A Brief History

A Brief HistoryA Brief Historyof Videogamesof Videogames

by Shawn Riderby Shawn RiderSeptember 03, 2003September 03, 2003

Current Facts About VideogamesCurrent Facts About Videogames

• 50% of all Americans age 6 and older play computer and video games

• The average age of a game player is 29 years

• 43% of game players are women

• Game sales in 2002 were $6.9 billion

• In 2002, more than 221 million games sold.

• 92% of all games are purchased by adults


• 63% of all games released in 2002 were rated “E” for Everyone

• 16 of the top 20 best-selling games in 2002 were rated “E” or “T”

• 60% of frequent gamers play with friends

• 33% play with siblings• 25% play with spouse

or parents

• 96% of parents with children under 18 say they are paying attention to the content of games their kids play

• 60% of parents play videogames with their kids at least once a month


Currently there are three major console systems active in the US:

• PlayStation 2 (18.4 mil)• Xbox (5.7 mil)• Gamecube (4.4 mil)

The Pre-History of VideogamesThe Pre-History of Videogames

• Early forms of pinball date back to the mid-1800s

• In 1889 Fusajiro Yamauchi establishes Marufuku Co. Ltd. To distribute Hanafuda, Japanese playing cards


• 1932 – the Connecticut Leather Company is formed by Maurice Greenburg

• 1933 – Williams builds the first electronic pinball game, “Contact”


• During the 1930s and 40s, anti-slot machine fever sweeps the US

• 1941 – Pinball is outlawed in New York City by mayor Fiorello LaGuardia


• 1951 – Yamauchi changes the name of Marufuku Co. Ltd to Nintendo

• The name means “leave luck to heaven”

• Martin Bromley opens Service Games in Japan, focusing on slot machines and jukeboxes

• 1956 – David Rosen imports $200,000 worth of coin-op electromechanical games to Japan

The Early PioneersThe Early Pioneers

• 1958 – Willy Higinbotham invents “Tennis for Two”

• Played on 5 inch oscilloscope.

• Invented for open house at Brookhaven National Laboratories in Upton, NY

• Remains for two years.


• 1961 Steve Russel and the Tech Model Railroad Club create Spacewar!

• Runs on PDP-1 mainframe

• Realistic physics• Playable over ARPAnet


• 1962 Nolan Bushnell enrolls at University of Utah, plays Spacewar!

• 1964 – Rosen Enterprises merges with Service Games to create Sega Enterprises

• 1966 – Sega exports Periscope


• 1966 Ralph Baer begins researching interactive television games at Sanders Associates

• 1968 Baer patents his invention

• 1970 Magnavox licenses Baer’s invention and calls it Odyssey


• 1972 – Magnavox demonstrates Odyssey in private showings

• Ships Odyssey same year, MSRP $100

• Unit sells 100 thousand


• 1972 – Nolan Bushnell attends May 24 demo of Odyssey

• Forms Atari with Ted Dabney

• Orders Al Alcorn to create an imitation of Baer’s game, calls it Pong

• Atari is sued, settles, makes a fortune

• Pong keeps score• Pong incorporates

“english”• Pong is made into arcade

and home versions

The “Golden” AgeThe “Golden” Age

1975• Atari creates home

version of Pong for Sears Roebuck

• Namco begins making games

• Midway releases Gunfight!, first game to use a microprocessor


1976• Connecticut Leather Co.,

now known as Coleco, releases Telstar

• Fairchild releases Channel F• Exidy releases Death Race,

sparking first videogame violence controversy

• Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak create Breakout

• Bushnell sells Atari to Warner Communications


1977• Atari opens first Pizza Time

Theater• Atari releases Video

Computer System, aka the 2600, sells 25 mil in the next 5 years

• Mattel introduces a line of LED-based handheld games

• Shigeru Miyamoto joins Nintendo

• Nintendo releases its first home videogame in Japan


1978• Bushnell is forced out of

Atari, buys Pizza Time theater

• Nintendo releases Othello, its first arcade game

• Atari releases Football with record success

• Taito/Midway release Space Invaders

• Magnavox releases Odyssey 2


1979• Capcom is founded in Japan• Atari releases Lunar Laner,

its first vector graphics game• Atari game designer Warren

Robinett creates Adventure, Easter Eggs

• Mattel introduces Intellivision• Milton Bradly releases

Microvision handheld


1979• Namco releases

Galaxian, first color arcade game

• Epyx releases Temple of Apshai, first graphical RPG for computers

• Mainframe users worldwide begin programming “interactive fiction” – text based adventure games


1980• Atari releases Space

Invaders for VCS• Renegade Atari

programmers form Activision• Namco releases Pac-Man,

most popular arcade game of all-time

• Minoru Arakawa opens Nintendo of America

• Taito releases Stratovox, first game with voice synthesis


1980• Williams releases Defender,

first side-scrolling game• California Pacific releases

Richard Gariott’s Ultima• Zork I sells a million copies• Ken and Roberta Williams

create On-Line Systems, quickly renamed Sierra On-Line, release Mystery House for Apple II, first computer game with graphics


1981• Nintendo releases

Donkey Kong• Atari releases Pac-Man

and ET for VCS• Atari releases Tempest• US arcade revenues

reach $5 billion• Electronic Games is first

videogame magazine• IBM ships the IBM PC


1982• Coleco releases

Colecovision• Atari releases 5200• GCE releases Vectrex• Ultima II is released for

Apple II by Sierra On-Line


1982• Eugene Jarvis designs

Robotron 2084• Features first use of

dual joystick interface• Midway releases MS.

