The First Video Games

By Philip Woods

It is hard to believe today that early video games were thought of as the latest innovations. With the many types we have to choose from, the earlier models such as Atari, seem almost silly in comparison. However, when these games were first released to the public, they were quite popular.

Magnavox Odyssey was the first video gaming system to be released in the U.S. Once called the brown box, from the prototype, a crude version of what was to become. This was completed in 1968. Odyssey gaming system, used cartridges that were to basically alter the circuits inside the game box.

Plastic sheets were needed to attach onto your television screen. These sheets added more graphics to use in conjunction to the images that the game system would project onto your screen. This was released in 1972.

This first video game and the ancestor of the many that are available today cost $100 when released and sold over 100,000 units in the first year of production. The beginning of the home console gaming system had begun, although it was quite primitive compared to the standards today.

In 1972, Nolan Bushnell founded Atari. At first they wanted to have the company name Syzgy, but the name was taken. They later settled on Atari as their company name. Al Alcorn was a developer that joined Atari, and soon the birth of PONG was originated. This was a game very similar to the table game, ping pong. The popularity of this game was outstanding when it hit the markets in 1975 for the home version of Atari.

In 1976 and 1977 many games were released including some hand-held games. In 1976 Coleco got into the video game craze with their introduction of the Telstar. The Atari 2600 home game system was released in 1977 and an electronics baseball game in 1978 by Mattel. In 1979, a Microvision game that had cartridges to change the games was released by Milton Bradley. This was the first hand-held game that had cartridges that could be changed for different games.

By 1980 Mattel was ready to launch their answer to Atari - the Intellivision game system. The Nintendo game system was on the horizon. When Mario brothers games came out in 1981, the world was ready for something different. Gaining popularity, this was a game that seemed to be an instant hit.

Sega was another new gaming system that was released in 1981, which their game turbo was released. This was one of the first simulation games that were as close to reality as possible back then. The only other game that was to compare it to was Atari's Night driver game which was not realistic at all.

In 1982 the Atari 5200 Super System was the replacement for the Atari 2600. The original intention was for the 5200 to be the competition for Intellivision however, it ended up as competition for Coleco. The 5200 was not the hit that it was thought it would be due to design flaws.

Early games cannot be compared to the games we have today. They are not as sophisticated. The arrival of the Nintendo Systems, Play Station Systems, and the Xbox in 2001 has made our early systems look like baby toys. These systems are currently setting the trends for all future technology advances today. - 30202

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