Brief History of Videogames

1972

Pong - The first arcade game for Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney’s new company Atari. Pong was a computerized version of Ralph Baer’s ping pong game (Baer later successfully sued).

An early omen of the game’s huge future success occurred when a prototype cabinet was installed in a local bar.

A few hours later the bar manager rang Atari to report a fault with the machine.

Morale in the company sank until it was discovered that it had stopped working because the coin box was full to overflowing. Pong went on to make $3 million (£1.5 million) for Atari.

1974

Nintendo – A long established Japanese manufacturer of playing cards entered the videogame market by securing the rights to distribute the Magnavox Odyssey in Japan. Today Nintendo no longer manufacture playing cards but their videogames and console business is worth an estimated $80 billion (£40 billion). This makes them Japan’s third most valuable company.
1976

Night Driver - This arcade game from Atari was the first commercial videogame to feature a ‘first-person’ perspective.

It showed a road (represented by simple white dashes) coming towards the viewer. The game was black and white - the yellow car in the foreground was a just a sticker!


Death Race - An arcade game based on the 1975 film Death Race 2000, Death Race (Exidy) was the first videogame to raise concerns about videogame violence.

The game consisted of two cars dodging obstacles and controversially running over stick figures.

1978

Space Invaders - Written by Toshiro Nishikado for the Japanese game company Taito. The first Space Invaders game was a black and white with coloured overlays stuck onto the screen. It was innovative because it was the first arcade game to display high scores.

In Japan, Space Invaders took so many 100 yen coins that the Japanese mint had to quadruple production of them just to keep up with demand. The game is estimated to have made 4 billion yen overall, that is a game for every person existing on planet earth in the 1980s.


Activision - The game developer and publisher, formed by Jim Levy along with several disillusioned Atari programmers.

Atari were not happy about the defection of their programmers and unsuccessfully tried to sue Activision to block the sales of their early games. The company went on to publish many famous games including Quake (id Software) and the Tony Hawks series.

1980

Pac Man - Toru Iwatani, a programmer at the Japanese company Namco created an arcade game that was so popular that it even spawned its own TV show in the US. The arcade version of Pac Man eventually sold 300,000 cabinets, becoming the best selling arcade game of all time.



Battlezone – Famous for being the first truly 3-D game, Battlezone (Atari) featured a virtual battlefield considered to be so realistic at the time that a version of the game was used by the US military for training purposes.


1981

Donkey Kong - The first international smash-hit game for Nintendo. Designed by Shigeru Miyamoto, a newcomer who had never designed a game before, Donkey Kong was an arcade game that featured a runaway gorilla and a carpenter called ‘Jumpman.’ He would later change jobs and become internationally famous as the plumber Mario.

1982

Sega - Sega release its first video games console, the SG-1000. The Sega company (formerly SErvice GAmes) was founded in 1940 in Hawaii. The company built pinball machines and other coin operated games for US military personnel serving on bases in the Pacific like Pearl Harbour. In 1951 the company relocated to Japan. Sega’s most famous game Sonic the Hedgehog was released in 1991.


Electronic Arts (EA) – A US-based game developer and publisher established in 1982 by Trip Hawkins.

Famous EA games include the Sim City series (Maxis), The Need for Speed series (Road and Track) and Medal of Honor (Dreamworks).



1984

Great games crash – Videogames had been experiencing a downturn in sales since 1982 due to a flooded market, poor quality games, and competition from home computing.

However, 1984 is when the extent of the problem became known. Magnavox and Coleco both abandoned the video game business entirely and Atari reported a half a billion dollar loss (£250 million). They went from employing 400 staff to just 95 in a matter of months.


The Internet - The former military computer network, ARPAnet is broken up into six interconnecting networks (or domains as they are known).

The new name for this “network of networks” is the internet.

It would not be until the mid 1990s before the internet started being accessed by home computers, but in the ten years that followed it became an essential medium for playing games.


1985

Super Mario Bros. - Despite being released a year after the great games slump, Shigeru Miyamoto’s Super Mario Bros. is claimed to be the most successful videogame of all time (over 40 million copies sold since 1985).

