Video Gaming history wasn’t born from one day to the next. In fact, the very first video game ever known came out in October 1958, created by the physicist William Higinbotham. It consisted of a very simple tennis game, very similar to the classic video game Pong that arrived in the 70s, and which we will get more into detail further on in this article.
As you can see, the Gaming Industry has over 60 years of history, through which has been marked and transformed through the following 5 video games:
Pong is a table tennis themed arcade sports video game that features simple two-dimensional graphics. It was created by Allan Alcron and manufactured by Atari.
Pong is considered as one of the first video games in gaming history, and was born in 1972. At that time consumer analysts didn’t think that video games would ever be successful, but Pong developers made them see that they were wrong three years later with the home version of the game. That release reached 150.000 sales during the 1975 Christmas season.
Video Game Nº2: ET The Extra Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is an adventure video game born in 1982 and developed and published by Atari for the Atari 2600 video game console. It is based on the film E.T and was designed by Howard Scott Warshaw. The objective is to guide the main character through various screens to collect three pieces of an interplanetary telephone that will allow him to contact his home planet.
The game was developed under a very tight schedule, as Warshaw only had five weeks to develop it for the Christmas season of 1982. Consequently, the results were not good, with very low quality graphics and confusing gameplay. The video game received very negative reviews and has been often cited as one of the worst video games of gaming history and as a reference about the dangers of rushed game development and studio interference. Though people still remember it, even if it’s just not for the right reasons.
Video Game Nº3: Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64 is a platform game for the Nintendo 64 released in 1996, and the very first Super Mario game that features 3D gameplay. It was published by Nintendo and developed by Nintendo EAD. The main goal is to make the character Mario collect as many power stars as possible, while adventuring around Princess Peach’s castle, whom he will have to rescue from Bowser, the villain monster.
Mario 64 made a mark in the video game history, as it changed the was developers make games. Before its release, all video games were two dimensional, as players could only move left, right, up and down. But with this new version, players could move forward and backwards.
For this gaming history recap we couldn’t miss World of Warcraft (WoW). This is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game that was released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. WoW allows players to create a character avatar and explore an open game world in third- or first-person view, exploring the landscape, fighting various monsters, completing quests, and interacting with non-player characters or other players.
The game encourages players to work together to complete quests, enter dungeons and engage in player versus player combat. The game has been cited by gaming journalists as the greatest MMORPG of all-time and one of the greatest video games until today. It has also been noted for its long lifespan, continuing to receive developer support and expansion packs over 15 years since its initial release.
Final Fantasy VII left a big mark on the gaming history. FF is a role-playing video game born in 1997 and developed by Square for the PlayStation console. It is the seventh main installment in the Final Fantasy series. Published in Japan by Square, it was released in other regions by Sony Computer Entertainment.
When FFVII was released in the United States ten years ago, RPGs weren’t as popular as they are today. Actually, FFVII is often credited with popularizing RPGs in the American video game market. For the first time, American audiences were captivated by a deep storyline and relatable characters, and they weren’t the only ones. The storyline coupled with revolutionary controls won over the hearts of gamers across the world. FFVII sold more than 6 million copies throughout the world, and is largely considered the pinnacle of storytelling in games. FFVII showed the game industry how to make a worldwide phenomenon out of an interactive story with action and adventure.
