History of Video Games

The history of video games outlines a dramatic evolution over a relatively short period of time. The first home video console was available in 1972. It was called the Magnavox Odyssey, but was known by many as the brown box. This system was unique in that it was battery powered and was analog. However, it was not a huge market success.

The history of video games brings us to the home Atari PONG unit in 1975. Atari was a huge success casing Magnavox to give it another try with the Odyssey 100. There were two built in games featuring tennis and hockey. The console had fixed knobs and did not have on screen scoring.

Magnavox went on to release an Odyssey 200, 300, 400, and 500 between 1975 and 1976. Atari also contributed to the history of video games with Super PONG.

Many different versions of the at home game console were released between 1975 and 1984. However, 1985 saw the introduction of the first Nintendo Entertainment System. The NES had a huge impact on the history of video games. It had removable game cartridges and detached controllers.

Then in 1986 Sega decided it was time that they released an at home video game console of their own. The Sega Master System had superior graphics and better sound quality than the NES, but still failed to sell as many units.

However, the Sega Genesis was released in 1989 and knocked the NES off of its throne. Nintendo fought back with its Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. Sega and Nintendo continued to battle for the top spot in the history of video games by coming up with upgraded system such as the Nintendo 64 in 1996, and the Sega Dreamcast in 1999.

Sony decided to enter the video game console market in 1995 with their Playstation, and the Playstation 2 in 2000. They were the market leaders until Microsoft joined the race, releasing the first X-Box in 2001 and the X-Box 360 in 2005. Sony then released their Playstation 3 and Nintendo followed suit with the Nintendo Wii.