Video games developed by more technical attempts at universities in the 1950s to one of the most influential forms of leisure of the 21st century.

 The beginnings

1946 the first computer game on a tube machines by Thomas t. was Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann developed and reported on 25 January 1947 to the patent. Granted the patent was on December 14, 1948 1951 was presented with the help of the NIMROD computer the mathematical game of Nim; in 1952, there were the Tic Tac Toe game OXO.
The 1958 by the American physicist William Higinbotham tennis constructed national laboratory for two at Brookhaven consisting of an analog computer with an Oszillographen, is regarded as the first video game.
The further development was strong depending on of the technical development of computer technology. So emerged first, graphically very simple computer games on mainframes at American universities and thus only a small number of students and scientists remained reserved, like about SpaceWar! from 1962 at the Massachusetts Institute of technology (MIT).
See also history of video games 1947-1969.
The 1970s

Developed in the early of 1970s from the existing mass produced and therefore relatively inexpensive television technology electronic slot machines, coin operated for the first time the public were. Hence, the name of video game. The first successful game was Pong by Atari founder Nolan Bushnell. He watched the game on a trade fair presentation at the game inventor Ralph Baer and developed it. They found the machines Unlike today less in arcades, but - for children accessible - in entrances of supermarkets, cinemas, newsstands, pommes stalls, canteens or other public places. A game for a mark was normal.
During the 1970s, rapidly developed video games and such as by companies such as Atari and Magnavox in the form of video game consoles for home users more attractive; as a result, the public arcades gradually lost its supremacy in the field of video games. With the implementation of the highly successful arcade game of space invaders for the Atari 2600, the breakthrough for the home consoles, which rapidly developed the bulk goods came in 1979.
See also history of computer games

The 1980s


For the time being two technically separate types of video game developed by the introduction of home and personal computer (PC): the video game (at that time also ' Telespiel') based on special game consoles and video game. It, computer games have been programmed initially mainly for home computers such as the Commodore 64. The PCs designed primarily for serious applications with monochrome graphics and PIEPS-speaker sound were initially not to play. Only through improvements such as 16-color EGA graphics in 1984 and sound cards (such as Sound Blaster 1989) the PC gradually became a competition for home computers and consoles.
In 1983, it came to the video game crash: in North America, the market for Gaming modules broke down almost completely.[3] While the video game industry had achieved sales of $3 billion in 1982, this figure declined 1983 to $100 million.[4] Reasons were:
Flooding of the market with a high number of bad games (especially for the Atari 2600)
unrealistic profit expectations of mostly small manufacturers
Superiority of home computer technology and applications
increasingly smaller price difference between console and home computer
Ease of copying computer games on cassettes and disks, and this higher attractiveness compared to the not redistributable for individuals modules of video games (copy protection was a competitive disadvantage, no advantage as sometimes - assumed where of course the difference between console and software vendors must be mentioned.)
From Japan, where home computers were not so popular, and which was therefore less strongly affected by the crash, a new impetus for the video game industry came: there, after initial difficulties, Nintendo's 1983 published 8-bit console "Famicom" was a great success. Modified as Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) for the Western market, Nintendo tested 50,000 consoles the interest of American consumers in the Christmas season 1985 New York could be sold on the city limited.[5] Then the NES in North America in 1986 and 1987 in Europe was adopted. But until the release of Super Mario Bros. (Japan 1985, North America 1986), which surpassed all video games published previously in length and complexity, triggered a veritable "Nintendomania": sales rose and began a new era of video games.
The origins of most game genres are in this time period. Role-playing games, racing games, developed and published by n' runs, beat ' em ups, adventures and many more game categories were developed during this time.
1989, for the first time two handheld game consoles on the market came with the game boy and the Atari Lynx. The devices a little, even colored in the case of Lynx LCD and integrated controls with the other electronics in a handy case.

