Early History of Video Games

Early Video Games Timeline:

1889-Fusajiro Yamauchi establishes the Marufuku Company to manufacture and distribute Hanafuda, Japanese playing cards. In 1907, Marufuku begins manufacturing Western playing cards. The company changes its name to The Nintendo Playing Card Company in 1951. "Nintendo" means "leave luck to heaven."

1891-Gerard Philips establishes a company in the Netherlands to manufacture incandescent lamps and other electrical products.

1918-Konosuke Matsushita establishes the Matsushita Electric Housewares Manufacturing Works. During the next 70 years, the company will establish a multitude of companies, including Panasonic.

1932-The Connecticut Leather Company is established by a Russian immigrant named Maurice Greenberg to distribute leather products to shoemakers. In the early '50s, Maurice's son Leonard creates a leather-cutting machine, and the company, which soon trades under the acronym COLECO (short for Connecticut Leather Company), begins selling leather craft kits. By the end of the decade, Leonard will have built a plastic-forming machine and the company will have jumped into the plastic-wading-pool industry.

1945-From their garage workshop, Harold Matson and Elliot Handler produce picture frames. They come up with the name "Mattel" by combining letters from their names. Elliot uses the scraps from the picture frames to begin a side business making dollhouse furniture.

1947-Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka set up the Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Company. After seeing an American-made tape recorder, Morita decides his company should begin making them. In 1952, Ibuka and Morita barely raise the $25,000 fee to become one of the first foreign companies to license the transistor patent from Bell Labs. They then use the transistor to create the world's first pocket-sized battery-powered radio. The transistor radio is a success in Japan, and Ibuka and Morita begin looking at marketing their products in the United States and Europe. Realizing the English translation of their company name is too cumbersome for English-speaking people to remember, they modify the Latin word sonus (sound) and come up with Sony, a word that has no meaning, for their new corporate name.

1951-Ralph Baer, an engineer with Loral, a company that develops and manufactures complex military airborne electronics, is instructed to "build the best TV set in the world." Baer suggests they add some kind of interactive game to the TV set to distinguish it from other companies' TVs, but management ignores the idea.

1954-Former US Korean War veteran David Rosen sees the popularity of mechanical coin-operated games on US military bases in Japan, so he starts Service Games to export these games to Japan. In the 1960s, Rosen decides to make his own coin-operated games, so he purchases a Tokyo jukebox and slot-machine company. The name SEGA, short for "SErvice GAmes," is stamped on the games that Rosen produces, and eventually Rosen adopts it as his company name.

1958 In an effort to keep visitors to the Brookhaven National Laboratories in New York from being bored, physicist Willy Higinbotham invents an interactive table-tennis-like game that is displayed on an oscilloscope. He improves on his invention a year later by displaying it on a 15-inch monitor. Believing that he hasn't invented anything, Higinbotham doesn't patent the device.
1961-MIT student Steve Russell creates Spacewar, the first interactive computer game, on a Digital PDP-1 (Programmed Data Processor-1) minicomputer. Limited by the computer technology of the time, Spacewar used new teletype terminals with CRT screens to display the graphics.

Spacewar

1962-Nolan Bushnell enrolls in engineering school at the University of Utah, where he is first exposed to Russell's Spacewar.

1965-Nolan Bushnell gets a summer job at a Salt Lake City carnival, where he is in charge of the arcade. Bushnell envisions an arcade filled with computer games but realizes it's only a dream, since computers are much too expensive to make the idea feasible.

1966-Ralph Baer rekindles his idea for a secondary use for television sets. He begins researching interactive television games. The defense contractor he works for, Sanders Associates, is interested and gives him the latitude needed to develop it.

1967-Baer and his team succeed in creating an interactive game that can be played on a television screen. They develop a chase game and follow it up with a video tennis game. They also modify a toy gun so it can distinguish spots of light on the screen.

1968-Baer's interactive TV game is patented.

1970-Magnavox licenses Baer's TV game from Sanders Associates.
With the help of Ted Dabney, Bushnell turns his daughter Britta's bedroom into a workshop so they can build an arcade version of Spacewar. They succeed in putting together a hardwired dedicated machine that can hook up to a television set to play a video version of Spacewar. Bushnell calls his game Computer Space.
Arcade-game manufacturer Nutting Associates purchases Computer Space and hires Bushnell to oversee the building of it.

