Gaming has a long history, and its development has affected not only the entertainment industry but other fields too. Today, we even have Virtual Reality (VR) tech that is ready to blur the borders between reality and the virtual world even further. Imagine how such tech can benefit military and medics in the future. Soldiers will have the capability and experience as if they have been in a thousand battles, and medical malpractice cases will hopefully decrease significantly due to the precise simulation training through VR tech.
The Early History
Video game owed some of its tech from the development of the missile defense system. In 1947, Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. and Estle Ray Mann patented the first interactive electronic game that was built with cathode ray tube (CRT). They got the inspiration from radar display during World War II. However, at this stage, the game is very far from the ones we know today, and it is not widely accessible.
Games that closely resemble the ones we have now came into production in the 1970s. Before that, games were research projects only available in research institutes. The first digital computer game that accessible to the public was titled Spacewar!. However, computers back then used processors that were in the size of a large cabinet.
The first company that introduced electro-mechanical tech to the public was Sega. They created a submarine simulator with a light gun shooter that charged a quarter per play. The game was titled Periscope and was an instant success in 1966. After that, the game industry had the phase of the golden age of arcade games in the late 1970s. Wild Gunman, Killer Shark, Pong, and F-1 were some examples of famous arcade games in the 1970s.
Home Game Consoles
The arcade games lost their popularity since the dawn of console technology which had developed in 1972. Magnavox made the first mark of the tech shift by releasing the game Magnavox Odyssey that was compatible with TV screens. Later on, Fairchild, Intellivision, ColecoVision, and Atari 5200 flooded the market with their products.
In 1983, games became more sophisticated than before. NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) brought a cutting-edge cartridge technology to gaming and managed to create the iconic Super Mario Bros to the public. Sega then caught up with the tech race and then was followed by Sony.
Sony was the first game console with Compact Disc (CD) that achieved global success. The company hit the market with some legendary titles like Castlevania, Wipeout, Resident Evil, and Final Fantasy. Play Station raised the standard of how game’s complexity should be.
Virtual Reality
Oculus was the first company to bring virtual reality tech to the public. They wanted to facilitate players with a device that can make the gaming experience more immersive than ever. Today, other companies like Samsung, Sony’s Play Station, and Pansonite have entered the VR headset market.
Game developers have also acknowledged the potential of VR, and they have begun to create games that are designed specifically for that tech.