-
Brown Box
The Brown Box was multiplayer video game system that could be played at home. It was invented by Ralph Baer, who licensed Brown Box to Magnavox. This was very popular in its time, however the company had to sue others who were making money off their game. -
Atari's Pong
The Odyssey, which was one of the first game consoles in the world soon died out due to Brown Box. One of the Odyssey 28 games was an inspiration to the famous arcade game, Pong. It soon got released as a home version, which was successful. -
Magnavox's Copyright Lawsuit
However, Magnavox would sue Atari for copyright infringement. This was from the game Pong, in which Atari had inspired off of. Atari soon settled as an Odyssey licensee, and Magnavox won over $100 Million dollars from winning copyright lawsuits relating to the video games they created. -
Atari 2600
In 1977, Atari released Atari 2600, which kicked off the second generation of video games. It included colored games as well. Not only that, but Atari had joysticks and game cartridges that were interchangeable. -
Space Invaders
The game Space Invaders got launched in 1978. This was one of the most popular arcade and at home games. It was a small shooter game, which required pixel monsters to be destroyed. Overtime, the game gained major popularity. You may still see the game today. -
The Crash
The North America game industry "crashed" due to many factors. It led to bankruptcy to many companies. These factors includes, competition, low-quality games, marketing and more. It caused a lot of companies to "crash" in market. -
The Crash Recovery
However, things started to get better in 1985, when Nintendo Famicon system, which originated in Japan, came to the US. The NES (Nintendo Entertainment System), had many improved features that other consoles did not have. Features like color, graphics and gameplay overall. -
The Console War
Sega released a game that failed to compete against the NES. However, with smart marketing, Sega managed to release the game Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991. This caused the NES and Sega to go to war. -
Technology Improvement
As computer technology improved, graphics and games started to as well. In 1995, Sega released the Saturn System. It was the first console to use CDs. -
Today's Technology
In 2005 and 2006, Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s Playstation 3, and Nintendo’s Wii were claimed as the major console systems in gaming. Each console compete with each other, releasing newer games along the way. It even advanced to mobile gaming.
