Electronic games are any interactive games that operate through computer circuits or electronic systems. The devices or “platforms” on which these games are played include general and personal computers, arcade machines, video game consoles connected to home TVs, handheld game devices, mobile devices like smartphones, and server-based networks.
The term “video game” can be used to represent all these types of platforms, or it may specifically refer to games played on devices equipped with video display screens, such as TVs or arcade machines.
Before delving into the article’s content, here is an explanation of some repeated terms:
- General and personal computers: These include personal computers used by individuals at home or work, as well as shared computers used in universities or offices. They are multi-purpose devices that can run electronic games.
- Arcade consoles: These are devices usually found in gaming arcades or commercial centers, designed to play specific games only and operated by inserting coins. They are typically dedicated to one game or a small set of games and are not easily interchangeable like home video game consoles.
- Video game consoles: Devices like PlayStation and Xbox, specialized gaming consoles that can be connected to TVs to play video games. These devices often come with controllers and provide an advanced gaming experience at home.
- Handheld game machines: Such as Nintendo Switch or PSP, devices dedicated to gaming that are small and portable, allowing users to play on the go.
- Mobile devices like smartphones and tablets: These handheld devices enable gaming due to advanced display screens and high computing capabilities, making them popular platforms for mobile gaming.
- Server-based networks: Refers to games played online through networks of connected servers, like online multiplayer games (MMOGs) or cloud games that run on servers and do not require powerful hardware from the user.
From Chess to Spacewar! to Pong
The idea of playing games on computers dates back to around the same time as the invention of the computer itself. Initially, games were associated with studies related to computing. For example, mathematician and engineer Claude Shannon suggested in 1950 that a computer could be programmed to play chess, sparking questions about whether a computer could think. This suggestion led to decades of research in developing programs for playing chess and checkers, especially in the field of artificial intelligence.
Many games were developed in university and industrial computer labs. Some important games historically began as technological showcases developed as “after-hours” entertainment by students and technical staff. Examples include the game Tennis for Two created by William A. Higinbotham at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York in 1958, using an analog computer to display a tennis game.
A few years later, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the game Spacewar! was developed in 1962 as a showcase for the PDP-1 technology and became popular among students and programming community on campus, then the game’s usage was extended to other labs and universities.
One of the individuals influenced by Spacewar! was Nolan Bushnell, who envisioned turning electronic games into a broader entertainment format. After working on the game Computer Space in 1971, Bushnell and his partners founded Atari, where they developed the famous game Pong, which became the first major success in the electronic gaming industry and laid the foundation for the arcade game industry.
Early Home Video Game Consoles (Consoles)
Television was a third source of inspiration for early electronic games after computers and arcade games. Engineer Ralph Baer, who worked at Sanders Associates for military electronics, began developing technology to design games that could be played on TV sets in the late 1960s. In 1966, Baer designed electronic circuits to display and move dots on a television screen, leading to the creation of a simple game called Fox and Hounds.
With this success, Baer received funding and support from Sanders management to form a small team called the TV Game Project. By 1968, the team completed an initial model of video games called the Brown Box, which laid the foundation for the first home video game console. In 1972, Magnavox produced the first home video game console called Magnavox Odyssey.
The success of the game Pong in arcades prompted other companies, including Atari, to develop home versions (specifically for consoles) of the game. By 1977, Atari introduced their famous Atari 2600 VCS unit, which used programmable ROM cartridges, allowing for separate game development from hardware design. However, in 1983, a large number of low-quality games led to a significant decline in the home video game console market.
- Programmable ROM cartridges are storage media for electronic games used in some old home video game consoles like Atari 2600 and NES. Programmable cartridges mean that games or programs can be written on these cartridges and then used later to play games on home video game consoles. These cartridges were characterized by the ability to easily change content by programming ROM, making it possible to develop new games or modify existing games by replacing cartridges.
