-
First Video Game
The first video game to be created was OXO. This was created by A S Douglas, and was just tic-tac-toe. It was created as an academic experiment. The game was not available to the public, and can only be played at the University of Cambridge. -
Spacewar!
In 1962, Harvard and MIT employees Martin Graetz, Steve Russel, and Wayne Wiitanen created Spacewar! This game was copied to several early minicomputers, making it potentially the first video game available outside of a single research institute. The game consisted of two people shooting each other in spaceships. It was designed to use as much of the computer's resources as possible. -
Pong
Released in 1972, Pong is a two-dimensional sports game that simulates table tennis. It was one of the earliest arcade video games. It was created by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise assigned by Atari. They were surprised with his work and manufactured the game. -
Magnavox Odyssey
The Magnavox Odyssey is the first commercial home video game console. It was released in the United States in 1972. It is capable of displaying three square dots and one line of varying height on the screen. It came with dice, paper money, and other board game items to accompany the games. -
Period: to
Golden Age of Arcade Games
By 1978, video games were well established in the U.S. However, the Japanese games Breakout and Space Invaders increased the popularity of the arcades. These changed the core concepts of arcades, popularizing play regulated by lives instead of time or score. -
Video Game Crash
In 1983, Video games faces a crash. Due to the saturated market and poor-quality games, the industry faced a massive downturn. It caused several companies to go bankrupt. However, this crash created room for companies like Nintendo and Sega. -
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
The NES was released in 1985 in the US, reviving the video game market. It peaked in popularity around 1987 and 1990. -
Nintendo 64
The Nintendo 64 was developed by Nintendo and was released in September 1996 in North America. The Nintendo 64 is a home video game console. This console was named after its 64-bit processing unit. -
PlayStation 2
Sony released the PlayStation 2 in 2000. The console features DVD-based game discs, increased processor and graphics ability, and other features. One of its most prominent features was the ability to play DVD movies and audio CDs. This made the console a complete home entertainment system and made it popular at the time. -
The Modern Consoles
As time goes on, better consoles are created. These consoles are the gateway to new generations of games. Consoles like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 1 are revolutionary. These are the foundation where groundbreaking games are formed.
