October 27, 2010

The Brief History of Classic Video Games

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1889 - The Pre-History

  • Fusajiro Yamauchi founds Nintendo Koppai - a Japanese playing card company. Later they drop "Koppai" from the name and become simply known as Nintendo.
Yeah! That's right... 1889!!! Let's fast forward a bit...

1947 - The Age of Discovery

  • Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann develop the first electronic game. Using a cathode ray tube display they simulate a missile firing at a target placed on a screen overlay.

1952

  • For his thesis on human to computer interaction, Alexander Sandy Douglas develops the first grpahics based computer game, plus breaks ground in artificial intelligence with his game OXO (aka Noughts and Crosses). Using a EDSAC vacuum-tube computer, code written on punch cards and a cathode ray tube to display the graphics, the game allows the players to compete with a computer in a game of Tic-Tac-Toe.

1954

1958

  • As a demonstration for visitor's day at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, the head of the Instrumentation Division, Willy Higinbotham, creates Tennis for Two, a two player game consisting of a dot (the ball) being knocked back and forth across a line (net). Each player uses a knob and button to serve the ball and adjust what angle to hit it. The controls send a messages to a computer that adjusts an electronic signal's quality level to an oscilloscope. The signal then tells the computer what angle to move the ball. Tennis for Two is often credited as the first video game, mainly because it is the first one made available for public viewing.
  • Midway Manufacturing Company opens its doors to create amusement products.

1961-1962

  • MIT computer technicians, Stephen "Slug" Russell, Martin "Shag" Graetz, Wayne Witanen and several other contributors develop Spacewar! as a demo for the new PDP-1 (Programmed Data Processor-1) computer. The single player game consists of two spaceships known as "wedge" and "pencil" which fly around firing torpedoes at one another. The game also features a background of stars and a hyperdrive that zaps your ship to a different part of the screen. A hit at the computer lab, the game is soon packaged with future models of the PDP computer as a demo. Lead programmer Stephen gets the nickname "slug" from his slow work habits, and it takes two years to develop the game.

1966-1967

  • Defense contractor Sanders AssociatesemployeeRalph Baer invents a video game to display on a television screen. The game itself consists of two dots chasing each other. With intentions to develop the technology as a training tool for the military, the government continues to fund the project with the top secret label The Brown Box Project. Baer and his team also create a tennis game for the Brown Box. Ralph Baer goes on to invent many innovations in the home video game console market as well as invent the electronic memory game Simon.

1969

  • Rick Blomme invents online gaming when he programs a two-player version of Spacewar! for PLATO, the first public computer time sharing system that is to be the grandfather of computer networking and the internet. Over the PLATO system two players can compete in Spacewar! from separate computers.
  • Bally Technologies, Inc. a company that manufactures mechanical gambling games such as slot machines, purchases Midway Manufacturing. The company will eventually change their name to Bally-Midway.

Once the seal was broken by those programmers from the Classic Video Game Age of Discovery, it opened a Pandora's Box...or rather Ralph Baer's Brown Box...of video game pleasure in the arcade and at home, taking us into The Golden Age and First Generation of Classic Video Games.

1971 - The Golden Age

  • Computer Space and Galaxy Game are the first two coin-op arcade video games ever created. Releasing just two months apart, both are ports of the PDP computer game Spacewars!
  • Galaxy Game - The first of the two only has one unit made by creators Bill Pitts and Hugh Tuck, who put it in a Stanford University coffee shop for a dime a game. It stays there until May 1979 when the processor becomes unstable and the unit is removed and dismantled.
  • Computer Space - The second game is created by the more business minded future Atari founders Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, for the company Nutting Associates, who mass-produce the game and sell it commercially. They distribute 1500, but the game is not successful as it is too difficult to play.

1972 - The First Generation Console - The Magnavox Odyssey

  • Magnavox licensees Ralph Baer's television game technology from Sanders Associates and releases it to the public as the Magnavox Odyssey. The system uses interchangeable game cartridges (called cards), a controller with two knobs (one for horizontal movement, the other for vertical). It also comes with translucent plastic overlays to simulate background graphics for the dot and line games that generate onto the screen. Similar to board games the players use a physical score card to keep track of their points. Ralph Baer also develops the first video game peripheral: a light riffle that plugs into the Odyssey's controller port for use in shooting games.

