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Up until the 50's computers where pretty crude, lacking the computational power for any real feats, especially something like video games.
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"Bertie the Brain", created in 1950 by Josef Kates, was an arcade game of tic-tac-toe.
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While not yet used by the general public, computers begin to become usable for applications, gaining use in sectors like war, informatics, and entertainment.
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Spacewar! Was the first computer-based video game, released in 1962 by Steve Rusell. The gameplay consists of two spaceships engaged in a dogfight while maneuvering around the gravity of a star.
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With a lack of at-home gaming, arcade gaming dominated the market.
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Together with a couple of coleagues, Ralph Baer, developed the first gaming console, the "Brown Box", a simple console that came with 300 preinstalled games. This small invention, while not a ginormous commercial hit, would go on to revolutionize gaming.
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in 1977 Atari created the first true console. The technology of 2600 was relatively crude, for modern standards, with a hefty price tag, bit graphics, and a limited catalog of games. However, this didn't pose too much of an issue for the market at the time, with the 2600 being a massive success.
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Due to market saturation and a loss of quality, the video game market went into a deep recession for a couple years, with most game devs/publishers having to give up their jobs.
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The NES reintroduced America to gaming after the video game crash of 1983. With its modern build, advanced graphics, and wide array of high quality games, it rebuilt consumer confidence and set the gaming market back on track.
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A long fought conflict for the American video game market between Nintendo, with their established NES, and Sega, with their up and coming Sega genesis raged on for a decade or so, with Nintendo coming out on top.
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Near the end of the console wars, the previously uninvolved Sony released the PlayStation. While not as popular as later releases, it did create immediate competition for Nintendo, gaining a liking within the American gaming community.
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Nintendo release the GameCube, which doesn't gross as well as expected, despite its great catalogue, due to its competition with the newer, fresher, Xbox and Ps2. Around this time Sony also releases a new console, the Ps2, which became a great sucess, due to its great marketing and technological advancements, and is still one of the highest grossing consoles.
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Six years after the release of the PlayStation, another contender, Microsoft, entered the battle between Nintendo and Sony, releasing the Xbox.
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With the release of the Xbox and Playstation, Sony and Microsoft entered the competition with Nintendo for the American gaming market. This conflict is still very alive.
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Steam, the first online video game market with significant backing, is released by Valve. It's initially relatively unsuccessful but would soon become the biggest gaming market on the internet.
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The second generation of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo consoles are released. This is debatably the most competitive of the generations, with there being no real "winner" this time around.
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While relatively insignificant by itself, it marks the future for advanced mobile gaming.
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With phones and download speeds quickly rising in competence throughout the developed world, expedient forms of gaming begin to rise in popularity, with everybody being able to play video games from anywhere.
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New gen consoles are released by Nintendo, Xbox, and Sony. Most of the consoles sell as expected besides the Ps4, which quickly surpasses its peers. All of the consoles are nearing photorealistic graphics and high levels of technological competence.
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The next gen consoles of the Ps5 and Xbox Series X are released. The Ps5 outsells the Xbox by large margins, both the consoles are capable of photorealistic graphics.