1971-Nutting Releases First Arcade Video GameNutting manufactures 1,500 Computer Space machines. The components are packaged with a 13-inch black-and-white TV set in a futuristic-looking cabinet. The first arcade video game is released, but the public finds it too difficult to play.

Computer Space Arcade Game

1972-Magnavox Begins Manufacturing the OdysseyMagnavox begins manufacturing Baer's TV game system, which it calls the Odyssey. Sanders and Magnavox begin showing it to distributors around the country.

Magnavox Unveils First Home Video Game-Magnavox displays the Odyssey at a convention in Burlingame, California, on May 24. Nutting, believing it's the only company dealing with video games, sends Bushnell to see the machine. Bushnell spends a few hours playing video tennis and other games and later reports back to Nutting that he found the Odyssey uninteresting and in no way any competition for Computer Space.

Bushnell Leaves Nutting-Computer Space does not sell well, and Bushnell comes to the conclusion that it is too difficult to play. He realizes that if he can design a simple game, it might be a major draw. He informs Nutting, who tells him to go ahead and design a new machine. Bushnell decides that since he is the brains behind video games he should get a larger share of the profits. When he demands a third of Nutting Associates and doesn't get it, he leaves the company.

Bushnell Starts Atari-Bushnell and Dabney decide to start their own company to design video games for other companies to distribute. They originally call their company Syzygy (the straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies), but that name is already being used by a roofing company. They then settle on the name Atari, a term from the Japanese game Go, whose meaning is equivalent to "check" in chess.

Pong Is Born-Bushnell hires Al Alcorn to program games. Since Alcorn is inexperienced, Bushnell has him program a simple video tennis game as an exercise. They call the game Pong, for two reasons: first, "pong" is the sound the game makes when the ball hits a paddle or the side of the screen, and second, the name Ping-Pong is already copyrighted.

Pong Breaks Down-Bushnell tries selling Pong to established arcade manufacturers. After finding Bally disinterested, Bushnell decides to market the game himself. Pong is test-marketed in Andy Capps, a local bar. Within two weeks the test unit breaks down because the coin drop is flooded with quarters. Pong is a success.

Magnavox Releases Home Video Game-Magnavox sells the Odyssey exclusively through its own stores. People are led to believe the console will only work with Magnavox televisions. Still, Magnavox manages to sell 100,000 units. Many people buy it because it is the closest thing they can get to a home version of Pong.

1976:

Father of Video Games Saves Connecticut Company-Attracted by Atari's success, several companies release home video game consoles. Because of a rush on circuits, only Coleco receives its full order in time for Father's Day. Coleco fails to receive FCC approval due to a radio-frequency interference problem and hires Ralph Baer to find and fix the problem. Baer solves the problem at the last minute, and Coleco's huge oval Telstar machine debuts.

Cartridges Are Born-Fairchild Camera & Instrument releases its Video Entertainment System (later renamed Channel F), the first programmable home game console. You can actually insert large cartridges (which look very much like audio 8-track cartridges) into the console and change the games.

Violent Video Game-Exidy Games releases Death Race 2000, a driving game based on a 1975 movie of the same name. You earn points by running over stick figures. Public outcry against video game violence gains national attention, and the game is taken off the market.
Atari Is Sold for $28 MillionNolan Bushnell sells Atari to Warner Communications for $28 million. Bushnell remains with Atari as chairman of the board.

1977:

Pizza Time Theatre-Atari opens the first Pizza Time Theatre, a new arcade-restaurant combination that features moving robotic animals, electronic games, and food. The mascot for the restaurant is a rat named Chuck E. Cheese. Bushnell thought up the concept three years earlier while standing in line at a pizza parlor.

Atari Introduces Programmable Console-Atari releases its first programmable (cartridge-based) game system, the Video Computer System (VCS--later known as the Atari 2600), in time for Christmas, for $249.

Bally Enters Consumer Market-Bally releases a programmable console called the Bally Professional Arcade. With a retail price of $350, the system fails to catch on.

1978:
Bushnell Leaves Atari-Bushnell leaves Atari and signs a lucrative five-year agreement not to compete with the company he started. He buys the rights to Pizza Time Theatre from Atari and begins franchising it. Ray Kassar becomes the CEO of Atari.

Nintendo Releases Arcade Game-In March, Nintendo of Japan releases Computer Othello, a decidedly simplistic arcade cocktail-table game based on the board game Othello.
Trackball Rolls Into ArcadesAtari releases the arcade game Football. The game features a revolutionary new controller called the trackball.

