Early video games were thought of as the latest technology, yet they are no comparison to the games we have today. With all the different types and systems there were to choose from, the earlier models such as Atari seem like a silly comparison. Although these games at one time when released to the public were very 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, Nolan Bushnell founded Atari. At first they wanted to have the company name Syzgy, but the name was taken. They later settled on Atari as their company name. Al Alcorn was a developer that joined Atari, and soon the birth of PONG was originated. This was a game very similar to the table game, ping pong. The popularity of this game was outstanding when it hit the markets in 1975 for the home version of Atari.
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 Atari 5200 Super System was the replacement for the Atari 2600. The original intention was for the 5200 to be the competition for Intellivision however, it ended up as competition for Coleco. The 5200 was not the hit that it was thought it would be due to 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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