History and Development of Video Console Games

Timeline: Video Games
Part I: Early Years 

1958	1961	1965	1970	1972	Next: 1975-1984

1958	Physicist Willy Higinbotham invents the first "video game" at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. His game, a table tennis-like game, was played on an oscilloscope.
1961	Steve Russell, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), creates Spacewar, the first interactive computer game. It runs on a Digital PDP-1 mainframe computer, and the graphics are made up of ASCII text characters.
1966	Ralph Baer, an engineer at Sanders Associates, receives support from his company (a military electronics consulting firm in NH) to explore his idea of creating interactive games using a television.
1967	Baer and team are successful in creating two interactive TV games—a chase game and a tennis game. They are also able to manipulate a toy gun so that it detects spots of light on the TV screen.
1970	Magnavox licenses Baer's TV game from Sanders Associates Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney (future founders of Atari) begin their attempt to create an arcade version of Spacewar, calling it Computer Space.
1971	Computer Space becomes first video arcade game ever released. 1500 games are distributed. Public consensus is that it is too difficult to play.
1972	April 25 A U.S. patent is issued to Ralph Baer for "A Television Gaming Apparatus and Method" May 24 Magnavox's Odyssey, the first home video game system, is showcased at a convention in Burlingame, CA, and is released to the public later that year. Bushnell and Dabney found Atari. They name the company after a term from the Japanese game "Go". "Atari" is equivalent to "check" in a chess game. Al Alcorn is hired by Atari to program video games. The first game created by Atari is Pong. Ping-Pong, the original name, is already copyrighted, so the makers name it Pong after the sound of a ball hitting the paddle.

