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I done a search on the history of video games and came acroos an article on the Discovery Times website. I found it interesting so I thought that I would share it with all of you.
Rise of the Video Game
Follow the Evolution
Track the rise of the Video Game. It's evolved from Pong paddles to virtual worlds that can even lead to addiction. Find out how the industry was born in the early 1970s and where it's headed today.
1970s: A Video Game Empire
Though the oil crisis slowed down the global economy throughout the decade, American popular culture flourished. Together, blockbuster films like Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind and arcade games mesmerized and transported people into fantasy worlds of heroes and villains.
In spite of the rise in unemployment and financial hardship that characterized 1970s Europe and the United States, this decade laid the foundation for an electronics and technological revolution, from home computers to video game arcades and interactive television.
Home computers such as the Apple II, the TRS-80 and the Commodore PET, along with the famous Atari 400/800, were released in North America, introducing a new high-tech culture of home entertainment. At the same time, the popularity of pay-per-play arcade games soared. Leading the revolution in the US and spawning a golden era of video games was a simple bat and ball game called PONG.
The United States may have been the largest market for computer and video games at the time, but Japan didn't fall far behind. An economic boom in 70s Japan enabled such technological innovations as the personal computer PC-8801 and the groundbreaking Space Invaders video game.
1970s: Spacewar!
Created by a young programmer at MIT, this was the earliest game for a digital computer. In 1962, Steve Russell's invention paved the way for the interactive simulation genre that would become a template for video games for decades to come, as well as simulation training used by military forces across the world, including the UK, France, North Korea and Australia.
Russell's mainframe game was groundbreaking because it allowed two people to play simultaneously for the first time, enabling each player to guide his or her spaceship with an individual remote called a joystick.
In Spacewar! players attempt to shoot each other with missiles while avoiding a stellar collision. Russell met Nolan Bushnell at Stanford University and inspired him to develop Atari computers and a simple interactive game called PONG.
1970s: Interactive Television
Ralph Baer, considered the "Thomas Edison" of video games, created the first home console system, the Magnavox Odyssey. This first console featured 12 games, including Cat and Mouse, Football, Haunted House and Roulette, as well as ping-pong and battleship games. Some games were even played using a light gun. Referred to as the "brown box" because of its simulated wood grain surface, the Magnavox Odyssey introduced the idea of interactive television and the possibility of playing video games at home.
The Odyssey began as a prototype in 1966 and shortly thereafter gained the first video game patent in history. The "brown box" was shipped with accessories such as dice and poker chips because its creators anticipated that these items may help confused consumers understand how to use the game console. The Magnavox Odyssey was also the first video game introduced in Europe.
Three years after the American Odyssey came out, an export model was created and launched abroad, in Germany, France, Israel, Italy and Switzerland among other countries. The export version had fewer games than the original US version, and some of the games were different (e.g. soccer instead of football). The first European ad for the Odyssey came out in December 1973 but despite the highest of hopes, the console only sold in small numbers due to a steep price tag and English-only instructions. Germany eventually released its own Magnavox Odyssey, which was somewhat more successful.
In February 2006, Baer was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President George W. Bush in recognition for his lifetime achievements and contributions.
1970s: A Business is Born
In spite of lawsuits and polemics to the contrary, it is undeniable that Nolan Bushnell launched the video game industry with his 1972 release of the cult-classic PONG. Although William Higinbotham had conceived a table tennis game in 1958, it was PONG that created a true cultural phenomenon. Bushnell had a simple goal: to build an electronic ping-pong game with one moving ball.
After PONG hit the arcades, the lucrative video game industry was born, but getting the game into arcades was not an easy task. Bushnell struggled to find interested arcade manufacturers and eventually resorted to marketing the game himself at a local bar called Andy Capps. "Within two weeks the test unit [broke] down because the coin drop flooded with quarters." Bushnell interpreted this situation as confirmation of PONG's tremendous potential for success. He subsequently convinced Sears to sell his electronic ping-pong game on the basis of successful sales of air hockey and table tennis accessories.
