current facts about videogames
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A Brief HistoryA Brief Historyof Videogamesof Videogames
by Shawn Riderby Shawn RiderSeptember 03, 2003September 03, 2003
Current Facts About VideogamesCurrent Facts About Videogames
• 50% of all Americans age 6 and older play computer and video games
• The average age of a game player is 29 years
• 43% of game players are women
• Game sales in 2002 were $6.9 billion
• In 2002, more than 221 million games sold.
• 92% of all games are purchased by adults
Current Facts About VideogamesCurrent Facts About Videogames
• 63% of all games released in 2002 were rated “E” for Everyone
• 16 of the top 20 best-selling games in 2002 were rated “E” or “T”
• 60% of frequent gamers play with friends
• 33% play with siblings• 25% play with spouse
or parents
• 96% of parents with children under 18 say they are paying attention to the content of games their kids play
• 60% of parents play videogames with their kids at least once a month
Current Facts About VideogamesCurrent Facts About Videogames
Currently there are three major console systems active in the US:
• PlayStation 2 (18.4 mil)• Xbox (5.7 mil)• Gamecube (4.4 mil)
The Pre-History of VideogamesThe Pre-History of Videogames
• Early forms of pinball date back to the mid-1800s
• In 1889 Fusajiro Yamauchi establishes Marufuku Co. Ltd. To distribute Hanafuda, Japanese playing cards
The Pre-History of VideogamesThe Pre-History of Videogames
• 1932 – the Connecticut Leather Company is formed by Maurice Greenburg
• 1933 – Williams builds the first electronic pinball game, “Contact”
The Pre-History of VideogamesThe Pre-History of Videogames
• During the 1930s and 40s, anti-slot machine fever sweeps the US
• 1941 – Pinball is outlawed in New York City by mayor Fiorello LaGuardia
The Pre-History of VideogamesThe Pre-History of Videogames
• 1951 – Yamauchi changes the name of Marufuku Co. Ltd to Nintendo
• The name means “leave luck to heaven”
• Martin Bromley opens Service Games in Japan, focusing on slot machines and jukeboxes
• 1956 – David Rosen imports $200,000 worth of coin-op electromechanical games to Japan
The Early PioneersThe Early Pioneers
• 1958 – Willy Higinbotham invents “Tennis for Two”
• Played on 5 inch oscilloscope.
• Invented for open house at Brookhaven National Laboratories in Upton, NY
• Remains for two years.
The Early PioneersThe Early Pioneers
• 1961 Steve Russel and the Tech Model Railroad Club create Spacewar!
• Runs on PDP-1 mainframe
• Realistic physics• Playable over ARPAnet
The Early PioneersThe Early Pioneers
• 1962 Nolan Bushnell enrolls at University of Utah, plays Spacewar!
• 1964 – Rosen Enterprises merges with Service Games to create Sega Enterprises
• 1966 – Sega exports Periscope
The Early PioneersThe Early Pioneers
• 1966 Ralph Baer begins researching interactive television games at Sanders Associates
• 1968 Baer patents his invention
• 1970 Magnavox licenses Baer’s invention and calls it Odyssey
The Early PioneersThe Early Pioneers
• 1972 – Magnavox demonstrates Odyssey in private showings
• Ships Odyssey same year, MSRP $100
• Unit sells 100 thousand
The Early PioneersThe Early Pioneers
• 1972 – Nolan Bushnell attends May 24 demo of Odyssey
• Forms Atari with Ted Dabney
• Orders Al Alcorn to create an imitation of Baer’s game, calls it Pong
• Atari is sued, settles, makes a fortune
• Pong keeps score• Pong incorporates
“english”• Pong is made into arcade
and home versions
The “Golden” AgeThe “Golden” Age
1975• Atari creates home
version of Pong for Sears Roebuck
• Namco begins making games
• Midway releases Gunfight!, first game to use a microprocessor
The “Golden” AgeThe “Golden” Age
1976• Connecticut Leather Co.,
now known as Coleco, releases Telstar
• Fairchild releases Channel F• Exidy releases Death Race,
sparking first videogame violence controversy
• Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak create Breakout
• Bushnell sells Atari to Warner Communications
The “Golden” AgeThe “Golden” Age
1977• Atari opens first Pizza Time
Theater• Atari releases Video
Computer System, aka the 2600, sells 25 mil in the next 5 years
• Mattel introduces a line of LED-based handheld games
• Shigeru Miyamoto joins Nintendo
• Nintendo releases its first home videogame in Japan
The “Golden” AgeThe “Golden” Age
1978• Bushnell is forced out of
Atari, buys Pizza Time theater
• Nintendo releases Othello, its first arcade game
• Atari releases Football with record success
• Taito/Midway release Space Invaders
• Magnavox releases Odyssey 2
The “Golden” AgeThe “Golden” Age
1979• Capcom is founded in Japan• Atari releases Lunar Laner,
its first vector graphics game• Atari game designer Warren
Robinett creates Adventure, Easter Eggs
• Mattel introduces Intellivision• Milton Bradly releases
Microvision handheld
The “Golden” AgeThe “Golden” Age
1979• Namco releases
Galaxian, first color arcade game
• Epyx releases Temple of Apshai, first graphical RPG for computers
• Mainframe users worldwide begin programming “interactive fiction” – text based adventure games
The “Golden” AgeThe “Golden” Age
1980• Atari releases Space
Invaders for VCS• Renegade Atari
programmers form Activision• Namco releases Pac-Man,
most popular arcade game of all-time
• Minoru Arakawa opens Nintendo of America
• Taito releases Stratovox, first game with voice synthesis
The “Golden” AgeThe “Golden” Age
1980• Williams releases Defender,
first side-scrolling game• California Pacific releases
Richard Gariott’s Ultima• Zork I sells a million copies• Ken and Roberta Williams
create On-Line Systems, quickly renamed Sierra On-Line, release Mystery House for Apple II, first computer game with graphics
The “Golden” AgeThe “Golden” Age
1981• Nintendo releases
Donkey Kong• Atari releases Pac-Man
and ET for VCS• Atari releases Tempest• US arcade revenues
reach $5 billion• Electronic Games is first
videogame magazine• IBM ships the IBM PC
The “Golden” AgeThe “Golden” Age
1982• Coleco releases
Colecovision• Atari releases 5200• GCE releases Vectrex• Ultima II is released for
Apple II by Sierra On-Line
The “Golden” AgeThe “Golden” Age
1982• Eugene Jarvis designs
Robotron 2084• Features first use of
dual joystick interface• Midway releases MS.
Pac-Man, most popular arcade game in American history
• Ms. Pac Man is first ever game modification
The “Golden” AgeThe “Golden” Age
1982 – The Fall• Atari represents 2/3 of the
industry• Atari has produced some
bad games• Third party developers have
created bad games that have hurt Atari’s reputation
• Affordable home computers like the Commodore Vic-20 and just-released Commodore 64 have bit into hardware sales
The “Crash”The “Crash”
1983• Yu Suzuki joins Sega• Sega releases first home
console in Japan• Cinematronics releases
Dragon’s Lair, first arcade game using laser disc technology
• Former Phillip Morris exec James Morgan becomes head of Atari
• Richard Garriott leaves Sierra On-Line to form Origin
• Trip Hawkins forms Electronic Arts, releases Dr J and Larry Bird Go One on One
The “Crash”The “Crash”
1984• Nintendo releases
FamiCom in Japan• Coleco releases Adam• Warner Comm sells
Atari to Jack Tramiel• Sierra On-Line releases
King’s Quest• Apple releases
Macintosh
The Japanese InvasionThe Japanese Invasion
1985• Way of the Exploding Fist
and Yie Ar Kung Fu released, first fighting games
• Space Panic released, first platform game
• Nintendo test markets FamiCom in NYC as the Nintendo Entertainment System
• Russian mathematician Alex Pajitnov designs Tetris
• Microsoft ships Windows
The Japanese InvasionThe Japanese Invasion
1986• Nintendo of America
releases the NES• Strict licensing
requirements helps Nintendo avoid poor third party titles
• Sega releases the Sega Master System in Japan
