Brief Video Game History

45
Every story has a beginning. The very first video game? It was essentially pong.* Not the Pong with dial paddles, though that would later be Atari’s first game and the first video game people actually had in their homes. The first Pong, though not called pong, was created in 1958 by Willy Higinbotham and played on an oscilloscope. It was called Tennis For Two.

Transcript of Brief Video Game History

Page 1: Brief Video Game History

Every story has a beginning.

The very first video game? It was essentially pong.*Not the Pong with dial paddles, though that would later be Atari’s first game and the first video game people actually had in their homes. The first Pong, though not called pong, was created in 1958 by Willy Higinbotham and played on an oscilloscope. It was called Tennis For Two.

Page 2: Brief Video Game History

Higinbotham

Was also part of the team at Los Alamos responsible for the nuclear bomb. Nice job, tennis dork!

Page 3: Brief Video Game History

The first real innovators…

Were Atari. Founders Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney started development of an arcade game– Computer Space– in 1970. Computer Space is essentially a “port” of a game called Spacewar developed on a mainframe at MIT by Steve Russell.

Page 4: Brief Video Game History

IN 1971

Sweet success for Atari! 1500 cabinets of the first arcade game ever, Computer Space, ship.And people think it sucks, basically, though it appears Ginger from Gilligan’s Island loves it.

Page 5: Brief Video Game History

Not to be defeated…

strikes back like the empire it will become, and starts working on a little bit of that video game tennis action. In 1975, they release Pong. And people… kind of lose their minds. Within two years, in 1977, Dr. Phill is born into a world where Atari sells a home system (the pre-cursor to the Atari 2600). It runs on cartridges and can replicate many arcade games. Atari also considers personal computers, but that goes sort of like Computer Space did.

Page 6: Brief Video Game History

Thank Atari…

Not just for your Xboxes and Playstations and

handhelds and this class… but Atari was the breeding

ground for a lil outfit called Apple. iThink they might have made some

cool stuff.

Page 7: Brief Video Game History

In 1978…

A company named Midway introduces this little guy and a million of his slow moving, always descending friends:

Space Invaders is the first arcade game to record scores. That… ends up being a big deal. People like scoring points and leaving their initials on machines.

Page 8: Brief Video Game History

In 1980…

Mattel debuts the Intelivision, a machine that in spite of coming second and having better technology ends up being the betamax to Atari’s VHS. Every kid who’s parents shopped in the Sears catalog had one.Also, the game to the left debuts. It’s not a big deal or anything.

Page 9: Brief Video Game History

True Fact:

Namco originally named the game “Puckman,” as the

protagonist looks like a yellow hockey puck. But they

realized us crazy Americans have a tendency to deface

things, and since someone in their office was named

Chuck and could play the name game, they knew what

we’d do. So he became Pacman.

Page 10: Brief Video Game History

In 1983-1984…

Atari ups its game to the 5200 to try to compete with the new home system, Colecovision.Dragon’s Lair hits arcades. Everyone sucks at it, but it looks so cool we cope.In Japan, a company named Nintendo launches the Famicom and makes a deal for Atari to distribute in the US. That deal falls through (oops, Atari).

Page 11: Brief Video Game History

Dragon’s Lair…Is relevant in that it brings the swords and sorcery world of table-top gaming to video games. It’s also the first game to use laser disc technology instead of just a circuit board. It ends up being more like a choose your own adventure

cartoon, but it blows away the graphics of its competitors.

Page 12: Brief Video Game History

In 1985…

The Nintendo Entertainment System is test marketed in New York. It’s Famicom, only for US audiences. While this is happening, a Russian named Alex Pajitnov invents Tetris, essentially fueling the puzzle game genre we know and love today.

Page 13: Brief Video Game History

1986

The NES and the Sega Master System (both 8-bit) hit the United States. Nintendo’s console comes with a game called Super Mario Brothers. The console wars essentially begin here, even though there have been rivals before. This is the first time the division feels anything like it is even between the two companies.

Page 14: Brief Video Game History

Oh, that Mario

Nintendo’s plummer-in-chief wasn’t born with the NES. He first saw action in Donkey Kong in 1981, then his brother Luigi joined him in Mario Brothers in 1983. Both started as arcade machines but found life on home consoles (Atari and Colecovision). But the Mario most know and love– the one who rescues the princess– first appeared in the free-with-the-system NES Super Mario Brothers.

Page 15: Brief Video Game History

1987

The Legend of Zelda debuts. It’s the first major cartridge game to include a battery to save your

data and it makes action RPGs a “thing” for Americans. Also… the cart is GOLD!

Page 16: Brief Video Game History

The REAL Triforce

In 1986-7 Nintendo also released Metroid, a game best known for a hero who can curl into a ball, looks a little like Boba Fett, and ends up being a girl! The trio of Mario, Zelda and Metroid would constitute a major “first party” advantage for Nintendo, as those were games that Sega couldn’t offer on their Genesis console.

Page 17: Brief Video Game History

1989

Nintendo debuts the Gameboy. The original is

HUGE by current standards, but it allows for

portable gaming.Things like color, and

graphics that aren’t terrible, won’t come until

later.

Page 18: Brief Video Game History

Also in 1989

Sega tries to one-up Nintendo in the “next generation” fight and launches the 16-bit Genesis. The Genesis is touted as the first system to allow for “true” arcade game play at home.

NEC’s 16-bit console, TurboGrafx-16, debuts. It is the first system to run CDs. It has limited appeal bur great games.

