History of Video Games

First Computer Game

1958

Pong is created and is a hit at Brookhaven National Laboratory. It was created by William Higinbotham. It is simply a tennis based game.
https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200810/physicshistory.cfm

First Video Game

1962

First video game ever released was "Space War." Created by the mastermind Steve Russell. It was a game over two fighting ships around a dot.

First Arcade Game

1971

Pong comes to the first arcade game model in 1971. The company Atari released the brown and yellow machine. The concept was just to keep the ball from getting past your area.
https://www.engadget.com/2014/07/09/worlds-first-arcade-videogame/

First Gaming Console

1972

The Magnavok Odyssey was the first of it's kind. It was a home console with a main system and a controller. It released with the game Pong.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_2600

Brown Box

1972

Few months after the Atari or the Odyssey released the Brown Box released also with Pong. It was about the same shape as Atari just brown. It also was not as popular as the Atari mainly because of recent success with the arcade industry.

Atari .vs. Magnavok

1972

Magnavok sues Atari for stealing the game pong. The table tennis game was created by Magnavok, but Atari used in with arcade machines. Atari had to pay a settlement of $700,000.
http://tabletennisnation.com/technology/atari-vs-magnavox-lawsuit-table-tennis-video-games/

Apple

Apr 1, 1976

The computer and now phone company was founded. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak are the masterminds. Their hard work now had paid off with being a tech powerhouse.

Atari 2600

1977

Another home console with Pong. This was the more popular console thanks to recent success with arcade games. It was later in court case with Magnavok.

Pacman

Apr 22, 1980

First game with a true main character. It was a general release arcade game by "Namco" first in Japan then the U.S. It was a huge hit that even sold merchandise.

Ms. Pacman

1981

Namco scores again with changing the gender of their famous character. Ms. Pacman with the pink bow turned head allowing girls to enjoy the game much more.

Galaga

1981

The little jet shooting at the ailens turned heads quick. The arcade exclusive game was very popular. Many games were similar to it at the time.

Donkey Kong

Jul 9, 1981

Nintendo released their first major game title with Donkey Kong. It only released in arcades until 1983 with their home console. It was another major character game.

EA

Apr 28, 1982

Frustrated employees leave and form their own company, EA. They created many fan favorites. Madden Football and took rights to Tetris.

Mario

Jun 1, 1983

Nintendo's only plumber with a red hat and their mascot. A major character to this date. Super Mario Bros and other huge games around the character came to arcades and a month later to the Nintendo.

Nintendo

Jul 15, 1983

Nintendo, a Japanese game company. In 1983 they released their first home console. Later their mascot would be Mario.

Tetris

Jun 6, 1984

Russian created game with lost rights was a hit. The bad choice by the Soviet Union to sell this franchise won't be forgotten. Fantastic addicting block game.

Sega Genesis

Jan 9, 1989

Sega the new group in gaming created their first hit home console, but third overall. Their mascot later on becomes Sonic. The console was good, but had a hard time competiting.

Gameboy

Apr 21, 1989

That first handheld game console that was a major success. With games like Pokemon it was easy to be a success. It had two buttons and a d-pad allowing easy play

Sonic

Jun 23, 1991

Sonic is the mascot of Sega. He is a blue hedgehog that is super fast. His game hit in 1991 on the Genesis and was a favorite.

Wolfenstein 3-D

May 5, 1992

First shooter game. It was 3-d and third person until Doom. It was a major hit.

PlayStation

Dec 3, 1994

Sony's first home console. It is now referred to as the PS1. To this date Sony releases sequels to the console.

Nintendo 64

Sep 26, 1996

Nintendo's next major console hits. With major games on board for the new console. The console had one of the best outcomes ever.

PS2

Mar 4, 2000

Sony makes the console of the era with it's sequel. With games like crash bandicoot and sly cooper the console is a success.

Gamecube

Sep 14, 2001

Nintendo released another dominant home console. The console started using disc. It was very popular in early 2000s.

Xbox

Nov 15, 2001

Microsoft turns around to try and compete with Sony in the Gaming world. The xbox is a hit, but no ahead of the newer PS2.

Handheld Game Competition

2004

Nintendo created the DS. Sony created the PSP. This was now another part of the game industry.

Home console Competition

2006

Microsoft had control of home console competition with the 360. On the Nintendo's side they created the wii. Also Sony made the PS3 in order to compete with Microsoft.

2009 big name games

2009

Minecraft and Call of Duty: MW2 took over the shelves. The 2 games are still some of the best selling games ever. Released for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 .

EA .vs. NCAA

Sep 26, 2013

EA was sued for making a college football game called NCAA Football 14'. The major issue was they used athletes names to make money. EA lost the case paid NCAA money. They haven't made a college football game since

Fortnite

Jul 25, 2017

THE GAME THAT STARTED IT ALL. Fortnite the battle royale and cooperative story game. It took over PC, Console, and Mobile. The idea is to land, loot, kill, survive. It bigs back memories to gamers who played Halo and COD making it a community fan favorite.