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Spacewar!
Spacewar was a computer based video game designed by Steve Russel and other MIT students. This game could be downloaded on various computer installations. Spacewar was not released or sold to the public. -
The First Home Gaming System
The gaming system, also known as "The Brown Box", was originally invented by Ralph Baer. This system was sold to the public as the Odyssey. The Odyssey had 28 games, and despite the system's failure, it inspired Atari's Pong. -
The First Arcade Video Game
Atari's Pong was the first arcade video game. Because Pong was based on an Odyssey game, Atari was sued. Odyssey won, and has the rights to Pong. -
2nd Generation of Video Game Consoles
Atari released a very successful console, the Atari 2600. This was the first game console to have joysticks. Interchangeable game cartridges and multi-colored games were also included. -
Video Game Crash
The video game market experienced a large crash due to too many consoles, bad video games, and computer gaming. Bad video games, such as Atari's E.T. were overhyped and low in quality. This resulted in bankruptcy for numerous video game companies. -
Video Games Make a Comeback
The video game industry recovered when the NES came to America. The Nintendo Entertainment System was a large improvement from previous consoles. Colors, sounds, 8-bit graphics, and gameplay all improved with the NES. -
The First Console War
Sega created the 16-bit Genesis console, prompting Nintendo to improve their system. Two years later Nintendo came out with a 16-bit Super NES. This resulted in an ongoing rivalry between Sega and Nintendo -
3D Gaming
The console war proceeded with more competition. Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, and Sega were all fighting for the best station. This resulted in 32-bit graphics, then 64-bit graphics. Characters and settings were more detailed due to being designed on a 3D plane.
