I remember watching my older friends play Super Smash Brothers on GameCube when I was a little kid. Today, video games have erupted into the mainstream and become part . Follow the history of video game consoles in this infographic.
At first, video games were not intended for public consumption but rather for military personnel. The Magnavox Odyssey, originally known as The Brown Box, was released to the public in 1972 after failed attempts as a military training platform. The Atari Pong, a game consisting of bouncing a ball between two lines, also came out in 1972. Though not very impressive compared to the games of today, these consoles laid important groundwork for its successors.
Fast forward 24 years and my favorite childhood video game Pokémon takes the world by storm. With the introduction of the Xbox One, PS4 and Wii U, people were able to play against players around the world instead of their friends. Most recently, the Nintendo Switch was released in 2017, marking a revival in Nintendo consoles.
Gaming has had a long and storied history. There has been virtually no point in my life in which I didn’t play video games, and I’m sure the same is true for many others. All this gaming begs the question: are we throwing our lives away smashing buttons on a sofa? According to research, perhaps not. How might gaming make you a better person? Click here to find out.