The game industry has been developing for decades. Millions of video games have been launched up to now. But many young gamers nowadays do now know what is the oldest video game. So, let's check out some old video games to know how the games have developed. Show
Table of ContentsThe first video game in the world Tennis for Two was released in 1958 on a very low-tech device. Although the engine and the gameplay of these old games are still simple and low-tech, they still made a solid foundation for the game industry to grow. The game industry has been growing fast and tremendously with a lot of excellent video games.Check out the 5 oldest video games in the world here. #1. Tennis for TwoTennis for Two is the oldest video game in the world which is already 63 years old by now. It was published on October 18th, 1958 in the USA. William Higinbotham also became the first video game developer in the world with this earliest video game. Tennis for Two is a multiplayer sports game. Tennis for Two is the oldest video game in the world with early engines and technology.William Higinbotham, the developer of Tennis for Two, is the head of the instrumentation division in the Brookhaven National Laboratory. This physicist found out the great calculation ability of the computer in this sport. Therefore, he made this game. #2. Spacewar!Released in 1962, Spacewar! was one of the earliest video games in the world's game industry. Steve Russell collaborated with Wayne Wiitanen and Martin Graetz to developed this game. Spacewar! is a multiplayer Space Combat video game launched in the US market. This is the first space combat video game in the world that inspired many modern games, such as Starwar.It's the most influential old game that helped changed the history of the game industry. It was super famous and popular in the small programming community during the 1960s. Spacewar! also inspired the commercial arcade video games for the later game industry. #3. Computer SpaceNine years after the release of Spacewar!, Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney worked with Syzygy Engineering to develope and publish a Space combat simulation titled Computer Space. It made a storm in the USA in 1971. Computer Space offered single-player and multiplayer modes.This early computer game offered single-player and multiplayer modes. Gamers played it on a pretty big computer with a few function buttons and simple gameplay. #4. Galaxy GameReleased in the same year with Computer Space, Galaxy Game also arrived in the USA game industry in 1971. It's also a multiplayer space combat simulation developed by Bill Pitts and Hugh Tuck. It's obvious that the release of Spacewar in 1962 stimulated the space combat game genre strongly. Galaxy Game also a multiplayer space combat simulation video game about space combat.The two developers of the Galaxy Game invested $65,000 in building two big prototype consoles. It's also a pay-to-play game that players need to pay 10 cents for one game and 25 cents for three games. #5. Magnavox Odyssey GamesThis is the earliest home game console that lets players entertain at home. You don't need to go out to the game center and pay coins to play games if you had this console at home. Like modern consoles nowadays, gamers will get many interesting games that you can play on this console. These games also inspired the modern game industry nowadays. Magnavox Odyssey Games inspired the modern game industry nowadays.>>> Related Post: Top 15 Most Popular Google Doodle Games For Everybody! What Is The Oldest Video Game Series?Many classic game franchises, such as Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption are very famous and popular nowadays. However, do you know what is the oldest video game series in the world? Let's check out the earliest game franchises here. Red Dead Redemption, GTA, Minecraft, etc. are the most successful game series nowadays.#1. The Oregon TrailThe Oregon Trail is the longest-running game series in the world that was released over 49 years ago. The first game of this franchise was introduced on December 3, 1971, and the latest edition was updated on April 2, 2021. The later versions of this educational entertainment game series are more interesting and well-designed. The Oregon Trail is the most long-running game series in the world#2. Pac-ManPac-Man is the childhood game of many adult gamers all over the world. Many of you have played this game at least once in your childhood. The first game of Pac-Man was introduced in July 1980. The latest edition arrived at the game market on April 7, 2021. This game franchise offers both single-player and multiplayer gameplay. Pac-Man is the childhood game of many adult gamers in the world.#3. MarioMario game series started on July 9th, 1981. The first game of this franchise is Donkey Kong. The newest game title of the Mario franchise is Mario Golf: Super Rush to be released on June 26, 2021. It was available on the Nintendo platform. But now, players can enjoy later games of this series and Mario games on smartphones, PCs, and other consoles. Mario game series started on July 9th, 1981.