I recently put together a timeline of milestones
in video gaming as part of a feature on "serious games" - games used
for workplace training, education or political enlightenment. Upon starting the
exercise, it became immediately apparent that once you get past significant early
inclusions like Spacewar and Pong, it all starts to get a lot more contentious
about what is significant and what is not. My timeline is below, and I'll be keen to hear
suggestions on what other milestone releases or advances that you think deserve
inclusion...
1961 - Spacewar, the world's first
interactive computer game, is created for the Digital PDP-1 mainframe computer
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
1967 - Ralph Baer designs the "Brown
Box" which can play simple video games on a standard television set (released
as the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972).
1971 - Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari,
releases the first video arcade game, Computer Space.
1972 - Atari engineer Al Alcorn creates the
simple tennis-style arcade game Pong, the first commercially successful video
game.
1975 - Sears releases an Atari-built home
Pong console.
1977 - Atari releases its first
cartridge-based video game console, the Video Computer System (later called the
Atari 2600).
1978 - Taito release Space Invaders, and
the game's popularity causes a shortage of 100 Yen coins in Japan.
1980 - Activision, formed by disgruntled
Atari programmers, becomes the world's first third-party video game publisher.
Namco releases Pac-Man and Nintendo release the first Game & Watch units.
1982 - Game publisher Electronic Arts
founded by Trip Hawkins.
1983 - The Commodore 64 is released, a very
powerful home computer/gaming system for a low price. In Japan, Nintendo launch
the Famicom (and Super Mario Bros) which is released two years later in the
West as the Nintendo Entertainment System.
1985 - Russian programmer Alex Pajitnov
develops Tetris.
1986 - Sega introduces its first home
console, the Sega Master System.
1987 - Will Wright releases "software
toy" SimCity.
1989 - Nintendo releases the handheld Game
Boy console.
1991 - Strategy game Civilization released
by Microprose, Street Fighter II released by Capcom.
1993 - 3D shooter Doom released by id
Software, while Myst encourages many PC owners to buy CD-ROM drives.
1994 - Sony enters the video game business
with the PlayStation console.
1996 - Super Mario 64 is released with the
new Nintendo 64 console, Tomb Raider is released. And the first Pokemon role
playing games arrange on Game Boy.
1997 - Sony releases driving simulator Gran
Turismo for the PlayStation, while Electronic Arts launch the first popular
massively multiplayer game, Ultima Online.
1998 - Valve releases Half-Life for the PC
and Zelda: Ocarina of Time debuts on the N64.
1999 - Shootings at Columbine High School
bring video game violence into the spotlight after it is revealed the shooters
were Doom fans.
2000 - Sony launches the PlayStation 2,
while Electronics Arts releases The Sims, which goes onto be the best selling
computer game ever.
2001 - Microsoft releases its first gaming
console, the Xbox, with shooter Halo. Sega announces it will no longer make
console hardware after the failure of the Dreamcast and Saturn machines, while
Rockstar releases Grand Theft Auto III for PS2.
2002 - America's Army game released as a
recruitment tool.
2004 - Nintendo releases its handheld DS
console with dual displays, including a touch-screen, while Blizzard releases
massively multiplayer online game World of Warcraft.
2005 - Sony releases the handheld PSP
console.
2006 - Nintendo's new Wii console is
released with motion-sensing controllers.
2008 - Grand Theft Auto IV becomes the
fastest selling video game ever, selling over six million copies in its first
week.