Med122 history video games

A short history of video gaming

#med122

Steven Russell1962MIT

Spacewar

William Higinbotham 1958

Brookhaven National LaboratoryTennis for Two

3rd generation (8 bit)

  Japan North America Europe

NES/Famicom 1983 1985 1986

Sega Master System 1985 1986 1987

Atari 7800 None 1986 1987

Atari XEGS none 1987 1987

“Forgo profits on the hardware […] It is just a tool to sell software.This is where we shall make our money” (1983)

Shigeru Miyamoto

  Japan North America Europe

TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine 1987 1989 1990

Sega Mega Drive 1988 1989 1990

SNK Neo Geo 1990 1990 1991

SNES/Super Famicom 1990 1991 1992

4th generation (16 bit)

“Sega is nothing”

The big players in the late 1980s and early 1990s were two Japanese giants: Nintendo with its Nintendo Entertainment System (or Famicom) and the more powerful Super NES; and Sega, with its Megadrive ... [They] inspired fanatical loyalty. They were the Beatles and the Stones of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Nintendo was the Beatles; wholesome fun for all the family ... Sega, on the other hand, were the snarling, street-smart gang, roughing it up for the hardcore videogame fans- Steven Poole, 2000: 18

5th generation (32 bit)

  Japan North America Europe

Atari Jaguar 1994 1993 1994

The 3D0 1994 1993 1994

PC-FX 1994 None None

Sega 32X 1994 1994 1994

Sega Saturn 1994 1995 1995

Sony Playstation 1994 1995 1995

Nintendo 64 1996 1996 1997

387

1284

Total number of games available for system

NintendoSony

6th generation

  Japan North America Europe

Sega Dreamcast 1998 1999 1999

Sony Playstation 2 2000 2000 2000

Nintendo GameCube 2001 2001 2002

Microsoft Xbox 2002 2001 2002

Questions

1. What are your earliest gaming memories?2. Is gaming significant, and if so, in what way?3. What conditions led to the formation of the

games industry as we know it?4. Does the way in which we interface with

games matter (eg input devices, screens, etc)?5. As gaming ages, can it ever be considered an

art form?