After making a deal with Sears in 1975, Pong sold 19,000 units, becoming a cultural phenomenon. "Any of us who was around for PONG remembers the first moment we played PONG the way people remember the Kennedy assassination, because we had the power of the pixel," said Doug Rushkoff, author of Playing the Future.
1970s: William Higinbotham
William (Willy) Higinbotham, a nuclear researcher, created Tennis for Two, an electronic game similar to PONG but minus the paddles. According to some, Higinbotham used an oscilloscope to entertain visitors to his lab. Some say his oscilloscope version is the first recognizable videogame.
An oscilloscope, pictured, is a device used to depict changes in electric voltage or currents.
1970s: Invaders from Space
Space Invaders flooded Japan in 1978 to become a cultural phenomenon. The creator, Tomohiro Nishikado, admitted that the game was considered a threat to children's education: early on, some kids were willing to steal money or make counterfeit coins to play games at arcades. Like PONG, Space Invaders marked the golden age of coin-op games and, at one point; it triggered a 100-yen coin shortage in Japan.
1970s: The Arcade Boom
Economic recession and the expense of home console games caused the popularity of systems like the Magnavox Odyssey to wane. Even the home version of the popular PONG proved difficult to market. So Bushnell came up with the groundbreaking idea of creating arcades, where consumers could pay-per-play for just a few coins, without having to splash out on a home console and a television.
Arcades soon rocketed in popularity as they offered a meeting place with space for an array of sophisticated machines. The games could be played by thousands of people from all sorts of backgrounds. Arcade games allowed the technology to develop and were considered cost effective, cutting-edge technology.
Some of the first real-time 3D games were made in arcade format.
1970s: Asteroids Invade
Asteroids, released by Atari in 1979, surpassed both PONG and Space Invaders to become the most popular and profitable game of the decade.
Asteroids featured a multi-directional shooter, which allowed two players to shoot missiles from their spaceships. The game was a huge hit in both the US and abroad. Using joysticks, players could guide their ship clockwise or anti-clockwise to dodge the giant rocks and use the fire buttons at the end of the sticks to launch weapons and blow the asteroids to bits.
But, apart from the excitement, the real secret of the game's influence and popularity is that it allowed gamers, for the first time, to save their score under their user names for all at the arcade to see.
1970s: Atari and PONG
The first arcade machine that Atari produced was a fancy machine with glittery finish. It looked gorgeous but failed because the game was too difficult to play. The failure prompted the CEO of Atari to create something so simple that even someone who was intoxicated could play. That game was PONG and it became an overnight success because people found it so easy to play that they pumped coin after coin into the machines.
1980s: The Home Computer Era
A major shift in the video game industry occurred during the 1980s. While the 70s was the golden age of arcade games, the 80s saw the rise of home computers, which revolutionized the market and overshadowed consoles.
Until the early 1980s, home computers cost about $1,000, which was too pricey for average consumers around the world and contributed greatly to the popularity of arcades. However, the production of affordable personal computers in the early 1980s challenged the video game console. Added to that, the economy was weak, the market was over-saturated with mediocre-quality console games and consumers were beginning to buy into the computer industry's aggressive marketing message that personal computers were a much more versatile and sophisticated buy than consoles. The result was that in 1983, the worldwide console game market crashed.
1980s: The Video Game Crash, 1983
The sudden crash was triggered by a weak economy and lack of attention to quality by companies who just wanted to jump on the videogame bandwagon. Everyone from Chuck Wagon dog food to Kool Aid to Quaker Oats had recognized the moneymaking potential of popular games like PONG, Space Invaders and Pac-Man and were trying to get a slice of the pie by launching their own video games. But, rather than contribute to a thriving market, these games were of such poor quality that they quickly over-saturated the market.
Like the Internet bubble that spectacularly burst in the late 90s because there were too many badly thought-out start-ups, the video game industry crashed largely because of over-exposure. At the same time, the commercialization of inexpensive home computers like the Commodore 64, Tandy Color Computer and Texas Instruments TI-99/4A created a shift in the home entertainment industry because people believed that personal computers could both educate and entertain, whereas video games were seen as solely recreational machines. As a result, consumers perceived home computers as the smart alternative to video game consoles.
