A Short History of Video Games
It’s quite possible that for as long as you can remember, there has been a games console in your house, probably from several ‘generations’. Video game culture is a normal part of everyday life for many people.
It wasn’t always this way – so how did the video game industry become so prevalent?
Here are some major events/factors to know about.
Link to the BBC's 'Games Britannia: The Joystick Generation' on vimeo
It wasn’t always this way – so how did the video game industry become so prevalent?
Here are some major events/factors to know about.
Link to the BBC's 'Games Britannia: The Joystick Generation' on vimeo
1. The arrival of the home game console
- The origins of the video game industry lie in a military context: the first ever video game was called 'Tennis for Two' and came from missile technology.
- Pong was a version of 'Tennis for Two' which was very successful in arcades; this led Atari to manufacture and sell a home version of the game.
- The success of Pong led to the launch of the Atari 2600 in 1977. Before this console was launched, gaming was entirely social, i.e. you had to go to an arcade to play games.
Why was the Atari 2600 so successful?
• It was not the first home console but it was the first to offer the chance to play arcade games in the home (e.g. Space Invaders) which appealed to players too young or too far away from arcades/bars
• It introduced the ‘joystick’ (replacing ‘paddles’ with wheels), a revolutionary step forward in game control
• It offered a – for the time – enormous range of games which were easy to use
• It sold 25million units (cf. PS1 + PS2 200m to see how the market has mushroomed)
• It introduced the ‘joystick’ (replacing ‘paddles’ with wheels), a revolutionary step forward in game control
• It offered a – for the time – enormous range of games which were easy to use
• It sold 25million units (cf. PS1 + PS2 200m to see how the market has mushroomed)
Why did it ultimately fail?
• Massive success in 70s/80s should have set them up to last (cf. Nintendo).
• Games consoles are only as good as the games produced for them – Atari believed that arcade conversions would always earn money.
• In 1982 Atari produced a conversion of Pac-Man and a version of the film ET. Both games were rush jobs and sold poorly. This tainted the Atari name (until now a by-word for quality) and Atari made massive losses.
• E.g. ET: $21m paid for the rights, 5m cartridges produced. Only 1m sold & the rest dumped in a landfill.
• In addition, the market was becoming oversaturated with other consoles and games. By 1983, Atari was losing $2m a day. They were not to recover.
• Games consoles are only as good as the games produced for them – Atari believed that arcade conversions would always earn money.
• In 1982 Atari produced a conversion of Pac-Man and a version of the film ET. Both games were rush jobs and sold poorly. This tainted the Atari name (until now a by-word for quality) and Atari made massive losses.
• E.g. ET: $21m paid for the rights, 5m cartridges produced. Only 1m sold & the rest dumped in a landfill.
• In addition, the market was becoming oversaturated with other consoles and games. By 1983, Atari was losing $2m a day. They were not to recover.
2. The arrival of the home computer
• In the 80s/90s, Commodore was everywhere.
• The Commodore 64 (C64) was originally marketed as a business machine, but quickly became popular as a vehicle for playing games.
• Games consoles at the time were cartridge game orientated. The C64 had a cartridge slot but you could also play games via floppy disc or tape. At the time, floppy discs were ridiculously expensive. Most users loaded games via tape.
• Tape games took a long time to load but they were a lot cheaper than cartridge/disc games, so they sold in massive quantities.
• The Commodore 64 (C64) was originally marketed as a business machine, but quickly became popular as a vehicle for playing games.
• Games consoles at the time were cartridge game orientated. The C64 had a cartridge slot but you could also play games via floppy disc or tape. At the time, floppy discs were ridiculously expensive. Most users loaded games via tape.
• Tape games took a long time to load but they were a lot cheaper than cartridge/disc games, so they sold in massive quantities.
C64 versus ZX Spectrum
• The second ‘platform war’ (1st was Atari vs Odyssey : see prev.) was between Commodore and Sinclair’s ZX Spectrum
• The Spectrum was technically inferior to, but cheaper than, the C64
• Both formats live on today via ‘emulators’, free to download via the internet:
• The Spectrum was technically inferior to, but cheaper than, the C64
• Both formats live on today via ‘emulators’, free to download via the internet:
3. The return of the console
• In the 1990s, consoles again became popular
• The NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) launched in 1983 as a cartridge console; by the late 80s Nintendo had begun to work with Sony on a CD drive for loading games (CDs = more storage capacity + quicker loading times)
• Sega Mega Drive + Sony’s Playstation did away with popularity of tape-loaded games
• Nintendo hit back with Super NES (SNES) in 1992 and the Game Boy to counter Sega’s Game Gear
• SNES was massively popular but could only load games in cartridge form – it launched in the UK in 1992 (almost 2 years after its domestic Japanese launch) by which time the Mega Drive and its CD-loading games had taken a firm hold of the market
• The NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) launched in 1983 as a cartridge console; by the late 80s Nintendo had begun to work with Sony on a CD drive for loading games (CDs = more storage capacity + quicker loading times)
• Sega Mega Drive + Sony’s Playstation did away with popularity of tape-loaded games
• Nintendo hit back with Super NES (SNES) in 1992 and the Game Boy to counter Sega’s Game Gear
• SNES was massively popular but could only load games in cartridge form – it launched in the UK in 1992 (almost 2 years after its domestic Japanese launch) by which time the Mega Drive and its CD-loading games had taken a firm hold of the market
• In 1995, Sony launched
the PlayStation.
