, becoming the single highest selling handheld console of all-time.
Atari also releases a handheld system of it's own: The Atari Lynx. It is technically superior, and even displays a backlit, color screen vs. Game Boy's unlit black & white screen. Despite this, the Lynx's sales don't come close to Nintendo's Game Boy.