1980s: Pac-Man!
Pac-Man instantly became a worldwide cultural phenomenon after its release by Atari in 1982. It took American, European and Asian pop culture by storm, appealing to boys, girls and even adults because it was a cheerful, non-violent videogame that offered an alternative to shooting games such as Space Invaders and Asteroids.
Toru Iwatani, the creator of Pac-Man, explains in an interview that his main goal was to design a game that would attract female players in the hope of reviving arcades as popular social meeting places. "It seemed to me that the way to raise the atmosphere of a place is to entice girls to come in," he said.
Thirty different versions of the video game based on its original character, Pac-Man, came out shortly after its release. A popular animated television series based on the characters drew even more fans into the Pac-mania.
1980s: Nintendo Emerges with Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong was one of the major iconic videogames and cartoon characters of the 80s. The Japanese videogame company, Nintendo, introduced the game in North America in 1981 and it rapidly reached cult status. As a result, Nintendo was propelled into industry gianthood through the development and distribution of the Nintendo home console.
The breakthrough success of Nintendo propelled the videogame industry out of its early 80s slump and put the home console business back on the map. Donkey Kong, with its numerous versions and spin-offs bought by kids all over the world, was a major contributor to Nintendo's success.
Donkey Kong's game play was quite simple. The main character, a plumber named Jumpman (later re-christened Mario), was charged with saving a kidnapped princess from a giant ape. Donkey Kong would climb up a tiered construction site with the princess on his back (not unlike King Kong) and throw barrels down the construction site's steel levels in order to prevent Mario from climbing up the ladders to rescue the princess.
1980s: Russia Scores with Tetris
Designed by Alexey Pajitnov in 1985, Tetris instantly became a universal smash hit when it swept the world market the following year. The game eventually became available on a variety of platforms, including game consoles and arcade machines, but it was initially released for use on the PC.
Tetris has become such an all-time classic that even 20 years after its release, adaptations of the game are still readily available on nearly every computer device and game console currently being manufactured, as well as cell phones.
Tetris's simple challenge of assembling falling blocks of different shapes into a neat order to make rows disappear and stop the screen clogging up has proved highly addictive. Luckily, avid gamers needn't worry about being addicted since playing Tetris for long hours only makes you smarter.
1980s: Introducing the Plumber
Super Mario Bros. is one of the best-selling and best-loved games of all time. It proved to be exceptionally profitable to its developer, Nintendo, because it could be played both at arcades and at home - exclusively on Nintendo game consoles, which consumers had to buy separately.
Aside from having numerous levels of creative and colorful graphics, it was the first video game to feature a smooth scrolling screen. As players advance in the game, they discover hidden treasures and new characters, providing the game with a slowly unfolding storyline and unprecedented depth. The objective, though, is simple and similar to that of Donkey Kong: rescue the princess.
1980s: Console Mania
The first successful home video game console was the Atari 2600, released in 1977. As freelance writer Heather Chaplin points out, the Atari 2600 initiated "the first move into the home". Atari 2600 was a turning point for home consoles because it functioned with plug-in cartridges, allowing gamers to play multiple games on the console for the first time.
Even greater success greeted the Famicom, named from a shortened version of 'Family Computer', when it was released in Japan in 1984. The games that were made available on the Famicom reflected its name as they were created to appeal to the entire family and not just the largely male gaming population.
Famicom was later renamed Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) when it launched in 1986 across Europe. The NES featured the most popular and profitable games of all time, including Super Mario Bros., the protagonist of which eventually became Nintendo's mascot. Even today, Nintendo has stayed true to its original concept of family entertainment with the release of the Nintendo DS handheld game console and its array of games for anyone aged 3 to 83. According to video game journalist and editor Chris Kohler, the Nintendo DS is currently the fastest selling videogame unit on the market. "They cannot make nearly enough of them," he says.
1980s: Commodore 64 Takes Over
Home computers, such as the Commodore 64, became immensely popular in the 1980s and were heavily used for gaming. In fact the Commodore 64, which was released in 1982, remains the best selling personal computer of all time.
