Evolution of Gaming

With current generations raised on the lightning-fast processing speeds and crystal clear graphics of Xboxes and PlayStations (and with the tide of virtual reality-based video games fast approaching), it’s easy to forget that just 50 years ago, digital gaming existed in only a few laboratories around the world, the experiments of unknown Ph.D. students or well-known scientists and mathematicians who’d made their name in more traditional fields. 

Today, video games are an entrenched part of our cultures and routines. According to the Entertainment Software Association, 59% of Americans played video games in 2013. That same year, consumers spent $21.5 billion on video games, the association reported.

Gamers today aren’t only packs of teenage boys, either. The average American game player is 31 years old and 48 percent of all American gamers are women, the ESA reports.

From the laboratory to arcades and, later, onto shelves and into the cloud, video games have rapidly and radically evolved in the past half century. Here’s a peek back at how it all happened and a glimpse of what’s to come. 

1. 1889 – Nintendo is founded, and its first ventures aren’t PG

Fusajiro Yamauchi founds Nintendo Co. in Japan, but the company doesn’t sell video games yet. Instead, for decades, it creates playing cards and later, in the 1960s, it experiments with a few extremely eclectic business ventures — vacuums, instant rice and short-stay hotels — for you know whom.

2. 1972 – Magnavox Odyssey, the first home console

Magnavox releases Odyssey, the first video game console that plugs into a television, based on Ralph Baer’s Brown Box design. The console features 12 games, including one called Ping Pong. Baer, who died in 2014, becomes known as the father of video games.

3. 1978 – Space Invaders arrive

Space Invaders, released by Taito, becomes an international sensation, first in Japan, and later in the U.S.. Released first in arcade format, Space Invaders leads to a shortage of 100-yen coins in Japan. Some arcades open just so teens can play the game. Space Invaders releases for the Atari 2600 in 1980 and goes on to generate more than $500m in revenue throughout its lifetime.

4. 1989 – Game Boy catapults the portable gaming industry

Nintendo’s iconic 8-bit, hand-held Game Boy invade gamers’ palms, already packaged with Tetris. Over the years, the Game Boy is revamped as Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Color. To date, Nintendo has sold more than 400 million portables.

4.1995 – Sega Saturn vs. Sony Playstation

Sega introduces Saturn, the first system with 32-bit graphics and a built-in modem. The same year, Sony releases the PlayStation, which is comparable to Saturn and sells for $100 less. The PlayStation eventually sells more units than the Saturn. Most Playstation games are 3-D and because they’re disk-based, they’re cheaper to produce and more affordable for consumers. Gran Turismo and Resident Evil become popular titles on PS.

5.1999 – Sega’s last hurrah

Sega releases the Dreamcast, which is the first console capable of online play and the company’s last console. Saddled with debt and succumbing to competition from Sony, Nintendo and, soon, Microsoft, Sega pivots to become a third-party software developer

6. 2000 – PlayStation 2 sends shockwaves with stunning graphics

Sony releases the PlayStation 2. At 128 bits, it has better graphics than a computer, as well as DVD technology. Grand Theft Auto is native to the PS2 and becomes a massive hit.

7. 2001 – Microsoft fires back with the Xbox

Microsoft unveils the Xbox at CES in a keynote presentation by Bill Gates. The device features PC technology, an Ethernet port, an 8 GB hard drive and the ability to play DVDs. Its Halo: Combat Evolved game is instantly popular and becomes Xbox’s flagship game franchise. The next year, Xbox introduces Xbox Live, which allows gamers to compete with users around the world.

8. 2005 – The Xbox 360 picks up where the Xbox left off

Microsoft unveils the Xbox 360. It will later leap ahead of the competition, namely the Nintendo Wii and the Playstation 3, largely because of Halo 3’s astonishing commercial success and critical acclaim. Xbox ends up getting simultaneous release for numerous games that were originally slated for a PlayStation 3 release. At one time, Xbox 360 has almost a 2-1 software attach rate advantage (the metric used to quantify how many games are sold on average to a user per system) over PS3 and Wii.

9.2006 – Sony and Microsoft go head-to-head

Sony releases the PlayStation 3, which allows users to play Blu-Rays and stream movies and music to their system. The PS3 also connects to gamers’ PlayStation Portable consoles and, most notably to many users, offers free online gameplay without a subscription.

10. 2013 – The Xbox One, the third Xbox, finally arrives

Xbox releases Xbox One with cloud integration and ability to overlay live TV. The console also has voice integration and an improved Kinect sensor.

11. 2013 – Sony fires back with the PS4

Sony releases the PlayStation 4 with an emphasis on social game-play using a new share button and second-screen gaming with smartphone connectivity. The PS4 is the top-selling console for much of 2014.

12. 2014 – Is Oculus Rift the future of gaming?

Facebook purchases Oculus VR, the company that makes Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset that’s expected to be ready for consumers in the coming years.