Video Games

The idea of interactive games played on a television (see entry under 1940s—TV and Radio in volume 3) screen is almost as old as TV itself, and video games have evolved as quickly as TV and computer technology have developed. The industry generated over $100 billion a year worldwide by 2000, as millions of gamers played at home, millions more at arcades, and millions more carried games with them on portable players. Though some parents and teachers complain that video games teach little except violence and inactivity, others insist that the games teach complex problem-solving skills and coordination. All in all, ever since the first game was marketed, video games have proven addictive for many players of all ages.

The first widely popular video game was Pong (see entry under 1970s—Sports and Games in volume 4), a simple ping-pong game with two lines, or "paddles," that could be moved to hit a "ball" back and forth across a television screen. Ralph Baer (1922–), a TV technician, first got the idea of adding interactive games to TV in 1966. However, it was Nolan Bushnell (1943–), later the president of Atari, who brought the new game Pong to the public, with a coin-operated arcade version. Pong was instantly popular, and a home version was soon available. By 1978, hundreds of video games were available, including the popular Pac-Man (see entry under 1980s—Sports and Games in volume 5). Americans spent $200 million that year on hardware and software for video games.

The mid-1980s saw a slump in video games, as players became bored with repetitive games. Interest picked up when a Japanese playing-card company called Nintendo entered the market with a faster processor that supported faster and more complex games. Their whimsical new game, Donkey Kong, along with other Nintendo offerings brought a new wave of video-game popularity. By 1989, thirty million Americans owned the new game technology. Other companies, like Mattel, Sega, and ID Software introduced competing game systems.

Games have continued to develop complexity, realism, and speed as the processors have grown from Nintendo's early 8-bit to 64-bit. Video games are now often designed for CD-ROM drives on computers or game boxes for TVs. The average age of game players has risen from seven in 1987 to seventeen in 1996. Some adults continue to worry that games take players' energy away from more active pursuits and that they encourage violence, as many games involve fighting and shooting. In 1994, video games began to be rated for content, after a controversy over the graphic violence of the game "Mortal Kombat." Shooting games continue to be popular however, in spite of parental worries about the gruesome fight scenes in games like "Kingpin," where players mow down groups of gangsters with highly realistic gunshots.

Some video games have taken realism a step further and have been made into films, such as 1994's Mortal Kombat and 2001's Tomb Raider.

—Tina Gianoulis

For More Information

Chance, Greg. "History of Home Video Games." Videogames.org.http://videogames.org/html (accessed March 28, 2002).

Hart, Sam. "A Brief History of Home Video Games." Geekcomix.com.http://www.geekcomix.com/vgh/ (accessed March 28, 2002).

Leland, John, and Devin Gordon, Anne Underwood, Tara Weingarten, and Ana Figueroa. "The Secret Life of Teens: Video Games, Music and Movies Alarm Adults." Newsweek (Vol. 133, iss. 19, May 10, 1999): pp. 44–45.

Poole, Steven. Trigger Happy: Video Games and the Entertainment Revolution. New York: Arcade Publishing, 2000.

Videotopia.http://www.videotopia.com (accessed March 28, 2002).