For the first time, home computers had the power to perform tasks like word processing and accounting. These home computers were aggressively marketed with the message that their educational capability was much more important than their entertainment value. Ads for home computers stressed the fact that video game consoles had negative effects on a child's education and emphasized the important role computers played in helping children succeed academically. Computers promised a lot in a relatively inexpensive package.
Despite the aggressive marketing, people still wanted games and the Commodore 64, for instance, featured more games, better graphics and sounds as well as more vivid colors than videogame consoles. Plus, computers made games easier to save thanks to the newly available floppy discs and other storage media.
1980s: Home Console Industry Collapses
In a major shift in the videogame industry, the console market collapsed in the 1980s, a crash triggered by the fall of Atari, the producer of the cult PONG a decade earlier. Shortly after Nolan Bushnell, the visionary who founded the Atari empire, left the company in 1978, Atari reached the peak of its popularity. However, after 1980, lack of quality control on the games released propelled Atari into a downward spiral from which it never recovered.
Many gamers consider Atari's collapse to be the precursor of the 1980s home console crash. A videogame based on blockbuster film ET (1982) for the Atari 2600 still tops the list of the most infamous games ever released. Atari rushed the release of the game after only three months in development, a mistake, which resulted in a disastrous product with boring gameplay, and poor graphics that discredited Atari and tarnished the company's reputation among gamers. By the end of the era, Atari's popularity declined drastically in the United States, although it retained a following in Europe.
1990s: Power to the Player
The 1990s saw a global revival in the games industry, boosted by the dot-com boom and the arrival of 3D graphics.
People wanted to play wherever and whenever it took their fancy, so it was out with arcade games and in with handhelds.
The home console war between Sega and Nintendo was also hotting up, led by Sony's Playstation, which read CDs instead of cartridges. Interactive was the buzzword, with multiple players immersed in 3D virtual worlds online.
1990s: The Internet Revolution
Just as the Internet made it possible for people across the globe to communicate, it enabled them to play together too. Before long, gamers across the world were using it to play collectively online and interact within virtual universes.
The genre that most captured online gamers' imaginations was the role-playing game. It offered formerly isolated gamers the opportunity to be part of a collective and it offered individuals the freedom to be someone as far-removed from real life as possible. Massive Multi-player Online Games (MMOGs) let people play "within a shared space and (work) to solve problems together," says Cory Ondrejka, Chief Technology Officer for Linden Labs, who runs virtual world, Second Life.
The first of these games was Multi User Dungeon or MUD, a text-based game released in 1979 and based on Dungeons and Dragons. Combining elements of role-playing, virtual worlds and a social chat room, it was mostly free and fully customizable, so technically-minded gamers could create their own MUD world, crown themselves overlords and open it to other gamers to enjoy. In fact, it wasn't rare to meet the owner of the MUD as you played in these text-based virtual worlds.
MUD's impact was so tremendous that it laid a solid foundation for the popularity of the MMOG genre today. In the 1990s, graphic-rich MMOGs took over the industry with games like Ultima Online (the online adaptation of the Ultima series), Underlight and EverQuest.
1990s: The Characters We Love
Two very different characters -- an Italian plumber and a rebellious blue hedgehog -- became universal icons in the 90s and made the leap from video games to popular culture at large.
Nintendo's Mario remains the most famous video game character worldwide. The fact that Mario is a blue-collar worker is the key to his popularity, according to Japanese artist Takeshi Murakami. Murakami says Mario's identity and attire let kids imagine life as a grown-up. "It's not this growing up by academic learning and moving up in grade, but it's as if you were to wear a worker's clothes and pretend to be an adult and adventure into that world." Moreover, Mario's struggle to save the Princess and his determination to move up the ladder, literally, in spite of obstacles, fits right in with the American Dream.
Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, however, characterized a cultural shift when he came on the scene. Gamers were looking for characters that were "a little bit more independent, (sort of) brats,” says Dan Hsu, editor-in-chief at Electronic Gaming Monthly. Sonic began as a happy-go-lucky, naive character and evolved into a more complex character that has friends with guns, says Hsu.