Midway Imports Game to Beat-Midway imports Space Invaders from Taito. Space Invaders gives you a goal by displaying the current high score for you to beat.

Arcade Success Stories-Both Football and Space Invaders break all known sales records with almost equal earnings. However, Football's popularity fades with the end of the pro football season. Space Invaders' popularity continues, causing coin shortages in Japan and school truancy in America.

Atari Enters Computer Market-Atari begins selling its line of 400 and 800 computers to compete against Apple. The public, however, associates Atari with games, and the computers are never taken seriously.

Magnavox Releases Console With Keyboard-Magnavox releases the Odyssey2, a programmable console that has a built-in membrane keyboard.

Vector Game Released-Cinematronics releases Space Wars, a game similar to Bushnell's Computer Space. The game features vector (line-drawn) graphics. Vector graphics are the earliest form of polygon graphics to appear in video game applications, and they lack the flat shading or textures of later graphics.

1979:
Holographic Games-Atari develops the Cosmos, a handheld programmable machine that features holograms within the graphics. Because the holograms are only for aesthetics and don't add to the gameplay, the Cosmos is never released.

Atari Vectors-Atari releases Lunar Lander, its first vector graphics game. Lunar Lander Begets AsteroidsDespite Lunar Lander's popularity, Atari halts production of the game and begins releasing Asteroids in the Lunar Lander cabinets. Asteroids is a game that was originally designed by Lyle Rains and Ed Logg for the Cosmos system. It goes on to become Atari's all-time best-seller. Asteroids introduces a new feature to arcades: High scorers can enter their three-character initials at the end of the game. Nearly 80,000 units are sold in the United States, but the game is less popular in other countries. Sega releases Monaco GP, a driving game with a top-down perspective, which is followed by the similar Pro Monaco GP in 1980 and the realistic 3D racer Super Monaco GP in 1989.

Milton Bradley Releases Programmable Handheld Video Game-Milton Bradley Electronics releases the Microvision, a handheld programmable unit that includes its own built-in LED screen.

1980:
Space Invaders Come Home-Atari releases its exclusive home version of Space Invaders for the VCS. Sales of the VCS skyrocket.

Mattel Intellivision-Mattel Electronics introduces the Intellivision game console. The first serious competition for the VCS, the Intellivision has better graphics and a steeper price--$299. Mattel promises to release an optional peripheral that will upgrade the Intellivision console into a personal computer.

Atari Exodus-Several VCS programmers leave Atari in a dispute over game credits and form Activision, the first "third -party developer" and now a rival VCS software house. While Atari doesn't give individual programmers credit for their work, Activision recognizes individual game developers by including their names on the game packaging and in the marketing efforts.
US Army Plays GamesAtari coin-op designer Ed Rottberg creates Battlezone, the first three-dimensional first-person game. Rolling around in a tank on a virtual battlefield, you take out targets in a warlike scenario. The US government later commissions an enhanced version of Battlezone for military training purposes.

Namco Releases Pac-Man-Namco releases Pac-Man, the most popular arcade game of all time. Over 300,000 units are sold worldwide (counterfeit machines are not included in this figure, but their number nearly matches the number of legitimate Pac-Man machines). More than 100,000 units are sold in the United States alone. Originally named Puck Man, the game is renamed after executives see the potential for vandals to scratch out part of the letter P on the game's marquee, which might discourage parents from letting their children play. Pac-Man becomes the first video game to be popular with both males and females.

Sega Licenses Atari Game-Sega obtains the rights to manufacture and release a Japanese version of Atari's Missile Command.

Nintendo of America Opens for Business-Minoru Arakawa, son-in-law of Nintendo's Japanese chief Hiroshi Yamauchi, opens Nintendo of America in New York City, then moves the company to Seattle, Washington. Unsuccessful at selling a number of mediocre electronic games following Computer Othello, the small American subsidiary has a decidedly uncertain future.

Bally Sells Off Console-Bally sells its Professional Arcade system to Astrovision, which renames it Astrocade.

Virtual World-Williams, a Chicago-based manufacturer of pinball machines, releases Defender, its first video game. Designed by Eugene Jarvis, Defender is a side-scrolling shooter that features the industry's first virtual world. Because the monitor can only display a portion of the action, a "radar" at the top of the screen shows the overall picture of events that are occurring outside the boundaries of the screen. Defender becomes an immediate hit.

