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Tennis for Two
William Higinbotham, an American physicist, created the program "Tennis for Two" to enterntain the guests at the annual visitor's day held by the Brookhaven National Laboratory, where he worked. The program displayed a tennis court in side view on an oscilloscope and allowed two players to volley a ball using box-shaped controllers. The game was created on a Donner Model 30 analog computer. -
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Part I : The Early Years
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Spacewar!
By 1960, MIT was one of the top centers for computer research in the world. The Artificial Intelligence Laboratory gave MIT Steve Russell, who, with his friends, used the PDP-1 (a computer with high-quality vector display) created a game with two-human controlled spaceships attempting to destroy each other by firing torpedoes. This was the first video game to receive national distribution when it was decided that it should be included in every PDP-1 sold. -
Ralph Baer
Ralph Baer, an engineer at Sanders Associates, receives support from his company to explore his idea of creating interactive games using a television. By 1967, his team is successful in creating 2 interactive TV games - a chase game and a tennis game. They were also able to manipulate a toy gun so that it detects spots of light on the TV screen. -
Magnavox Odyssey
1) Magnavox's Odyssey, the first home video game system, is showcased at a convention in Burlingame, CA, and is released to the public later that year. 2) Atari is found. Al Alcorn is hired by Atari to program video games. The first game created by Atari is Pong. -
Pong by Atari
Atari's Pong is released with help from Sears Roebuck, which finances the production of 150,000 units. It becomes the hottest selling Christmas present. Sears sells the product exclusively, with the Sears Tele-Games logo. -
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Part II: 1975-1984
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Atari 2600 by Atari
Atari introduces its first cartridge-based home video system called the Video Computer System which later becomes known as the Atari 2600. It retails for $249.95. -
Space Invaders by Midway
Midway introduces Space Invaders into arcades. It is the first arcade game that tracks and displays high scores. Originally, it was developed by Tomohiro Nishikado (Japanese) and sold in Japan by Taito, and was later licensed to be sold in the United States. -
Dragon Lair by Cinematronics
Cinematronics debuts Dragon Lair, the first video game to feature laser-disc technology. It featured animation created by ex-Disney animator Don Bluth. The success of the game sparked numerous sequels and related games. In the 21st century it has been repackaged in a number of formats (such as for the iPhone) as a "retro" or historic game. It is currently one of only three video games (along with Pong and Pac-Man) in storage at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.[3] -
Tetris by Alexey Pajitnov
Tetris is developed by Russian programmer Alex Pajitnov. It is played on a PC. It was the hugely successful handheld version for the Game Boy launched in 1989 that established the game as one of the most popular ever. In January 2010, it was announced that Tetris had sold more than 170 million copies, approximately 70 million physical copies and over 100 million copies for cell phones, making it the highest paid-downloaded game of all time. -
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Part III: 1985-1994
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Gameboy by Nintendo
Nintendo releases the handheld Game Boy for $109. It is an 8-bit handheld video game device. The Game Boy and its successor, the Game Boy Color, have both combined sold 118.69 million units worldwide. Upon its release in the United States, it sold its entire shipment of one million units within weeks. -
PlayStation by Sony
The Sony PlayStation made it's worldwide debut on December 3, 1994. It now consists of a total of four core consoles, a media center, an online service, a line of controllers, two handhelds and a phone, as well as multiple magazines. The first console in the series, the PlayStation, was the first video game console to ship 100 million units.
The PlayStation consoles include PlayStatoin 1, 2, 3 ,4, Portable (PSP), and Vita -
Nintendo 64 by Nintendo
Nintendo's 3rd home video game console for the international market. As part of the fifth generation of gaming, it primarily competed with the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn. It was released with two launch games, Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64, and a third in Japan, Saikyō Habu Shōgi. -
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Part IV: 1995-2008
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Tamagotchi by WiZ Co. Ltd.
The Tamagotchi is a handheld digital pet, created in Japan It was first sold by Bandai in 1996 in Japan. As of 2010, over 76 million Tamagotchis have been sold world-wide. A Tamagotchi is a keychain-sized virtual pet simulation game for people of all ages. The characters are colorful and simplistically designed creatures based on animals, objects, or people. -
The Sims by Electronic Arts
The Sims is a strategic life-simulation video game. It was developed by game designer Will Wright, The Sims uses a combination of 3D and 2D graphics techniques. The Sims themselves are rendered as 3D objects, but the house, and all its objects, are pre-rendered, and displayed in 2D. -
PlayStation 2 by Sony
The sixth-generation console competed with the Sega Dreamcast, Microsoft Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube.The PlayStation 2 went on to become the best-selling video game console in history, selling over 155 million units.[7] More than 3,870 game titles have been released for the PS2 since launch, and more than 1.5 billion copies have been sold. -
Nintendo DS by Nintendo
Nintendo releases the Nintendo DS, a portable system with two screens, one of which can be used as a touch screen. The DS, short for "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld gaming: two LCD screens working together, the bottom one featuring a touchscreen, a built-in microphone, and support for wireless connectivity. -
PSP by Sony
The PlayStation Portable is the only handheld video game console to use an optical disc format, Universal Media Disc (UMD), as its primary storage medium. Other distinguishing features of the console include its large viewing screen, robust multi-media capabilities, and connectivity with the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, other PSPs and the Internet. -
Wii by Nintendo
The Wii is a home video game console. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. The Wii introduced the Wii Remote controller, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and which detects movement in three dimensions. -
Grand Theft Auto IV by Rockstar Games
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North It is the eleventh title in the Grand Theft Auto series, and the first main entry since Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in 2004. Grand Theft Auto IV is played from a third-person perspective in an open world environment, allowing the player to interact with the game world at their leisure. The game is set in the fictional state of Liberty City, which is heavily based on New York City. 6m copies sold. -
3DS by Nintendo
The Nintendo 3DS was an installment of the original DS. It is capable of projecting stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or additional accessories. It was also pre-loaded with various applications including: an online distribution store called Nintendo eShop, a social networking service called Miiverse; an Internet Browser; the Netflix, Hulu Plus and YouTube streaming video services. -
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Part V: 2011-present
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PlayStation 4 by Sony
As a successor to the PS3, the PS4 is a video game console from Sony Computer Entertainment. It competes with Nintendo's Wii U and Microsoft's Xbox One, as one of the eighth generation of video game consoles. -
Xbox One by Microsoft
Days after the release of the PS4, Microsoft unveils its newest console, the Xbox One. It is the successor to the Xbox 360 and is the third console in the Xbox family. It directly competes with Sony's PlayStation 4 and Nintendo's Wii U as part of the eighth generation of video game consoles. Microsoft and various publications have classified the device as an "all-in-one entertainment system", making it a competitor to other home media devices such as the Apple TV and the Google TV pl -
Video Games in 10 Years
These days, we're seeing many developers providing an homage to the 8-bit and 16-bit era of gaming with new experiences that are also nostalgic. It is said that in the near future, game studios will be able to create games and have someone else turn them into 3D experiences. Not every game should be in 3D. It is believed that in the future, we'll see retro non-stereoscopic games released from independent studios. -
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Part VI: The Future of Video Games
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Video Games in 20 Years
The motion controls of today like PlayStation Move are the equivalent of the early 8-bit days of game consoles. In the future, we will know more about the player. Game developers will have access to real-time information and data about the player, which will allow them to create some really dangerous-almost interactivities.
