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Pong
A coin-op arcade game
by Atari Inc
• Based on table tennis
• First game to gain widespread
popularity - launched the
industry boom
• Led to a successful patent-
infringement lawsuit from the
Magnavox Odyssey -
Magnavox Odyssey
World's first game console
• Predates the Atari Pong home consoles
• Prototype known as the “Brown Box” is
now at the Smithsonian
• 340,000 units sold -
Gran Track 10
A single-player racing arcade
game by Atari
• Player races against the
game clock, accumulating
points
• Early diode-based ROM was used
• Controls, steering wheel, shifter,
accelerator, and brake pedals
were all firsts for arcade games -
Maze Wars
One of the first FPS
• Players wander in a maze
• Used tile-based movement
• Other players are eyeballs
that can be shot or harmed
• Players gain points for
shooting other players and
lose them for being shot -
Coleco Telstar
By Coleco - AY-3-8500
chip
• Pong variants on a
domestic television
receiver and available to
any manufacturer
• Battery-powered and
external components
were required -
APF TV Fun
Pong clone manufactured by APF
formally a electronics developer
• Four built-in games (Tennis, Hockey,
Single Handball, and Squash)
• Had a speaker and two
controller knobs
• Powered by AC adapter or
batteries
• Limited success -
Fairchild Channel F
The world's second cartridge-based
video game console, after the Magnavox
Odyssey
• Sold for $169.95
• Originally called Video
Entertainment System
(VES), but when Atari
released VCS, it was
renamed -
Magnavox Odyssey Advanced
Played cartridges
• Keyboard; used for
educational games, selecting
options, or programming
• First game was an instant
classic: Quest for the Rings!
• Excellent speech synthesis unit
• Master Strategy Series – a fusion
of board and video games -
Atari 2600
Popularized game cartridges -
popular in the 1980s
• Originally Atari VCS; later
changed to "Atari 2600" in
1982, after the release
of Atari 5200
• Two joysticks, two paddle
controllers, and a
cartridge game - initially
Combat later Pac-Man -
Chuck E Cheese’s
First family entertainment
centers aimed at young
children
• Pizza restaurant with
arcade games,
amusement rides, an
animatronics show, climbing
equipment, tubes, and slides
• Helped improve the image
of video games -
Space Invaders 2 of 2
Grossed $2 billion
worldwide by 1982
• Pixilated alien has
become a pop
culture icon, often
used as a symbol
representing video
games as a whole -
Space Invaders 1 of 2
Created in Japan - later
licensed in US
• Shooting game - players
defeat waves of aliens
with a laser and earn
points
• So successful it caused a
temporary shortage of
coins in Japan -
Intellivision
By Mattel Electronics at $299
• Four games available and a
pack-in game: Las Vegas
Poker & Blackjack
• First to pose a serious
threat to Atari
• By 1982 over two million
had been sold, earning Mattel
a $100,000,000 profit -
Asteroids
Popular and influential
game - 70,000 sold by Atari
• Vector display and 2D view
• Control a spaceship in an
asteroid field traversed
by flying saucers
• Object - shoot asteroids and
saucers while not colliding or
being hit by counter-fire -
Pac Man 2 of 2
Appealed to both
genders
• Generated more than
$2.5 billion in quarters
by the 1990s
• Highest brand
awareness of any video
game character
GAD -
Pac Man 1 of 2
Namco - considered
among the most famous
arcade games of all time
• Became a social
phenomenon that sold
related merchandise and
inspired an animated
television series and a
top-ten hit single -
Frogger
Move frogs home by
crossing a busy road and
navigate a river - skillful
players obtain bonuses
• A classic - noted for its
novel gameplay and theme
• Used two Z80 processors
• By 2005, sold 20 million
worldwide, 5 million in the US -
Donkey Kong 1 of 2
By Nintendo - platform
• Move the character
across a series of
platforms while dodging
and jumping over
obstacles
• Rescue a damsel in
distress from a giant
ape - Donkey Kong -
Donkey Kong 2 of 2
The hero and ape became
two of Nintendo's most
popular characters
• Nintendo licensed to
Coleco, which developed
home console versions
• Dominated the market in
the 1980s and early 1990s -
Galaga
Fixed-shooter game
• Control a space ship while
aliens fly in formation and
come down at the player's
ship to either shoot or collide
• Players fire at enemies, and
once all enemies are
vanquished, at which point
the player moves to the next
stage