1972 - Atari and Pong

  • Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney found Atari with the purpose of developing commercially available video games. Atari is named after the Japanese chess term for “check”.
  • Al Alcorn is hired by the newly formed Atari and programs their first official release, a coin-op arcade tennis game named Pong, after the sound a ball hitting a paddle makes. The game consists of two knobs that control vertical paddles on opposite sides of the screen that bounce a ball between them. As the game progresses the ball moves faster and faster. Pong is a monumental success and kick starts the coin-op arcade frenzy.

1973

  • Atari releases three more arcade games:
    - Space Race - A two-player game where space ships race while avoiding asteroids.
    - Gotcha – A tag game where one player chases the other through a maze.
    - Rebound - A two player volleyball game.
  • Bally-Midway throws their hat into the coin-op arcade ring with Asteroid (not to be confused with Asteroids) a rip-off of Space Race.

1974

  • Gran Trak 10, the first ROM based arcade game is released by Atari. The ROM memory allows higher quality graphics capabilities for this car racing game.
  • A new company Kee Games begins manufacturing arcade games. Secretly owned by Atari and created in a ploy to bypass exclusive deals, Kee puts out clones of Atari games. One of Kee's few original games, Tank, is an enormous success and is eventually re-released under the Atari name.
  • Mattel releases the very first line of electronic LED handheld games. Although not video games themselves, these light based stand-alone games are the precursor to the handheld video game systems to come.

1975

  • Atari releases the first home version of Pong exclusively through Sears-Roebuck. The game is a single unit that just plays Pong, with two built-in controllers. Pong is Sears-Roebucks best selling item of the holiday season.
  • Adventure (aka Colossal Cave Adventure) - The first text based computer adventure game is created by Willie Crowther and Don Woods.
  • General Instruments develops the AY-3-8500 chip, a clone of Atari's Pong tech. This chip plays several variations of the Pong game. GI makes the chip available to manufactures who want to compete against Pong with their own home console system.
  • Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) releases the first desktop computer, the Altair 8800, available only through mail order.
The remarkable success of Pong has electronic companies jumping onto the bandwagon with their own console systems, many of which are simply clones of Pong. In response, Atari introduces the Atari 2600, an advanced cartridge based console that brings 8-bit versions of arcade and original games to living rooms. This begins the Second Generation of Classic Video Games, which continues the success of video games and consoles until the market becomes flooded with advancements and knock-offs faster than consumers can keep up.

1976 - The Second Generation

  • Coleco is the first to take advantage of General Instrument's infamous AY-3-8500 chip, with Telstar, a self contained system that plays three games. Instead of being separate, the control knobs are attached to the sides.
  • The Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corp. release the Fairchild Channel F home video game console. It is originally called the Video Entertainment System, but changes its name the next year after the release of the Atari VCS/2600.
  • Steve Wozniak creates the Apple-1 desktop computer. His friend Steve Jobs comes up with the idea of selling the computer via mail order. Although not the first desktop computer sold, it is the first to use a keyboard.

1977 - Video Game Consoles

  • The Atari VCS (later known as the Atari 2600) hits the scene and reinvents the home console market. The third and most advanced cartridge based system, the VCS/2600 delivers advanced 8-Bit graphics to your TV and a wide variety of games, from originals to remakes of the biggest arcade hits. Although nowhere near the quality of the Con-Op Arcade units, the VCS/2600 becomes the father of modern console gaming.
  • Bally-Midway enters the console market with Astrocade, available mainly through mail order and computer stores.
  • Nintendo releases their first home console system, the Color TV Game 6, a self contained console that plays 6 variations of tennis (basically Pong).

1977 - Computer Gaming

  • At MIT's Laboratory for Computer Sciences, Dave Lebling, Marc Blank, Tim Anderson, and Bruce Daniels create the text based adventure game Zork for the PDP-10 minicomputer. It quickly gains a cult following on ARPANET, a predecessor to the Internet, mostly used by government agencies and computer technicians.
  • Three groundbreaking home desktop computers release simultaneously: the Tandy TRS80, the Commodore PET and most popular of the group, the Apple II.

