subject: Early Video Games [print this page] Isn't it funny to think back when the first video game systems were thought of as the greatest technology? With all the types of systems to choose from, the earlier models are a joke in comparison to the new systems put out today. Although back in the day, these systems were very popular when they were first released to the public.
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.
This game was based on plastic sheets that were attached to the television screen with tape. The sheets added the graphics that were used in conjunction with the images projected onto the screen from the game system. This was released in 1972.
Those first video game systems and their ancestors of the many that are available today cost $100 when first released. They sold over 100,000 units in the first year of production. Even though those systems would be considered quite primitive In comparison to the stands of today, they are what started the gaming systems.
Nolan Bushell founded Atari in 1972. The company's name was supposed to be Syzgy, but the name had already been taken so they settled on the name Atari. When developer, Al Alcorn joined Atari the game "Pong" originated at that time. The sales from pong alone were impressive in 1975, when it went on the market. The game was the video game version of ping pong.
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.
In 1980, Mattel was getting ready to launch their competition to Atari, the intellivision game system. The Nintendo game system was on the horizon. Mario Brother's games came out in 1981, starting out as an instant hit. It gained popularity immediately.
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 replacement for the Atari 2600 was born. It was the Atari 5200 which was created to compete with the intellivision but ended up being in competition for Coleco. The Atari 5200 was not the hit, that they had planned it to be due to many design flaws.
The early games and systems were not nearly as sophisticated as today's. The arrival of the Nintendo systems, Play Station systems and the Xbox in 2001 made yesterday's game little more than children's toys. The Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 are setting the trend for further technological advances today.