1981:
Nintendo Does It Right-Given an opportunity to convert a large number of unsuccessful Nintendo video arcade games into something that will earn money, Nintendo artist Shigeru Miyamoto creates Donkey Kong. The hero, originally called Jumpman, is a squat carpenter racing to save his girlfriend Pauline from a crazed monkey. Jumpman is later named Mario by Nintendo of America's staff, in honor of his resemblance to their landlord Mario Segali.

Atari and Intellivision Programmers Unite-More Atari programmers defect, along with several Intellivision programmers, to start Imagic, a software company that promises to release games for both the VCS and Intellivision systems.

Atari Licensing Coup-Atari negotiates the rights to release more hit arcade titles, such as Pac-Man, for the VCS.

Color Vector-Atari releases Tempest, a color-vector arcade game based on still-unstable graphics technology that is prone to early failure. The machine attracts crowds of devoted players.

Death by Video Game-A man dies of a heart attack while playing Berserk--video gaming's only known fatality.

Arcades Rule-US arcades reach their highest revenues--$5 billion. Americans spend more than 75,000 man-hours playing video games.

First Video Game Magazine-Electronic Games is founded by Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel and is the first magazine entirely devoted to video games.

1982:
Coleco Releases the Colecovision-Coleco releases the Colecovision, a cartridge-based game console buoyed not only by superior graphics and sound, but also by support from a growing game company: Nintendo. Nintendo licenses Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior to Coleco, which releases excellent translations for the Colecovision and ports reasonable versions to the Atari VCS and Intellivision. Coleco also releases an adapter that lets VCS cartridges be played on the Colecovision. Realizing that Atari has firm support from Namco, creator of Pac-Man, Coleco involves itself heavily with Sega, Konami, and Universal (Mr. Do!).

Magnavox Does It Better-Magnavox releases a game called K.C. Munchkin for the Odyssey2. Atari deems K.C. Munchkin to be very similar to Pac-Man and sues. Atari wins the lawsuit, and Magnavox must remove K.C. Munchkin from the market.

Pac-Man Clone?-Atari releases its highly anticipated 2600 version of Pac-Man, which unfortunately doesn't resemble the arcade game at all. The public quickly becomes disenchanted with the company.

E.T. Goes Home-Atari releases E.T. for the VCS, a game Howard Scott Warshaw programmed in six weeks. Expecting a sellout, Atari reportedly manufacturers more E.T. cartridges than there are 2600 consoles in use. As was the case with Pac-Man, the public is disappointed by the game. Massive numbers of both Pac-Man and E.T. games end up in a huge landfill in New Mexico, along with millions of other unsold and unwanted game cartridges. Original games such as Activision's Pitfall (by David Crane) sell well.

Atari Super System-Atari releases the 5200 game console to compete with the Colecovision, although it had originally been designed to compete with the Intellivision. Based on the graphics and audio chips found in Atari home computers, 5200 games are essentially aesthetically improved rereleases of VCS games (the VCS was renamed 2600). The machine is incompatible with 2600 game cartridges until Atari belatedly introduces an adapter so 2600 games can be used on the 5200. A major strike against the system is its controller, which features a noncentering joystick.

Vectors Come Home-General Consumer Electronics (GCE) releases the Vectrex, the first and only home console based on vector graphics technology. The Vectrex includes a built-in game (Minesweeper, an impressive Asteroids clone) and one four-button analog joystick controller.
Pac-Man FeverMidway creates Ms. Pac-Man in-house. It becomes the biggest arcade game in American history, with more than 115,000 units sold in the United States, but Namco, which is not involved with Ms. Pac-Man, develops the improved, but radically different, Super Pac-Man for Japanese consumers. A number of Pac-Man "enhancement chips" arrive on the market to speed up the original Pac-Man and change its characters and mazes. The most popular enhancement, Pac-Man Plus, replaces the generic fruits and other bonus items in Pac-Man with popular American items such as Coke cans.

Stock Drop-On December 7 (3:04pm Eastern Standard Time), Atari announces that VCS sales did not meet predictions. Warner Communications stock drops 32 percent in a single day.

