Early 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 Magnavox Odyssey was the very first game system to be released in the United States. The prototype was called the brown box; it was a crude version of what was going to become the Odyssey. The design of the odyssey was to use cartridges which altered the circuits inside the box.
Plastic sheets were needed to attach onto your television screen. These sheets added more graphics to use in conjunction to the images that the game system would project onto your screen. This was released in 1972.
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 including hand held games were released in 1976 and 1977. Coleco entered the video gaming craze with the introduction of Telstar in 1976. The Atari 2600 home game system was released in 1977, along with a baseball game in 1978 by Mattel. In 1979, Microvision another gaming system put out by Milton Bradley was released. This had cartridges that could be changed with different games. This was the first hand-held game that used cartridges for their games.
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.
In 1981 Sega was yet another video gaming system that got in on the competition with the release of Turbo. This was one of the first driving video games that simulated reality. In comparison, the only driving game up to this point was Atari’s Night Driver and it was not nearly as realistic.
In 1982 the Atari 5200 Super System was the replacement for the Atari 2600. The original intention was for the 5200 to be the competition for Intellivision however, it ended up as competition for Coleco. The 5200 was not the hit that it was thought it would be due to 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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