The entire time the player is hounded by colorful ghosts, hellbent on killing Pac-Man. In each level, the player must navigate through a maze without dead ends, chomping all of the white dots, mixed with fruit, for points. This was in the form of the beloved Pac-Man. After the millions in quarters earned by Space Invaders, it wouldn’t be long until a successor in the most-played arcade game mantle was once again taken up by a new contender. Instead, we have an adrenaline-filled defense of the earth.Īrcades were filling up with players, and some serious money was coming in. It would be a boring exercise in merely shooting enemies. He kept it in the game and the rest is history.Ĭan you imagine if the alien invaders just kept their normal, slow pace the entire time? Not only would Space Invaders be super easy, but there would be no stakes to play for. This frantic speed was surprisingly unintended, as the game developer had trouble programming them to remain a consistent speed. The top half has the titular space invaders encroaching on the player, increasing in speed as their numbers dwindle. This simple, yet addictive game features the player as a lone gunner ship occupying the bottom of the screen.

If you don’t know Space Invaders, what rock have you been living under? Specifically, the release of Space Invaders for arcade systems in 1978 marked a new dawn for games. Speaking of arcade games, the late 1970s and early 1980s experienced an impressive boom in popularity, bringing in serious commercial success. No thanks! The Golden Age of Arcade Games I believe that we may take it for granted today, but people used to have to journey to the local arcade, pizza parlor, or bowling alley to play their favorite games. Being able to play video games in one’s home the idea was revolutionary. That honor belongs to the Magnavox Odyssey, invented by Ralph Baer. We all know Xbox and PS4, but what about the very first console? Today we have a great slew of options for video gaming fun. It sounds like a current-generation game, doesn’t it? What Was the First Game Console? The game included gravity effects and faster than light travel. This was a two-player game in which both players faced off in an intense dogfight, each player controlling either the ‘wedge’ or the ‘needle’. What followed was ‘Spacewar!’ a game developed by Steve Russell in 1962 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (MIT). Like many in history, he didn’t fully grasp the significance of his for a foray into video gaming.

Higinbotham created this game as a fun diversion, to show the power of technology. In the 1950s, Higinbotham created Tennis for Two. No, that honor belongs to William Higinbotham. The first real video game wasn’t invented by the talented team at Atari headed by Nolan Bushnell. Pong is often cited as one of the first widely released games for Atari, so it gets a lot of limelight. I think it isn’t entirely unreasonable that the first videogame ever was Pong.

The NES, Accessories, and The Legend of Zelda.

Black legend video game