The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokémon and Beyond—The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World Read Free

Invaders.
Both games attract record business.
Magnavox releases the Odyssey2.
Cinematronics releases
Space Wars
, an arcade adaptation of the
Spacewars
game created at MIT.

1979
Capcom is founded in Japan.
Atari releases
Lunar Lander
, its first vector-graphics game. Later that year, Atari releases
Asteroids
, the company’s all-time bestselling game.
Atari game designer Warren Robinett introduces concept of “Easter Eggs” to video games by hiding a room with his name in a 2600 game called
Adventure.
Mattel Electronics introduces the Intellivision game console.
Milton Bradley releases Microvision, the first handheld programmable game system.

1980
Atari releases
Space Invaders
for the Video Computer System. The practice of selling home versions of arcade hits is started.
Renegade programmers fleeing from Atari create Activision, the first third-party game publisher.
Namco releases
Pac-Man
, the most popular arcade game of all time. Over 300,000 units are sold worldwide.
Minoru Arakawa opens Nintendo of America.
Williams releases
Defender.

1981
Nintendo releases the arcade game
Donkey Kong.
Atari releases
Pac-Man
for the Video Computer System.
Atari releases
Tempest.
U.S. arcades revenues reach $5 billion as Americans spend more than 75,000 man-hours playing video games.
Arnie Katz, Bill Kunkel, and Joyce Worley begin publishing
Electronic Games
, the first magazine about video games.

1982
Coleco releases Colecovision.
Atari wins lawsuit accusing Magnavox of infringing on its
Pac-Man
license with K.C. Munchkin.
Atari releases
E.T.
for the Video Computer System.
Activision releases
Pitfall
for the Video Computer System.
Atari releases the 5200 game console.
General Consumer Electronics releases the Vectrex.
Midway releases
Ms. Pac-Man
, the biggest arcade game in American history.
When Warner Communications announces that Atari sales have not met predictions, Warner stock drops 32 percent.

1983
Nolan Bushnell opens an arcade company called Sente Games.
Yu Suzuki joins Sega.
Sega releases its first home console in Japan—SG-1000.
Cinematronics releases
Dragon’s Lair
, the first arcade game to feature laser-disc technology.
Former Philip Morris executive James Morgan replaces Ray Kassar as head of Atari.

1984
Nintendo releases the Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan.
David Rosen and Isao Okawa purchase Sega Enterprises back from Gulf & Western for $38 million.
Coleco begins marketing the Adam Computer.
Hisao Oguchi and Yuji Naka join Sega.
Warner Communications sells Atari Corporation to Commodore Computers founder Jack Tramiel but retains the arcade division as Atari Games.

1985
Nintendo test-markets the Famicom in New York as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).
Russian mathematician Alex Pajitnov designs
Tetris.

1986
Nintendo of America releases NES nationwide.
Sega releases its Sega Master System.
Atari releases the 7800 game console.

1987
Nintendo publishes
The Legend of Zelda.
NEC releases the 16-bit/8-bit hybrid PC-Engine game console in Japan.
Sega unveils 16-bit Mega Drive game console.

1988
Square Soft publishes
Final Fantasy.
Atari Games releases unlicensed games for the NES under its new Tengen label.
Tonka acquires the U.S. distribution rights to the Sega Master System.
Coleco files for bankruptcy.

1989
NEC brings PC Engine to the United States and releases it as TurboGrafx.
Sega releases Mega Drive in the United States as Genesis.
Nintendo releases Game Boy worldwide.

1990
Nintendo and Atari go to court over the rights to
Tetris.
Nintendo releases
Super Mario Bros. 3
—the most successful non-bundled
game cartridge of all time.
SNK brings 24-bit NeoGeo game console to the United States.

1991
Nintendo of America releases Super NES.
Sega recreates itself with a new mascot—Sonic The Hedgehog.
Galoob Toys releases the Game Genie.
Capcom releases the arcade game
Street Fighter II
giving arcades a needed boost.

1992
With Genesis outselling Super NES, Sega effectively takes control of the U.S.