1983:
New Bushnell Company-Nolan Bushnell becomes eligible to enter the video game industry again. He joins Videa and renames the company Sente Games, another Go reference (this time to "checkmate"). Sente forms a partnership with Midway games and releases arcade titles such as the simple but addicting hockey game Hat Trick. Unfortunately, the partnership never finds a niche in the market.

Atari Top Secret-In March, Atari announces a new top-secret project code-named the Falcon Project. The Falcon Project turns out to be a new Atari division called Ataritel, which is Atari's attempt to enter the telecommunications market.

Animated Video Games-Cinematronics releases Rick Dyer's Dragon's Lair (animated by Don Bluth), the first arcade game to feature laser-disc technology.
New Commodore ComputerCommodore releases the Commodore 64, an inexpensive but powerful computer that outperforms any video game console.

Nintendo Famicom-Nintendo releases the Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan. Intentionally designed to look like a toy, the Famicom is released with Nintendo arcade hits Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, and Popeye. Because of Atari's domination of the market, Nintendo doesn't plan to sell the Famicom outside of Japan. The company offers Atari the rights to distribute it everywhere outside of Japan. Atari is keen on the idea, and after meetings throughout April and May, the two companies sign an agreement at the CES in June.

Coleco Computer-Coleco unveils its Adam computer at the June CES, with Donkey Kong displayed on it. Atari, which has computer rights to Donkey Kong, accuses Nintendo of breach of contract and threatens to halt the Famicom deal and sue. Nintendo threatens to sue Coleco because Coleco only has video gaming rights to Donkey Kong, not computer rights. Coleco says it's all a big misunderstanding because although Adam is a computer, it's also a souped-up Colecovision.

Atari Controversy-Controversy hits Atari when it is revealed that Ray Kassar sold $250,000 worth of Warner stock on December 6, 1982, the day before Atari made an announcement that caused the stock to fall. Kassar resigns on July 7 and is replaced by James Morgan on September 6. The Famicom deal falls apart during the crisis.

The Crash!-With too many products on the shelves from a multitude of publishers, many third-party companies go out of business. The games from these companies are then discounted heavily. Companies that are still in business cannot compete against the cheap games, so they wind up losing money because of unsold inventory.

1984:
Vectrex for the Masses-After acquiring GCE, Milton Bradley begins distributing the Vectrex. The company quickly lowers the price to make it competitive with the consoles. The price is eventually dropped to $100, forcing Milton Bradley to lose money with each until sold. Milton Bradley finally cancels the Vectrex.

Coleco Goes Adam Crazy-Coleco uses all of its resources to manufacture Adams. This is at the expense of the Colecovision. Sixty percent of all Coleco Adams are returned defective.
Mattel Sells IntellivisionMattel decides to shut down Mattel Electronics after heavy losses. The division is purchased by Terry Valeski, a Mattel vice president, who renames it Intellivision Inc.
Nintendo Eyes AmericaAs the video game industry begins to crumble, Nintendo announces that it may release its Famicom in the United States.

Atari Vaporware-Atari introduces new products at the summer CES. Among them are the 7800, an advanced gaming console that will also play 2600 games, and the Mindlink, a hands-off controller that attaches to the head.

Warner Dumps Atari-Faced with rising losses, Warner Communications sells off Atari Incorporated's consumer division to Jack Tramiel, the man who had founded Commodore computers and had been forced out of that company earlier in the year. Warner Communications keeps the arcade division and renames it Atari Games. The Ataritel division is shelved, and Tramiel renames his new company (which includes Atari's video game and computer divisions) Atari Corporation. Tramiel immediately announces that the new company has no intention to sell video game consoles and will be marketing a new line of 16-bit computers. The new products that were shown at CES are shelved indefinitely.

1985:
Famicoming to America-Nintendo test-markets its Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in New York. Retailers are so skeptical about video games that Nintendo has to agree to buy back all unpurchased inventory. Armed with a large number of Nintendo-developed original titles and arcade games, the NES is a hit in a limited market release.

Atari Goes up Against Apple-Following Apple's lead in releasing the Macintosh, Tramiel's Atari mounts a challenge with the 16-bit Motorola 68000-based 520ST, internally dubbed the "Jackintosh."

Russian Conquers World With Puzzle Game-Russian programmer Alex Pajitnov designs Tetris, a simple but addicting puzzle game that can be played on PCs.

1986:

Nintendo Releases the NES Nationwide-Satisfied by the system's success in New York, Nintendo markets the NES nationwide. The system debuts with Super Mario Bros., an arcade conversion, which becomes an instant hit.

