In the late 1950s, gaming was just a technological oddity that was presented on a certain science fair. Today, we are witnessing that gaming became one of the biggest entertainment industries in the world. The first boom happened in the late 1990s with emerging gaming consoles like PlayStation.
The second boom happened several years later with the expansion of PC gaming. One important segment that’s related to gaming in that time was the evolution of online gaming. This is a segment that became an essential part of every revolution in the future.
After that, the consoles were at their zenith. The latest so-called revolution in gaming was with the boom provided by the expansion of mobile technologies. This revolution opened the door for the whole new generation of gamers. Some mobile games became a brand of sorts, so, you shouldn’t be surprised when you hear your granny talk about it. Furthermore, you’ll be surprised to know that four out of five US households have some kind of console. How did this happen? Well, stay with us for a couple of minutes and we are going to provide you with the evolution of online gaming step by step.
The First Steps
source: americanhistory.si.edu
We know that the late 1950s are taken as the first years when it comes to gaming. However, game machines were developed in the 1940s. It was developed by Dr. Edward Condon and it was presented at the New York World’s fair. The whole concept of the game was based on the ancient game called “Nim”.
In the first six months, the game was played by roughly 50,000 players. The surprising statistic is that the computer won over 90% of the games played with human players. The first game that was designed and released for commercial home use appeared in the late 1960s. It was developed by Ralph Baer and his team, and it was called “Brown Box”.
This was some kind of set that could be connected to the television and it allowed two players to play with control cubes and chase each on the screen. Plus, it could be programmed to play a wide array of games like checkers, ping pong, and four additional sports games.
The platform that was used for playing “Brown Box” was called Magnavox. This was the first gaming platform that was launched only months before Atari. This gaming platform was canceled in 1975. By that time roughly 300,000 consoles were sold on the US market. This was the main reason for its cancellation. However, this is often considered to be the birth of digital gaming we know and love today.
The Birth of Multiplayer
source: aliexpress.com
Maybe it sounds crazy, but did you know that the multiplayer was born in restaurants in the US? Some of the restaurants started to include video games in order to make additional income. Guests who participated in these games competed for some kind of reward.
They were ranked based on their results. Even though this wasn’t the real multiplayer, this is where its roots are. The first game that was played in multiplayer as we know it today is was a game called “Empire”. This was a strategy game that featured space for up to eight players. The system that was played on was called “Plato Network System”.
It was the first platform that was based on teaching systems originally created by the University of Illinois and was later improved by the Control Data, or CDC for short. Between 1978 and 1985 players spent around 300,000 playing “Empire”. In 1973, a new game was released. It was called “Spasim” and it was a space shooter game that featured 3D and it featured 32-players. It was played on a platform that was called “Plato”. It is considered to be one of the first steps to today’s Internet and online multiplayer gaming. This was the first-time gaming became highly popular with younger generations.
PC and Console Online Gaming
source: karmelsoft.com
In 1983, the US video game market crashed due to a large number of consoles and games and too few interested customers. A huge percentage of companies suffered heavy losses. This was the crossroad for the whole industry. At that time, the popularity of home consoles and PCs started to increase. First home computers like Apple II, Commodore 64, and Commodore Vic-20. They were affordable for anybody’s pocket.
They cost around $300 in the early 80s, which is around $860 in today’s money. They were advertised as the option for the whole family to participate in. This generation of PCs had a more powerful processor than the previous generation, which meant the whole new level of gaming.
The first game that opened the doors for future multiplayer was “Pathway to Darkness” which was released in 1993. This occurrence marked the birth of Lan party gaming. This marked the beginning of online game shopping. If you want to check how it looks now click here.
When it comes to consoles, before Nintendo and Sega moved into the circle of online gaming, several game producers wanted to utilize the power of telephone lines for transferring important information between consoles.
The turning point for consoles was the invention of William von Meister that was called “CVC GameLine”. This was a device that enabled the players to download games and software by connecting their fixed telephones to the Atari console. However, the real step forward to online gaming with consoles was undertaken in the late 1990s when the internet became part of the public domain.
In 1995, the famous company “Nintendo” released a satellite modem that was called “Satellaview”. Until 2000, the broadcasting of this technology was limited only to Japan, but after that, it leaked to the other parts of the world. After that, the rest of the story is history that we witnessed in the last couple of years. Games like “Call of Duty”, “World of Warcraft”, “Counter-Strike”, “Dota 2” are the present and the future of the gaming industry. We are pretty excited to see where the industry is going to take us in the future years.