#4. GalaxianThe latest edition of this game franchise is Galaga Revenge introduced on January 8, 2019. It's much different from the earliest game of Galaxian launched in October 1979. This shooter arcade game series is still growing popular and become of of the most played game in the world of all ages. #5. Space InvadersSpace Invaders series started in June 1978. The latest version Arkanoid vs. Space Invaders was introduced on May 17, 2017, with a lot of changes and updates to make the game series more interesting and attractive. Those are the earliest video games and series in the world collected by GuruGamer.com. Now, you know what is the oldest video games in the world and the earliest game series. The game industry has been growing fast with more interesting content, genres. The game engines are also improved every single day. >>> Related post:
From arcade videogames to home videogame consoles (Sony PlayStations and Microsoft Xbox), gaming has evolved at a rapid pace. Today's modern games are nothing like they used to be in the 1960s, the era when commercial games came into existence. Want to know more about how it all began and transformed into a multi-billion industry that keeps on expanding at an exponential rate? You've arrived at the right place. Here's an exciting list of the top 10 oldest videogames that remain to be an integral and unforgettable part of the gaming industry: 1. PongDate of Release: November 29, 1972 Origin: USA Mode of Gaming: Single and multiplayer A game of its league, Pong emerged to be the sensational hit of 1972. Developed by Allan Alcorn, it was the product of Atari (earlier known as Syzygy Engineering) and started as a training exercise assigned to Allan by Nolan Bushnell. Soon after its release, the classic table tennis game was loved by everyone and companies started creating videogames that were similar to that of Pong. By the end of the year during Christmas in 1972, Atari decided to launch a home console of the game and that is how Pong became a part of almost every household in the US. Many often credit the profitability of a game to its hardware and simplicity that even led to the rise of console industries. People who earlier enjoyed playing Pong in the arcade center could now experience the same excitement at the comfort of their home only due to the gaming consoles. 2. Space RaceDate of Release: July 16th, 1973 Origin: USA Mode of Gaming: Multiplayer Different from anything that the world has seen before, Atari in 1973 brought a new picture of gaming to its audience. This time, it was inspired by the magic of space. Previously named Asteroid, Space Race was based on the ideas of Atari co-founders Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a challenging game, where players were on the mission of stealing planets. The amazing control and brilliant graphics make it a game that you definitely can try out even today. Though the game was unable to meet the aspirations of the founders, it ended up inspiring Japanese computer scientists to develop a clone known as Taito that was later renamed Astro Race. Also, Space Race turned out to be the first-ever racing game too. 3. Computer SpaceDate of Release: 1971 Origin: USA Mode of Gaming: Single and Multiplayer Computer Space was based on the famous game Space War, and again it came from the house of Atari. During the period of development, it was meant to be a coin version of the Space War. However, Atari came into partnership with Nutting Associates and was able to create a prototype of the game. After successful initial testing, Nutting decided to order a whopping 1,500 products of the game and it was eventually sold to its partner. Though Computer Space never made an official release, still it marks the beginning of the commercial gaming industry. 4. Galaxy GameDate of Release: November 1971 Origin: USA Mode of Gaming: Multiplayer The Galaxy Game was the aftermath of Atari's Space Race. Only this time, the game was developed by two students of Stanford University, Hugh Tuck and Bill Pitts, who spent over $65,000 to construct prototypes of the game. The players had to pay 25 cents for three and 10 cents for two players, making the preferred choice of university students. Despite everything that Tuck and Pitts put into, the game couldn't be a commercial success. However, you can find their second game even today at the Computer History Museum of the university. 