Atari releases the handheld Lynx. No one buys it.

Page 19: Brief Video Game History

1990

Two years after it debuted on the Apple II, John Madden Football is released for Sega Genesis. It later spreads to every console on Earth, sort of like a football tossin’ Skynet.

Page 20: Brief Video Game History

And now…Madden looks like this:

Page 21: Brief Video Game History

1991

Two years after the Genesis and TG-16, Nintendo releases the Super Nintendo in the US. It still does surprisingly well. Mario, Zelda and the gang have a lot to do with that.

Page 22: Brief Video Game History

A note:

I’ve tried to hit on a few key games, but during this era, the sheer number of games available explodes. To track them all would turn this into a horrifying mess of release dates. But a time-line might be a fun thing to build.

Page 23: Brief Video Game History

1993

Atari’s Jaguar, which was to be the first 64 bit system, fails worse than their Lynx did.

Joe Lieberman, who would later provide absolutely no energy to an Al Gore Presidential run, tries to legislate an end to violent games. Poor guy thinks Mortal Kombat is bad. I wonder how he feels about Grand Theft Auto: V.

Page 24: Brief Video Game History

1994

Japan gets Sega Saturn and the Sony Playstation.The US gets:

Page 25: Brief Video Game History

1995

Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn come to the US.Nintendo 64 debuts in Japan. Everyone says that Sony has no chance against the big two in America.

Arcades start a shift from cabinet games (the success of fighting games like Mortal Kombat and Tekken now starting to wane) and begin to feature more sit-in-the-car, ride-the-skis, surf, etc. games.

Page 26: Brief Video Game History

1996

Tamagotchi is released. People are into it, for like a week, then their virtual pets starve because American kids don’t really get “into” it. In Japan, there also lurks a Pokemon.

Page 27: Brief Video Game History

1997

Thanks to either geniuses at Sony or a terrible controller (Nintendo 64) and a lackluster game catalog (Sega Saturn), Playstation dominates the US gaming scene with 20 mil units sold.

Arizona goes “Full Lieberman” and tries to ban violent video games. Only the bill doesn’t pass their state legislature. Flawless victory. FINISH HIM!

Page 28: Brief Video Game History

1998

Sega releases the Dreamcast, a system that runs a version of Microsoft Windows. It’s brilliant, but it never quite takes off. It’s also in an odd “half-generation” position, as it’s not quite next-gen but sort of is.

Wal-Mart decides to ban some violent games. Shoppers go to Target. The world keeps spinning.

Page 29: Brief Video Game History

2000

Say hello to the Playstation 2, a system that will one day bring you God of War. The Sims is also released, showing that people still play PC games that aren’t for FPS LAN parties.

Page 30: Brief Video Game History

2001

Y2K doesn’t kill us, but it kills Sega, as they cease manufacture of hardware and go straight up game production.

Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo’s Game Cube launch the same week. Nintendo… starts to fall to third in the console wars.

But the GameBoy Advance is awesome!

Page 31: Brief Video Game History

2002-2004

Sony and Microsoft trade hammering blows.

Nintendo starts to focus again on the portable market. In 2004 they release the dual screen Nintendo DS. It does much better than the then faltering Game Cube.

Page 32: Brief Video Game History

2004

Page 33: Brief Video Game History

How relevant is WoW?

Many had proclaimed PC gaming dead. Sure, Warcraft III, Diablo and a handful of other games had sold well, and early MMOs like Ultima Online and Everquest did brisk sales, but WoW at one point would boast 11.5 million subscribers and essentially rose like a phoenix to put MMOs on the gaming map. Now games like League of Legends boast nearly 5X the users, and online communities thrive.

Page 34: Brief Video Game History

2005

Sony debuts the PSP. It’s a nice system, but it

can’t seem to stop the power of the Nintendo

DS. Microsoft gets the drop on the next generation

by releasing the Xbox 360.

Page 35: Brief Video Game History

2006

The Playstation 3 debuts, and in spite of a vocal fan community vs. fan community flame war all over the net cannot catch up to the installed base of the Xbox 360.Nintendo debuts the Wii, going in a totally different direction and making gestural gaming a real thing. Also, lots of people destroy TVs, furniture, and each other launching the nunchuk here there and everywhere.

Page 36: Brief Video Game History

2007

Page 37: Brief Video Game History

The iPhone

Thanks to the iPhone, people can carry more sophisticated games on their phones, and mobile phone gaming– already a big thing in other countries– starts to really stick in the US.

Later the app store will become a boon for indie developers. Then a nightmare. Then a potential boon again. It will lead to the Xbox Live arcade, Androids App store, the Sony Playstation Market, etc. It also causes 2003’s release of the Steam platform to finally mean something to the masses.

Page 38: Brief Video Game History

2008

Page 39: Brief Video Game History

2009

Page 40: Brief Video Game History

2010

Page 41: Brief Video Game History

2011

While it was publically released in 2009, the final release version was in 2011

Page 42: Brief Video Game History

2012

This year brought the Nintendo 3DS XL and the Playstation Vita, as mobile game systems attempt to combat the iDevice and Android phone mobile renaissance.

Nintendo releases Wii U, which is popular with families but seems to fall flat for hardcore gamers.

Rumors swirl about the next Xbox and Playstation.

Page 43: Brief Video Game History

2013

LoL has 32 MILLION unique players monthly. That’s roughly the population of Canada by some numbers (and just under it by others).

Page 44: Brief Video Game History

2014