GAME HISTORY -ANNA HUANG

The History of Games

note: Apparently the "indents" won't show up so I each new paragraph is when it skips a line.

Since the 1950’s games had improve so much since then. It’s so funny how it used to just be black and white screens with dots in it and it’s considered a game. Nowadays because of the technology the games like that back then is nothing now. Now our games are fully rendered three dimensional with high definition screens. Our generation is certainly one of the luckiest generations with the fancy and flashy graphics and awesome technology on every electronic system.

Did you know that the first game was invented in 1958 by a physicist Willy Higinbotham? It was created at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. Higinbotham’s game is a table tennis-like game that was played on an oscilloscope; oscilloscope is an electronic device that is able to produce visual displays corresponding to electronic signals. Three years later Steve Russell, a student at Massachusetts Institute of technology (MIT), created another game called “Space War”. It was actually the first interactive computer game. Anyways you get the point how games started out.
As time progresses the improvement of games also progresses. In 1967 Baer and his team successfully created two television games. One of them was a chase game and the other one is a tennis game. At that time they also discovered that they are able to manipulate a toy gun to detect spots of lights on the television screen. Soon after in 1970 Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, who are actually future founders of Atari, started to try to create the arcade version of Spacewar but instead it’s called Computer Space. Soon after in 1971 Computer Space became the first video arcade game ever released. Soon after, the public said in the survey that the game is too difficult to play. A year later Nolan and Ted created and also showcased Magnavox’s Odyssey, the first home gaming system, at a convention in Burlingame, California. Later that year the home gaming system was released to the public. Nolan and Ted founded and named the company “Atari” after a Japanese word which is equivalent to “check” in a chess game. Quickly a year after the game system was released the very first game created by Atari is “Pong”. Atari’s Pong was not release till 1975 and became one of the hottest items during that Christmas year.
In 1977 Atari finally introduces their first cartridge-based home video system that was called the Video Computer System. Later on it was known as the Atari 2600 and was sold for $249.95 at retail prices. Anyhow long story short from Atari’s first creation till 1980 was definitely their era in the entertainment gaming industry. In 1980 is when many other gaming companies start to debut their products. Mattel’s debuts their company’s first gaming system called Intel vision, it was actually the first gaming system that could compete with Atari’s 2600. Intel vision has better graphics than Atari’s 2600 but sold at a higher retail price of $299. Also Activision became one of the first third-party video game vendor which was actually created by Atari programmers who wanted individual recognitions for creating Atari’s games. Also in the same year 300,000 units of Pac-Man were released by Namco. In 1982 Atari released a new gaming system called Atari 5200 to compete with Coleco’s Colecovision.

During 1983 that is when the Japanese introduces Nintendo. Nintendo debuts their first gaming system Famicom. Nintendo did not plan to market the product in the U.S. because Atari controls such a large percentage of the market. So instead they figured that it would be a smarter idea to offer Atari rights to distribute the Famicom Gaming System. Nintendo’s gaming system did not appear in the U.S. market till 1985. In America the gaming system is known as Nintendo Entertainment System. During the same year while the Nintendo is being introduced to the U.S. in Russia a programmer named Alex Pajitnov developed a very popular game called Tetris. The following year the Nintendo Entertainment System was released in the U.S. after being test-marketed in New York. During the same year both Atari and Sega introduces their own gaming system to compete in the market. Atari releases Atari 7800 while Sega releases the Sega Master System.

First it was the video game consoles but in 1989 Nintendo came up with the handheld Game boy sold for $109. Atari also tries to enter the market with their color handheld Lynx sold for $149. Nintendo also releases the first 16-bit console in the U.S. it’s called the TurboGrafx-16. It’s the first system to run video games while being stored in compact discs that was sold for $189. Sega also debuted their new game console the Genesis. It’s the first 16 bit home game console sold for $249.95. Around this time is definitely when technology starts to grow a bit quicker and more game companies are working harder and harder to compete in the market.
Two years later Super Nintendo Entertainment System was released in the U.S. sold for $249.95. In 1993 Atari released the Jaguar who is trying to be the first 64 –bit console the actually the product only runs two 32-bit processors. The market definitely gotten more competitive since Atari’s first release because of the competition many game companies are constantly creating new games some games even contains violence. It’s because of that the Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Senator Herbert Kohl of Wisconsin launched a Senate investigation. Their goal is hoping to ban all the games with violence in it.

A year after the major Senate investigation, 1994, the Entertainment Software Rating Board was created. The Entertainment Software Rating Board rates the video games and then makes sure that the rating symbol it’s marked on every game’s packaging. That way it can help alert the buyers about the contents in the game, it’s definitely a good way for parents to make sure if they are buying a game that is suitable for their children or not.
In 1995 Sony finally brings the PlayStation to the U.S. after making their debut in Japan the year before. The PlayStation console was sold for $299 in the U.S. During the same year Nintendo also released Nintendo 64 in Japan, which was also released in the U.S. the year after.

