Animation

By js184285

  • Willy Higinbotham

    made the first video game, at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. His game, a table tennis game.

  • Steve Russell

    A student at MIT, creates Space war, the first interactive computer game.

  • Ralph Baer

    an engineer at Sanders, explore his idea of creating interactive games using a television.

  • Ralph Baer

    Baer and team are successful in creating two interactive TV games, a chase game and a tennis game. They are also able to manipulate a toy gun so that it detects spots of light on the TV screen.

  • Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney

    begin their attempt to create an arcade version of Space war, calling it Computer Space.

  • Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney

    Computer Space becomes first video arcade game ever released

  • Magnavox's Odyssey

    the first home video game system, is showcased at a convention in Burlingame, CA, and is released to the public later that year.

  • Sears Roebuck

    Atari's Pong is released with help from Sears Roebuck, which finances the production of 150,000 units. It becomes the hottest selling Christmas present. Sears sells the product exclusively, with the Sears Tele-Games logo.

  • Coleco

    Coleco releases its first home video-game console called Telstar.

  • Atari 2600

    Atari introduces its first cartridge-based home video system called the Video Computer System which later becomes known as the Atari 2600.

  • trackball

    The trackball makes its entrance into the video-game industry as the controller in Atari's new arcade game Football.

  • Asteroids

    Asteroids is the first game to allow high scorers to enter three character initials to be stored in the machine.

  • Activision

    Activision becomes the first third-party video game vendor. The company is created by Atari programmers who want to receive individual credit for creating Atari's video games.

  • Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel

    Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel found the first video-game magazine, Electronic Games

  • Atari

    Atari releases the Atari 5200 to compete with Coleco's Colecovision.

  • Cinematronics

    debuts Rick Dyer's Dragon Lair, the first video game to feature laser-disc technology

  • Tetris

    The popular game Tetris is developed by Russian programmer Alex Pajitnov. It is played on a PC.

  • Nintendo

    Nintendo's NES is released in the U.S. after being test-marketed in NY one year earlier.To compete with the NES, Sega introduces the Sega Master System (SMS).Atari releases the Atari 7800 to stay competitive in the market.

  • Nintendo

    Nintendo releases the handheld Game Boy for $109.

  • Nintendo

    Super NES is released in the U.S. by Nintendo for $249.95.

  • Atari

    Atari releases the Jaguar, attempting to be the first 64-bit console on the market. The product actually runs two 32-bit processors.

  • Senate investigation

    Resulting from the Senate investigation, the Entertainment Software Rating Board is created. Rating are now given to video games and are marked on the games' packaging to indicate the suggested age of players and violent content

  • Sony

    Sony brings the PlayStation to the U.S. and sells the console for $299.

  • Arcades

    Arcades focus on bringing in more "ride-and-video" games like skiing, snowboarding, and Jet Skiing, as their popularity has surpassed the popularity of shooting and fighting games.

  • PlayStation

    PlayStation is considered by many in the industry as most popular game console as the 20 millionth unit is sold.

  • Sega

    Sega introduces the Dreamcast in Japan. This console operates on Microsoft Windows CE which will allow for easier conversions between Dreamcast and PC games.

  • Billy Mitchell

    Billy Mitchell attains a score of 3,333,360 in the game Pac-Man. This is the highest possible score a player can get.

  • Sony

    Sony's PlayStation 2 launches in the U.S. for $299.99 and is sold out by early morning. Since the demand is so high and only 500,000 units are available, it is very difficult to buy a unit during this first shipment.

  • Microsoft and Nintendo

    Microsoft and Nintendo introduce their next-generation systems within days of each other. Microsoft claims its Xbox offers "the most powerful game experiences ever." The product comes with a built-in hard drive and Ethernet port. Nintendo's GameCube delivers new forms of interactive gaming for players and an easier development environment for game creators.

  • Nintendo

    Nintendo releases the Nintendo DS, a portable system with two screens, one of which can be used as a touch screen.

  • Sony

    Sony releases the PSP, a portable system with a large, high-resolution display.

  • Nintendo

    Nintendo releases the Wii, a gaming system that lets gamers use the controller in revolutionary ways, such as swinging it like a tennis racket, holding and tilting it like a steering wheel, and more.

  • Nintendo

    Nintendo releases Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii. It continues the adventures of Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach as they face their old foe Bowser.

  • Rockstar

    Grand Theft Auto 4 breaks sales records its first week after gamers bought more than 6 million copies.

  • Nintendo Wii

    With over 40 million units sold, Nintendo's Wii Sports becomes the best-selling video game of all time.

  • Sony

    New motion control systems--Sony's PlayStation Move and Microsoft Kinect--let players interact in a more immersive way, doing away with controllers and letting players use their bodies instead.

  • Skyrim

    Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim showcases the beauty, majesty, and massiveness of video games as players explore a seemingly endless, beautifully rendered fantasy world.

  • Sony

    Both Sony (PlayStation 4) and Microsoft (X Box One) release new gaming platforms this year.

  • Microsoft

    Microsoft acquires Mojang and its immensely popular indie brick-building game, Minecraft, which Swedish creator Markus Persson debuted in 2009. Purchase price is $2.5 billion.