Games : Video Game History in a Nutshell

The history of the video game does not go back for centuries, but it goes back farther than you may have imagined. The earliest ancestor of the game we play today is a game called “Tennis for Two” that was introduced by inventor John Higginbotham back in 1958. This video game consisted of a horizontal line across the screen with a short perpendicular line to represent the net. In the 1960’s the first interactive video game called Spacewar was invented and then the first game that was played using a television. Then, in the early 1970’s the first video arcade game called “Computer Space” was introduced. Then in the mid1970’s a new little company called Atari came out with a game known as “Pong” that people could play at home. The first two copyrighted video game products were sold in 1980 by Atari. We’ve come far in the past 26 years or so.

Now there are thousands of games on the market and a number of game systems as well. They keep improving the features and the products. You can even download games to play on your cell phone or play a video game on your watch. You can have a game with 3-D graphics, amazing sound quality and realistic movements. The Playstation 2, the X-Box, and the Game Cube are some of the bigger names in the industry. The new Playstation 3 is creating a buzz with its ability to burn DVDs.

There are some concerns associated with the explosion of the video game industry. Children are more obese and less active than ever before and some feel that these games are partially to blame. In response, the video game manufacturers have come up with interactive games with “dance pads” that allow players to replicate dance moves. Some people are also concerned with the amount of violence and sexuality on these games. They see a direct connection with the rise in violence and crime in society. Now the industry is working with an independent advisory board which rates the games for content and age appropriateness. This is a great tool for families who want to control the types of media that come into their home.

The entertainment software industry will continue to improve the products and technology out on the market today in response to consumer demand-the history of this product is far from over, but it has come a long way already.