Introduction

Released in October 1958, Tennis for Two is one of the earliest known video games and a pioneering sports simulation game that mimics a tennis match. It was designed by American physicist William Higinbotham at Brookhaven National Laboratory as an interactive exhibit for the laboratory’s annual public exhibition. The game was created to engage visitors and demonstrate the laboratory’s computing capabilities in an entertaining way. Tennis for Two is displayed on an oscilloscope and played using two custom aluminum controllers connected by wires, each featuring a knob to adjust the angle of the shot and a button to hit the ball. The game shows a side view of a tennis court with a net, where a dot representing the ball bounces back and forth over the net in monochrome visuals.

New Technology Used

The game ran on an analog computer, the Donner Model 30, which simulated the ball’s trajectory including effects such as gravity and air resistance. The oscilloscope served as the display device, showing the court as a horizontal line and the net as a short vertical line. The ball’s movement was calculated in real-time, bouncing off the ground and the net realistically. The circuitry mostly used vacuum tubes and relays, but the graphics display circuit incorporated germanium transistors, which were then a new technology replacing vacuum tubes. The entire game’s electronics, excluding the oscilloscope and controllers, occupied roughly the space of a microwave oven. Players controlled the angle of their shots via the knobs and hit the ball by pressing the button on their controllers.

Major Gaming Impact

Tennis for Two was a major attraction at the Brookhaven exhibition, drawing large crowds and especially captivating high school students. It was one of the first interactive electronic games created purely for entertainment rather than academic or commercial purposes, setting a precedent for future video games. Although the game was dismantled after its initial exhibitions and largely forgotten for years, it resurfaced in the late 1970s during patent disputes involving early video game pioneers. It is now celebrated as a foundational milestone in video game history, often regarded as one of the first video games ever made. The concept of interactive gameplay demonstrated by Tennis for Two influenced later developments, including the commercial success of Atari’s Pong in 1972, which helped launch the video game industry.

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Introduction

Released in 1971, Computer Space was the first commercially available arcade video game and the first coin-operated video game. Created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney under the company Syzygy Engineering before founding Atari, it was inspired by the 1962 computer game Spacewar!. The game features a player-controlled rocket engaged in missile combat against two computer-controlled flying saucers, displayed on a black-and-white television screen housed in a distinctive fiberglass cabinet designed to look futuristic.

New Technology Used

Computer Space ran without a microprocessor; instead, it used custom-designed hardware built from 7400-series integrated circuits functioning as a state machine. Graphics were generated using diode arrays that formed hardwired bitmaps—early examples of sprite graphics—allowing independent movement of game elements without refreshing the entire screen. The game’s controls consisted of four buttons for rotation, thrust, and firing missiles. Its hardware design was innovative for its time, replacing the need for a central computer with dedicated circuits tailored specifically to run the game.

Major Gaming Impact

As the first mass-produced arcade video game, Computer Space introduced the concept of coin-operated video gaming to the public, paving the way for the arcade industry. Although it was not a widespread commercial hit due to its complex controls and gameplay unfamiliarity, it proved the viability of video games as a commercial entertainment medium. The game’s creators went on to found Atari, which would build on this foundation with later successes like Pong, shaping the future of the video game industry.

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Introduction

Released in September 1972, the Magnavox Odyssey was the first commercial home video game console. Designed by Ralph H. Baer and his team at Sanders Associates, and developed by Magnavox, the Odyssey connected to a television and came with two wired rectangular controllers. It displayed simple monochrome graphics consisting of three square dots and one vertical line of varying height. To enhance visuals, players used plastic screen overlays that added color and thematic elements. The console supported one or two players and included accessories like dice and play money to complement gameplay.

New Technology Used

Unlike later consoles, the Odyssey did not use ROM cartridges. Instead, it employed “game cards” — printed circuit boards that plugged into the console and altered internal circuitry to change game functions. The system’s electronics were built from discrete components without integrated circuits, and color was simulated via screen overlays rather than on-screen graphics. This approach allowed the console to run multiple games on the same hardware by reconfiguring circuits rather than loading software.

