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Tic-Tac-Toe
A.S. Douglas wrote his doctoral thesis on Human-Computer Interaction. He created the first graphical version of a computer game (Tic-Tac-Toe). -
Tennis for Two
Tennis for Two was the first video game ever played, and was created on an oscilliscope by William Higinbotham. -
Spacewar!
A student at MIT, Steve Russel, invents Spacewar!, the first computer-based game. Unfortunately, the only people who could play it had access to a mainframe computer. -
Chase
The first video game played on a television set, called Chase, was created by Ralph Baer. -
The Brown Box
Ralph H. Baer invents an interactive television game. In 1972, the Magnavox Odyssey was released, which was based on his famous Brown Box design. -
Computer Space
The first arcade game, Computer Space ( which was based on Spacewar!), was created by Nolan Bushnell. -
PONG
Atari introduces its home electronic table tennis game: PONG. -
Adventure
Don Wood's pioneering text-based game Adventure is created. -
Fairchild Video Entertainment System
The Fairchild Entertainment System, the first programmable home video game system, was released. This was the first home console to use the newly invented microchip. -
Space Invaders
Space Invaders descends on Japan, causing a shortage of 100 yen coins. -
Pac-Man
A missing slice of pizza inspires Toru Iwatani to create Pac-Man. -
Donkey Kong
Nintendo's Donkey Kong featured a character that would later become famous: Jumpman, better know as Mario. -
Tetris
Tetris was created by a Russian mathematician, Alexey Pajitnov. It later leaked out from behind the Iron Curtain and became a hit. -
Nintendo
The Nintendo entertainment system revives an ailing American video game industry, two years after its release in Japan. -
Game Boy
Nintendo's Game Boy popularizes handheld gaming. -
Solitare
Microsoft bundles an electronic version of the classive video game Solitare with its Windows 3.0 operating system. -
Sonic the Hedgehog
SEGA needed an iconic character for its Mega Drive/Genesis systemm, and found it in Sonic the Hedgehog. -
Violence.
In this year, Mortal Kombat set off hearings about violence in video games. Ironically, Doom also set oof the "first person shooter" industry in this year. -
Playstation
Sony's Playstation debutes in Japan. -
The Sims
Will Wright's The Sims models real life. It is not the first simulation game, but it does become the most popular. -
Xbox
Microsoft enters the video game market with its console, the Xbox. -
Steam
Valve released their landmark software, Steam. With Steam, consumers could buy and download games directly to their computer, changing the way that consumers bought and played games. -
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 becomes very popular with its seamless online play and high quality graphics. -
Wii
The Wii is released. This system (by Nintendo) uses a revolutionary system of detecting the movement of a controller. No longer are games limited to sitting on a couch. -
WoW
More than 10 million subscribers make World of Warcraft the most popular MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game) of all time.