The theme music, by Koji Kondo has been performed by symphony orchestras in Japan and is widely recognised in the rest of the world (one study of US college students found it was more instantly hummable than the Star Wars theme).

The game has spawned many imitations, a TV show and a feature film starring Bob Hoskins.

1986

The Legend of Zelda – Shigeru Miyamoto’s new cartridge game was centred around the adventures of Link and his attempts to save princess Zelda.

The gameplay of The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo) defies classification, incorporating elements from action/adventure games, role-playing games and puzzles.

Despite Nintendo’s initial fears that Zelda would be a commercial failure, it has sold over 6.5 million copies and is often cited as the best videogame of all time.

1990

Final Fantasy - A game created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, Final Fantasy (Square Enix) was released in the US in 1990.

It tells the story of four orphaned youths who find a crystal, that restores balance to the world.

The game spawned thirteen sequels (so far) making it the most successful role-playing series of all time.

The Final Fantasy series is also famous for its lushly-scored orchestral music composed by Nobuo Uematsu.


1991

Street Fighter II - The game that inspired a series of fighting games and kept gaming arcades alive in the United States for almost another decade.

The original Street Fighter game was not a success and it took four years for a sequel to appear. Street Fighter II (Capcom) introduced ‘special moves’ which could be combined into ‘combos’.

It was made into a 1994 film starring Jean Claude Van Damme and Kylie Minogue.

1992

Mortal Kombat - An arcade game developed to compete with Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat (Midway) included infamous ‘fatality moves’ where opponents could be bloodily despatched.

Many were alarmed by the game’s realistic and graphic depiction of violence - to counter the criticism Mortal Kombat’s distributor in Japan, Nintendo, released a version of the game where the red blood was changed to white sweat.

Mortal Kombat has inspired the creation of two Hollywood films, several comic books and even a techno album.

Alone in the Dark - This game was the first ‘survival horror’ game.

Alone in the Dark
(Infogames) inspired later games such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill.


1993

Doom – The hugely popular first-person shooter game Doom (id) was first released as ‘shareware’ which could be copied and distributed for free.

It was one of the first games to use genuine 3D graphics and it popularised the idea of ‘network play,’ where players could play against each other over a local area network (LAN) or on the internet.

Players could also design and build their own game levels (WADs) and share them with others online. Bizarre Doom WADs have included Star Wars, The Simpsons and the hotel lobby from the BBC situation comedy Fawlty Towers.


Myst - A graphic adventure video game designed by brothers Robyn and Rand Miller.

The Millers began working on Myst (Cyan/Brøderbund) in 1991 and released it for the Macintosh computer on September 24, 1993.

Its strong story and photorealistic graphics attracted a big audience of fans and Myst became one of the highest selling games ever.

1994

ESRB - Concerns over videogame violence were debated by the US Congress in 1993 (their equivalent of the houses of parliament).

Congress gave the videogame industry one year to start regulating itself. The result was a rating system for games in the US called The Entertainment Software Rating Board or ESRB.

Games are rated according to seven categories from ‘EC’ for early childhood to ‘AO’ for adults only (18+).

In Europe the equivalent of the ESRB is the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) which started in 2003.

1995

PlayStation - Sony released its PlayStation (one) console in the US for $299 (£150).

The PlayStation turned out to be one of the most successful game consoles of all time, selling 102 million units.

Famous PS1 games include: Crash Bandicoot (Naughty Dog 1986), Final Fantasy VII (Square 1997) and Metal Gear Solid (Konami 1988)


Nintendo 64 - Nintendo released its Nintendo 64 console in Japan, a year before it would be released worldwide.

The 64 was the last games console to use cartridges. It sold nearly 33 million units worldwide but it was eclipsed by the success of the PlayStation.

Famous games for the 64 included staple Nintendo titles such as the Mario and Zelda series, as well as the hugely acclaimed first-person shooter Goldeneye 007, designed by the British company Rareware.
1996

Tomb Raider - The British-designed and published game Tomb Raider (Core/Eidos) introduced Lara Croft to the world who is later named the most famous female video-game character of all time by The Guinness Book of World Records.

