Video Games A Peek At Their History

Video games are one of the most popular leisure pursuits amongst people of all ages today. Video games are a great source of entertainment. The video games of today have come a long way – they are very interactive and offer excellent graphics and audio qualities.

We all know that video games are a craze, especially amongst youngsters. Everybody plays them. You must have played them too or you may know someone who is really crazy about them. However, have you ever thought about how it all began? The history of video games is quite simple but very interesting.

The History

What was the first video game? Chances are that you answer 'Pong' and you are not alone here because many people think that Pong was the game that started the revolution. But, my dear, the truth is that it was the "Odyssey" System by Magnavox in 1972 that started it all. It consisted of twelve simple games with graphics overlay. Next, came the Pong, which was a huge hit. It was created by Nolan Bushnell and Al Alcorn, who was the founder of Atari. It was an instant success and Atari come to dominate the video game market.

The next major development in video games came with the adoption of the microprocessor. This allowed for more complicated video games, which also had great graphics and audio qualities. People simply could not have enough of them. A mind boggling five billion were spent on video arcade machines and one billion on home video game systems in 1981 alone.

1984 saw the fall of Atari and the rise of Nintendo from Japan. The reason was simple- Atari failed to take advantage of two new innovations, Dynamic RAM and 8-bit processors. Nintendo Entertainment Systems soon became the highest selling system in history. In fact, Nintendo could not manufacture enough video games to keep up with the demand. The reasons for their success were their genius marketing strategy and adaptation of new technologies.

Over the years video games came and went. Some became very popular while others vanished without a trace. Space Invaders, Super Mario, Zelda, and Metroid are some of the video games that made it big. We all remember them and we still love to play them. Today Xbox, GameCube, and PlayStation 2 are the new video consoles that are definitely a hit.

Their Popularity

Today there are thousands of video games in the market. With every new game the features get improved. Yes, of course not all games can be a hit, but that does not stop a video gamer from trying a new video game that has just been introduced.

I guess one of the main reasons why video games are so popular is because they offer us a chance to be something that we are not. You can be a cop, space ship captain, a ninja, etc. and you can go on great adventures. The high that you can experience from playing video games can be quite addictive. The great part is that everyone can play a video game and the more you practice the better you get at the game.

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