The Modern Age Videogame History (1984-1994)

The Modern Age signified the continued evolution of the video game, and covered the rise of 8 bit and 16 bit architectures. While the American public was no longer enchanted with dedicated console systems, network and internet multiplayer gaming became household names, with the PC providing a home to video games.

Nintendo initially resurrected the video game industry with their 8 bit Famicom in Japan, that came packaged as a single game thereby ensuring its success: a great arcade port of Donkey Kong. In 1989, Nintendo went on to create the most popular game platform the world has known the Game Boy. Game boy managed to outsell and fend off the challenges of all competing console systems with its potent combination of portability, simplicity of use, a huge library, and low costs. Further, Game Boy can be used to play a game from any country, thereby filling a need that went down marvelously with the public.

In 1984, Atari introduced its 3D polygon gaming to the arcades called I, Robot. This was a revolutionary game, years ahead of its time, and baffled the playing public.

In 1986 while Nintendo launched the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Sega launched its 8 bit system, called the Sega Master System (SMS). Since both NES and SMS were alike in capabilities, the only competition was in the field of software.

In 1994, Sega released Saturn to the public, and the world was on the threshold of the next generation of gaming. Just a week later, Sony sold Play station to the Japanese people who had more enhanced 3d capabilities compared to Saturn, but was inferior to Sega in the field of frame-buffering for smooth animation of 2d titles.

The Next Generation (1995-2006)

The American launch of Saturn and Play station ended the modern era of video games and marked the beginning of the next generation of game console users and the video game industry in general.

In June 1996, Nintendo released its Nintendo 64 bit console in Japan, which was its answer to the Sony Play station and Sega Saturn. Unlike their competitors however, the N64 still used cartridges for storing software instead of compact discs, thereby limiting the space for storing pre-rendered animations, digital audio and textures. The largest N64 titles were in fact around 32 megabytes.

In 1997 Tiger created and packaged an internet kit which made use of the Game.com serial port, and enabled the unit with the aid of a 2400 baud modem to go online. While this concept was indeed forward thinking, it did not help Tiger's handheld play games. And with Nintendo's launch in 1998 of Game Boy Color in Japan, the Tiger hand held game was all but wiped out.

The December of 2004 - The intervening years saw the jump from 32 bit to 64 bit architecture, an ever increasing improvement in media graphics, the widening influence of the internet on video console gaming witnessed Sony's entrance into the handheld video gaming field with its launch of the Play station Portable in Japan. The launch was an instant sellout, with the system essentially being a portable PS2, also capable of MPEG movie playback, MP3 playback, and WiFi capability to allow for internet play via wireless router access, and also for playing local multiplayer.

This era is, and continues to be, witness to the rise of the 32-bit, the 64 - bit , and the 128-bit processor architecture in home console systems, to the advances in hardware that help create more realistic, immersive experiences for video gamers, and to the continued popularity of online games. It has also been witness to the maturation of both home video console systems and handheld gaming.

Therefore , having understood the evolution of videogame history , by first exploring the history of video game consoles, arcade games, the very first video games and the revolutionary history of Atari, we have come to understand that the video game industry is vast , currently thriving , and an extremely profitable enterprise.