The First Video Games
It is hard to believe today that early video games were thought of as the latest innovations. With the many types we have to choose from, the earlier models such as Atari, seem almost silly in comparison. However, when these games were first released to the public, they were quite popular.
The first video game system to be released for use in the U.S. was the Magnavox Odyssey. Originating from a prototype completed in 1968 called the ‘brown box’ this was a crude version of what was to come. The Odyssey was designed to use cartridges that basically altered the circuits inside the box.
In 1972, based on plastic sheets that were taped onto the television screen, the odyssey system was still a hot item. The sheets were used in conjunction with the images that were projected onto the screen from the game system to add graphics.
This first video game and the ancestor of the many that are available today cost $100 when released and sold over 100,000 units in the first year of production. The beginning of the home console gaming system had begun, although it was quite primitive compared to the standards today.
In 1972, Nolan Bushnell founded Atari. At first they wanted to have the company name Syzgy, but the name was taken. They later settled on Atari as their company name. Al Alcorn was a developer that joined Atari, and soon the birth of PONG was originated. This was a game very similar to the table game, ping pong. The popularity of this game was outstanding when it hit the markets in 1975 for the home version of Atari.
Many games were later released in 1976 and 1977 that included some hand-held games. In 1976 Coleco got into the gaming craze with the Telstar. In 1977, Atari released their Atari 2600 home game system. Mattel released their electronic baseball video game for Atari in 1978. The following year, microvision game that had cartridges that changed the games was released by Milton Bradley.
By 1980 Mattel was ready to launch their answer to Atari – the Intellivision game system. The Nintendo game system was on the horizon. When Mario brothers games came out in 1981, the world was ready for something different. Gaining popularity, this was a game that seemed to be an instant hit.
Sega was another new gaming system that was released in 1981, which their game turbo was released. This was one of the first simulation games that were as close to reality as possible back then. The only other game that was to compare it to was Atari’s Night driver game which was not realistic at all.
The Atari 5200 super system released in 1982, replaced Atari’s 2600 system. Atari’s intention was to have this system in competition with the intellivision, but in all reality it became Coleco’s competition. The 5200 was just not as big of a hit as they had hoped because there were many design flaws.
The early games and systems were not nearly as sophisticated as today’s. The arrival of the Nintendo systems, Play Station systems and the Xbox in 2001 made yesterday’s game little more than children’s toys. The Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 are setting the trend for further technological advances today.
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