Nintendo's Mario tradition continues with the Super Mario Galaxy title, pictured, for the Wii system.
1990s: The Home Console Competition
Sega Mega Drive and Playstation rocked the world in the early 90s and quickly made home consoles a must-have. The competition between Nintendo, Sony and Sega rewarded gamers with a mind-boggling collection of good quality games.
Nintendo's Mario was eventually ousted from the top spot by Sega's cheeky hedgehog, boosted by aggressive marketing. The campaign targeted older teens with spending power by stressing the more mature content of Sega games. By 1992, Sega was booming, with 65 percent of global home console sales.
However, the arrival of other home consoles featuring ever-increasing processing power and better graphics meant the success didn't last too long - the Sega Mega Drive was soon on its way out.
From 16-bit to 32-bit to 64-bit, newer consoles like Sony's Playstation and Nintendo's N64 opened up the home console market. Even the powerful Sega Saturn wasn't enough to turn the tide and Sega eventually withdrew from producing its own consoles to concentrate on game development, hardware for arcades and its other businesses.
1990s: DDR!
Gaming isn't just about sitting inert in front of a screen. As its name implies, Dance Dance Revolution is extremely physically interactive and has become one of the world’s most popular video games. Created by Konami and introduced to Japan in 1998, it has since evolved into an arcade and Playstation game with a database of almost a thousand popular songs.
Played with a patterned mat (sold separately) on home consoles, Dance Dance Revolution started a worldwide craze for musically interactive video games and spawned a myriad of spin-offs such as Dancing Stage. Crowds often gather around DDR machines in arcades to watch players on a mini-stage frantically jiggling to match their footsteps to the flashing arrows on screen.
Dance Dance Revolution was also groundbreaking in that it brought parents and children together through gaming. Parents were happy that their kids could get much-needed physical exercise while playing a fun game. Some games even feature training or workout modes, while some emphasize specific styles of music such as Taiko (big drums) or Guitarmania.
These games also feature specially created accessories such as big drums for Taiko, and a plastic guitar for Guitarmania.
1990s: In Flight
Although they had existed for decades, the popularity of flight simulation games peaked in the 90s thanks to interactive play over the Internet. It added a new dimension to playing imaginary planes.
"When you shoot down that plane that somebody else sitting at their desk at their house is flying you know that you've created this emotional impact with them (and) you've defeated another human being rather than... a code running in a game," says Clinton Keith, an executive at High Moon Studios.
Following the success of cult film Top Gun in 1986, Afterburn instantly became a major hit across the world, first in arcades and then on the PC when the Activision/Sega version was released in 1988.
In the arcades, Afterburn's success was down to the way it immersed the player in the experience by sitting them in a cockpit, which moved in line with the player's manipulation of the fighter jet. A stand-up version of the game on SNES also achieved huge success.
It wasn't long before commercial airlines and the military recognized the potential of flight Sims to train pilots and it soon became an integral part of flight training.
1990s: MMOG Mania
For many, gaming isn't an escape from reality but an escape to an alternative reality -- the more real, the better. So 3D technology inevitably made a massive impact on gaming in the 90s. "By importing 3D technology into the game, it buried people into the attraction, making them feel like they were (physically) in the game," says video game music composer, Koichi Sugiyama.
3D was used most effectively in First Person Shooter (FPS) and Massively Multi-player Online Games (MMOGs), using stunning graphics to transport gamers into a virtual reality where multiple players interact.
The FPS landmark, DOOM, was an instant cult hit when it was released in 1993. Around 10 million people downloaded the game within two years of its release, boosting the whole genre.
MMOGs or MMORPGs (Massively Multi-player Online Role-Playing Games) became another worldwide hit in the late 1990s, grossing more than half a billion dollars in 2005. The phenomenon started with the launch of Ultima Online, a fantasy MMORPG released in 1997 by Electronic Arts. This was quickly followed by such games as Sony Online Entertainment's Everquest and Korean developer NCSoft's Lineage. Multi-player role-playing was now a staple of video gaming.