The 1990s



SNES with the game Terranigma
In Europe, there was a breakthrough of the so-called 16-bit console Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and Sega Mega Drive in the first half of the 1990s. These game consoles were globally extremely successful. They offered the players a better graphics and a better sound than the consoles and computer games in the 1980s. Furthermore, a more "handheld" console on the market - the Sega game gear came.
Since the mid-1990s, the two areas of video game for game consoles and PCs for marketing reasons be merged again. So, single storage media (such as CD-ROM) and a compatible hardware formed the ability to develop games for various consoles as well as PC parallel and thus less expensively, and for a broader mass market.


PlayStation
The most important innovation on the console market was mid-1990s using the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Nintendo 64 later published the change from 2D to 3D graphics. Although the previous consoles could also rudimentary 3D graphics represent, but only by using of special graphics chips that were integrated in the modules. The PC chipset surfaced for the first time, with which you could play 3D games for the PC. Although there were already previously less elaborate 3D graphics (such as in Doom, Duke Nukem 3D), which calculates the CPU were, however could and can the CPU only relatively simple 3D graphics in real time calculate. The 3D support of graphics cards was later indispensable. Later generations of graphics cards had firmly integrated both 2D and 3D support.
It came first network-enabled games for the PC in the trade. Been raised by this new game possibilities, which were previously only partly possible. Multiplayer games were mostly on two players, limited for the Nintendo 64, mostly on four players. By PC, you could include more than 10 players now, depending on the way in a game. Published the first strategy and role-playing games with network and online capability.
End of 1998, the introduction of the new console generation took place with the Sega Dreamcast. Later, followed by the PlayStation 2, the GameCube and the Xbox. The Dreamcast by Sega should no longer experience the end of this console generation with only 10 million units sold: total bankruptcy financially barely escaped, the management of Sega decided to abandon the hardware business and transformed by the console manufacturer to pure software maker.


The the 2000s

Main article: History of video games of 2000-2009
The PlayStation 2, which is backward-compatible with its predecessor was very common. Far behind were the other consoles of the 6th generation.
The 7th generation of consoles with the Xbox 360. 2005 2006 3 Sony followed the Nintendo Wii and the Sony PlayStation. The devices are very different, for example, in the design of the hardware and storage media and were addressed to different target groups. Only the cheaper Wii, which has a controller with motion sensors was commercially successful. The two other consoles have 256 instead of 128 bit processing power, and a graphics resolution in the HDTV standard, and optionally a hard drive and the ability to play DVD movies and Blu-ray discs.
In the handheld the Nintendo offered an additional screen DS (2004/2005) for the first time also as a touch screen, a microphone for the input and online capabilities. With the DSi the Nintendo handheld experienced a hardware update 2009. The latest version offers two additional cameras and an SD card slot. Last E3, the successor of the Nintendo DS was introduced fair, the Nintendo 3DS, which can produce without 3D glasses, a 3-d effect. In particular also the PlayStation was successful portable with first optical media. The main platforms were / are:
Sony PlayStation 2 (2000), 6th generation, 128 bit
Nintendo GameCube (2001, 2002 in Europe), 128 bit
Microsoft Xbox (2001, 2002 in Europe), 32-bit
Microsoft Xbox 360 (2005), 7th generation, 256 bit
Nintendo Wii (2006), 128 bit
Sony PlayStation 3 (2006, in Europe in 2007), 256 bit
Nintendo 3DS (2011 in Europe)
Sony PlayStation Vita (in Europe), 8th generation

History [edit]