• Originally a joint Nintendo and Sony project (CD + cartridge-loading games), Nintendo had abandoned the project and left Sony to continue working on a solely CD-loading console.
• PS’s main competition was Sony’s Saturn (follow up to the Mega Drive), also a CD-only console. The PS was cheaper and therefore more popular.
• It also outsold Nintendo’s N64.
• Originally a joint Nintendo and Sony project (CD + cartridge-loading games), Nintendo had abandoned the project and left Sony to continue working on a solely CD-loading console.
• PS’s main competition was Sony’s Saturn (follow up to the Mega Drive), also a CD-only console. The PS was cheaper and therefore more popular.
• It also outsold Nintendo’s N64.
• 1990s: PlayStation dominant over Nintendo’s N64 and Sega’s Dream Cast.
• PS2 launched in 2000, selling out immediately. Since then, it has been redesigned and relaunched at a cheaper price. It was compatible with PS1 games and was also a DVD player (at the time a DVD player would cost approx £200).
• Microsoft entered the market with the Xbox. This was a DVD player, could connect to the internet, had a built-in hard drive (vs PS2’s memory cards) for a more fluent gaming experience.
• The PS2 outsold the Xbox (117m to 24m units)
• Nintendo’s Game Cube – aimed at the mid-range budget market and lacking a DVD player – sold 21m. Software companies did not produce the same sorts of games for Game Cube as for PS2 and XBox due to lack of a viable market.
• Nintendo was now focusing on handheld consoles, e.g. Game Boy and DS.• Microsoft XBox 360 – December 2005
• Nintendo Wii – Christmas 2006
• Sony PS3 – relatively late, March 2007
• Microsoft and Sony have hard drives which allow users to store photos, videos and music; both feature ‘next gen’ DVD players (Sony – Blu Ray/Microsoft – HD-DVD)
• Therefore the battle between Blu Ray and HD-DVD might affect the outcome of the platform battle as well – or it might have no effect, as internet downloads increasingly looks to be where the future of film lies
• PS2 launched in 2000, selling out immediately. Since then, it has been redesigned and relaunched at a cheaper price. It was compatible with PS1 games and was also a DVD player (at the time a DVD player would cost approx £200).
• Microsoft entered the market with the Xbox. This was a DVD player, could connect to the internet, had a built-in hard drive (vs PS2’s memory cards) for a more fluent gaming experience.
• The PS2 outsold the Xbox (117m to 24m units)
• Nintendo’s Game Cube – aimed at the mid-range budget market and lacking a DVD player – sold 21m. Software companies did not produce the same sorts of games for Game Cube as for PS2 and XBox due to lack of a viable market.
• Nintendo was now focusing on handheld consoles, e.g. Game Boy and DS.• Microsoft XBox 360 – December 2005
• Nintendo Wii – Christmas 2006
• Sony PS3 – relatively late, March 2007
• Microsoft and Sony have hard drives which allow users to store photos, videos and music; both feature ‘next gen’ DVD players (Sony – Blu Ray/Microsoft – HD-DVD)
• Therefore the battle between Blu Ray and HD-DVD might affect the outcome of the platform battle as well – or it might have no effect, as internet downloads increasingly looks to be where the future of film lies
More than a game?
• Consoles are going beyond gaming function in their battle for the living room – Microsoft and Sony have realised that the big money comes not from hardcore gamers (who will buy the hardware and games regardless) but from casual gamers
• Wii has soared past XBox and PS3 in hardware sales as it appeals to this market – it’s an exercise machine, a community hub *and* a games machine
• Sony has essentially turned the PS3 into a set-top digibox for TV: you can watch digital TV, record it, download movies and access it all wirelessly via a PSP – going well beyond simple gaming
• Kinect, X Box and PS4 are pushing the boundaries even further
8th generation? Read on...
• Wii has soared past XBox and PS3 in hardware sales as it appeals to this market – it’s an exercise machine, a community hub *and* a games machine
• Sony has essentially turned the PS3 into a set-top digibox for TV: you can watch digital TV, record it, download movies and access it all wirelessly via a PSP – going well beyond simple gaming
• Kinect, X Box and PS4 are pushing the boundaries even further
8th generation? Read on...