| Games Games Cheat Play Games Playstation Game Cheats Free Games Free Online Games Online Games Game Codes The Game Video Games Pc Game Cheats Game Cheats Flash Games Yahoo Games X Box Game Cheats Game Fun Games Christmas Games Free Game Downloads Kids Games Addicting Games Game Cheats For Ps2 Computer Game Cheats Dress Up Games Christmas Party Games Video Game Cheats Free Internet Games Pc Games Play Free Games Baby Shower Games Computer Games Internet Games Eb Games Math Games Playstation2 Game Cheats Funny Games Gamefaqs Psp Games Free Games Online Olympic Games Party Games Put You On The Game Free Downloadable Games Ps2 Game Cheats Games To Play Board Games Card Games Arcade Games Xbox Games Free Flash Games Dogpile Games Play Games Online Free Disney Games Free Kids Games Girl Games Games Online Ps2 Games Shooting Games Msn Games Free Computer Games Game Stop Free Pc Games Pogo Games Game House Luxor Kids Online Games Game G Unit Rpg Games Eb Games Coupons Free Online Rpg Games Word Games Fishing Games Free Web Games Freeware Games Free Baby Shower Games Disney Channel Games Free Mobile Games Helicopter Game Xbox 360 Games Free Arcade Games Harry Potter Games Playstation 2 Games Game Sites Game Mods Santa Clause Games Play A Racing Game Racing Games Drinking Games Ea Games Free Online Multiplayer Games Miniclip Games Educational Games Game Downloads Casino Games Free Casino Games Download Games Free Online Adventure Games Cool Games Java Games Bridal Shower Games Typing Games South Park Games Game Demos Game Servers Poker Games Makeover Games The Guy Game Video Game Violence Game Server Video Game College Bowl Games Free Pc Download Games Web Games Rose Bowl Game Free Arcade Games Online Game Server Rental Mobile Games Fun Free Games Free Download Games Popcap Games Mario Game Download Video Game History Game Cube Free Card Games Puzzle Games Games For Girls Nintendo Ds Games Online Rpg Games Nickelodeon Games Hunting Games Pc Game Torrents Medal Of Honor Spearhead Violent Video Games Free Printable Baby Shower Games X Games Video Game Codes Video Games Xbox Bowl Games Downloadable Games Free Arcade Game Cheat Codes For Xbox Games Thanksgiving Games Anime Games Free Rpg Games Video Games Playstation 2 Mind Games Britney Spears Dress Up Games Play Free Arcade Games Birthday Party Games Free Poker Games Fashion Games Bowl Game Schedule Christmas Trivia Games Video Game Review Online Game Games For Kids Game Boy Pool Games Free Games Yahoo Free Online War Games Car Games Shockwave Games Santa Games Download Free Games Card Game Rules Pc Game Demos Addictive Games Children Games Football Games Game Boy Advance Game Over Gamecube Games Pc Game Downloads Free Word Games Wicked Game Star Wars Games Game Tables Free Full Version Games Download Take Me Out To The Ball Game Dream Life Game Video Game Reviews Game Websites Ipod Games Free Online Role Playing Games Video Games Game Cube Games Like Runescape Online Free Games Valentine Games Pc Game Reviews Game Parts War Games Online Math Games Memory Games Free Online Game Adventure Games Weak Game Nebraska Game And Parks Holiday Games Pa Game Commission Free Mahjong Games Online Christmas Games Cartoon Network Games Online Multiplayer Games Paintball Games Trivia Games Ancient Olympic Games The Game Dreams The Game Put You On The Game Multiplayer Games Pool Game To Play Big Fish Games Playstation Games Online Shooting Games Spit Your Game Violence In Video Games Winter X Games Horse Games The Game How We Do Video Game Music Free Bridal Shower Games Reading Games Action Games Drivers Ed Game The Game Mp3 The Game Hate It Or Love It Free Video Games Pc Game Walkthroughs Free Shooting Games Www Car Racing Games Game Cracks Video Game Chair Games Workshop Undressing Games Game Table Olympic Winter Games Team Building Games Commonwealth Games Online Games For Kids Play Free Online Games Kid Games Game Cube Cheats Free Chess Games Download Full Games Play Games Online Slime Games Bowling Games Choking Game Orbitz Games Online Flash Games Free Game Sites Free Game Free Online Shooting Games Free Palm Games Pokemon Games Dice Games Online Adventure Games Chess Games Virtual Games Flash Game Play Free Computer Games Free Christmas Games Pocket Pc Games Free Educational Games Funny Flash Games Fighting Games Tea Games Download Free Computer Games Adicting Games Geography Games Christmas Games For Kids Game Stop Coupons Multiplication Games Oregon Trail Game Disturbed The Game Mac Games Preschool Games Myspace Games Free Fun Games Disney Online Games Dirty Games Barbie Games Free Pc Game Downloads History Of Video Games Free Hunting Games Games Jewel Quest Mario Games Free Online Games For Kids Ps2 Game Reviews Free Internet Games Play Xbox Game Reviews Game Walkthroughs Nintendo Games Game Colony Play Orbitz Games Game Spot Game Reviews Aol Games Palm Games Nfl Games Free Bingo Games Dream Life Plug In Tv Game Godzilla Game Free Multiplayer Games Maths Games Fun Games For Kids Role Playing Games Online Java Games Classic Arcade Games Online Arcade Games Free Game Demos Arcade Game Online Video Games Sonic Games Drag Racing Games Free Games Download Learning Games Free Typing Games Ps2 Game Codes Bible Games Basketball Games Lego Games Full Pc Game Downloads Online Action Games Get'cha Head In The Game Science Games Pc Game Hints Cheats The Westing Game Online Card Games Grammar Games Primary Games Dragon Games Online Games Free Online Puzzle Games Play Online Games Childrens Games Game Sloth Shareware Games Outdoor Games Free Game Download Game Maker Free Download Arcade Game Free Card Game Downloads Atari Games Online Poker Game ADD CATEGORY | Gamecube, Feature Article A Look Back At Video Game History – Do You Remember Pac Man, Space Invaders And Super Mario Brother
Author: Jon -
Of all the things that the 1970's produced, there are few that made as big of a cultural impact as video games. There's no question about it: video games have been a significant force in society and one of the most popular leisure pursuits. Chances are if you're under the age of 40, you played them, some of us a lot. There was Atari, Intellivision and Colecovision. Don't forget Sega and Nintendo. Today there are web sites that allow you to download free online games.