Major Gaming Impact

Before the Odyssey, video games were limited to specialized computers or arcade machines. The Odyssey brought interactive gaming into family homes by leveraging the widespread availability of televisions. It introduced the concept of a multiprogram home console, paving the way for future systems. Its simple ping-pong style game inspired Atari’s Pong, which popularized video games globally. The Odyssey sold hundreds of thousands of units and its patents generated significant licensing revenue, marking a foundational milestone in video game history.

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Introduction

Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System (later renamed Atari 2600 in 1982), the Atari 2600 was a groundbreaking home video game console developed by Atari, Inc. It popularized the use of microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridges, enabling a wide variety of games on a single system. The console came bundled with two joystick controllers, paddle controllers, and a game cartridge such as Combat. It connected to a television and displayed color graphics, a significant advancement over earlier consoles.

New Technology Used

The Atari 2600 used the MOS Technology 6507 microprocessor running at 1.19 MHz and featured 128 bytes of RAM. Its key innovation was the cartridge-based system, where games were stored on ROM cartridges that plugged into the console. This allowed users to easily switch games without changing hardware, unlike earlier consoles with built-in games or circuit-switching cards. Initial cartridges held 2 KB of ROM, but later games used bank switching to expand cartridge size up to 8 KB or more, enabling more complex and visually advanced games. The console’s custom graphics chip, the TIA (Television Interface Adapter), handled color output and game visuals.

Major Gaming Impact

The Atari 2600 revolutionized home gaming by making arcade-quality games accessible to the mass market, with popular titles like Space Invaders, Asteroids, and Pac-Man adapted for home play. Its cartridge system set the standard for future consoles, fostering a thriving third-party developer ecosystem, including companies like Activision. The 2600’s success helped launch the golden age of video games, selling millions of units worldwide and establishing gaming as a mainstream entertainment medium. Its influence persists as the foundational model for programmable, cartridge-based game consoles.

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Introduction

Super Mario Bros., released in 1985 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), is a landmark side-scrolling platformer designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Unlike its predecessor Mario Bros., which used a single static screen, Super Mario Bros. introduced expansive side-scrolling levels that allowed players to explore vast, continuous worlds filled with enemies, obstacles, and secrets. This scrolling gameplay was a major innovation that defined the platformer genre.

New Technology Used

The game used a fast, smooth side-scrolling engine originally developed for Excitebike, enabling Mario to accelerate from walking to running seamlessly as the screen scrolled horizontally. The NES hardware rendered the game world by drawing background tiles and sprites in 8x8 pixel blocks, with a palette limitation of 12 colors plus transparency. To manage memory and processing limits, Super Mario Bros. reused graphical assets creatively—for example, clouds and bushes were the same sprite recolored. The NES’s Picture Processing Unit (PPU) allowed the game to update and scroll the background smoothly on one axis (horizontal), while keeping the status bar fixed by altering scrolling mid-frame. Mario himself was composed of multiple sprites combined to form a single character, with sprite flipping used to change his facing direction. This efficient use of limited hardware resources enabled large, colorful, and fluidly scrolling levels that were unprecedented at the time.

Major Gaming Impact

By enabling a continuously scrolling screen, Super Mario Bros. transformed platform games from static or flip-screen levels into immersive, dynamic experiences. Players could explore long, interconnected stages rather than being confined to one screen, greatly expanding the scale and depth of gameplay. This side-scrolling design became a defining feature of platformers and influenced countless games thereafter. The smooth scrolling and colorful graphics helped make Super Mario Bros. a critical and commercial success, setting new standards for game design and technical achievement on 8-bit consoles.

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Introduction

Released in 1986 for the NES, The Legend of Zelda was one of the first console games to feature a built-in save system, allowing players to preserve their progress in a large, open-world adventure. Unlike earlier games that relied on passwords or required playing in one sitting, Zelda enabled players to save and resume their game at any time, a major innovation for home consoles.