1978 - Arcades and Consoles

  • Historic Arcade Games Release:
    - Space Invaders, the first game to display high scores.
  • Nintendo makes its first foray into the Coin-Op Arcade market with Computer Othello, an arcade version of the classic board game. Computer Othello is never released outside Japan.
  • Carol Shaw creates 3D Tic-Tac-Toe for the Atari 2600 and becomes the very first female video game designer.
  • Ralph Baer creates tech for Sanders Associates that is licensed to Coleco for KID-VID, a preschooler console video game using audio cassette tape controls and "live" music.
  • To compete with the Atari 2600, Magnavox releases their second generation console, the Odyssey2. Like the 2600 it features 8-bit graphics, but also has a built-in keyboard.

1978 - Computer Gaming

  • The PDP-10 computer is again used to create a milestone in online computer gaming at Essex University when Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle create the first MUD (multi-user dungeon) program. MUD enables the first multiplayer computer text games via ARPANET, which evolves quickly from a simple group of locations where players can move and chat to including objects, events, virtual creatures and NPCs (non playing characters) . This is the precursor to the Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) .

1979 - Arcades, Consoles and Computers

  • Sears releases Tele-Games, a clone of the Atari 2600 that uses the same components, and interchangeable game cartridges.
  • Mattel begins test marking their home console system, the Intellivision, in Fresno, California.
  • Three of the four Zork creators, Dave Lebling, Marc Blank, and Bruce Daniels, team up with Joel Berez to found the computer game software company Infocom.

1979 - The First Handhelds

  • Atari develops a handheld console system using hologram technology called Cosmos. Although games are created for the system and the console advertised, Atari pulls the plug and never releases the system.
  • Milton Bradley releases Microvision, the very first handheld gaming console with interchangeable cartridges. The system is plagued with problems including screen rot, which destroys the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) ; easily damaged button controllers; and a high sensitivity to static electricity, which destroys the game cartridges. Only 13 games are released for the system, most notably the only licensed game, Star Trek Phaser Strike.

1980 - The Arcade Games

  • Historic Arcade Games Release:
    - Pac-Man - The most popular video game of all time.
    - Battlezone - The first arcade game to feature 3D graphics.
    - Defender - The first to use a virtual world where things happen off screen that effect the gameplay. Considered to be one of the most difficult video games of all time.

1980 - Consoles, Computers and Handhelds

  • After a successful test market the year before, Mattel releases Intellivision to the mass-market. Of the systems released thus far, this is the first to give the Atari 2600 any real competition, with superior sound and industry-first 16-bit graphics capabilities.
  • Gunpei Yokoi creates the Nintendo Game & Watch. This marks the first line of standalone style LCD games that are still popular today.
  • Kelton Flinn and John Taylor create Dungeons of Kesmai, the first commercially successful multi-user online role-playing games. Unlike its predecessors Kesmai utilizes graphic images instead of just text.

1981 - First Gaming Mag

  • Dona Bailey becomes the first female coin-op arcade game designer when she creates Centipede with co-designer Ed Logg.
  • Kelton Flinn and John Taylor revamp and upgrade their multi-user online role-playing game, Dungeons of Kesmai, and rename it Island of Kesmai. This new version is an instant hit.
  • Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel publish Electronic Games, the first video game magazine.
  • IBM launches the Personal Computer, marking the beginning of the modern PC age.

By 1983 gaming consumers were drowning in a flooded console market with mostly sub-par game offerings. Suddenly one of the fastest growing and most profitable industries crashes. Most of the industry players move out of the gaming market or close their doors completely.

1983 - Arcade Games

  • Released just months apart, Dragon's Lair and Cliff Hanger are the first coin-op arcade games to use laserdisc technology. The laserdisc allows these to be the first games to feature full motion video and cell animation. While Dragon’s Lair is released first, (featuring all original animation by the master Don Bluth) Cliff Hanger is rush released to piggyback on the hype and uses recycled animation from the Japanese anime series Lupin III. Laserdisc games are the predecessors to modern DVD games.