Sega Releases NES Competition-Following the successful American introduction of the NES, Sega releases its Sega Master System (SMS) in the United States.

Atari Reintroduces Game Consoles-Following the success of the NES, Atari Corp reevaluates the popularity of video games and decides to release the 7800 game console.
Good Nintendo NewsNintendo outsells its competitors 10 to 1 in the United States. In Japan it unveils a disk drive peripheral for the Famicom, along with The Legend of Zelda and golf and soccer games.

Nintendo Adds New Licensees-Several companies sign on with Nintendo as third-party developers, and most of Atari's old supporters, such as Namco, are now making their best games for Nintendo's system.

1987:

New Software-Nintendo's hold on the market grows, crowding out Sega and Atari. Atari releases games for the 2600, which are all but ignored by the press, and releases ports for the 7800--Namco's Galaga and Dig Dug, Williams' Robotron: 2084 and Joust, Electronic Arts' 1983 basketball game One-on-One Basketball, and Atari's own Asteroids and Centipede--that everyone has seen before. Nintendo releases The Legend of Zelda on a cartridge in the United States after deciding not to bring the expensive Famicom disk drive peripheral into the American marketplace. Games such as Kid Icarus and Metroid are released, offering enhanced NES graphics and longer quests.

Tonka Distributes Sega Games-Toy-truck company Tonka purchases the US distribution rights to the SMS and gets it into more stores than Sega did, allowing it to better compete against the NES.

Atari Repackages Computer as Game Console-Atari releases the Atari XE Game System (XEGS), which is basically a repackaging its old 800 computer. The XEGS uses cartridges compatible with Atari's dying 8-bit XE computer line and includes two games (Barnyard Blaster and Flight Simulator II), a light gun, and a detachable keyboard. The unit sinks quickly.
NEC Releases "16-Bit" Console in JapanNEC releases the PC-Engine in Japan and touts it as a 16-bit machine. Actually, the console features a 16-bit graphics processor.

1988:

Atari Releases Games for the NES-Atari Games establishes Tengen, a subsidiary that produces games for home consoles. Tengen begins as a licensed third-party developer of NES-compatible games. This role ends when Atari Games takes Nintendo to court, claiming that Nintendo has an illegal monopoly on the video game industry, achieved through illegal practices, such as fixing prices and using computer-chip lockout technology to prohibit unlicensed development of NES software.

Tengen Bypasses Nintendo "Lockout" Chip-Tengen discovers a way to produce NES-compatible games without Nintendo's approval and announces that it will develop, manufacturer, and distribute NES-compatible games without Nintendo's blessing.

Coleco Files for Bankruptcy-Unable to recover from the disastrous Adam, Coleco files for bankruptcy. Most of its catalog goes to Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers.

1989:
Tetris Troubles-Tengen acquires the home rights to Tetris and begins selling the extremely popular game. However, it is quickly discovered that Tengen bought the rights from Mirrorsoft, which did not own the rights in the first place. Nintendo quietly acquires the legitimate home rights to Tetris and releases it under its own label. The Tengen version is removed from the

marketplace.

Nintendo Introduces Monochrome Game Boy-Nintendo releases its handheld Game Boy ($109). The system comes with Tetris, and despite a tiny monochrome screen, it begins to build a historic sales record. A Game Boy version of Super Mario (Super Mario Land), a Breakout clone (Alleyway), and a baseball game are quickly released.

NEC Releases "16-Bit" Console in America-NEC brings the PC-Engine to America and calls it the TurboGrafx-16 ($189). NEC also releases a $400 portable CD player that attaches to the TurbroGrafx-16 and plays games that are, for the first time, stored on compact discs.

Sega Releases 16-Bit Genesis-Sega releases the 16-bit Genesis in the United States after limited success in Japan. The $249 system is packed with a conversion of the arcade game Altered Beast. Early marketing efforts push the system as a true arcade experience that's substantially better than previous home game machines.

Atari Releases Handheld Lynx-Epyx displays a handheld color console called the Handy Game at the winter CES. Atari purchases the rights to the Handy Game and releases it as the Lynx ($149). After publishing a handful of great Epyx games, Atari begins to develop a number of 7800 game conversions and Atari Games arcade ports for the system. More expensive than the Game Boy, the Lynx suffers from a lack of third-party support and is plagued by constant rumors that Atari will stop supporting the system.

