Remember When: Video Games
Video games have come a long way since we began, some people think that video gaming started from the 80s’, however that’s simply not true. This is my little history lesson on video game history.
1. Oscilloscope Games (1950’s)
Some of the first video games in existence were from the 50s’, The most popular of the bunch being Tennis for Two. This game was made with oscilloscopes, electronic equipment that shows voltages as wave forms, however, there’s a way for oscilloscopes to show vector images, called the X-Y mode. William Higinbotham created the game for Brookhaven National Laboratory’s public exhibition in only a few weeks.
The Video Game Industry Crash, And It’s Eventual Rise Again (1970’s – 1983)
The Atari 2600 was a very popular home console, it came out in 1976 and was pretty much in every person’s home, however, come 1983 and people are growing tired of the game console. The video game market had become oversaturated with bad games, some people say the nail in the coffin was “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial” , A game so bad that Atari had to bury 3.5 million copies, when only 1.5 million people had purchased it on launch. Two years after the market crashed, Nintendo released the Nintendo Entertainment System, which absolutely made the video game market skyrocket back to life with its first 8-bit console, then the competition sprung with Sega releasing the Sega Genesis, the first 16-bit console. And thus the console wars began, a competition to see which company made the better games, and though some stepped into the ring to see if they could create the next best thing, they easily fell to the “gaming giants”, but eventually, someone did.
- The 3d Era (1990’s – Now)
Eventually, Sony released the PlayStation, one of the first 3d gaming consoles, and to this day, Sony, plus Microsoft and Nintendo, have been pioneering the video game industry, and setting a standard for games and the consoles they’re on. From the Playstation to the Playstation 5, the Xbox to the Xbox Series S, to even one of the main gaming giants from back then, Nintendo, with their latest console the Nintendo Switch, gaming has truly come a long way from where we have begun.