History of Electronic Games

Cathode Ray Tube

Mar 6, 1949

The device is purely mechanical and does not use any memory device, computer, or programming.

SEGA

Mar 8, 1951

In 1951, SEGA distributed coin-operated amusement-type games such as jukeboxes and slot machines.

Magnavox Odyssey

Mar 10, 1972

World's first game console

Pong

Mar 12, 1972

Pong was based on table tennis, and named after the sound generated when the ball is hit.

Maze wars

Mar 14, 1974

One of the first FPS game. Players wander around a maze, moving backward or forward, turning right or left in 90-degree increments, and peeking through doorways.

Atari 2600

Mar 6, 1977

Video game console credited with popularizing the use of a microprocessor and cartridges containing games

Chuck E. Cheese's

Mar 6, 1977

First type of family entertainment centers aimed at young children.

Magnavox Odyssey

Mar 6, 1977

Played programmable ROM cartridges. Allowed each game to be a completely unique experience, with its own background and foreground graphics, gameplay, scoring, and music. Odyssey included a full keyboard, which was to be used for educational games, selecting options, or programming.

Asteroids

Mar 6, 1979

Most popular and influential games selling 70,000 by Atari

Pac Man

Mar 6, 1980

Considered among the most famous arcade games of all time. Generated more than $2.5 billion in quarters by the 1990s.

Donkey Kong

Mar 6, 1981

Players moved the main character across a series of platforms while dodging and jumping over obstacles who must rescue a damsel in distress, Lady, from a giant ape named Donkey Kong.

Frogger

Mar 6, 1981

Player directs frogs to their homes by crossing a busy road and navigate a river full of hazards. Skillful players obtain bonuses.
The game is regarded as a classic and was noted for its novel gameplay and theme.

Mario Brothers

Mar 6, 1983

In this game, Mario a Italian-American plumber and his brother Luigi, must defeat creatures from the sewers below New York.

Tetris

Mar 6, 1984

Electronic Gaming Monthly's 100th issue had Tetris in first place as "Greatest Game of All Time".
It has sold more than 70 million copies. In January 2010, it was announced that Tetris has sold more than 100 million copies for cell phones alone since 2005.

NES

Mar 6, 1985

The most successful gaming console of its time -sold over 60 million NES units worldwide.
Nintendo helped revitalize the US video game industry following the video game crash of 1984, and set the standard for consoles and controller layout.
First console to play and openly court third-party game developers.

Legend of Zelda

Mar 6, 1986

A high fantasy action-adventure video game series created in Japan and published by Nintendo.
One of Nintendo's most important franchises, it consists of a mixture of action, adventure, and puzzle solving.

Final Fantasy

Mar 6, 1987

The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science fantasy role-playing video games (RPGs), but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise.
The series is very successful; with more than 100 million units sold.
Well known for its innovation, visuals, and music, such as the inclusion of full motion videos, photo-realistic character models, and orchestrated music by Nobuo Uematsu.

Game Boy

Mar 6, 1989

The first successful handheld console, and was the predecessor of all other iterations of the Game Boy line.

Super Nintendo

Mar 6, 1993

Nintendo's 2nd console, following the (NES).
Advanced graphics and sound capabilities that compensated for its slow CPU, compared with other consoles at the time.
Additionally, the system's support for numerous enhancement chips (which shipped as part of certain game cartridges) helped to keep it competitive in the marketplace.

PlayStation

Mar 6, 1994

A 32-bit video game console by Sony.

Fourth Generation

Mar 6, 1996

The 16-bit era was the fourth generation of video game consoles. Starting in 1987 with the Japanese launch of the PC Engine, this era was dominated by commercial rivalry between Nintendo and Sega with their machines, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Mega Drive (named the Sega Genesis in North America due to trademark issues). The machines introduced in this generation retained the majority market share until 1996.

Nintendo 64

Mar 6, 1997

N64, was Nintendo's third home video game console for the international market.
Named for its 64-bit processor

PlayStation 2

Mar 6, 2000

The PlayStation 2 “PS2” is Sony's second video game console, the successor to the successful PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3.

GameCube

Mar 6, 2002

Uses a proprietary storage medium, the Nintendo GameCube Game Disc, and have a capacity of approximately 1.5 gigabytes.
Discs are not read differently from a standard DVD, but are encrypted and unreadable by most DVD drives.

Xbox

Mar 6, 2002

Microsoft's first game console - competed directly with PlayStation 2, and the Nintendo GameCube.