During the 1980’s and 1990’s, the computer and video game industry rapidly expanded into a multibillion-dollar industry. As companies such as Nintendo, Sega, and Sony developed increasingly sophisticated software and hardware, games became faster, shifted into complex three-dimensional environments, and introduced many memorable digital characters.
By the late 1970’s, mechanical arcade games had been joined by the first video and computer games. In 1971, Nolan K. Bushnell built Computer Space, the first coin-operated arcade video game. Bushnell founded Atari
By 1980, video games had become products for mass consumption, and 1980 saw the release of one hundred new games, the largest number up to that time. One of the most popular games of the 1980’s was Space Invaders,
The year 1980 also saw the birth of the first digital superstar and central game character with his own name, Pac-Man (originally named Puck Man). Game creator Toru Iwatani’s inspiration for Pac-Man was a pizza with a slice missing. While being pursed by monsters, this cute character ate dots as it crawled through a maze. As the Pac-Man
In 1981, Nintendo
The success of these games tied in with the rising sales of the new faster Nintendo game systems. Engineer Gunpei Yokoi helped develop the Famicom 8-bit color graphics home console, which was released in Japan in 1984 and then released as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the United States in 1986.
In direct competition with Nintendo was Sega,
In 1995, Sega released its expensive Saturn system, the first 32-bit compact disc-based console, but the less expensive Sony PlayStation
As the hardware for video games developed during the 1980’s and 1990’s, software also became more sophisticated. Sports-simulation, shooting, and maze games continued to be popular, but many additional themes appeared. Along with action and strategy, role-playing became an important aspect of game design. Another new genre that matured during the 1980’s was known as edutainment—the combination of education and entertainment. An early leader in this area was Brøderbund Software,
As personal computers became increasingly powerful, the game industry developed many titles specifically for this environment, as opposed to home consoles and arcade stations. However, the most popular games were often developed for multiple platforms.
In 1993, personal computer games became more popular as CD-ROM technology proliferated. Rand Miller and his brother Robyn Miller created the CD-ROM game Myst,
The genre of the shooting game was reinvigorated in 1993 with Doom,
Another genre that became popular in the 1990’s was the “God game,” in which the player directs the fate of large groups of characters from an omnipotent perspective. Although not the first in this genre, Will Wright’s SimCity,
With the maturation of the World Wide Web in the 1990’s, games were increasingly played online. Although media elements were limited by bandwidth, game designers could distribute their work more freely than ever before and could challenge the big companies with free or inexpensive games. Many variations of the early arcade games reappeared in this new setting. In addition to downloadable games, some games could be played on the Internet through the use of plug-ins for Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, and other Web browsers.
The economic growth of video and computer games continued into the twenty-first century. In 2006, overall U.S. video game sales reached $13.5 billion. Game console wars also continued, as a three-way battle. In 2005, Microsoft released its Xbox 360. In November, 2006, Sony released its PlayStation 3 and Nintendo launched the Wii console. The Wii includes a unique wireless remote controller that permits players to use physical gestures to control the action in games.
Along with their increasing popularity and profitability from the 1980’s onward, video and computer games began to raise concerns among some observers about the social and psychological effects these games might have on players. After the 1992 release of Mortal Kombat,
In addition to concerns about players’ psychological health and social isolation, questions were raised about the possibility that excessive video game playing could lead to physical problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive stress injuries as well as eyestrain. Many observers also, however, pointed out the benefits of playing, which they asserted include intellectual stimulation, reflex development, and cognitive development.
As video and computer games matured, they also became a new mode of expression for visual artists, filmmakers, musicians, and writers. The question of whether video games constitute an art form, the ways these games both reflect and act on culture, and their effects on individuals have continued to be subjects of academic research as well as popular debate.
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DeMaria, Rusel, and Johnny L. Wilson. High Score! The Illustrated History of Electronic Games. 2d ed. Berkeley, Calif.: McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2004. Comprehensive, beautifully illustrated volume presents the full history of computer and video games. Includes index. -
Gee, James Paul. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. Controversial work discusses the positive cognitive value of video games. Includes bibliography and index. -
Juul, Jesper. Half-Real: Video Games Between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2005. Compelling study connects video games to traditional games. Includes illustrations, bibliography, and index. -
Kent, Steven. The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon—The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2001. Fascinating chronicle presents commentary from hundreds of interviews and offers fun facts. Illustrated. -
King, Lucien. Game On: The History and Culture of Videogames. New York: Universe, 2002. Discusses the social and psychological aspects of video games. Includes illustrations and index. -
Wolf, Mark J. P., ed. The Medium of the Video Game. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2001. Collection of scholarly essays covers topics such as time, space, and narrative in the video game. Includes illustrations, bibliography, and index.
Intel Introduces the First “Computer on a Chip”
IBM and Apple Agree to Make Compatible Computers
Intel Introduces the Pentium Processor
Myst Energizes the Computer Game Market
Release of Netscape Navigator 1.0
Rise of the Internet and the World Wide Web