• Atari releases the 7800
The Japanese InvasionThe Japanese Invasion
1987• Nintendo publishes Legend
of Zelda• Sega unveils 16-bit Mega
Drive console in Japan• NEC releases PC Engine in
Japan• Lucasfilm Computer Games
releases their first game, Maniac Mansion – first point and click adventure game
The Japanese InvasionThe Japanese Invasion
1988• Square Soft publishes
Final Fantasy• Tonka acquires US
distribution rights to Sega Master System
• Coleco files for bankruptcy
The Japanese InvasionThe Japanese Invasion
1989• NEC brings PC Engine
to US as TurboGrafx• Sega releases Mega
Drive in US as the Genesis
• Nintendo releases Game Boy worldwide
The Japanese InvasionThe Japanese Invasion
1990• Nintendo releases
Super Mario Bros. 3, most successful non-bundled cartridge of all time
• SNK brings 24-bit NeoGeo game console to the US
The Japanese InvasionThe Japanese Invasion
1991• Nintendo releases Super
Nintendo Entertainment Sytem
• Sega recreates itself with Sonic the Hedgehog
• Galoob Toys releases Game Genie, first game cheat device
• Capcom releases Streetfighter, giving arcades a needed boost
The Japanese InvasionThe Japanese Invasion
1992• Midway releases Mortal
Kombat, sparking new outcry over videogame violence
• Genesis outsells SNES, giving Sega control of the American market
• Sega ships Sega CD peripheral for Genesis
Videogames MatureVideogames Mature
1993• Panasonic releases 32-bit
3DO Multiplayer• Atari launches 64-bit Jaguar• Broderbund publishes Myst
for Macintosh• Id Software publishes Doom
for PC• Virgin Interactive publishes
7th Guest for PC CD-ROM• Senate hearings on
videogame violence led by Senators Lieberman and Kohl
Videogames MatureVideogames Mature
1994• IDSA is formed in response
to Senate hearings• Nintendo releases Donkey
Kong Country, retakes control of US market
• Sega releases 32x peripheral for Genesis
• Sega releases Saturn in Japan
• Sony releases PlayStation in Japan
Videogames MatureVideogames Mature
1995• Sega releases Saturn in
US• Sony releases
PlayStation in US• Nintendo releases
Virtual Boy in US• Nintendo unveils N64 in
Japan
Videogames MatureVideogames Mature
1996• Nintendo discontinues
Virtual Boy• Nintendo sells one billionth
cartridge worldwide• Jack Tramiel sells Atari to
disk drive maker JTS• Nintendo releases N64 in US• Sony unveils Crash
Bandicoot
Videogames MatureVideogames Mature
1997• Sega discontinues Saturn• Bandai releases Tamagotchi• Dreamworks, Universal and
Sega team up to create GameWorks
• Nintendo releases Goldeneye 007 for N64
• Square Soft publishes Final Fantasy VII
• Origin releases Ultima Online
Videogames MatureVideogames Mature
1998• Nintendo releases
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
• Valve releases Half-Life• Pokemon comes to
America
Videogames MatureVideogames Mature
1999• JTS sells Atari to
Hasbro Interactive• SNK Corp brings
NeoGeo Pocket Color to US
• Sega releases Dreamcast in US
Videogames MatureVideogames Mature
2000• Microsoft unveils plans
for Xbox game console• Sega launches SegaNet
for Dreamcast• SNK discontinues
NeoGeo• The French take over• Sony releases PS2 in
US
Videogames MatureVideogames Mature
2001• Sega discontinues
Dreamcast• Nintendo releases
Game Boy Advance• Nintendo releases
Gamecube• Microsoft releases Xbox• Grand Theft Auto III is
released
Videogames MatureVideogames Mature
2002• Microsoft releases Xbox
Live online service• Sony releases Network
Adapter for PS2
Videogames MatureVideogames Mature
2003• Nintendo releases
Game Boy Advance SP• Sony announces
PlayStation Personal• Nokia releases N-gage
mobile gaming console• Infogrames officially
changes their name to Atari
SourcesSources
The Dot Eaters: Classic Gaming History
http://www.emuunlim.com/doteaters/
The Ultimate History of Videogames by Steven L. Kent
The Medium of the Videogame edited by Mark JP Wolf
Trigger Happy by Stephen Poole