Part II: 1975-1984 

1975	1978	1981	1983

1975	Atari's Pong is released with help from Sears Roebuck, which finances the production of 150,000 units. It becomes the hottest selling Christmas present. Sears sells the product exclusively, with the Sears Tele-Games logo. Gunfight, the first "computer" game is released. It is the first game to use a microprocessor instead of hardwired solid-state circuits.
1976	Coleco releases its first home video-game console called Telstar. Fairfield Camera & Instrument debuts its Video Entertainment System which is known later as Channel F. The first programmable (cartridge-based) home game console, it allowed users to change games by switching cartridges that resembled 8-track audio tapes.
1977	Atari introduces its first cartridge-based home video system called the Video Computer System which later becomes known as the Atari 2600. It retails for $249.95.
1978	The trackball makes its entrance into the video-game industry as the controller in Atari's new arcade game Football. Midway introduces Space Invaders into arcades. It is the first arcade game that tracks and displays high scores. Atari attempts to enter the computer industry to compete with Apple. The product is not taken seriously, and the Atari 400 and 800 are taken from the market.
1979	Atari develops a handheld console that displays holograms. Named "Cosmos," this product was never released. Asteroids is the first game to allow high scorers to enter three character initials to be stored in the machine.
1980	Mattel's Intelivision debuts and is the first real competitor of the Atari 2600. It has better graphics than Atari's 2600, but a higher retail price ($299). Activision becomes the first third-party video game vendor. The company is created by Atari programmers who want to receive individual credit for creating Atari's video games. Battlezone is first 3-D game ever created. It is set in a virtual battlefield and was later enhanced by the U.S. government for training exercises. 300,000 units of Pac-Man are released worldwide by Namco. Defender, the first game incorporating a "virtual world" is introduced. The game uses a "radar" scope at the top of the screen to inform users of the surroundings since the screen is too small to display all of the action.
1981	Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel found the first video-game magazine, Electronic Games.
1982	Atari releases the Atari 5200 to compete with Coleco's Colecovision.
1983	Cinematronics debuts Rick Dyer's Dragon Lair, the first video game to feature laser-disc technology. The Commodore 64 is introduced. It is the most powerful video-game console to date and the least expensive. Nintendo introduces the Famicom in Japan—later known as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the U.S. Since Atari controls such a large percentage of the market, they do not plan to market the product in the U.S. Instead the company offers Atari the rights to distribute the product in the U.S. These plans fall through and Americans do not see Nintendo until 1985.
Part III: 1985-1995  1985 1986 1989 1991 1993 1994 1995 1985 The popular game Tetris is developed by Russian programmer Alex Pajitnov. It is played on a PC. 1986 Nintendo's NES is released in the U.S. after being test-marketed in NY one year earlier. To compete with the NES, Sega introduces the Sega Master System (SMS). Atari releases the Atari 7800 to stay competitive in the market. 1989 Nintendo releases the handheld Game Boy for $109. NEC releases the first 16-bit console in the U.S. It is called the TurboGrafx-16 and sold for $189. It is the first system to run video games stored on compact discs. The true arcade experience comes into American homes when Sega debuts the Genesis, its first 16-bit home game console, for $249.95. Atari tries to enter the handheld market with the Lynx, a color handheld console retailing for $149. 1991 Super NES is released in the U.S. by Nintendo for $249.95. 1993 Atari releases the Jaguar, attempting to be the first 64-bit console on the market. The product actually runs two 32-bit processors. Senators Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Herbert Kohl of Wisconsin launch a Senate investigation into violence in video games, hoping to initiate a ban on violent games. 1994 Resulting from the Senate investigation, the Entertainment Software Rating Board is created. Rating are now given to video games and are marked on the games' packaging to indicate the suggested age of players and violent content. In Japan, the Sega Saturn and the Sony PlayStation make their debut. 1995 Sony brings the PlayStation to the U.S. and sells the console for $299. Nintendo releases the Nintendo 64 in Japan (it's released in the U.S. in 1996). Part IV: 1996-present  1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 1996 Arcades focus on bringing in more "ride-and-video" games like skiing, snowboarding, and Jet Skiing, as their popularity has surpassed the popularity of shooting and fighting games. Atari's founder, Nolan Bushnell, reenters the industry making Internet stations for arcades and bars. The Tamagotchi virtual pet becomes an instant sensation in Japan. It is released in the U.S. in May of that year selling all of its 30,000-unit supply in 3 days. 1997 PlayStation is considered by many in the industry as most popular game console as the 20 millionth unit is sold. Tiger introduces a multipurpose handheld console to compete with the Game Boy. Called game.com, it features games, an address book, calculator, and stylus for touchscreen capability. It also connects to a PC modem for access to email. Arizona attempts to restrict the distribution of violent video games by making it illegal to display or distribute violent material to minors. The proposed bill is not approved. 1998 Sega introduces the Dreamcast in Japan. This console operates on Microsoft Windows CE which will allow for easier conversions between Dreamcast and PC games. The Wal-Mart retail chain decides to ban over 50 video games that it deems inappropriate for minors. 1999 Billy Mitchell attains a score of 3,333,360 in the game Pac-Man. This is the highest possible score a player can get. As a result of the shootings that occurred at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, Sega announces that it will not release a light gun with the Dreamcast in the U.S. In addition, it prevents use of imported guns with American consoles, which forces the Americans to use standard controllers to play the popular House of the Dead 2. 2000 Sony's PlayStation 2 launches in the U.S. for $299.99 and is sold out by early morning. Since the demand is so high and only 500,000 units are available, it is very difficult to buy a unit during this first shipment. The Sims is released, and quickly becomes a hit. It eventually (in 2002) surpasses Myst as the best-selling PC game ever. 2001 Microsoft and Nintendo introduce their next-generation systems within days of each other. Microsoft claims its Xbox offers "the most powerful game experiences ever." The product (estimated retail price of $299.99) comes with a built-in hard drive and Ethernet port. Nintendo's GameCube (suggested retail price of $199.95) delivers new forms of interactive gaming for players and an easier development environment for game creators. Sega announces that it will no longer manufacture hardware. Nintendo releases the GameBoy Advance, a portable gaming system. 2004 Nintendo releases the Nintendo DS, a portable system with two screens, one of which can be used as a touch screen. 2005 Sony releases the PSP, a portable system with a large, high-resolution display. Microsoft unveils the XBox 360, a console system to be released in November 2005. Sony and Nintendo's competing console systems are planned for release in 2006. 2006 Nintendo releases the Wii, a gaming system that lets gamers use the controller in revolutionary ways, such as swinging it like a tennis racket, holding and tilting it like a steering wheel, and more. Sony also debuts the Playstation 3, a very sophisticated and expensive game system. 2007 Nintendo releases Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii. It continues the adventures of Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach as they face their old foe Bowser. 2008 Grand Theft Auto 4 breaks sales records its first week after gamers bought more than 6 million copies. The Wii Fit is launched, adding even more incentive for gamers of all ages to get up and move! 2009 With over 40 million units sold, Nintendo's Wii Sports becomes the best-selling video game of all time. The previous record holder was another Nintendo game: Super Mario Bros. Read more: Timeline: Video Games | Part IV: 1996-present — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/gamestimeline4.html#ixzz1qDCaLbqS