Many children and even adults cannot imagine a world without computer and video games. However, not everyone knows that the very first games came to us from... scientists' research laboratories!
How it all started
In 1952, British scientist Professor A.S. Douglas created OXO, a game that is also known as tic-tac-toe (noughts and crosses or tic-tac-toe in English). He did this not because he had nothing to do, but as part of his dissertation, which he defended at Cambridge University.
In 1958, a certain William Higinbotham created the game Tennis for Two on a large analog computer to entertain the public at the annual visitors' day at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York.
In 1962, Steve Russell of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a space combat video game called Spacewar! on a state-of-the-art computer used at universities. This was the first game that could be played on multiple computers.
Hey home console!
In 1967, Sanders Associates, Inc.'s developers, led by Ralph Baer, created a prototype of a multiplayer gaming system that connected to a TV. Their invention was called the Brown Box. By the way, Baer is sometimes referred to as the father of video games.
He later sold his device to Magnavox, which named the gaming system Odyssey in 1972 and launched it on the market. Odyssey was the first home video game console.
However, after a few years, consumers lost all interest in it.
What happened next
However, one of Odyssey's 28 games inspired Atari to create the first arcade video game, Pong, which it released in 1972. The game was a success, and in 1975 Atari released a home version of Pong, which also became popular.
In 1977, Atari released its home console with joysticks and replaceable game cartridges that allow you to play colorful games. This event marked the beginning of the second generation of gaming consoles.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, such well-known games as Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong were released.
The collapse of video games
In 1983, the video game industry in North America experienced a serious crisis due to a number of factors: market oversaturation, high competition, and an oversupply of low-quality games.
The games are back!
Interest in gaming returned in 1985 when the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), known in Japan as Famicom, broke into the United States. In terms of performance, this console was comparatively better than the previous ones.
In 1989, Nintendo made a splash again: the company released the Game Boy 8-bit gaming device that included Tetris. By the way, this is the first portable “gadget” that has been in space.
If your child is interested in video games, sign it up at free class at Progkids! Who knows, maybe he'll be the one who will create a new mega-popular video game?
