Gamers, prepare yourselves.
We’re taking you on a journey through time – from present day, to gaming’s humble beginnings.
It’ll be emotional.
It’ll be nostalgic.
Don’t embark on this journey lightly.
1889
Nintendo is founded – yes, they’re that old.
THEY CREATED PLAYING CARDS UNTIL THE 1960’s WHEN THEY STARTED HAVING A CRACK AT VACUUMS, HOTELS AND OTHER WEIRD THINGS?!
1952
Kinda/sorta the first game.
A dude named A.S. Douglas, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Cambridge in the field of computer science, is said to have created the the first computer game called Noughts and Crosses. Cheers, buddy.
1958
Bomb-Diggity.
William Higinbotham (a member of the scientists who developed the first atomic bomb – how’s that for a career change) makes the first ever interactive video game called Tennis for Two. Many consider this to be the inspo for fam-fave, Pong.
1962
Spacepoors.
Researchers at MIT create a game called Spacewars, which ended up being too expeno to distribute. Devo.
1971
Arcade is born.
The dudes who would later found Atari, Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, create the arcade game Computer Space.
1972
Home consoles for evs-one.
Ralph Baer’s (who is heralded as the father of video games) Brown Box design served as the basis of Magnavox’s Odyssey – the first console capable of plugging into a TV.
1972
Atari is founded and creates, Pong. YAY.
1977
Atari 2600.
With its release, people went ape-shit for the cartridges that came with it that were capable of saving information. Also, it wasn’t until the Atari 2600 that people could choose their on difficulty levels.
1978
SPACE INVADERS.
Y’all know what we’re talking about. Released by Taito, it was first distributed in Japan (which led to a legit shortage of yen coins) and then in the U.S.
1979
Activate Activision.
Founded by four former Atari peeps, the company is the first to create just video games.
1980
Pac-Man.
The game generated $1 billion in quarters within 15 months.
1981
Goin’ Ape-shit.
Nintendo sorted its crap out and finally moved into making the games we know and love. Shigeru Miyamoto designs its first big hit, Donkey Kong. The game introduced us to Jump Man, now known as Mario.
1984
Falling into place.
It took a while for Tetris to get beyond the clutches of Soviet Russia once it was created by Alexey Pajitnov. When it did though, it made quite a splash – selling over 35 million copies on the Game Boy. Henk Rogers was able to purchase it from the Russian government and take it to Japan.
1989
SimCity is created.
1989
Game Boy establishes the portable gaming standard.
1989
Sega releases its home console, with Sonic the Hedgehog as its face.
1994
WOW wow’s gamers.
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans is released – eventually becoming the biggest MMO and the face of the broader nerd community.
1995
Sega/Sony battle royale.
Sega launches its Saturn console the same year Sony releases the PlayStation. BEEEEEEEEEEF. We all know who ended up on top.
1996
Nintendo 64. ‘Nuff said.
Any 90’s kid worth their Beanie Babies can vividly recall the gameplay of Golden Eye. The new console stole our hearts and our pocket money.
2000
The PlayStation 2 is released and everyone’s blown away with its fab graphics.
2001
RETURN FIRE.
With the help of Halo, Microsoft fired back at Sony’s dominance of the market. Coupled with PC tech and the ability to play DVDs, the Xbox quickly became a favourite amongst hardcore gamers as well as more chilled out ones.
2005
RETURN FIRE x2.
The Xbox 360 came in and shat all over the competition. Halo 3’s huge success enabled it to jump forward in leaps and bounds. Several games that were initially meant to be sold exclusively for PS3 jumped ship and sided with 360.
2006
Wee puns galore.
Get up and get funky. The Nintendo Wii (hehehehe) came in and told gamers to get of the couch and swing their arms around like maniacs. People who normally wouldn’t describe themselves as ~gamers~ went out and purchased consoles – one of the main reasons the Wii ended up being such a commercial hit.
2006
*Blaster fire (pew-pew),* the PS3 is released.
Fitted with Blu-Ray readers and built with the capacity to stream music and movies straight to the console, the PlayStation begun to give Microsoft a run for their money.
2008
The App Store makes people ‘Appy.
2013
Be ~one~ with the world.
Microsoft releases the Xbox One which is jam-packed with goodies.
2013
NERD RAGEEEEEEE.
Sony, obvi pissed at Microsoft, sought revenge with the release of the PS4. It ends up being the highest selling gaming platform for most of 2014.
2015
*Whispers* I see random shit.
When Facebook gets involved in your bidness, you know that things are getting legit. The Oculus Rift is predicted to be the next frontier of gaming (and porn, lol). Oh, how far we’ve come.
If you’re gagging for a little gaming action, or want to get behind the scenes and dabble in making your own Game Art and Animation, then have a look at the Diploma of Interactive Media (CUF50207). It’s recognised Australia-wide and is delivered by the legends at The National Academy of Technology (RTO ID: 121391), they know their shizzle. Check ’em out here.
All images via Wikipedia/Reddit.