And if you remember those days of the late '70's and early 80's, you recall that the games relied on graphic improvements and better ways of shooting the enemy. It was more or less a solitary pursuit. With the rise of the Internet and online games however, lots of things changed, including the ability to download games and playing online games, making games a more social activity, with lots of players, or opponents playing each other from different countries. This may be the biggest change – and the latest benefit that games have offered the world.
But what about the early days? How did it all start and what were the video games that defined the era?
The Innovators
Many people think that Pong was the home game that started it all, but really it was Magnavox and their "Odyssey" system in 1972. Although it was very simple, it was still the first. It had twelve simple games with graphic overlays. However, there was lots of room for improvement, and that's where Pong came into play.
Nolan Bushnell created Pong, along with Al Alcorn, the founder of Atari. Rumor has it that when the prototype was tested at a California bar, the machine broke down after two days, because it was so popular. The next logical step was to create a home version. So, one year later, Atari released Pong, complete with built in paddles, and a speaker. Of course, Pong was a huge success and represented a new stage in the evolution of gaming. Over sixty Pong knock-offs would be produced, but Atari dominated the market.
Next was the implementation of the microprocessor, which the entire industry adopted. As a result of this, more complicated systems could be developed. These systems produced groundbreaking and innovative graphical and auditory effects that had never been seen before. Consumers were eating it up. The industry was on fire. In 1981 alone, five billion dollars were spent on video arcade machines and another billion dollars was spent on home video game systems. Atari's VCS/2600 system remained the dominant player through 1982, when the gaming market experienced a crash.
What were some of the great games? How about Pac Man? Pac Man, the yellow blob that ate up dots and avoided squid-like ghosts, was a worldwide sensation and probably the biggest game of all time.
Space Invaders was another incredibly popular game. In fact, it really marked a turning point for arcade games, bringing them out of bars and into family friendly places like shops and restaurants. The premise of Space Invaders was to stop an alien invasion. This simple formula went on to become the most successful arcade game of all time.
Then there was Super Mario, which was huge as well. It involved an Italian anti-hero who was deliberately designed as a character that everyone could relate to. Soon thereafter came Zelda, Metroid, and other classics.
Rise and Fall of Atari
Atari was the hottest thing in the gaming world in the early '80's. Today, they are a relic of past glory. So what happened? Atari made some bad decisions, and although it's a little complicated, it's helpful to understand the situation. At that time in the computing world, magnetic mediums were implemented in the data storage used in Arcade machines. These mediums allowed for a higher memory capacity than ROM cartridges.
In 1982, Atari had the option to include a disk drive in their systems. The price difference would have been nominal, and the memory capacity would have been significant. Atari, however, thought that magnetic media was too "fragile" for the consumer to adequately handle. Atari's "concern" for the customer backfired on them. In the previous years, there had been a very fine line separating arcade game quality from home game quality. With arcades utilizing storage capacities ten to forty-five times larger than home systems that fine line became a chasm. Arcade games seemed to be evolving exponentially, while home systems seemed "stuck in a time warp."
The public quickly became uninterested in video game specific consoles, and sales plummeted.
This would mark the end of Atari's reign of the video game market.
The Rise of the New
In 1984, everything changed. The reason? Two innovations: The reduction in cost of Dynamic RAM (DRAM) chips which allowed more memory, and the production of higher power 8-bit processors, which lowered the prices of the previous chips. Sega, a new player in home gaming systems, entered the console market with their Master System 2. The Sega Master system would sell very well, but its success would be limited.
The other key player was Nintendo of Japan. The genius of Nintendo was their marketing prowess, as they poured millions into advertisements. These advertisements hit consumers at the perfect time, as evidenced in their sales. In fact, Nintendo couldn't manufacture enough systems to keep up with demand. After all was said and done, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) would become the highest selling system in history. They would also become the most notorious, as they were involved in the intimidation of retailers, competing companies, and other suppliers and partners.
Over the next five years Sega and Nintendo would battle for dominance, going back and forth. The consumer definitely benefited from this rivalry.
Today, it's between PlayStation 2, the Xbox and the GameCube. Xbox has taken the step to merge the past and present, where Xbox "Live Arcade" is a console system that has a "download-like" characteristic where you can buy games via the console itself. One thing in the video game industry will always remain: the classic games of yesterday were great games, helped define an era, and will always be fun. Article Source : http://www.articledashboard.com This article was written by Jon Wuebben. Jon writes select pieces about online games & game download web sites played on sites like www.iWin.com.PENDTAG ...
|
