The History of Video Games: 1889 to Present

By Adam Leonard

Introduction to Interactive Media
Professor Samuel Ebersole
April 23, 2002


Abstract

This paper will give the reader a brief overview of the history of video games, 1889 to Present. It begins with the Pre-Pong era, an era of simplistic interactivity and simple games. Beginning with the creation of pinball and baffle ball. The next era, the era of Pong folllows the development of one of the simplest 2-D interactive games ever created, Pong. The Post-Pong era examines the growth of two major interactive video game companies, Sega and Nintendo.

Intro

When dig
ging deep into the history of video games, one must look at the many different elements that pushed this great interactive concept along. Many great minds, companies and countries were involved in the history of video games. This paper will discuss the pre-Pong era, which will focus on the beginning of interactive gaming and the people and events that occurred before 1972; the era of Pong, which deals with the formation of Atari and the development of the interactive game Pong; and the post-Pong era, which will discuss further developments of two companies at the forefront of interactive gaming, Sega and Nintendo.