It has spawned a series of games and inspired two successful films starring Angela Jolie.


Death of the arcades - The popularity of videogame arcades, which peaked in the early 1980s, entered a period of steady decline in the 1990s as the technology of home gaming rivalled and surpassed that of the stand-alone arcade machines.

The surviving arcades focused on “ride-games” featuring driving and skiing simulators instead of the “shooting-and-fighting” games which were popular before.


1997

Carmageddon - The British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) attempts to ban Carmageddon (Stainless/Interplay) for its depiction of onscreen violence. The ban is later overturned on appeal.




Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - It is estimated that Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time grosses $160 million (£80 million) over the Christmas period, more than the estimated takings of the Disney film A Bug’s Life in the same period.




Videogames ban - A major US retail chain, Wal-Mart, decides to ban over 50 video games that it considers to be inappropriate for minors.





Columbine shootings - Two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, arm themselves with guns and kill teachers and pupils at the US Columbine High School in Colorado.

It was reported that they were keen players of Doom which was implicated (or scapegoated) in the incident.

As a result of the massacre Sega announces that it will not release a light gun with its Dreamcast console in the US


2000

PlayStation 2 - Sony launches the PS2 in the US for $299.99 (£150). With a built-in DVD player and back compatibility with PS1 games, every one of the 500,000 consoles produced sells out on the first day.

PlayStation 2 would eventually become the most successful games console of all time with 127 million units sold worldwide. Famous games include the Gran Turismo series (Polyphony 2001-2005), Ratchet and Clank series (High Impact 2002-2007) and Pro Evolution Soccer series (Konami 2001-2006)

2001

Grand Theft Auto 3 – This British-designed game introduced the first truly 3D environment in a videogame.

Grand Theft Auto 3 (Rockstar/Take-Two Interactive) was also one of the first popular ‘sandbox games’ (where players do not have to follow rules but can just play around in the world).

The game was famous for its car radio soundtrack, which as well as playing specially composed parodies of popular music styles would offer satirical and funny commentaries on US society.

However, GTA 3 attracted criticism for its levels of violence and its apparent endorsement of criminal behaviour.


Game Studies - Professor Espen Aarseth (pictured) announces that 2001 is “year one of videogame studies”. The first academic journal devoted to videogames is launched in this year and games scholars from all over the world hold their first conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.






Xbox - Microsoft launches its Xbox console. Sales of the console increase when the game Halo Combat Evolved (Bungie/Microsoft) is released exclusively on the Xbox.

Other famous game include Soul Calibur II (Namco 2002) Fable (Lionhead 2005) and Conker: Live and Reloaded (Rare 2005),


2002

Xbox Live - Microsoft debuts its Xbox Live service for playing games via the internet on the Xbox console.

Players create an online user identity called a gamertag, which stays the same across all games. Then when they connect to Xbox Live they can play in teams with friends or with other players anywhere in the world.

2003

GTA III inspired violence - William and Josh Buckner shot two people and claim their actions were inspired by Grand Theft Auto III.

The families of the victims file a $246 million (£123 million) lawsuit against the game’s developer Rockstar, its publisher Take-Two Interactive, the store it was bought from - Wal-Mart, and the console maker - Sony.



2004

Nintendo DS – Nintendo releases the DS console, a portable gaming system with WiFi and two screens, one which acts as a touch screen for a special stylus controller.

Nintendo developed a range of broad appeal games for the DS, including Brain Age and Nintendogs that are aimed to appeal to non gamers.




Halo 2 - Launched in 2004, Halo 2 (Bungie/Microsoft) made more money in its fist day of release than the Star Wars Trilogy DVD did in its first weekend.

The game included Xbox Live multiplayer missions and within a year the number of Xbox Live accounts had doubled to 2 million.



Sony releases the PlayStation Portable (PSP) the first handheld console with a large high-resolution screen.




Xbox 360 - Microsoft unveils the first ‘next generation’ games console, the XBox 360.

