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Nintendo is founded, and its first ventures aren't PG
Fusajiro Yamauchi founds Nintendo Co. in Japan, but the company doesn't sell video games yet. Instead, for decades, it creates playing cards and later, in the 1960s, it experiments with a few extremely eclectic business ventures -- vacuums, instant rice and short-stay hotels -- for you know whom. -
The first computer game... of sorts
A.S. Douglas, a British computer science Ph.D. candidate at the University of Cambridge, creates the first documented computer game, Noughts and Crosses -- a tic-tac-toe game that runs on a computer at the university. -
The Cold War hits the computer
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
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. -
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. -
Computer programming language arrives
Hungarian-American mathematician John Kemeny, a former research assistant to Albert Einstein, co-develops the BASIC computer programming language that enables the creation of video games down the road. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
Super Nintendo
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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 -
Sony and Microsoft go head-to-head
Sony releases the PlayStation 3, which allows users to play Blu-Rays and stream movies and music to their system. The PS3 also connects to gamers' PlayStation Portable consoles and, most notably to many users, offers free online gameplay without a subscription. -
The Xbox One, the third Xbox, finally arrives
Xbox releases Xbox One with cloud integration and ability to overlay live TV. The console also has voice integration and an improved Kinect sensor -
Sony fires back with the PS4
Sony releases the PlayStation 4 with an emphasis on social game-play using a new share button and second-screen gaming with smartphone connectivity. The PS4 is the top-selling console for much of 2014.
