Video games have been around since the 1940s and have evolved significantly over the years, becoming a major form of entertainment in the process. From Cathode Ray Tube-based missile defense systems to the latest handheld games, video games have come a long way.
The first commercially viable video game was Computer Space which launched in 1971 and laid down the foundation for its own industry. It wasn’t until 6 years later that this industry would suffer its first great crash due to an oversaturated market with many obsolete systems flooding it. This collapse affected console gaming worldwide and caused a dominance shift from North America to Japan. The gaming market of personal computers however, remained largely unaffected. For more than two decades after this crash only Japanese companies released successful console systems.
This trend followed closely to that of handheld gaming systems as well; several attempts made by American companies all ultimately failed outside some limited successes in early electronic handheld games. Currently only Japanese companies release successful handheld gaming consoles, but with recent advancements in technology handheld gaming has now spread to devices such as cellphones and PDAs.
All of this makes for an incredible story, one that has shaped our current world of gaming today! If you’re interested in learning more about this fascinating history, then be sure to watch the documentary on video game history—you won’t regret it!
