Video Games

Extracted Attributes

• Nature

  Interactive electronic entertainment with visual display, audio, and often haptic feedback

• Current Trends

  Emerging Asian markets, smartphone gaming, games as a service, AI in gaming

• IP Defensibility

  Gaming intellectual property is more defensible against AI disruption than other media

• First Home Console

  Magnavox Odyssey (1972)

• Hardware Platforms

  Arcade, console, computer, mobile, virtual reality, augmented reality, cloud gaming

• Industry Influence

  Major influence on electronics industry (PC components, consoles, peripherals)

• Key Industry Phases

  Early mainframe prototypes, arcade golden age, 1983 crash, maturation, rise of indie games

• Global Market Revenue (2020)

  $159 billion USD

• Earliest Prototype (Patented)

  Cathode-ray tube amusement device (1947)

• Market Size Comparison (2019)

  3x global music industry, 4x global film industry

• First Consumer Arcade Video Game

  Computer Space (1971)

• First Computer Game (PhD Research)

  OXO (1952)

• First Widely Distributed Computer Game

  Spacewar! (1962)

• First Interactive Game (Public Display)

  Tennis for Two (1958)

Timeline

• The cathode-ray tube amusement device was patented, simulating missile fire on an oscilloscope, though it was never mass-produced. (Source: web search)

  1947

• Computer scientists began designing simple games and simulations on minicomputers and mainframes. (Source: web search)

  1950s-1960s

• British engineer A.S. Douglas created a simple tic-tac-toe game called 'OXO' as part of his PhD research. (Source: web search)

  1952

• American physicist William Higinbotham built an interactive tennis game known as 'Tennis for Two' for visitors at Brookhaven National Laboratory. (Source: web search)

  1958

• Spacewar! was developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) student hobbyists, becoming one of the first games on a video display with wider distribution. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1962

• Computer Space was released as the first consumer arcade video game. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1971

• The iconic video game Pong was released, and the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home console, was introduced. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1972

• Japanese developer Taito released Space Invaders, igniting a full-blown arcade craze. (Source: web search)

  1978

• Namco released Pac-Man, which became a global icon. (Source: web search)

  1980

• Nintendo released Donkey Kong, introducing the character Mario. (Source: web search)

  1981

• The North American video game market suffered a crash due to loss of publishing control and market saturation. (Source: summary)

  1983

• Advancements in microprocessor technology gave rise to real-time 3D polygonal graphic rendering and the incorporation of optical media (CD-ROMs) into PCs and consoles. (Source: web search)

  1990s (Early)

• The Internet gained widespread consumer use, leading to the incorporation of online features in video games. (Source: web search)

  1990s (Late)

• The core industry centered on 'AAA' games, leaving little room for riskier experimental titles. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2000s

• Independent video game development ('indie games') gained prominence due to the availability of the Internet and digital distribution. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2010s

• The global video game market reached an estimated annual revenue of US$159 billion across hardware, software, and services. (Source: summary)

  2020

• Electronic Arts (EA) was subject to a record-breaking $55 billion leveraged buyout, seen as a major bet on AI in Gaming and the defensibility of gaming intellectual property. (Source: related document)

  Recent

Video game

A video game, computer game, or simply game, is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual feedback from a display device, most commonly shown in a video format on a television set, computer monitor, flat-panel display or touchscreen on handheld devices, or a virtual reality headset. Most modern video games are audiovisual, with audio complement delivered through speakers or headphones, and sometimes also with other types of sensory feedback (e.g., haptic technology that provides tactile sensations). Some video games also allow microphone and webcam inputs for in-game chatting and livestreaming. Video games are typically categorized according to their hardware platform, which traditionally includes arcade video games, console games, and computer games (which includes LAN games, online games, and browser games). More recently, the video game industry has expanded onto mobile gaming through mobile devices (such as smartphones and tablet computers), virtual and augmented reality systems, and remote cloud gaming. Video games are also classified into a wide range of genres based on their style of gameplay and target audience. The first video game prototypes in the 1950s and 1960s were simple extensions of electronic games using video-like output from large, room-sized mainframe computers. The first consumer video game was the arcade video game Computer Space in 1971, which took inspiration from the earlier 1962 computer game Spacewar!. In 1972 came the now-iconic video game Pong and the first home console, the Magnavox Odyssey. The industry grew quickly during the "golden age" of arcade video games from the late 1970s to early 1980s but suffered from the crash of the North American video game market in 1983 due to loss of publishing control and saturation of the market. Following the crash, the industry matured, was dominated by Japanese companies such as Nintendo, Sega, and Sony, and established practices and methods around the development and distribution of video games to prevent a similar crash in the future, many of which continue to be followed. In the 2000s, the core industry centered on "AAA" games, leaving little room for riskier experimental games. Coupled with the availability of the Internet and digital distribution, this gave room for independent video game development (or "indie games") to gain prominence into the 2010s. Since then, the commercial importance of the video game industry has been increasing. The emerging Asian markets and proliferation of smartphone games in particular are altering player demographics towards casual and cozy gaming, and increasing monetization by incorporating games as a service. Today, video game development requires numerous skills, vision, teamwork, and liaisons between different parties, including developers, publishers, distributors, retailers, hardware manufacturers, and other marketers, to successfully bring a game to its consumers. As of 2020, the global video game market had estimated annual revenues of US$159 billion across hardware, software, and services, which is three times the size of the global music industry and four times that of the film industry in 2019, making it a formidable heavyweight across the modern entertainment industry. The video game market is also a major influence behind the electronics industry, where personal computer component, console, and peripheral sales, as well as consumer demands for better game performance, have been powerful driving factors for hardware design and innovation.