5. Gran Tank 10Date of Release: May 1974 Origin: USA Mode of Gaming: Multiplayer Space Race made Atari rethink its concept of gaming, and that's how Gran Tank was born in 1974. Another videogame that brought life to racing, Gran Tank focused on cars and was operated by wheels, brake pedals, accelerators, and gear sticks. It was the perfect setup later adopted for almost every racing arcade videogame. Larry Emmons was the initial developer of the game and later Eigen Systems worked on the mechanical design of Gran Tank. It was Allan Alcorn who made it ready for the gamers. Unlike other failed attempts of Atari in 1974, Gran Tank did become a grand commercial success. Thanks to the success of Gran Tank, Atari started taking racing games more seriously than before and invested in another game called Tank in November 1974. The tank was a 100% original game created by Lyle Rains and Steve Bristow, and Atari ended up manufacturing original titles of the game. As a matter of fact, the game helped the company to overcome financial troubles, as it was able to sell over 10,000 units in a matter of three months. 6. Gun Fight (Western Gun)Date of Release: 1975 Origin: Japan Mode of Gaming: Two-player The first game of Japanese origin on the list, Western Gun (now named Gun Fight) was a widely acclaimed video game that was the first to depict combat action. The game was developed by Tomohiro Nishikado, who is adored for his creation of memorable games like Space Invaders and Taito. What might come as a surprise is that, the game was along with a US-based tank that aided in the popularity of multidirectional shooting. As, in Western Gun, the two players had to navigate across a mazy landscape and blast guns until the enemy was down. Western Gun was released in North America by Midway and it was Midway who changed the name to Gun Fight. This brand new name brought more sense to the American audience and sparked mass cultural consciousness, as people could know what exactly to expect from the videogame, also it was the first-ever game that had a microprocessor. 7. Spacewar!Date of Release: 1962 Origin: USA Mode of Gaming: Multiplayer Now, the gaming industry had witnessed both, space and war games, to take this to the next notch, programmer, Steve Russell decided to bring both aspects together and developed Spacewar. This became the first game that found its place at the US Library of Congress. But, Steve Russell alone cannot be credited for the development, rather he along with the help of Martin Gratz conceptualized the videogame at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Later, as the game achieved commercial success, the duo appointed employees and students from MIT itself, for giving it a better direction. 8. Star RaidersDate of Release: 1979 Origin: USA Mode of Gaming: Single and Multiplayer Star Raiders was the first-person combat game based in space by Atari. This time, the company decided to make the game more tactical and advanced, where players transformed into the starship pilot who had to protect the space from alien invasion. What added to the gaming was limited fuel, where players had to pay attention to how they used it for planning every attack against the alien warships. The game was immersive, clear, and of course intense, as a result of which it became a source of inspiration for other combat games such as Wing Commander and the Elite. 9. BreakoutDate of Release: 1976 Origin: USA Mode of Gaming: Single player As Pong kept on growing ever since its inception, the founders of Atari were more inclined towards introducing something different to their loyal fans. With that in mind, Breakout was launched in 1976, where the playfield of Pong was filliped and an archetypal puzzle emerged. What's even more exciting is that Atari hired Steve Jobs for creating the prototype, and the concept turned out to be highly demanding among gamers. Even though Breakout had zero fuss and was 100% straightforward, but the finesse and tactics definitely kept players hooked to the game. Just like Star Riders, Breakout inspired a new generation of clear screen games like Peggle and Arkanoid. 10. GalaxianDate of Release: 1979 Origin: USA Mode of Gaming: Single-player If it was Space Invaders that took players to space, Galaxian showed them the future.That's right, a crisp shooting game that had multi-colored graphics along with AI that gave the attacking aircrafts advanced behaviors. In fact, Galaxian showed the way to superlative sequels of space shooting i.e. Gorf, and Phoenix, making the three an admirable trilogy that one simply can't escape. The Galaxian represented the time before Defender, Sinistar, and Xevious became the most played galaxy game. At the end of the day, video games are a true work of art. Exploring and playing old games is just like walking back to the passage of time and reliving the days when games were brimming with ideas, experiments, and thoughts that might seem simple today, but were indeed magical back then. This explains the craze and fondness people of every age had towards video games. Though the genres were different, the gameplay was not the same, and the storyline hit a different road, still, the love for gaming kept every player united, and that truly makes the oldest videogames a celebration in itself. |