1990s: Games in Your Pocket
Games may have gained richer content in the 90s but they were also getting smaller. In 1989, Atari released the first handheld game, Touch Me, which it shrank down from the arcade to the pocket. However, it was the overwhelming success of Nintendo's Game Boy, another 1989 release that truly popularized handheld games.
In response to the Game Boy, Sega created Game Gear, which was released first in Japan in 1990, and a year later in Europe and the United States. A flurry of colored handheld consoles subsequently hit the market and gained worldwide popularity. Soon, no self-respecting kid would be seen without one.
Released in 2003, the Game Boy Advanced SP, pictured, belongs to the sixth generation era of Game Boys.
1990s: South Korea's MMORPG Phenomenon
There is nowhere in the world as obsessed with MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) as South Korea. They just can't get enough of online role-playing. James Wagner Au, a video game journalist, explains it is indeed "an expression of Korean culture that the ultimate goal in these games is to get in a group and become really powerful within the group".
Many games released in South Korea never make it beyond those shores but, within the country, the craze shows no signs of slowing down. It's thought that Lineage, an MMORPG released by the South Korean developer NCSoft in 1998, has at one point generated more than four million subscribers.
2000s: A Virtual Universe
At the start of the new century, massively multi-player online games (MMOGs) are not just a leisure pursuit but also a whole lifestyle for some people. No longer playing just for fun, some gamers are making real money through gold farms and virtual real estate transactions.
All age groups are immersing themselves in these virtual worlds. Young adults may dominate the population but kids are getting in on the act, thanks to a wave of MMOGs for younger audiences coming from Asia in recent years.
Launch in 1999, EverQuest was the first game that presented a 3D fantasy world. EverQuest II, pictured, is a sequel set in a parallel dimension.
2000s: Addicted
The MMOG boom of recent years has caused a worldwide epidemic of video game addiction, among youths in particular. According to video game journalist Geoff Keighley, online gamers are considered addicted when they end up "withdrawing from their friends and their family and finding more comfort in these virtual spaces". When played responsibly, however, Dr. Butch Rosser says video games are a constructive and positive way to relieve stress, especially compared with drugs.
2000s: Video Game Addiction
Around the world, the medical profession is recognizing video game addiction and centers to treat Internet addiction have opened throughout China, Korea and in Canada. A reputable addiction treatment center in the Netherlands has also recently opened up a special wing dedicated to the treatment of those suffering from video game addiction. In China, the military is pioneering a new addiction treatment program to wean young men off video games. Patients at the Beijing Military Region Central Hospital typically spend 10 to 15 days in treatment, where they are treated with medication, therapy and encouraged to participate in sports.
2000s: Gaming Sales Reach an All-Time High
U.S. computer and video game software sales skyrocketed four percent in 2005 to $7 billion -- more than double industry software sales in 1996.
Gaming has never been more popular or more widespread, as it reaches new markets such as Latin America and South Korea. It seems that the industry's goal in the next few years is to attract younger consumers into the video game frenzy. Interactive consoles like the Nintendo Wii aim to breed a new generation of gamers, as evangelical as the PONG generation of the 70s.
2000s: Making Movies Into Games
Over the decades, video games have moved into the cultural mainstream. Games like Doom, Tomb Raider and Mortal Kombat have become so popular that it's prompted Hollywood to spin them off onto film and TV. Similarly, great films are being made into games.
Star Wars Galaxies, for instance, is a 2003 MMOG from Sony Online Entertainment based on the smash-hit Star Wars film franchise.
"Star Wars (presents) such a rich, deep universe that it makes it a great playground to make games inside of," said Peter Hirschmann, vice president of Lucas Arts. "Galaxies takes place on various planets in the Star Wars universe. Gamers get to create their own characters and use them to play against other online gamers."
2000s: Professional Gaming
QuakeCon US is an annual volunteer-run gaming convention showcasing the latest technologies and games. Run by id Software, the creators of cult 90s games DOOM, Quake and Wolfenstein 3D, it's an event firmly in the calendar of hardcore gamers from around the world. About 8,000 gamers make the pilgrimage to Dallas, Texas, each year to play with their friends on a giant gaming network, and to compete in a world-class tournament for cash and prizes.