New Technology Used

The game cartridge included a battery-backed SRAM chip that stored save data directly on the cartridge. This static RAM retained information such as player location, inventory, and game state even when the console was powered off, thanks to a small coin-cell battery soldered onto the cartridge’s circuit board. The NES accessed this memory mapped at a specific address range, allowing the game to write and read save data quickly and reliably. Players could manually save their game by pausing and using a button combination on the second controller, which brought up a save menu. This hardware-based save system was a streamlined adaptation of similar PC save technologies and was revolutionary in eliminating the need for cumbersome password systems.

Major Gaming Impact

The Legend of Zelda’s battery-backed save feature transformed console gaming by enabling longer, more complex games with persistent worlds and progress. This allowed for expansive gameplay experiences, such as open exploration and item collection, without forcing players to start over each session. The save system paved the way for future NES titles like Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior to implement similar battery-backed saves, fundamentally changing how players interacted with games and setting a new standard for game design on home consoles.

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Introduction

Released by Nintendo on April 21, 1989, the Game Boy was the first mainstream handheld game console that achieved widespread commercial success. Designed by Gunpei Yokoi and his team, it combined portability, affordability, and durability in a compact, lightweight device with a monochrome screen and simple controls. The Game Boy popularized handheld gaming by enabling players to enjoy a variety of games anywhere, independent of a television.

New Technology Used

The Game Boy used interchangeable ROM cartridges, allowing players to switch between a growing library of games on a single device—an innovation that set it apart from the many single-game handhelds of the era. It featured a 160x144 pixel monochrome LCD screen, powered by four AA batteries that provided long playtime. The system also supported a link cable for two-player gaming, enabling multiplayer experiences like head-to-head Tetris matches. Its hardware balanced modest technical specs with efficient design, prioritizing battery life and game variety over advanced color graphics, which competitors with color screens failed to match in commercial success.

Major Gaming Impact

The Game Boy transformed portable gaming into a mass-market phenomenon, selling over 118 million units worldwide across its various iterations. Bundled with the addictive puzzle game Tetris, it attracted a broad audience and became a cultural icon. Its cartridge-based system fostered a vast and diverse game library, including hits like Super Mario Land and Pokémon, which helped define handheld gaming for decades. The Game Boy’s success established Nintendo as the dominant force in portable gaming and laid the foundation for future handheld consoles, influencing the design and business models of the entire industry.

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Introduction

1991 marked the coming of age of the 16-bit era in video gaming, highlighted by the release of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Genesis and the launch of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in North America. This period saw a significant leap in graphical fidelity, with consoles capable of displaying more colors, detailed sprites, and smoother animations than their 8-bit predecessors. The competition between Sega and Nintendo intensified, driving innovation and expanding the gaming audience.

New Technology Used

16-bit consoles like the Sega Genesis and SNES featured processors capable of handling larger color palettes—often hundreds or thousands of colors—and more complex sprite manipulation, including multiple layers and faster scrolling backgrounds. This enabled games to display richer, more detailed environments and characters with fluid animations. The hardware improvements allowed for side-scrolling games with faster speeds and more dynamic visual effects. The Sega Genesis, for example, used a Motorola 68000 CPU and specialized graphics chips to render vibrant, fast-moving sprites, as showcased in Sonic the Hedgehog. Meanwhile, the SNES offered enhanced color depth and advanced graphical features like Mode 7 scaling and rotation, enabling more immersive and varied gameplay experiences.

Major Gaming Impact

The introduction of 16-bit graphics elevated the visual and gameplay standards of video games, making them more engaging and immersive. Sonic the Hedgehog became an instant icon, demonstrating the potential of 16-bit hardware with its bright colors, fast-paced action, and detailed levels. The SNES’s arrival brought critically acclaimed titles like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, further pushing the boundaries of game design and storytelling. The rivalry between Sega and Nintendo during this era, often called the “bit wars,” fueled rapid technological advancements and helped establish video gaming as a mainstream cultural phenomenon worldwide.

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