The 360 boasts a triple core IBM processor and full internet connectivity.

The graphics are spectacular but hardware problems affect some consoles at first (the dreaded ‘red ring of death’).



Game concerns - Hilary Clinton calls for a US Federal Trade Commission inquiry after a hidden sex scene was discovered in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

The game is reclassified in the US with a adults only rating and chains like Wal-Mart refuse to sell it. Meanwhile in South Korea a man dies of heart failure after reportedly playing the MMOPRG Starcraft for 50 hours with few breaks.


2006

Wii - Nintendo release the Wii console, with its innovative motion-sensitive controller.

The Wii has created a new audiences for videogames, especially among the older generation.

Wii Sports (Nintendo), the game bundled with the console is a huge hit, however, sales of other games are disappointing, suggesting that the Wii might have a limited appeal among dedicated gamers.


PlayStation 3 - Sony debuts the PlayStation 3, a very sophisticated but expensive gaming system.

The PlayStation 3 has a fully integrated online gaming network and plays Sony’s Blueray format of high-definition video discs.

However, the console’s high price meant that sales were initially sluggish. Sony sold 1.84 million of the PS3 compared with Nintendo’s 3.19 million sales of the Wii.



Next-generation game consoles - The batch of new consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony have set new standards for photorealism in games, as this screenshot from Gran Turismo 5 (Polyphony/Sony) shows.

However, a downside to such realism was realised when Sony had to apologise to the Church of England for using Manchester cathedral as a backdrop to one of its violent computer games, Resistance: Fall of Man (Insomniac/SCEA).

2007

Manhunt 2 ban - The British Board of Film censors (BBFC) attempts to ban the adult videogame Manhunt 2 (Rockstar/Take-Two Interactive) for its “unrelenting focus on brutal slaying.”

This is only the second time that such an action has been taken (the first attempted ban was Carmageddon in 1997).

The BBFC ruling was overturned on appeal.


Golden age of videogames - 2007 is heralded as a golden age of videogaming both commercially and critically.

Sales in the UK total £1.52 billion (with games played on consoles accounting for 79% of all software sales).

The biggest selling title of the year, Halo 3, makes £82 million on its first day of its release, earning more than the film Spiderman 3.

Titles like Call of Duty 4 (Infinity Ward/Activision), Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo) and Bioshock (2K Games) earn a slew of perfect 10 scores from gaming reviewers.

2008

Videogame Tournaments – videogames are a fast-growing spectator sport with big tournaments like Unreal held at Wembley Stadium in the UK and the Championship Gaming Series held in the US.

Championship Gaming is an international gaming league created by David Hill an executive at the Fox Sports TV channel. It has a $500,000 (£250,000) top prize and many of the world’s best players have signed exclusive contracts to play in its tournaments.

Videogame sales boom - The videogames business worldwide is estimated to be worth $41 billion (£20.5 billion) overtaking Hollywood box office receipts and threatening to overtake music sales. In the US sales of games and game consoles have grown by 57% despite the recent downturn in the economy.




Grand Theft Auto IV - The newest instalment of the Grand Theft Auto series (Rockstar/Take-Two Interactive).

GTA IV becomes the fastest selling game in history, shifting 3.6 million units in its first 24 hours.

The game is from a successful yet provactive Grand Theft Auto series, as the game includes violence, swearing, drug references and content which could be offensive to children.


2009

Videogames such as Batman : Arkham Asylum and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City are launched . These games are both successful with the Batman game getting a rating of 91% on Metacritic.

Games such as Batman : Arkham Asylum allowed players to play online on the successful XBox Live service.

Games such as Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 proved to be successful amongst different audiences, as the online modes and gameplay placed the player in a war setting

2010

In this year, video games such as Fifa 10 and 11 were successful, with the online modes and realistic graphics proving to be popular amongst gamers

Notably, near the end of 2010, the latest installment in the Call of Duty Series, Call of Duty: Black Ops was released, with sales proving to be more successful than the previous game in the series

As well as this games such as Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood were released, which were successful amongst different audiences as the historical aspect and fight scenes were truly breathtaking