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A physicist, William Higinbotham created the first video game, called Tennis for Two, to increase interest in his lab. https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200810/physicshistory.cfm#:~:text=In%20October%201958%2C%20Physicist%20William,Brookhaven%20National%20Laboratory%20open%20house. -
Created by Ralph Baer, the Brown Box was a prototype console that would let you play games using your T.V. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1301997 -
The arcade game Space Wars was made by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney for Syzygy Engineering, it is considered the first commercialy released video game. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-first-popular-video-game-kicked-off-generations-virtual-adventure-180971020/#:~:text=That%20is%2C%20until%20a%20group,machine%20and%20promptly%20caught%20fire. -
The Magnavox Odyssey was a video game console that you could play in your own home by connecting it to your TV. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1302004 -
The toy company Mattel created the game Mattel Auto Race, which was the first video game that you could play on the go. https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?entryid=3583 -
Snake was a basic game where the player controls a snake and makes it grow, it was preloaded on to Nokia phones and quickly other phones followed suit leading to the influx of mobile games on the app store today. https://www.gameopedia.com/the-history-evolution-and-future-of-mobile-gaming/ -
Nintendo, a company that previously focused on developing toys and playing cards, started to create video games. Nintendo is one of the biggest companies in video games and has continuously revolutionized gaming https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=art108#:~:text=In%201978%2C%20Nintendo%20had%20started,%2C%20Ltd%E2%80%8B%2C%202020). -
Made by the video game company Atari, Battlezone was an arcade cabinet that had 3D graphics that was also one of the first successful first person shooters. https://spectrum.ieee.org/battlezone -
Nintendo released the Famicom game console, which had used 8-bit processors this allowed for greater visuals and sound. https://www.britannica.com/technology/Nintendo-console -
The NEC Home Electronics' PC Engine was the first 16-bit console released even if it wasn't very popular. 16-bit processors allowed consoles to run more powerful games. https://history-computer.com/fourth-generation-video-game-consoles-the-16-bit-generation/ -
The FM Town's Marty was the first 32 bit console. 32-bit processing power on video game consoles allowed them to have better display resolutions and graphics in general. https://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/pg90-fm_towns.htm#page=reviews -
The Atari Jaguar, was the first console with 64-bit processing power which allowed for more 3D polygons and texture mapping. https://history-computer.com/the-atari-jaguar-history-launch-and-failure/ -
Island of Kesmai was made by the Kesmai company in 1985. It used ASCII graphics and was inspired by the popular TTRPG Dungeons & Dragons, it allowed players to play games together through the internet even if they weren't in the same location. https://www.filfre.net/tag/island-of-kesmai/ -
The Wii was a console created by Nintendo that used motion controls more than most previous consoles, it was made to appeal to the average family and succeeded spreading the interest in video games to a large audience. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nintendo-Wii -
On the USA Network the first televised esports competition was held, the game played was halo 2. The growing popularity of games and competitions in them lead to the current prevalence of esports competitions on Twitch, a popular website where people can livestream themselves. https://www.siue.edu/esports/about/history.shtml#:~:text=As%20the%202000's%20rolled%20around,most%20prominent%20hosts%20in%20Esports.