Looking further into Gaming

Gaming first started in 1958 when, a man named William Higginbotham created a tennis simulator, extremely advanced for its time. It was played on what appears to be a radar screen.

In 1967 2 TV games were created, a tennis simulator like this one, and a chase game.

1971 computer space ships over 1000 games, however it fails because people struggled to play it because of its clunky controls. 

In 1972 the first home gaming console was introduced, the Magnavoxs Odyssey. Atari is founded, they create there very first game, this game is Pong. Pong was released in 1975... 

This is where things really get going. 

Also in the same year gunfight is released, arguably the first computer game because it used a processor rather than a solid state circuit. This is where other company sprung up trying to share some of the glory, but usually to no success. 

1976 Coleco of all companies releases their Telstar system which also contained pong, tennis, hokey and other variations of the same game. 

In 1977 Atari shows off the Video computer System or the Atari 2600 which would make it the first cartridge based console of its kind. 

In 1978 Midway introduces space invaders to the world, the first game to track your on screen score. Also attempts to launch the Atari 400 and 800 to compete in the computer market and against apple, they are laughed out of the building. 

1979 ASTEROIDS

In 1980 Mattel develops a rival to the Atari 2600. The console was called the Intellevision, with one of the ugliest controllers I've ever seen, but had better graphical capabilities than the 2600. The first 3D game is created and named Battle-zone. Activision becomes the first third party game developer because some programmers wanted credit they weren't getting for making Atari's games.

Namco release 300,000 units of Pac-Man. 

1981 Electronic Arts is founded, but as a gaming magazine. Donkey Kong is released in Arcades.

1982 The Atari 5200 is released to compete with other consoles on the market. 

1983 The first game to use laser disc technology is introduced, this game is called dragons lair, with amazing graphics and detail, however it was nothing more that one big quick time event. 

   In comes the Commodore 64, the most powerful system known at this point and surprisingly cheap compared to others. Also Nintendo showcase their console the NES, but do not plan to sell to the US because Atari control large parts of the gaming market.   

1985 Tetris is here, but only on a computer

1986 was a big year for all the major players. Sega releases their master system, Nintendo releases the NES in the US and Atari releases the 7800 to show they still have some tricks up their sleeves.

 

1989 The GameBoy is released along with Tetris creating a whole storm of gamers. Arcade is brought home with the Sega genesis being showcased, the first 16 bit home console. Atari tries its luck at a handheld called the Lynx. 

Although the Lynx had a full colour back lit screen it was too expensive, offered poor games and ate batteries like a fat man in a pie shop. This was one of the many nails in Atari's coffin. 

1991 The SNES ins released in the US. conic makes his first appearance.

1992 Wolfenstein 3D is released, this is the very first First Person Shooter created by ID software, and showed that Personal Computer Gamers had it good. This however sparked off many FPS clones of the same game. Midway Games releases the extremely blood thirsty Mortal Kombat.

1993 US Senators take a look into violence in video games hoping to bad them, this would be a long struggle between censorship and video game that still exists today. Atari releases the first 64 bit console onto the market, however this was a lie. It had two 32 bit processors in it, this console was the Jaguar. It failed miserably, Atari's reign had officially come to an end. ID software yet again make another hit, DOOM. With impressive graphics and a world created for the character to move about in and not the other way round, the game also supported online play this meant PC gamers became the elite.  

1994 The Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn are first shown and Games are given ratings due the the Senators investigation a year earlier. 

1995 Sony PlayStation is released and later that year so is the Nintendo 64 in Japan. ID releases DOOM 2.

Westwood Studios releases one of the first Real Time Strategy Games Command and Conquer: Tiberium Dawn, the game also contained live action cut scenes something that had very rarely been seen before. 

1996 Arcades realize they no longer have the graphical edge and need to resort to tactics that could not be implemented in the ordinary household at the time. These tactics were large riding games such as virtual racing, skiing and many more things. The virtual pocket pet Tamagotchi takes Japan by storm ad later that year is released in the US with the same results. ID improve upon their old engine and give the world Quake, with fully 3D models and 360 degree mouse movement. Westwood releases C&C Red Alert. 

1997 Sony sell their 20 millionth PlayStation, becoming the most popular games console of that time. Arizona also try to ban violent video game, the bill doesnt pass. ID releases Quake 2. 

1998 Sega showcases the Dreamcast in Japan the first console to fully support built in online functionality. Half-Life is released and receives critical acclaim for it's new way of story telling and its superior graphics and Artificial Intelligence. 

1999 Video Games are blamed causing the Columbine Massacre in America, hitting sales of video games. Medal of Honor is released for PlayStation. Epic Games release Unreal Tournament for PC it instantly becomes a classic online shoot em up. ID Also release a similar games called Quake 3 Arena which did equally as well, it was also one of the first games to need an OpenGL graphics accelerator to play. Westwood releases C&C Tiberium Sun, improving immensely on the older engine and hiring an all star cast for their live action cut-scenes. 

