The Evolution of Game Consoles
Lawrence Herrera
Miss Magdalena Quiroz
COSC – 1301- W60 2
24th April 2011
Evolution of Game Consoles
Gaming consoles have come a long way from where they started. There was many variations of the game Pong to 3D realistic environments. From the start as a simulator all the way down as way of exercising. There were many consoles at the beginning, and then through time it came down to a final three top selling companies. Every gamer, close to the age of thirty and over, has seen the generations of game consoles evolve. There are 7 generations total of game consoles. Game consoles have become part of our culture, some people do not know it yet, but in some way they are gamers.
In the beginning there was Ralph H. Baer, “The Father of Video Games”, and he created the “Brown Box” in 1968. Now the Brown Box was a working prototype. It was the first game console that could connect to ordinary television sets. It could play six very simple games, four of them very similar, which are ping-pong, tennis, handball, and volleyball, and the last two are chase game and a light gun game. Now this brown box is essential to what will happen in the future.
First generation of game consoles, now Ralph Baer took his brown box to Magnavox. Right away Magnavox bought it. They change the name and design of the brown box and called it Magnavox Odyssey, and released it in 1972 predating it before Atari’s Pong. It was the 1st official home entertainment system. Now, like the first movies, it did not incorporate sound. It was battery operated, it used cartridges for the built in game to change desired effects, and it came with two overlays to simulate color. This console sparked a fire for the video game industry. In 1975 Atari released Pong, which was scaled down unit of their famous Pong arcade machine in 1973. It included on screen scoring and it included sound when the ball hit the paddle. Now there was competition, so Magnavox released two more consoles the
Miss Magdalena Quiroz
COSC – 1301- W60 2
24th April 2011
Evolution of Game Consoles
Gaming consoles have come a long way from where they started. There was many variations of the game Pong to 3D realistic environments. From the start as a simulator all the way down as way of exercising. There were many consoles at the beginning, and then through time it came down to a final three top selling companies. Every gamer, close to the age of thirty and over, has seen the generations of game consoles evolve. There are 7 generations total of game consoles. Game consoles have become part of our culture, some people do not know it yet, but in some way they are gamers.
In the beginning there was Ralph H. Baer, “The Father of Video Games”, and he created the “Brown Box” in 1968. Now the Brown Box was a working prototype. It was the first game console that could connect to ordinary television sets. It could play six very simple games, four of them very similar, which are ping-pong, tennis, handball, and volleyball, and the last two are chase game and a light gun game. Now this brown box is essential to what will happen in the future.
First generation of game consoles, now Ralph Baer took his brown box to Magnavox. Right away Magnavox bought it. They change the name and design of the brown box and called it Magnavox Odyssey, and released it in 1972 predating it before Atari’s Pong. It was the 1st official home entertainment system. Now, like the first movies, it did not incorporate sound. It was battery operated, it used cartridges for the built in game to change desired effects, and it came with two overlays to simulate color. This console sparked a fire for the video game industry. In 1975 Atari released Pong, which was scaled down unit of their famous Pong arcade machine in 1973. It included on screen scoring and it included sound when the ball hit the paddle. Now there was competition, so Magnavox released two more consoles the
Cited: Graham, Lawrence. Legal battles that shaped the computer industry. Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 1999. Wolf, Mark J.P. The video game explosion: a history from PONG to Playstation and beyond. Westport, CT: Greenwood Pub Group, 2008. "Nintendo Wii." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011. Web. 21 Apr. 2011. <http://ezproxy.southtexascollege.edu:2056/EBchecked/topic/1264817/Nintendo-Wii>. [ 6 ]. "Nintendo Wii." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. .