1958 October William Higinbotham presented with tennis for two of the first video game
In 1962, Stephen Russell developed SpaceWar! for the PDP-1
1967 Ralph Baer built the TV gaming display
On SpaceWar constructed 1971 Nolan Bushnell the video slot machine space! is based. The game is still too complicated for mass breakthrough.
Don Daglow programmed for the PDP-10 baseball
1972 Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney start Atari
Pong is sold since November
Magnavox released the Odyssey video game console
The amateur spelunkers William Crowther programmed a pre-release of the first text-based adventure game adventure; the program is designed as a simple simulation of the Höhlenforschungs, not as a game in the true sense.
Gregory Yob programs hunt the Wumpus the proto text adventure
1973 The slot machine Elepong is published by Taito
Midway licensed Pong and sells it under the name of winner
1975 Midway released the slot machines gun fight with microprocessor
Don Daglow programs the proto-RPG Dungeon for the PDP-10
Don Woods expanded William Crowthers Höhlenforschungs simulation to various fantasy elements; the result is adventure, the first real adventure game.
a home version of Pong is published successfully
1976-The Apple I is successfully launched
Fairchild sells the first programmable module-based game console channel F
1977 The Atari video computer system (VCS) will be presented
The Apple II is launched
Commodore presents the programmable personal electronic transactor (PET)
Radio Shack introduces the TRS-80 home computer
Zork is programmed
1978 The slot machine of space invaders by Taito is distributed around the world successfully
Roy Trubshaw designed the first online game to the University of Essex
Philips consoles will be published
1979 Richard Garriott programmed Akalabeth, the predecessor of the Ultima series
1980 PAC-man becomes the best-selling video game
Space invaders will appear for the Atari VCS
Nintendo released the first successful handheld console with the game & Watch series
1981 Commodore released the VIC-20
The Donkey Kong arcade game designed by Shigeru Miyamoto appears in which for the first time Jumpman appears, who later becomes cult under the name of Super Mario.
IBM brings the first PC on the market
1982 Commodore brings the C64 market
Don Daglow programs the proto-SIM game for the Intellivision's Utopia
The game console SG published 1983 Sega 1000
Nintendo released the Famicom game console in Japan
Atari published the computer 600XL and MSX
Electronic Arts released first games for the Apple II and Atari
Atari makes great loss
The console game market has virtually collapsed (see video game crash), the computer game market is booming.
1984 The game the Eidolon which can be regarded as the first first-person shooter being developed by Lucasfilm for the Atari 8-bit and Commodore 64 games, (now known as LucasArts).
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the United States and Europe sold 1985 Nintendo
Nintendo released the Super Mario Bros game in Japan. for the NES, which until today the most Board platform n' run of all time is. (approx. 42 million copies)
Atari released the Atari 520 ST
1986 Nintendo published the first part of the game series the legend of Zelda
1987 Commodore released the Commodore Amiga 500
The computer game Maniac Mansion published LucasArts
Squaresoft, shortly before the bankruptcy, saves at the beginning of the final fantasy series
The mega drive on the market brings 1989 Sega
Nintendo released the game boy
Atari published the Lynx
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System released 1990 Nintendo
1991 SID of Meier's civilization appears
The proto-MMORPG Neverwinter Nights for AOL programming Don Daglow and Cathryn Mataga
1992 Dune II appears and thus ushers in the era of the modern real-time strategy game
1993 Doom by id Software appears
Commodore released the CD m³ m², the first 32-bit console
Atari published the Jaguar, the first 64-bit console
The PlayStation in Japan, published 1994 Sony in 1995 in Europe and America
the Electronic Entertainment Expo will take place for the first time
1995 Tomb Raider by Eidos appears
1996 Nintendo brings the Nintendo 64 in Japan and the United States on the market (in Europe)
Nintendo released the first part of the game series Pokémon
1997, Ultima Online, one of the first graphically-demanding MMORPG launches
Launches 1998 Sega Dreamcast
The PlayStation 2 on the market brings 2000 Sony
2001 Nintendo released the GameCube
Microsoft releases the Xbox
World of Warcraft, the to date most successful MMORPG, is published in 2004
2004 Nintendo released the Nintendo DS
Sony released the PlayStation Portable
In 2005, Microsoft released the Xbox 360
The Wii released 2006 Nintendo
Sony released the PlayStation 3
2011 Nintendo released the Nintendo 3DS, the first portable console, allows the 3-d without glasses
Sony released the PlayStation Vita in Japan late December, February 2012 in Europe and the United States