1983 - The Crash of the Video Game Industry

  • An oversaturated market, a decline in quality, and the competition of Commodore, PC and Apple computers causes the US video game market to crash. Atari puts an end to the Atari 2600, after which Coleco and Mattel exit the video game business, and numerous game related companies go bankrupt. Much like the burst of the dot-com bubble, the crash lasts only two years.
  • The Japanese home console market is mostly separate than the US and doesn't feel the effects of the crash. Nintendo releases the Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System), the most advanced home console of the time, in Japan. The system is an overnight sensation. Nintendo offers Atari the rights to US distribution, but the deal falls through due to the US crash.

1984

1985 - Arcade and Computer Gaming

  • Microsoft develops the PC software operating system Windows as an add-on to DOS.
  • QuantumLink (aka Q-Link), one of the first publicly available online services launches for Commodore computers.

1985 - The Rebirth and Third Generation

  • Nintendo release the Famicom in the US as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), ending the industry crash and launching the third generation of console gaming. Avoiding the term "console" the NES is called an Entertainment System and looks like a video component. Sales go through the roof and make Nintendo the dominant force in the gaming industry.
  • Nintendo also launches Super Mario Bros. an incredible multi-level platform adventure. The game is so popular that it actually drives sales of the NES system and starts to get packaged with the NES. Mario will become the most popular video game character of all time.
  • At the Soviet Academy of Sciences, programmer Alex Pajitnov creates the puzzle game Tetris.

1986 - Atari's Return and SEGA's Launch

  • SEGA releases the SEGA Master System in direct competition with the NES. Although technologically superior to the NES, Nintendo already has a hold on the market with far more aggressive marketing tactics. The Master System never reaches the levels of the NES in the United States, but does extremely well in Europe.
  • To try and regain their pre-crash popularity, Atari releases the Atari 7800, fixing all the shortcomings of the Atari 5200. They also make it the first backwards compatible system, allowing gamers to play titles from both the Atari 2600 and 5200. Between the competition of the NES and the SEGA Master System, the 7800 quickly fizzles.

1989 - The Fourth Generation

  • For the past three years, with a steady movement of games but no new console innovations, SEGA and The NEC Corporation decide to up the stakes and upgrade the tech with The Sega Genesis (aka MegaDrive) and The Turbografx-16.
  • The Sega Genesis is the first 16-bit console since Mattel's Intellivision. With far superior graphics than the 8-bit NES, the Genesis becomes Sega's most popular system and gives the NES a run for its money.
  • Although enthusiasts consider the Turbografx-16 the most advanced system of the time, it is limited by a higher price tag and only having a single controller port. For multiplayer gaming, you must buy an adapter and a second controller. Although a hit in Japan, the Turbografx-16 ranks third in the US console wars.

1989 - The Handheld Revolution

  • Nintendo releases the most popular handheld gaming system of all time, the Game Boy, a cartridge based handheld unit created by Game & Watch innovator Gunpei Yokoi. The Game Boy launches with a large array of high quality games and a big marketing push. Its success is solidified when Nintendo packages it with the popular and addictive puzzle game Tetris.
  • To compete with Nintendo’s Game Boy, Atari releases their own handheld system, Atari Lynx, the first handheld to feature a backlit color LCD screen. Although the graphics quality is superior, the Game Boy is easier to program and holds a larger share of the market. Although sales of the Lynx are decent, it eventually succumbs to the success of the Game Boy.

1990 - Console and Computer Gaming

  • Super Mario Bros. 3 releases for the NES and becomes the bestselling video game of the time.
  • SNK releases the Neo-Geo, the most advance gaming system thus far. However, the system quickly perishes due to an extraordinarily high price tag of $649.99, and games that cost upwards of $200. The games themselves, Metal Slug, Fatal Fury and Samurai Showdown, have long outlived the system with new life on the current and next gen consoles of today.
  • The Amiga CDTV releases the first home computer to use a CD-Rom Drive as a standard.

1990 - The Handheld Revolution Continues

  • Turbo Express, the portable version of the Turbografx-16 releases as the most advance handheld to date. Not only can it play all of the Turbografx-16 console game cartridges (which were about the size of a credit card) but with the Turbo Vision TV tuner peripheral you can turn it into a portable TV. The Turbo Express was plagued with problems due to cheap components and a faulty screen.
  • Sega releases their own handheld system, the Game Gear, the only handheld to come close to competing with Nintendo’s Game Boy. The Game Gear features a color screen but a lower price tag than the Turbo Express or Atari Lynx.

