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Odyssey is Released
Magnavox releases the Oddesy. Though the console is technologically interestong, it is a commercial failure. Many people thought that it only worked with Magnavox televisions, leading to many people wanting the device but not buying it. It contains an early digital computer. Only 27 games are ever released for the system. Source: www.magnavox-odyssey.com -
Atari launches the Video Computer System
In 1977, Atari launched a game console known as the Atari VCS (Video Computer System). This console becomes very sucessful. The VCS would later be known as the Atari 2600. Although it was successful for many years, in 1983 a flood of bad games for the system caused the video game industry to crash drastically, with many saying that video games would become a thing of the past. Source: atariage.com/2600/ -
Video game crash of 1983
In 1983, a terrible thing happened. The video game market crashed. Many historians blame the AWFUL "ET The Extraterrestrial" video game by Atari. This game was so bad that is devestated the industry when it came out. At around the same time, Atari also released a horrible version of Pac-Man, which consumers disliked just as much. The industry wouldn't recover until 1985. Source: http://thegaminghistorian.com/the-gaming-historian-the-video-game-crash-of-1983/ -
Nintendo NES hits the market
In October of 1985, Nintendo launched the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES for short. The device was marketed as a toy, not a video game. This helped a lot, since in 1985, the word "video games" brought back not too good memories of ET and Pac-Man on the Atari. The NES was sold with a toy robot and looked like a VCR. It was super successful. Source: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/07/time-to-feel-old-inside-the-nes-on-its-30th-birthday/