Pac-Man, most popular arcade game in American history

• Ms. Pac Man is first ever game modification


1982 – The Fall• Atari represents 2/3 of the

industry• Atari has produced some

bad games• Third party developers have

created bad games that have hurt Atari’s reputation

• Affordable home computers like the Commodore Vic-20 and just-released Commodore 64 have bit into hardware sales

The “Crash”The “Crash”

1983• Yu Suzuki joins Sega• Sega releases first home

console in Japan• Cinematronics releases

Dragon’s Lair, first arcade game using laser disc technology

• Former Phillip Morris exec James Morgan becomes head of Atari

• Richard Garriott leaves Sierra On-Line to form Origin

• Trip Hawkins forms Electronic Arts, releases Dr J and Larry Bird Go One on One

The “Crash”The “Crash”


FamiCom in Japan• Coleco releases Adam• Warner Comm sells

Atari to Jack Tramiel• Sierra On-Line releases

King’s Quest• Apple releases

Macintosh

The Japanese InvasionThe Japanese Invasion

1985• Way of the Exploding Fist

and Yie Ar Kung Fu released, first fighting games

• Space Panic released, first platform game

• Nintendo test markets FamiCom in NYC as the Nintendo Entertainment System

• Russian mathematician Alex Pajitnov designs Tetris

• Microsoft ships Windows


1986• Nintendo of America

releases the NES• Strict licensing

requirements helps Nintendo avoid poor third party titles

• Sega releases the Sega Master System in Japan

• Atari releases the 7800


1987• Nintendo publishes Legend

of Zelda• Sega unveils 16-bit Mega

Drive console in Japan• NEC releases PC Engine in

Japan• Lucasfilm Computer Games

releases their first game, Maniac Mansion – first point and click adventure game


1988• Square Soft publishes

Final Fantasy• Tonka acquires US

distribution rights to Sega Master System

• Coleco files for bankruptcy


1989• NEC brings PC Engine

to US as TurboGrafx• Sega releases Mega

Drive in US as the Genesis

• Nintendo releases Game Boy worldwide



Super Mario Bros. 3, most successful non-bundled cartridge of all time

• SNK brings 24-bit NeoGeo game console to the US


1991• Nintendo releases Super

Nintendo Entertainment Sytem

• Sega recreates itself with Sonic the Hedgehog

• Galoob Toys releases Game Genie, first game cheat device

• Capcom releases Streetfighter, giving arcades a needed boost


1992• Midway releases Mortal

Kombat, sparking new outcry over videogame violence

• Genesis outsells SNES, giving Sega control of the American market

• Sega ships Sega CD peripheral for Genesis

Videogames MatureVideogames Mature

1993• Panasonic releases 32-bit

3DO Multiplayer• Atari launches 64-bit Jaguar• Broderbund publishes Myst

for Macintosh• Id Software publishes Doom

for PC• Virgin Interactive publishes

7th Guest for PC CD-ROM• Senate hearings on

videogame violence led by Senators Lieberman and Kohl


1994• IDSA is formed in response

to Senate hearings• Nintendo releases Donkey

Kong Country, retakes control of US market

• Sega releases 32x peripheral for Genesis

• Sega releases Saturn in Japan

• Sony releases PlayStation in Japan


1995• Sega releases Saturn in

US• Sony releases

PlayStation in US• Nintendo releases

Virtual Boy in US• Nintendo unveils N64 in

Japan


1996• Nintendo discontinues

Virtual Boy• Nintendo sells one billionth

cartridge worldwide• Jack Tramiel sells Atari to

disk drive maker JTS• Nintendo releases N64 in US• Sony unveils Crash

Bandicoot


1997• Sega discontinues Saturn• Bandai releases Tamagotchi• Dreamworks, Universal and

Sega team up to create GameWorks

• Nintendo releases Goldeneye 007 for N64

• Square Soft publishes Final Fantasy VII

• Origin releases Ultima Online



Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

• Valve releases Half-Life• Pokemon comes to

America


1999• JTS sells Atari to

Hasbro Interactive• SNK Corp brings

NeoGeo Pocket Color to US

• Sega releases Dreamcast in US


2000• Microsoft unveils plans

for Xbox game console• Sega launches SegaNet

for Dreamcast• SNK discontinues

NeoGeo• The French take over• Sony releases PS2 in

US


2001• Sega discontinues

Dreamcast• Nintendo releases

Game Boy Advance• Nintendo releases

Gamecube• Microsoft releases Xbox• Grand Theft Auto III is

released


2002• Microsoft releases Xbox

Live online service• Sony releases Network

Adapter for PS2



Game Boy Advance SP• Sony announces

PlayStation Personal• Nokia releases N-gage

mobile gaming console• Infogrames officially

changes their name to Atari

SourcesSources

The Dot Eaters: Classic Gaming History

http://www.emuunlim.com/doteaters/

The Ultimate History of Videogames by Steven L. Kent

The Medium of the Videogame edited by Mark JP Wolf

Trigger Happy by Stephen Poole

http://www.emuunlim.com/doteaters/

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