1991 - Arcade and Console Gaming

  • Historic Arcade Game Releases
    - Street Fighter II – The game that popularizes the beat-em-up genre.
  • Nintendo releases the Super Nintendo (SNES), their first 16-bit console system, and packages it with Super Mario World. The SNES is a success and competes neck and neck with the Sega Genesis.
  • Sega ships the first Sonic the Hedgehog game. The title is so popular that it increases sales of the Sega Genesis and Sonic is quickly made into Sega icon. Without Sonic it is doubtful the Sega Genesis could compete with the Super Nintendo.
  • The Game Genie, a cartridge add-on that allows players to unlock cheats on NES, SNES and Genesis games, hits the market.

1991 - Online Gaming

  • Discworld MUD game opens, based upon the Terry Pratchett novels. It becomes the most elaborate online multi-player game of the time.
  • America Online launches the first graphics based online multiplayer game, Neverwinter Nights. Developed by Stormfront Studios, Neverwinter Nights is one of the first MMOGs made available to the public.
  • The ImagiNation Network (aka Sierra Network) goes live with the first online multiplayer network. For a fee casual gamers can now go online and play with other members of the community in games ranging from chess and poker to sports and RPGs.
After the rebirth of console gaming the industry grows even larger than before, but it starts a race for new innovations and more advance technology to beat the competition. Soon video game makers adopt the computer’s most powerful software storage device, the CD-ROM. Not only far less expensive to manufacturer than cartridges, CD-ROMs can hold more information and pull the programming off the disc as needed. This allows for higher quality graphics, more elaborate gameplay and richer content.

1992 - Prelude to the CD-ROM Age

  • SEGA releases the first CD-ROM based home console with the Sega CD, an add-on to the Genesis that plays games off a CD-ROM, allowing higher quality graphics, more elaborate games and full motion video. For the first time games with live action as full motion video are available on a home system. Unfortunately the high price tag on top of having to already own or buy a Genesis prevents the system from catching on in popularity. Separately SEGA licenses both the Genesis and Sega CD to JVC who sells them as a high priced, high end, all-in-one unit called the Wondermega.
  • Id Software releases Wolfenstein 3D, the game responsible for bringing the popularity of a First Person Shooter to the mass market.

1993 - The Fifth Generation

  • Panasonic ships the first self-contained CD-ROM console, the 3DO. Named Product of the Year by Time Magazine, the system is the highest quality console on the market, giving birth to many popular franchises such as Alone in the Dark and Need for Speed. Despite all this, the $699.99 price tag and an oversaturation of the market causes the system to fail.
  • Atari makes a final attempt at reclaiming the market with the Jaguar. Although a CD-ROM system, the Jaguar also has a slot to play cartridge games. Because of its bug ridden processor, memory failures and complex controller the system bombs, and Atari exits the console market and sticks to publishing games.
  • Doom releases and quickly overtakes Wolfenstein 3D as the most popular FPS game.

1994 - Sony Enters the Game

  • Historic Arcade Game Releases:
    - Tekken
  • The SEGA Saturn and Sony PlayStation release in Japan just months apart. Both are CD based systems, delivering 32-bit graphics, but the Saturn targets hardcore gamers, while PlayStation aims at casual gamers.
  • Sega and Time Warner Cable launch The Sega Channel, the first video game download service that works with an adapter that connects to the Sega Genesis. Gamers can log onto the channel and play numerous games, with more added every month. Unfortunately, the politics surrounding cable companies and end of the Genesis' life span soon kill the channel.
  • Cyan releases Myst and it quickly becomes the best selling computer game of the time, redefining the market.

1994 - Game Age Ratings Are Born

  • In response to the growing concern over violent and sexual content of video games, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is formed. The first age rating system for video games which becomes a standard 10 years later. Unlike the MPAA movie ratings board, the ESRB bases their rating not only on the content, but on the interactive experience as well.

