History of Video Games

By Courtney M

  • The Brown Box

    The Brown Box
    In 1967, Ralph Baer developed the first home game console. The game console name was the brown box. Baer sold it to Magnavox, who sold it to consumers as the odyssey. Ralph is known as the father of video games.

  • Atari Founded

    Atari Founded
    In 1972, Atari is created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari is credited for dominating the video game and arcade scene during the 1970's. Atari most famous console is the Atari 2600

  • Pong

    Pong
    Also in 1972, Atari released Pong. One of the most successful video games of all time. The game was basically table tennis. It was the first mega hit.

  • Video Game Characters

    Video Game Characters
    In 1980, Pac-Man was introduced to the world in arcades. He is one of the most known video game characters on the planet. In 1981, Mario was introduced in Donkey Kong. He became the face of popular video game developer company, Nintendo.

  • Video Game Crash

    Video Game Crash
    In 1983, due to over saturation of video game consoles and video games, the market crashed. It all started with one of the worst video games of all time, E.T. Many video game companies went to bankruptcy

  • Nintendo NES

    Nintendo NES
    in 9185 the NES released. This console is credited for ending the video game crash. It Brough improved features that were much needed to the market. Nintendo would continue to dominate the market for years.

  • First Handheld Console

    First Handheld Console
    The Atari Lynx released in 1989. It is known as the first handheld console before other ones like the gameboy, or PSP. It had a color display and was way ahead of its time. It was not as popular as the Gameboy though.

  • 3D & Online Gaming

    3D & Online Gaming
    Many Consoles were released during this time. Sony introduced itself as a competitor, releasing Playstation and the playstation 2, the best selling console of all time. Sony also released many things, stopping console business in the late 90's after the flop of the dreamcast.

  • Mobile Gaming

    Mobile Gaming
    Tetris was the first mobile game in 1994. Mobile gaming really started to rise in 2007, with the introduction of the iPhone and its App Store. Now Mobile Gaming is one of the fastest growing forms of gaming.