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A Short History of Videogaming in the USA

ara6j1
Apr 12
1 min read

Updated: Aug 6


Games have been around for as long as humans have existed, but video games are a newer medium in the grand scheme of things. Most people today probably grew up with video games, whether they came in the form of a console, a handheld device, or a computer. Today, however, I want us to take a quick look at where they started (in America, at least).


For more information, I recommend the Ultimate Pop Culture Wiki. They’ve got some good stuff over there for pop culture rabbit hold dive.


Let’s see where video games have been, where they are, and where they might be going in the future.


Info graphic title: 10 Games of Video Game History 1 - Nim - 1940 American nuclear physicist Edward Condon designs a computer capable of playing the ancient number game: Nim. (Thousands of people play, but the computer wins ~90% of the time.) 2 - Hutspiel - 1952 - 55 Computer scientist Claude Shannon writes basic guidelines on programming a computer. The U.S. Military aids in the creation of the war game: Hutspiel. 3 - STAGE - 1962 Shortly after the Cuban Missile crisis, the U.S. Department of Defense creates the war game: STAGE (Simulation of Total Atomic Global Exchange) as a piece of U.S. thermonuclear war propaganda. 4 - Pong - 1972 Magnavox Odyssey becomes the first commercial home video game console. The game Pong makes it the most sought-after Christmas present in 1975. 5 - Space Invaders - 1978 Space Invaders is the first arcade game to allow players to track and display their high score. A year later, Asteroids builds on this idea by giving players the ability to enter their initials with their scores. 6 - Pac-Man - 1980 Before the video game crash of 1983, Pac-Man becomes the video/arcade game to define the 80s. (Fun Fact: “Pac-Man” was originally called “Puck-Man”, but this was quickly changed when some graffiti artists kept replacing the “P” with an “F”.) 7 - Super Mario Bros - 1985 Super Mario Bros is not the first Super Mario game to hit consoles, but it is considered one of the most influential video games of all time. Super Mario Bros pulls the U.S. out of its video game crash and propels it forward. 8 - Pokémon - 1996 Japan continues to help the video game industry in America with friendly pocket monsters. Pokémon Red and Green are released by Nintendo in the mid-90s and quickly sweep the nation. Gotta catch ‘em all! 9 - Wii Sports - 2006 Based on sales figures and widespread cultural impact, Wii Sports is the most popular game of the 2000s, selling over 82 million units, largely driven by the popularity of the new Wii console. 10 - Minecraft - 2011 Minecraft becomes the most popular game to play for its combination of creativity-driven mechanics, online play, and a combination of action and survival. Thank you for reading or listening to this info graphic.

Videogames have been a divisive medium of entertainment since their conception during wartime, and they are still used to send messages and teach lessons.

What game do you think will come next?


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