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War Simulation-1955
The U.S. military creates a computer-based war simulation game, Hutspiel, where red and blue players, representing the Soviet Union and the U.S., fight. -
Tennis for Two-1958
American physicist William Higinbotham, who was part of the team that developed the first atomic bomb, creates a precursor to Pong called Tennis for Two, which is referred to by many as the first interactive video game. The game uses an oscilloscope as a screen with a cathode ray tube. Tennis for Two players hold a controller with buttons and a rotating dial to control the angle of their racket's swing. -
1962 - Spacewars
MIT researchers create the first computer-based video game called Spacewars, but the game can't be distributed because the hardware is too expensive to mass-produce. -
1971 - The Oregon Trail
Four University of Minnesota students design The Oregon Trail for the teletype. In 1973, it is adapted to the computer and in 1978, it's distributed on diskettes. -
1972 - The rise of Atari
Nolan Bushnell and Al Alcorn from Atari develop Pong, which was originally assigned to Alcorn as a company training exercise. Instead, the title becomes the first commercially successful arcade game. Pong leads the way for other video game development because companies began creating knock-offs of Pong and Atari, subsequently, was pushed to develop more games. In 1975, Atari releases a home version of Pong. -
1977 - The Atari 2600 sets the home console standard
Atari releases its first multi-game home console, the Atari 2600. The system is groundbreaking; it has cartridges than can save game information, a joystick, color, a growing game library and the ability to change difficulty levels. -
1978 - Space Invaders arrive
Space Invaders, released by Taito, becomes an international sensation, first in Japan, and later in the U.S.. Released first in arcade format, Space Invaders leads to a shortage of 100-yen coins in Japan. Some arcades open just so teens can play the game. Space Invaders releases for the Atari 2600 in 1980 and goes on to generate more than $500m in revenue throughout its lifetime. -
1979 - Activision gets into the game(s)
Four former Atari employees found Activision, the first stand-alone game manufacturer. -
1980 - Pac-Man chomps into arcades and home consoles
Japanese game company Namco develops Puck-Man. To avoid obvious puns, Namco and its American distributor, Midway, name the game Pac-Man for U.S. distribution. Pac-Man is a mega-hit. It sells 100,000 arcade units and generates $1 billion in revenue (in quarters) in its first 15 months. It becomes the first arcade game adapted to Atari and the first game to have an animated and eponymous main character. -
1981 - Donkey Kong storms in, and Nintendo is done with vacuums and vice
Shigeru Miyamoto creates Donkey Kong for Nintendo, which, by this time, has moved into video games and out of love hotels and vacuums. Donkey Kong is a massive hit and becomes one of the first games to feature multiple levels. It also introduces us to a character we're now well familiar with: Jumpman, or, as he's known to many today, Mario. -
1984 - Tetris falls into place
Russian Alexey Pajitnov creates Tetris but has to cede the game's rights to the Soviet government. Game creators couldn't independently publish video games in Soviet Russia. In 1988, Henk Rogers purchases Tetris from the Russian government and brings it to Japan, where he convinces Nintendo executives to buy the game and release it for Game Boy (Nintendo execs initially only wanted to release Mario). Tetris sells 35 million copies on Game Boy. -
1985 - NES debuts at CES
The 8-bit gaming console Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is unfurled for American consumers at CES. NES is a breath of fresh air in the States. It has better graphics, faster gameplay and more audible and developed sound than its predecessors. NES soon becomes the best-selling system. -
1988 - John Madden brings football to NES
John Madden Football releases for NES, the first title in what becomes an extremely popular series -
1989 - Game Boy catapults the portable gaming industry
Nintendo's iconic 8-bit, hand-held Game Boy invade gamers' palms, already packaged with Tetris. Over the years, the Game Boy is revamped as Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Color. To date, Nintendo has sold more than 400 million portables. -
1989 - Sonic the Hedgehog is here
Sega releases its 16-bit Genesis console in the U.S. and chooses Sonic the Hedgehog as its flagship character. -
1989 - SimCity arrives (with a few haters)
SimCity releases for computers. Originally, no distributor would buy the rights to the game because many didn't believe that gameplay centered on urban design would sell to a wide audience. How they were wrong -
1991 - Super Nintendo vs. Sega Genesis
Nintendo releases the 16-bit Super NES to compete with Sega's Genesis and wins out thanks to popular in-house titles like Mario, The Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong. -
1993 - Doom stirs the pot and regulators get involved
Doom popularizes first-person shooters and, along with the recently released Mortal Kombat, raises concern among parents and regulators about video game violence. The next year, Nintendo, Sega and Electronic Arts, pressured by a furious public and government regulators, band together to form the Entertainment Software Ratings Board to provide video game ratings. -
1994 - Warcraft begins to divide and conquer
Blizzard releases Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, one of the first strategy games with a detailed mission. The Warcraft series goes onto become the most popular massively multiplayer online game (MMO). -
1995 - Sega Saturn vs. Sony Playstation
Sega introduces Saturn, the first system with 32-bit graphics and a built-in modem. The same year, Sony releases the PlayStation, which is comparable to Saturn and sells for $100 less. The PlayStation eventually sells more units than the Saturn. Most Playstation games are 3-D and because they're disk-based, they're cheaper to produce and more affordable for consumers. Gran Turismo and Resident Evil become popular titles on PS. -
1996 - The Nintendo 64
Nintendo releases Nintendo 64 which has 64-bit graphics and 3-D games like new installations in the Mario and Zelda series, as well as the debut title in the James Bond series, the massively popular GoldenEye 007. The 64 is the last cartridge-based system, but its fast load time and cartridge-based storage capabilities are lauded. -
1999 - Sega's last hurrah
Sega releases the Dreamcast, which is the first console capable of online play and the company's last console. Saddled with debt and succumbing to competition from Sony, Nintendo and, soon, Microsoft, Sega pivots to become a third-party software develope -
2000 - PlayStation 2 sends shockwaves with stunning graphics
Sony releases the PlayStation 2. At 128 bits, it has better graphics than a computer, as well as DVD technology. Grand Theft Auto is native to the PS2 and becomes a massive hit. -
2001 - Microsoft fires back with the Xbox
Microsoft unveils the Xbox at CES in a keynote presentation by Bill Gates. The device features PC technology, an Ethernet port, an 8 GB hard drive and the ability to play DVDs. Its Halo: Combat Evolved game is instantly popular and becomes Xbox's flagship game franchise. The next year, Xbox introduces Xbox Live, which allows gamers to compete with users around the world -
2005 - The Xbox 360 picks up where the Xbox left off
Microsoft unveils the Xbox 360. It will later leap ahead of the competition, namely the Nintendo Wii and the Playstation 3, largely because of Halo 3's astonishing commercial success and critical acclaim. Xbox ends up getting simultaneous release for numerous games that were originally slated for a PlayStation 3 release. At one time, Xbox 360 has almost a 2-1 software attach rate advantage over PS3 and Wii. -
2006 - The Nintendo Wii gets gamers off the couch
The Nintendo Wii markets itself as a way for gamers to get more involved with their games. Nintendo markets the console to active, outdoorsy people who don't normally describe themselves as gamers. The Wii becomes a worldwide hit. By 2009, it has sold almost two times the number of consoles as Sony with the PS3.
