Although the video game is a very common entertainment, hardly anyone knows who its inventor was. At concordant-thought.com, we explain the history of video games, their origin, and many other curiosities.
Who Invented Video Games
The video game was conceived in 1958, by a physicist named Willy Higinbotham.
When were video games invented?
He was preparing for the annual Brookhaven National Laboratory open day in Upton, Long Island. I wanted to make the occasion more entertaining than a bunch of static displays.
For this reason, I thought I could play a simple game with an oscilloscope, a test instrument that emits many wavy lines.
He hooked it up to a black-and-white television and made a ball appear bouncing back and forth over a “net” as if it were a game of tennis. He even made balls that touched the net bounce.
The result was a hundred people queuing up to test the game. The following year he switched the game to a bigger screen and offered the options to play on the Moon, with low gravity, or on Jupiter, with high gravity.
Once again it was a great success. Years later, his children asked him why they had not become millionaires. Bill Higinbotham did not patent his invention because working for the government he thought he would not receive patent rights.
First Video Game Ever
- Although the invention of the video game is attributed to Nolan Bushnell, as we understand it today, probably by his patent US 3793483, filed in 1972.
- He invented Pong (similar to Higinbotham’s concept, but with paddles) and founded Atari, the first company to exploit the technology.
- An interesting Bushnell patent is the splendid specimen shown here.
- The patent explains that it provides “the benefits of healthy exercise.”
- The weight-sensitive pads correspond to the squares on the screen.
- The electronic circuits interpret the pressure of the feet and, using the game display on the screen, an insect (102) trying to reach the food (100) can be intercepted by the feet (124), which have already taken care of another insect (116).
Therefore, now you know the answer to the following questions:
- Who Invented Video Games: The inventor of the video game is Willy Higinbotham.
- When were video games invented: the first video game is in 1958.
- Where video games were invented: in the city of Upton, Long Island (USA).
Evolution of video games
Their rapid development has produced games that are now considered very outdated, such as Space Invaders, which dates from 1978, and Pac Man, which dates from 1983.
Modern games use color, are very fast, and are increasingly more realistic (too much, some say).
Where were video games invented?
The speed with which you have to use the controls can serve as training for modern life. In addition to feet, buttons, computer keyboards and, above all, joysticks are used for games; the US patent 5802462 is a good example.
In the beginning, video games were used on special machines in game rooms or galleries ; sometimes with several players participating in a race, but increasingly they are played on personal computers because there is the possibility of operating with fast and colorful games.
The leading companies are Sega, Sony, and Nintendo, which started in 1889 as a playing card company.
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