Web Search Results

• History of video games - Wikipedia

  The term "video game" was originally used only for games that sent a video signal to a screen, such as a cathode-ray tube (CRT) or oscilloscope. Over time, the definition broadened to include any interactive electronic game that displays visuals for the player. The earliest known attempt at such a game was the cathode-ray tube amusement device, patented in 1947, which simulated missile fire on an oscilloscope. However, it was never mass-produced. In 1948, Alan Turing and David Champernowne [...] The history of video games began in the 1950s and 1960s as computer scientists began designing simple games and simulations on minicomputers and mainframes. Spacewar! was developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) student hobbyists in 1962 as one of the first such games on a video display. The first consumer video game hardware was released in the early 1970s. The first home video game console was the Magnavox Odyssey, and the first arcade video games were Computer Space and Pong. [...] In the early 1990s, advancements in microprocessor technology gave rise to real-time 3D polygonal graphic rendering in game consoles, as well as in PCs by way of graphics cards. Optical media via CD-ROMs began to be incorporated into personal computers and consoles, including Sony's fledgling PlayStation console line, pushing Sega out of the console hardware market while diminishing Nintendo's role. By the late 1990s, the Internet also gained widespread consumer use, and video games began

• The Complete History of Video Games 1952 - 2025 - Udonis Blog

  Video games have evolved from simple lab experiments in the 1950s into a $100+ billion global industry enjoyed by billions of people​. This guide presents a comprehensive timeline of major milestones in video game history across North America, Japan, Europe, and beyond. We’ll start at the very beginning and journey through the eras of arcade mania, home console wars, PC and online gaming, the mobile gaming revolution, and modern trends like cloud gaming and virtual reality. [...] In 1978, Japanese developer Taito released Space Invaders, igniting a full-blown arcade craze. The game became so popular in Japan it reportedly caused a coin shortage. Space Invaders helped push arcade machines into malls, restaurants, and convenience stores. Blockbusters followed: Pac-Man (1980) by Namco became a global icon, and Donkey Kong (1981) by Nintendo introduced a character named Mario, who would go on to dominate the industry. [...] ## 1950s–1960s: The First Video Games The origins of video games trace back to computer laboratories. In 1952, British engineer A.S. Douglas created a simple tic-tac-toe game called “OXO” on a vacuum-tube computer as part of his PhD research​. A few years later in 1958, American physicist William Higinbotham built an interactive tennis game known as Tennis for Two for visitors at Brookhaven National Laboratory, using an oscilloscope screen to display a side view of a tennis court​.

• List of 22 Video Game Genres + Subgenres & Examples

  Hybridizes shooting in real-time, providing procedurally generated gear and loot progression systems. Players level up their gear based on random drops within these rewarding combat links, which leads to progressively harder content. Examples: Destiny 2, Borderlands, Warframe Rhythm Action Hybridizes action timing, taken on musical beats – where players press buttons with on-screen beats to score. While not a fighting game, success requires precision and reflexes. [...] Players experience the world through the eyes of a protagonist that participates in fast, ranged combat with a focus on aiming, movement and switching weapons. Most action games focus heavily on multiplayer deathmatches, and also singleplayer campaigns, and reward players’ spatial awareness and reaction time. Examples: Half‑Life, Doom (1993), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Battlefield series Third‑Person Shooter (TPS) [...] Encourages the player to evade detection, using shadow, cover, and distraction, rather than being a brute force combat; rewards observation, silent kill, and non-lethal planning for completion. Examples: Metal Gear Solid, Splinter Cell, Thief, Deus Ex Combines fighting systems, exploration, environmental puzzles, and story through an open, or semi-open, world. There is a combination of scripted cinematic set-pieces in gameplay and more contextual puzzle-solving.

• 22 Types of Video Games (Different Genres)

  the 7th Guest combining exploration and storytelling with high-brow puzzle solving. Indie games like Braid added time manipulation as a mechanic for solving puzzles. Advanced physics allowed for Portal and Portal 2 to create interesting, physics-based puzzles. Mobile and touchscreen devices are a natural fit for puzzle games, and the rise of the smartphones and tablets has let to a resurgence of the genre. Games like The Room have seen huge success on Android and iOS. [...] examples is UnReal World, a Finnish survival roguelike set in the Iron Age released in 1992, but still receiving updates in 2025. Lost in Blue, released in the Nintendo DS in 2005, is also a seminal title in the survival genre. It featured scavenging, loot gathering, base building, and item creation, all features that would become staples in the survival genre. [...] arcade experiences that rewarded reflexes, pattern recognition, and strategic maneuvers. Shooters of the 1980s and 1990s like Metal Slug, Contra, and Gunstar Heroes brought run-and-gun gameplay, co-op action, and satisfying weapons, explosions, and animations. Bullet hell shooters like Radiant Silvergun in 1998 also emerged to test the most hardcore of shooter fans.

• The Entire History of Video Games - YouTube

  created as entertainment was 1958's tennis for two a sideon simulation of a game of tennis that ran on an analog computer and was created by William hien bofam a man perhaps better known for his role in the creation of the atomic bomb meanwhile in 1962 space War a two-player 1v1 space battle simulation created at MIT became the first game to see wider distrib ution as its source code was shared between students and institutions as the' 60s continued more games were created for the Mainframe and

• Award

  Ivor Novello Awards

• Instance Of

  Q7366