1990:

Good Year for Nintendo-Nintendo releases Super Mario 3, the all-time best-selling video-game cartridge. Despite competition from the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16, the NES enjoys its best year. Nintendo of Japan unveils its Super Famicom, a 16-bit system with better audio and 3D graphics than the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16. Super Mario 4: Super Mario World is offered to Japanese gamers, who rush to stores to buy the game.

Video Game Rental Dispute-Nintendo and Blockbuster go to court over video game rentals, with Nintendo maintaining that the rentals are destroying its sales. When the courts decide the games can be rented, Nintendo strikes another blow by claiming that Blockbuster illegally copied the copyrighted game-instruction manuals. This time the courts side with Nintendo.
NeoGeoSNK, a long-time Nintendo developer and maker of such games as the three Ikari Warriors releases and Crystalis, releases the 24-bit NeoGeo in arcade and home formats. The graphics and sounds crush those of the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16, but the $399 retail price crushes the NeoGeo's sales.

Sega Arcade Hits Continue to Come Home-Sega continues to turn out games to trade on its established arcade successes. Afterburner II, E-SWAT, and other Sega arcade hits come home, and Sega secures the Genesis rights to Capcom's largely unknown but amazing platform game Strider, which wins game of the year honors at various publications.

NEC Releases Handheld TurboGrafx-16NEC-releases the TurboExpress ($299.95), a handheld TurboGrafx-16 with a separately sold TV tuner. This is the first time a portable game machine can play a dedicated console's games.

Commodore CDTV-Commodore announces its CDTV (Commodore Dynamic Total Vision). Basically a Commodore computer without a keyboard, the CDTV is the first of several home interactive systems that stress education software as well as games. The software is sold on compact discs rather than cartridges.

1991:

Nintendo Releases the SNES-Nintendo releases the Super Famicom in America and calls the $249 console the Super NES (SNES). Journalists begin to wonder aloud whether Mario will be enough to convince NES-dedicated parents to make the investment in a new machine.
Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog.Sega Introduces SonicSega unveils Sonic the Hedgehog, which it hopes is a force that will one day conquer the NES and SNES. Charmed by the character, critics are quick to support it but call the choice between Mario and Sonic a toss-up. Most pick Super Mario World as the better of the two.

SNES CD Player-Sony and Nintendo announce plans for Sony to develop a $700 CD player to work with the SNES.

Game Genie-Galoob Toys releases the Game Genie, which infuriates Nintendo--the device lets players cheat in NES games and win more easily. Nintendo sees the Game Genie as a tool that reduces the long-term value of its games, and it attempts to prevent Game Genie sales.
Street Fighter II Capcom releases Street Fighter II and brings new life to arcades filled with walk-and-punch clones and shooters. Teenagers flock to play Street Fighter II, and arcades purchase multiple machines and similar clones and begin to invest in more sophisticated racing simulations as well.

Atari Panther-Atari announces development of the Panther, a new 32-bit game system designed to compete against Sega and Nintendo.

1992:

Genesis Software-Although they have contracts with Nintendo, Capcom and Konami talk actively with Sega about development for the Genesis. They ultimately release games but never devote their best teams to work on Sega software. Sega hurriedly prepares Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for a holiday release. The game sells like mad, and Sonic becomes a serious challenger to Mario's future success.

Sega CD-Sega releases the Sega CD ($299) but denies developers easy access to development tools that would let them use the system's special graphics abilities (hardware sprite zooming and rotation). Sega of America focuses on developing a number of interactive movies.
JVC WondermegaJVC introduces the Wondermega in Japan. The Wondermega is a combination Genesis and Sega CD and retails for $620.

Nintendo Divorces Sony and Marries Philips-Sony and Nintendo abandon their joint CD peripheral, which Sony had reputedly completed in prototype form. Rumors surface indicating that Sony lawyers had skillfully crafted an agreement that allowed Sony to reap publishing profits from SNES/Super Famicom CD-based games, profits Nintendo sought to retain. Nintendo announces plans to work with Philips to create a CD-ROM compatible with the Philips CD-i. Sony, disgusted, finishes work on a number of SNES games, scraps the old "PlayStation" developed for Nintendo, and sets its engineers to work on developing a 32-bit CD-only game machine to unseat Nintendo in Japan and the United States.

Early History of Video Games

Website with Info

Early History of Video Games

Blog Archive

About Me