Introduction
I am going to go over a brief history of video games. This will start with the inception of video games, then I will touch on some highlights in the history up until current events.
Video games started in 1958 on an oscilloscope.
Video games were developed in 1958. The first video game was created by William Higinbotham, a scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island. The game was played on an oscilloscope, which is a device that measures electric voltage and current in electronic devices like televisions and radios.
The game was called “Tennis for Two,” and it involved two players moving paddles up and down to control where a dot went across the screen. The player who moved his or her paddle so that it touched the ball first won! This simple game of space invaders sparked a revolution in our modern world and today we have millions of people playing video games every single day!
In the 1970s the first arcade video games started to appear.
Games started to appear in the 1970s. The first arcade video games were created on a PDP-1 computer at Stanford University. They were programmed by students Steve Russell, Martin Graetz and Wayne Wiitanen in 1961.
The golden age of arcade video games was from 1978-1983.
One of the most popular video game genres is the arcade game, which became a national obsession during the golden age of arcade video games. The golden age of arcade video games was from 1978-1983. This was a time when arcade games were most popular and had their biggest following. In fact, it’s widely agreed upon that this period was when arcades peaked in popularity before declining due to competition from home consoles and computers as well as changing tastes in gaming.
It should also be noted that there were several other briefer periods where arcades also experienced growth such as 1983-1985 (the second part of what many consider to be their “golden age”) and 1993-1996 (a period commonly referred to as “The Last Hurrah”).
Pong was developed in 1972 by Atari and there were many other variations of this game created.
Pong was the first commercially successful video game developed by Atari in 1972. Many other variations of this game were created and there was a pong console for home use.
The original Pong was a very simple yet challenging game to play, consisting of two paddles on either side of a vertical bar divided into two halves with a ball that moves back and forth between them as players move their paddles up or down. The object is to hit the ball over your opponent’s side so they lose points while you gain them until time runs out. Originally created using hardware components such as transistors, capacitors and resistors, it used an analog signal to control its display; however, later versions used microprocessors which made it easier for designers to create more complex games such as Breakout (1976) and Space Invaders (1978).
The early 80s saw more advancements in technology for home video game consoles such as the creation of the Nintendo Entertainment System released in 1985.
The first home video game console was the Nintendo Entertainment System, released in 1985 by Japanese company Nintendo. It was a great success due to its popularity among players and its accessibility within the living room. The NES had built-in controllers as well as ports for expansion devices such as light guns, which could be used for shooting games like Duck Hunt. It also featured an internal clock and battery backup so that it would keep track of high scores and settings even if you were not using it at the time (e.g., if you were away from your house).The NES was originally sold only in Japan until 1986 when it was released worldwide with many new features such as Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros., Metroid, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Star Wars), Track & Field II (Track And Field), Kung Fu Heroes™ (Kung Fu Heroes)
The first graphical franchise, Zelda, was released in 1986 on the NES console by Nintendo.
The first graphical franchise, Zelda, was released in 1986 on the NES console by Nintendo. In it you play as Link, a young boy who must save Princess Zelda from Gannon (a giant pig) and collect magical items that have been stolen from her castle. The game had an excellent 8-bit soundtrack and several sequels which continued to expand upon this story over time. Also notable is the inclusion of Princess Zelda as your main character: she would eventually become one of Nintendo’s most iconic female characters in gaming history.
Other popular franchises of the 1980s were Final Fantasy and Tetris.
Other popular franchises of the 1980s were Final Fantasy and Tetris. Final Fantasy is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix, while Tetris is a puzzle game created by Russian game designer Alexey Pajitnov. The history of both games began in 1984.
In 1993 the 3DO was released which was one of the earliest CD based consoles.
In 1993, the 3DO was released which was one of the earliest CD based consoles. The 3DO was developed by Panasonic and used a 32-bit processor. This allowed for more advanced graphics and sound effects than previous systems. The system had its share of problems, but it did pave the way for later consoles with greater capabilities such as those that were released in 1997 (Sony PlayStation) and 1998 (Sega Dreamcast).
The history of video games is relatively short but has seen a great deal of progress over time
The history of video games is relatively short, but has seen a great deal of progress over time. When we look back at the origins of video games, we find that they were originally created on oscilloscopes in the 1950s. These were simple games like “Tic Tac Toe” and “Nim”. The first arcade machines were created in the 1970s, and by 1978 there were about 10 companies making arcade machines for a young population (the golden age). In this period there were many popular titles such as Space Invaders, Pac-Man and Donkey Kong which helped define what people think about when they think about video games today.
The first home consoles appeared during this time too: Atari 2600 was released in 1977; ColecoVision came out in 1982 while Intellivision was introduced before it but didn’t sell very well due to its high price tag compared with competitors; Sega Master System came out later than these other two consoles but had better graphics so it became more popular among gamers everywhere despite its late arrival onto store shelves!
Conclusion
Video games have come a long way since 1958 but they were a significant part of my childhood and I believe they will continue to be popular in the future as well.
