What is the First Ever Video Game?
The history of video games goes back to the mid-20th century. From its humble beginnings, gaming has evolved to become a global industry valued at over $160 billion today. In this article, we’ll travel back in time to find the very first video game and explore how it launched the entire gaming industry.
1958: The Birth of the First Game Console
In 1958, Bill Higinbotham, an American physicist, created the world’s first electronic computer game, Tennis for Two. The game allowed players to control two paddles by manipulating controls on their televisions. Tennis for Two was played on an oscilloscope cathode ray tube (CRT), displaying primitive, black-and-white visuals of the game.
What else is Tennis for Two, if it’s not the very first electronic computer game?
While not everyone agrees that Tennis for Two is the first electronic game, researchers attribute its significance in demonstrating potential. It showcased interactive real-time graphics, which had profound implications for the development of early videogames.
OXO-Computer Tic-Tac-Toe: Another Claimant for World’s First Video Game
Just over five years after Tennis for Two, OXO-Creo, a.k.a. Noughts and Crosses, (1952), considered a tic-tac-toe console. It was designed to analyze strategic gameplay and was implemented before any video game console came, the game was fully digitized.
In Brief
Here’s a short primer:
| Game | Released by | Type of Game | Device/Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennis for Two (1958) | William Higinbotham (Stanford Research Institute, Palo Alto) | Simple two-man game, tennis-like (back and forth) | Oscilloscope |
Here are some key milestones with interesting points:
- Early Electronic Gaming:
- *Alexey Pajitnov 1984: Computer’s Pac-Man-like clone Space Panic**
- Dave Rolson 1987)Tennis for Two. Simple games like space-war are still popular as freeware
- Simple First Person Shooter (FPS), (Computer Game) from Mid90s
From Tennis to Space- war Games