It is hard to believe today that early video games were thought of as the latest innovations. With the many types we have to choose from, the earlier models such as Atari, seem almost silly in comparison. However, when these games were first released to the public, they were quite popular.
The first video game system to be released for use in the U.S. was the Magnavox Odyssey. Originating from a prototype completed in 1968 called the ‘brown box’ this was a crude version of what was to come. The Odyssey was designed to use cartridges that basically altered the circuits inside the 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.
In 1972, Atari was founded by Nolan Bushnell. The name of this company was originally planned to be Syzygy. Since the name was already in use Atari was settled on for the company. A developer, Al Alcorn joined Atari and the game “Pong” originated. The popularity of this game was quite impressive when it went on sale in 1975 as a home version for Atari.
Many games were later released in 1976 and 1977 that included some hand-held games. In 1976 Coleco got into the gaming craze with the Telstar. In 1977, Atari released their Atari 2600 home game system. Mattel released their electronic baseball video game for Atari in 1978. The following year, microvision game that had cartridges that changed the games was released by Milton Bradley.
Mattel in 1980 was ready to launch their response to Atari-the intellivision game system. The Nintendo at this time was on the horizons. Mario brothers came out in 1981 and the world was ready for something different. Popularity hit nearly instantly with this new release.
In 1981 Sega was yet another video gaming system that got in on the competition with the release of Turbo. This was one of the first driving video games that simulated reality. In comparison, the only driving game up to this point was Atari’s Night Driver and it was not nearly as realistic.
The Atari 5200 super system released in 1982, replaced Atari’s 2600 system. Atari’s intention was to have this system in competition with the intellivision, but in all reality it became Coleco’s competition. The 5200 was just not as big of a hit as they had hoped because there were many design flaws.
Early games cannot be compared to the games we have today. They are not as sophisticated. The arrival of the Nintendo Systems, Play Station Systems, and the Xbox in 2001 has made our early systems look like baby toys. These systems are currently setting the trends for all future technology advances today.
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