It's hard to believe, but there was once a time that gamers couldn't beg for more
playing time.
Just 15 more minutes, mom!
But almost 80 years after the first computer game prototype arrived, there's no denying
this awesome—and occasionally addictive—pastime offers more complex worlds to explore than
ever before!
Join us to discover how video games conquered the universe on this episode of
Half Price Books All Things Printed & Recorded.
The very first video game prototype appeared way back in 1940 when Edward U. Condon designed
a computer that played the traditional game "Nim" for the Westinghouse display at
the World's Fair.
Tens of thousands of people took a turn, and it may surprise you to learn that early computer
beat at least 90 percent of them!
In 1958, inventor Willy Higinbotham created a tennis game on an oscilloscope and analog
computer.
Although it was largely forgotten, it was the precursor to the thrilling game "Pong."
Remember this; we'll get back to it in a minute.
In 1962, MIT student Steve Russell gave us the first official computer-based video game:
"Spacewar!"
It became the precursor for "Total War," "Warcraft," "Dawn of War" and a whole
lot of other games with "war" in the title.
The next year, just months after the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Defense Department completed
another war game known as "Simulation of Total Atomic Global Exchange" (or STAGE),
which showed how the U.S. would defeat the Soviet Union in a thermonuclear battle.
If this sounds familiar, it's because it's the plot of the 1983 Matthew Broderick movie
Wargames.
In 1966, inventor Ralph Baer developed his "Brown Box" video game prototype, which
allowed users to play tennis and other games on a TV set.
In 1971, Magnavox officially released "Odyssey," the first home video game system, which was
based on Baer's design.
That same year we got "Oregon Trail," a simulation of the pioneers' trek across
the U.S. Designed by three Minnesota college students, it took as long to play as it did
to actually caravan to California.
In 1972, "Pong" was born!
In case you're too young to remember, it featured a game of ping-pong played with two
electronic paddles and a ball that went back…and forth.
and back… and… forth and back… and forth…
Anyway, this simple game soon became an arcade legend and Atari partnered with Sears to release
a home version.
"Pong" was SO successful it was pretty obvious consumers were ready for a video game
library, so the Atari 2600 was introduced in 1977.
Featuring a joystick, color games and multiple levels to conquer, it made millions of Americans
into gamers seemingly overnight.
By 1980, "Space Invaders" had vanquished home consoles, and "Pac-Man" took a bite
out of the industry.
In 1981, fans went ape over Nintendo's "Donkey Kong," which originally starred the cleverly
named "Jumpman," better known to history books as Mario.
In the mid-80s, video game fever had cooled somewhat until the Nintendo Entertainment
System (NES) came on the scene.
At the end of the decade, it was all about gaming on the go, and the Nintendo Game Boy
became everyone's road trip accessory of choice.
Sony's PlayStation took over the industry in 1995, then Microsoft dominated the market
with Xbox and the hit game "Halo" in 2001.
Since then, the console wars have been fast and furious, with fans taking sides in the
battle between the Xbox 360 vs. the PS3, the Xbox One vs. the PS4, the Xbox One X vs. the
PS4 Pro and the Nintendo Switch vs. the Xbox One X. Whew!
Whatever system you prefer, it's clear that home video games will always be a winner in
the world of entertainment.
This has been Half Price Books All Things Printed & Recorded.
If you'd like to learn more about the history of the video game, check out our blog at blog.hpb.com.
Until next time!
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