2000 Medal of Honor Underground is released. The Sims goes on sale and becomes one of the most popular casual games of that year for PC. The Sony PlayStation goes on sale in the US and sells out by the morning. Westwood joins EA and releases C&C Red Alert 2. 

2001 The Nintendo Game Cube is announced, the Microsoft Xbox is announced and Sega announces they are pulling out of the gaming market and will no longer manufacture hardware. The Game Boy Advance is released. Grand Theft Auto 3 is released, the first sandbox game of its time. Halo was also released for the Xbox creating a whole new online community of gamers. 

In 2002 Medal of Honor Allied Assault is released for PC proving to be one of the most popular shooters on PC that year. Xbox Live is launched and creates a massive Xbox community that still exist today. Westwood releases a poorly selling FPS entitled C&C Renegade.

2003 2015 inc have split away from EA to join Activision and release Call of Duty for PC after making Allied Assault and have called themselves Infinity Ward. C&C Generals is released but Westwood studios has been liquidated by EA and EA Los Angeles is formed. 

In 2004 Nintendo release their touch screen DS. DOOM 3 is released for PC and Xbox. Half Life 2 is released and once again receives critical acclaim for its graphics, AI and story telling. Halo 2 was released once again making console gamers go crazy and left PC gamers feeling left out this time around. Far Cry, the digital masterpiece is released on PC by Crytek.     

2005 Quake 4 is released but developed by Raven software and not ID. The Xbox 360 is also released in the same year, making the gap between PC gamers and consoles smaller as the Xbox 360 had at the time strong graphical capabilities unseen in a console before. The PSP was released by Sony to combat the Nintendo DS, the PSP (PlayStation portable) boasted high end graphics and hardcore games for a handheld, but ultimately didn't have the appeal of many people. Call of Duty 2 is released for PC, Xbox 360. Older consoles get a version of Call of Duty made by other lesser known developers.   

In 2006 the PlayStation 3 arrived, however its expensive and lack of games makes gamers weary of purchase and for once shows Sony as the latter choice. Wii is released, a console that lets you use motion controls in a completely new way. Call of Duty 3 was released, this marked the first time where an official version of the game series want made by the original developers Infinity Ward, this would start tensions between Infinity Ward and Activision.

In 2007 EA Los Angeles releases the long awaited C&C 3 and results are good. Crysis is released by Crytek on PC only and struggles to run on anybody PC showing that consoles don't have the best graphics.
Uncharted is released for PS3 setting apart the PS3 and the Xbox 360 graphically. I-phone released, bringing everyday people into casual gaming.

2008 The Wii fit is released making all ages get active. Call of Duty Modern Warefare was released and developed by Infinity Ward and unofficially marked by fans as the true Call of Duty 3. GTA 4 is released and breaks first week sales selling over 5million copies. C&C Red Alert 3 is released, and it suffers terribly for its anti-piracy on PC and terrible controls on console.

2009 Wii sports sells a staggering 40 million games,beating Nintendo's previous own record. Call of Duty World at War is released and sells poorly due to its overused WW2 setting. Uncharted 2 is released making the Xbox 360 really show its age graphically. Midway goes bankrupt. Minecraft Beta is released, the first in beta games of its time that was purchasable online. 

In 2010 Command and Conquer 4 is released and ultimately kills off the C&C franchise. The last of the Call of Duty games developed by Infinity Ward is released this game was Modern Warfare 2 and sold massive amounts but later that year many employees within Infinity Ward left due to Activision withholding money from Infinity Ward as Call of duty was and is making crazy money. I-pad released. The Kinect comes out adding a whole new edge to the Xbox 360, the Kinect made your body the controller.  

2011 ID software releases a long time project, RAGE. It sells moderately but not massively and came with technical glitches. Nintendo 3DS releases in Japan. PS Vita released in Japan. Call of Duty Black Ops is released is released by Treyark. Minecraft comes out of beta. 

2012 The new Infinity Ward Releases Modern Warfare 3 but is taken off its high horse by Dices Battlefield 3 as it sold more copies and received better reviews.    

Gaming has come a long way in the past 50 years, what first started an some sort of experiment has evolved out of control into a whole new market. Gamers are only now starting to be viewed as responsible adults and not children, where as in the past games were considered to be played only by spotty teens, now games are played by everyone, old or young. 

However gaming isn't all good, company's like EA and Activision seem to buy talent, bleed it dry then throw it away. EA certainly have a nack for selling people games that don't work, or that invade your privacy.Which is a shame, as they are the leaders in the field of gaming but hinder it by churning out clones of the same game year after year and people buy into it. 

Hopefully one day games will be made purely for fun and not for profit, but that is like saying "I hope world peace gets here soon, the turkeys going cold".