Fans are "traveling from around the world to come and set up their computer to just have fun and party," says award winning gamer, Jonathan Wendel.
2000s: Games for Change
Social impact games like Darfur is Dying and Peacemaker strive to educate people about real world conflicts and events. There are more than 500 of these games in existence, all of them challenging the ethics of traditional games since the goal is to avoid war rather than to make it.
Peacemaker is particularly controversial since it deals with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The gamer can assume a leadership role in either party and the aim is to develop a resolution to the conflict that addresses real political issues.
Darfur is Dying has an equally powerful message. It uses multi-player online gaming to enlighten players on the harsh realities of the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, Africa.
2000s: Cashing in on Virtual Economies
Online economies are becoming a profitable and reliable source of income for gold farmers, the name given to online gamers who make real money through virtual business transactions. The biggest of these is Entropia, an online world with almost half a million members in more than 200 countries, including Romania, the Philippines, Indonesia and Mexico. However, the trend has proliferated most in China, where 100,000 people are known to work in labor farms.
Cory Ondrejka, vice president of Second Life's publisher Linden Lab, says that one couple, both Second Life players, have made enough money on the game to live off their virtual income for six months. "The husband worked on building a giant (virtual) theme park, while the wife, a popular Second Life clothing designer, worked on a (virtual) clothing line."
2000s: Latin America, An Emerging Market
The latest market to be swept up with gaming fever is Latin America. Ubisoft has made major profits here thanks to hits like The Prince of Persia and Tom Clancy's tactical military games Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell. Central and South Americans seem to love 'hack and slash' action adventure games, and Jordan Mechner, the creator of Prince of Persia, has been inspired to create many spin-offs for Ubisoft to satisfy demand. Similarly, the intense strategic missions found in war games have struck a chord and proved so successful that they have even become a useful recruiting tool for the military.
2000s: The Wii
2006 saw the launch of the latest home gaming console from Nintendo. The name is pronounced 'we' to emphasize the fact that everybody - kids, men and women - can use it. Nintendo revolutionized the controls by replacing the traditional multi-buttoned game controller with a handheld 'nunchuck' and a wireless controller with built-in motion detection. Users aren't restricted to jabbing buttons but can, for example, play tennis by swinging the nunchuck as they would a tennis racket. Or they can use it like a surgical knife to play Trauma Center, a game where the player plays an ER surgeon.
2000s: The Gadgets
Since the 90s, gaming has not just been about players, keyboards and buttons. Modern gaming tries to engage all the senses. The Playstation 2's controller has a vibration function and other accessories include the Eye Toy web camera, the DDR dance mat, drums and guitar kits for various games.
In the arcades are games that make you dance, drum, duck and slash to play. The very latest gadgets include the NDS with stylus and microphone and the Wii and PS3 with motion sensors.
In 2007, PC gamers can now enhance their gaming experience with a range of pricey gaming-optimized mice. Combining laser or infrared technology with specially-coated mouse pads, they glide smoothly across your desktop at 2,000 CPI (counts per inch) and deliver precise calculated movements with every click. Serious gamers can even buy game-specific keyboards with key placements that are customized to increase ease of use or speed.
2000s: MMORPGs for Teens
A new trend in MMOGs has recently emerged that targets children and younger teens. These games are very popular in Asia, especially in Taiwan and South Asia. Teens, pre-teens and even girls who have been weaned on Japanese anime acute; and pop culture icons like Hello Kitty are drawn to the cute characters and colorful graphics that are a key feature of games such as Maple Story, N-Age Online and Ragnarok Online.
Unlike hardcore MMORGs such as Everquest and Ultima, these games are easily accessible by novices, without specialist terminology or techniques.
Maple Story is a virtual world that's particularly popular with school kids in Singapore right now. Since children don't have credit cards, they buy game cards from shops for online trading. N-Age Online appeals to the same age group, who love the chance to model themselves like pop stars in this virtual world. In FLYFF, young players can live out their fantasies of flying.
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/video-ga.../timeline.html
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