1995 - Console and Computer Gaming

  • The SEGA Saturn and Sony PlayStation release in the United States several months apart. Saturn beats PlayStation to market, but SEGA’s rush to release suffers many consequences with few launch titles and pricey hardware. This allows Sony the time to prepare a richer stock of games for the PlayStation’s release. In addition, Sony drops the price of the PlayStation to $299, selling the hardware at a loss and making the costs up with more game sales.
  • Microsoft releases Window 95, an instant hit that makes Windows the primary operating system for PC computers.

1995 - The Virtual Boy

  • To try and leverage the Virtual Reality craze Nintendo launches the Virtual Boy. Developed by Game Boy creator Gunpei Yokoi, the Virtual Boy is intended to be the first gaming system to deliver true 3D graphics. From its launch the Virtual Boy is plagued with problems. Marketed as a portable virtual reality experience, it is far from either and causes many players to get headaches. Gunpei Yokoi feels that Nintendo rush released the product before it was ready and mismarketed it. With the failure of the Virtual Boy, Gunpei and Nintendo part ways, ending a 30 year relationship.

1996 - Console and Computer Gaming

  • Nintendo sticks to cartridge based games with their 64-Bit console, the Nintendo 64 (N64) . The N64 delivers twice the capabilities as the other consoles with none of the loading time required by CD-ROM based games. The only drawback is that the manufacturing costs far exceed that of the other systems. For the next several years N64 and PlayStation dominate the market.
  • Tomb Raider is launched for the PlayStation, Saturn and PC, giving birth to Lara Croft, the most popular female character in gamedom.
  • Id Software releases the first in their series of popular first-person shooters, Quake, featuring rich 3D graphics and online multiplayer capabilities.
  • Meridian 59, the first MMOG release with fully 3D rendered graphics goes online.

1996 - Handheld and Novelty Gaming

  • Tiger Electronics attempts to give Game Boy some competition with their release of Game.com, a handheld gaming system that is also an address book, calculator and can go online to access e-mail. With all of these capabilities Tiger doesn't focus enough attention to the games which are lackluster at best.
  • Rumble features are introduced to joysticks and controllers allowing the player to feel vibration feedbacks as a direct result of the gameplay.
  • Tamagotchi, the first virtual pet, becomes an instant hit in both Japan and the United States.

1998 - The Sixth Generation of Consoles Harnessing the Power of Computers

  • Sega launches the Dreamcast in Japan, which is still considered to be the best system of the time and the innovator of online console gaming. The CD based system utilizes 128-bit graphics, a processing power matched only by an advance desktop computers and a built in modem for online gaming.

1998 - The Second Generation of Handhelds

  • Nintendo brings color to their handhelds with the Game Boy Color (GBC). A groundbreaking handheld system, the GBC's innovations start many future gaming trends, including wireless connectivity, backwards compatibility, and games with built in rumble packs and motion sensors that can detect how you move the system.
  • After the failure of their home console, SNK release a handheld version called the Neo-Geo Pocket. Although more affordable than the console, it originally releases with a black and white screen and is hit hard by lack of support from game developers. Although they quickly fixed the lack of a color screen with the release of the Neo-Geo Pocket Color, the system drops off after just two years.

1999 - Dreamcast Fails and EverQuest Launches

  • Sega releases the Dreamcast in the United States. Although it gets off to a strong start, sales immediately drop when Sony releases the PlayStation 2 in 2001. This causes Sega to cease production of the Dreamcast and pull out of the console market completely. Like Atari they stick with publishing video games for other systems.
  • Sony launches the most successful MMOG of the time, EverQuest, finally giving the genre credibility in the marketplace.

2001 - The Third Generation of Handhelds

  • Nintendo releases the Game Boy Advance (GBA) , the final gaming system to produce all 2D games in a classic style. The GBA is also the system with the most ports of classic video games including the Nintendo Game & Watch and popular NES, SNES and N64 titles.

2005 - The Next-Gen Consoles Begin

2006 - Next Gen Consoles Continue

Posted by Ron at 9:02 AM

1 comment:

Blake said...

Quite the research there Mr Ron. Your like Matlock but with a hint of Rockford thrown in.

October 27, 2010 9:09 AM

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