History of Home Video Games - From Pong to Playstation. 1,833 words. Includes an abstract. Very detailed.

Abstract

Home video games have come a long way in what seems like a short time. In the past 25 years, the advancements and popularity have exploded in America. This paper will show the progression from the most primitive of systems to the latest systems on the market today.

Pong to Playstation: The History of Home Video Games

Today, when "gamers" think of video games, most think about the movie quality graphics of the games, the innovations of technology used to create it, and especially the outrageous price tags of the newer systems. It is amazing how real and life-like the games have become. You sometimes feel that you are actually part of the action. The technology advancements have grown to almost unlimited possibilities to the point where it seems like there is a new system out immediately after buying the last one. The high price of the consoles and games is nothing new.

Nintendo became the most successful in the world's...

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It is almost like the designers are always trying to get you to dig deeper into your wallet to own the most current video game. Even twenty-five years ago, the price was very steep to be one of the first people to own Pong. When we think of Pong, we think about two vertical lines on each side of the screen which we move back and forth to hit a dot that is coming toward the line. Pong actually started as a simple game to entertain visitors at Brookhaven National Laboratory, a nuclear research lab in Upton, New York.

THE BEGINNING

In 1958, William A. Higinbotham wanted to create something to ease the boredom of the guests at the lab. He used a small analog computer to graph and display the movement of a ball on an oscilloscope with which users can interact. This was...