Video game
On the 25th of January 1947, Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann filed a patent for a cathode-ray tube amusement device. This document described an analog system that let users control the parabolic arc of a dot on a screen to simulate firing missiles at paper targets fixed to the display. The invention drew inspiration from radar technology used during World War II but existed as a standalone electronic game before video games had any commercial form. By the 14th of December 1948, the United States Patent Office issued U.S. Patent 2455992 to the inventors. No one knew then that this simple interaction would eventually spawn a global industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
In 1958, William Higinbotham engineered Tennis for Two using an oscilloscope to display a side view of a tennis court. Players controlled knobs to hit a ball back and forth across a simulated net. The game ran on an analog computer and required no pre-existing software or digital code. It existed solely within the Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. Another early example emerged in 1962 when Martin Graetz, Steve Russell, and Wayne Wiitanen wrote Spacewar! on a DEC PDP-1 computer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Two spaceships battled each other using vector displays while players manipulated controls to avoid gravity wells and fire torpedoes.
These early experiments laid the foundation for modern video games without any expectation of mass adoption. They were extensions of existing electronic devices rather than dedicated entertainment products. Christopher Strachey created Checkers for a mainframe computer in the late 1950s. Alexander S. Douglas designed OXO, a tic-tac-toe game displayed graphically on an EDSAC system in 1952. Each invention used different means of display yet shared a common thread: interactivity between human input and visual feedback.
Ralph H. Baer devised a system to play a basic table tennis game on a television screen while working at Sanders Associates in 1966. With company approval he created the prototype known as the Brown Box. Sanders patented Baer's innovations and licensed them to Magnavox which commercialized the technology as the first home video game console called the Magnavox Odyssey released in 1972. Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney formed Atari Inc. after seeing Spacewar! running at Stanford University. Their second arcade game Pong launched in 1972 directly inspired by the table tennis game on the Odyssey.
The golden age of arcade video games began in the late 1970s and lasted until the early 1980s. During this period numerous companies formed simply to create clones of popular games to capitalize on the market. Loss of publishing control and oversaturation led to the North American home video game market crashing in 1983. Revenues dropped from around four billion dollars in 1983 to less than one billion dollars by 1985. Many North American companies closed down during this collapse.
Japan's growing game industry withstood the short-term effects despite being briefly shocked by the crash. Nintendo revitalized the industry with the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in 1985. The company established core industrial practices to prevent unlicensed game development and control distribution methods still used today. Following the crash the industry matured and became dominated by Japanese companies including Nintendo Sega and Sony.
Video games require a platform consisting of electronic components or computer hardware paired with associated software. Home consoles connect to common television sets or composite video monitors using dedicated hardware environments that simplify development compared to PC gaming. Major console platforms include Xbox PlayStation and Nintendo systems designed for specific game controllers. Handheld game consoles feature small self-contained units combining screens speakers buttons and joysticks into single devices.
Arcade video games typically occupy large coin-operated cabinets containing built-in CRT screens audio amplifiers and specialized controls like light guns or dance pads. Browser games leverage standard web technologies across multiple devices providing cross-platform environments without requiring physical media. Mobile gaming gained prominence through smartphones and tablet computers standardized on iOS and Android operating systems starting in the late 2000s.
Physical formats evolved from ROM cartridges magnetic tape floppy discs optical media CD-ROM DVDs and flash memory cards to digital distribution over the Internet. Cloud gaming requires minimal hardware connected via good Internet connectivity to remote servers where computation occurs. Virtual reality headsets provide stereoscopic screens and motion tracking to immerse players within responsive virtual environments. Emulators enable older games to run on modern systems simulating original hardware while backward compatibility allows direct play of past generation titles on newer consoles.
In the early days of the industry a single person managed all roles needed to create a video game. By 1975 low-cost microprocessors became available at volume allowing developers to program more detailed games widening the scope of what was possible. Today many games are built around game engines handling bulk logic gameplay and rendering alongside physics simulations and network code for online services.
Development studios now range from five to fifty people with some exceeding one hundred members. In May 2009 Assassin's Creed II had a development staff of four hundred fifty individuals. The growth of team size combined with pressure to complete projects quickly led to missed deadlines rushed releases and unfinished products becoming common occurrences. Indie game development emerged as a trend since the mid-2000s featuring small teams outside publisher control creating smaller scoped experiments in gameplay and art style.
Game designers programmers graphic designers sound designers musicians technicians producers and other specialists manage complex workflows using commercial or open source tools. Publishers pay developers ahead of time to make their games then provide additional royalties based on sales performance. Digital storefronts like Steam and iOS App Store serve as distributors enabling global reach without physical media constraints. Hardware manufacturers produce console components while third-party vendors supply accessories carrying cases and gear for handheld devices.
Film critic Roger Ebert published an essay titled Video Games Can Never Be Art challenging the industry to prove him wrong. The view that video games were an art form became cemented in 2011 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association that video games were protected speech with artistic merit. Since then developers have used the medium more for artistic expression including creation of art games designed to generate emotion through interactivity rather than win conditions.
Major museum exhibits like The Art of Video Games toured from 2012 to 2016 at institutions such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Video game culture evolved alongside internet culture becoming a worldwide subculture formed around gaming communities and electronic sports leagues established since the 2000s. Social media platforms amplified discussions about trends topics politics television film and music throughout the 2010s.
According to market research firm Newzoo the global video game industry drew estimated revenues exceeding one hundred billion dollars in 2020. Mobile games accounted for forty-eight percent share of the market followed by console games at twenty-eight percent and personal computer games at twenty-three percent. Sales vary widely between countries due to local preferences with Japanese consumers purchasing more handheld games than console or PC titles.
South Korea prefers computer games especially MMORPGs and real-time
strategy games while China maintains strict government review processes disallowing content smearing Communist Party images. Hardware production remains dominated by Asian companies either designing hardware directly or participating in manufacturing processes. Digital distribution allowed developers to flourish nearly anywhere diversifying fields beyond traditional regional centers.
The COVID-19 pandemic during 2020, 2021 gave further visibility to video games as pastimes enjoyed online during social distancing periods. Gaming events like D-Lux festival in Dumfries Scotland emphasized mental health benefits through relationships friendships built around playing together. Researchers found evidence that action video game players possess better hand-eye coordination visuo-motor skills resistance to distraction sensitivity to peripheral vision information counting abilities compared nonplayers.
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Common questions
When did Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann file their patent for a cathode-ray tube amusement device?
Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann filed the patent on the 25th of January 1947. The United States Patent Office issued U.S. Patent 2455992 to them by the 14th of December 1948.
Who created Tennis for Two and where was it displayed in 1958?
William Higinbotham engineered Tennis for Two using an oscilloscope at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. The game ran on an analog computer without any pre-existing software or digital code.
What year did the Magnavox Odyssey home video game console release?
Ralph H. Baer developed the Brown Box prototype while working at Sanders Associates in 1966. Magnavox commercialized this technology as the first home video game console called the Magnavox Odyssey which released in 1972.
How much revenue did the North American home video game market lose during the crash between 1983 and 1985?
Revenues dropped from around four billion dollars in 1983 to less than one billion dollars by 1985. Many North American companies closed down during this collapse due to loss of publishing control and oversaturation.
When did the U.S. Supreme Court rule that video games were protected speech with artistic merit?
The view that video games were an art form became cemented in 2011 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association. This ruling established that video games were protected speech with artistic merit.