At this point many game companies seem to go into hiatus because in 1996 it seems like a new fade happened. The Tamagotchi virtual pet instantly became a hugely popular and a success in Japan. It was also released in U.S. the same year but in May and it sold all 30,000-unit supply in three days! Also the companies seem to be more focused on arcade games. They created a more “ride –and –video” games for example: skiing, jet skiing, snowboarding. It seems that these types of “ride –and –video” are more popular than the original “gun shooting” games at that period of time.

By 1997 the era belongs to Sony’s PlayStation. It’s considered one of the most popular game consoles where 20 millionth units have been sold. It was incomparable with any other gaming system. While Tiger introduces their “multipurpose” handheld called, “Game.com” to compete with Nintendo’s Game Boy. Tiger’s Game.com also features a calculator, address book, and also a stylus for the built –in touch screen. Another special feature hoping to win over fans was that the Game.com can be connected to the PC where you can access your e-mail. Also during the same year Arizona tries to put down a law where it’s illegal to display or distribute violent materials to underage minors. The result was that the proposed bill was not approved.

In 1998 Sega introduces the game console Dreamcast in Japan. The Dreamcast console can be operated on the Microsoft Windows CE which can be easier for the conversions between the Dreamcast and PC games. Around the same time Wal-Mart, the retail chain, decided to ban more than 50 video games that contains that seems to be inappropriate for underage minors. Immediately a year after the Wal-Mart game banning the Columbine High School Shooting, in Littleton, Colorado, occurred. Quickly right after the incident Sega announced that the company will not be releasing a light gun game for the Dreamcast console in the U.S. Also in addition the guns, that were originally plan to be imported to America, which is compatible with the American Consoles, were instantly banned. In results the Americans had to play the popular House of the Dead 2 with standard controllers.

Sony’s PlayStation finally launches their PlayStation 2 in the U.S. in 2000. It was sold for $ 299.99 more expensive than any other console sold from before, but it was a big hit. It was actually sold out quickly in the early morning the day it came out. The demand was so high that it’s really difficult to buy a PlayStation 2 during the first shipment because there were only 500,000 units available during that time. During the same year The Sims was released and quickly became one of the biggest hit.

The competition is getting fiercer and fiercer. In 2001 Microsoft and Nintendo introduced their “next – generation systems” within only days of each other. Both companies were bumping head on head with each other because Microsoft claims that their Xbox offers “the most powerful game experiences ever.” The Xbox was sold at $299.95 and it comes with an Ethernet port and a built-in hard drive. While Nintendo introduces their Nintendo’s GameCube that is sold for $199.95, which is able to deliver new forms of interactive gaming for the players. While Nintendo was presenting their GameCube they also released the GameBoy Advanced. This is an updated version of their GameBoy Color, who is also an updated version of the original GameBoy. Sega finally gave up on competing in the market and officially announces that they will no longer manufacture any hardware.

For the next three years none of the companies release any new product. In 2004 Nintendo continue to update their GameBoy series again. The Nintendo Company released the Nintendo DS, which DS stands for Double Screen; it’s still a portable handheld system with two screens. The top screen is just for a better viewing of the game and the bottom screen can be used as a touch screen.
In the following year Sony releases their PSP system. It’s also a portable handheld system but with a high –resolution display. By now all the handheld systems are so fancy and high tech it doesn’t matter if you are playing a game with one of those handheld or on your television at home. Microsoft wants to keep competing in the market so they introduced their Xbox 360; another updated version of their original Xbox console system. During that time it was already planned that Nintendo and Sony’s will be competing with each other with their new console systems that will be release the following year. In 2006 Nintendo released their Wii, a gaming console where the controller was made for the purpose where the gamers actually need to move around to play the games. For example the gamers need to swing the controller like a tennis racket or just use it however depending on the games they are playing. Sony released their PlayStation 3, an updated version of PlayStation 2, a more sophisticated game system that costs way more than any other game system out there. A lot of people who bought the PlayStation 3 didn’t like the system very much so it was definitely a disappointment to many fans.

Nintendo’s Wii became really popular and many good games were created specifically for their game console like the widely popular game Super Mario Galaxy and many more. In 2008 Wii officially launched Wii Fit which is a game where people can exercise in doors in front of the television. Wii Fit is a great way to get people moving and it’s a great way to get gamers of all ages to stay fit. In 2009, which is current the present day, Nintendo’s Wii is currently one of the most popular gaming system and Nintendo’s Wii Sports become one of the best-selling video game of all time.