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You've come a Long Way, Baby! The Evolution of Video GamesHistory of Video Game Consoles:The video game industry is currently healthy and profitable and thriving. To understand videogame history however, the history of video game consoles,The Early Years (1952-1970):In the history of video game consoles, these early years contain the ideas, experiments, and initial insights that showed human interest in deriving amusement from interaction with machines:In 1952, for example, A.S.Douglas wrote a version of Tic-Tac-Toe (in other words Noughts and Crosses) which can be counted among the first video games, and which formed a part of his doctoral thesis at the University of Cambridge. The interaction between humans and computers was of special interest to him. In 1958, William Higginbotham, was responsible for the creation of an elementary form of electronic tennis (or Pong or Tennis for Two), which used an oscilloscope as a display. But Higginbotham never patented this game, and no one was able to recognize its potential beyond the open house at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in the US where he was employed. Therefore his clever technological invention had no sterling impact on videogame history. In 1962, Steve Russell, while working for his engineering degree at MIT, created Space war! This was a type of missile simulation, which was subsequently modified by junior students who added extra features like gravity effects, and hyperspace capability. This game created a significant impact, and was seen by several hundred students, including Nolan Bushnell, who in 1970, created Computer space, which was a freestanding version of Space war and which people had to pay for to play. In 1969, Ralph Baer began exploring how to use the television medium as a display tool for interactive entertainment. He began developing the prototype of the video game system when employed at Sanders Associates, and filed his first video game patent in 1969 with his "Television Gaming Apparatus and Method" that later evolved into Magnavox Odyssey in 1970.It is important to remember that no matter how basic these concepts now appear to be, they were new at that time, and provided the very foundation of video game history. The Popular Arcade Games (1971-1983):When the world began to recognize the significance of the video game, that period can effectively be characterized as the Golden Age of Video Games. Pioneers like Ralph Baer and Nolan Bushnell were responsible for bringing these arcade games into pizza parlors and people's homes, and caused the video game to make a significant impact on human life and culture. Its cultural impact was specially felt through its appearance in novels, television shows and films:In 1971, after completion of his freestanding version of Space war, Nolan Bushnell sold it to Nutting Associates who in turn marketed it to the public as Computer space. But due to its complex features, the game intimidated users, and was a financial failure. In 1972, Magnavox begins its production of Odyssey which was a huge success, selling 100,000 units at 100$ USD in its first year of production itself. Though primitive in technology, it was the first home console, and the harbinger of the rest that followed. More important, it was the realization of Baer's dream to create an interactive gaming tool that can be contacted to the user's own television. The History of AtariIn 1972, Bushnell left Nutting Associates and formed Atari. Al Alcorn joined Atari as its first engineer and developed Pong - an instant sensation worldwide, with its main appeal coming from its simple, brief and accurate instructions - "Avoid Missing Ball for High Score." For the next few years, Atari continued to create multiple home versions of Pong, Super Pong, Ultra Pong, and Super Pong 10.Will Crowther with his "Colossal Cave" created as a sort of virtual experience of exploring caves with his daughters, was the first really immersive electronically - mediated interactive experience, and the original template from which all adventure games, that were text based, took their shape and form. In 1977 Atari released the Video Computer System (the VCS) later known as the 2600. This system that is cartridge - based was famous for being the largest library for software for video game consoles during the Golden Years of video game history. In 1978 Taito's Space Invaders, unleashed into the arcades was the first blockbuster video game, becoming the first to use animated characters in the game, and the first to display a high score. In 1979 Atari's "Asteroids" released into the arcades was another sensational success, the shooting game becoming an instant competition to Taito's patent for the same. In 1980, Mattel's Intellivision saw its debut into the home console market and at once came into direct competition with Atari VCS. While Intellivision had the better pictures or graphics, Atari VCS had the faster system. In 1982, Coleco's "Colecovision" took on both Intellivision and Atari VCS with its combined strength of great graphics and big speed and gameplay. 1983 saw the crash of the video game industry, with even Atari succumbing to the demands of a changing marketplace, which recognized the personal computer with its educative benefits as better than a piece of hardware that only played games. Further a glut of badly conceived video games only helped the crash to happen sooner. Continue to: The Modern Age Videogame History 1984-1994 Related ArticlesSave Money, Rent Games for Your Console SystemNew Hot Buys in Video Game Consoles Game boys? The World of Video Game Culture How to Pick Appropriate Video Games for Children |
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