Timeline

Gaming history from Spacewar! to the PS2 era — a chronological view

1958
Tennis for Two
William Higinbotham creates one of the first interactive electronic games on an oscilloscope at Brookhaven National Laboratory.
1962
Spacewar!
MIT hackers create Spacewar!, the first widely influential video game, played on the PDP-1 mainframe.
1971
Computer Space
Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney launch Computer Space — the first commercially sold coin-operated video game.
1972
Pong & Atari
Atari is founded. Pong, the first commercially successful arcade game, launches and becomes a cultural phenomenon.
1975
Home Pong
Atari releases Home Pong, one of the first home video game consoles, selling 150,000 units through Sears.
1977
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 launches, establishing the ROM cartridge as the standard for home consoles. Apple II also launches.
1978
Space Invaders
Taito's Space Invaders becomes a cultural phenomenon, causing a shortage of 100-yen coins in Japan.
1979
Activision Founded
Four Atari programmers leave to found Activision — the first independent third-party game publisher.
1980
Pac-Man
Namco's Pac-Man becomes the highest-grossing arcade game ever. Donkey Kong launches, introducing Mario.
1981
Donkey Kong & IBM PC
Donkey Kong launches in arcades. IBM releases the IBM PC, defining PC gaming for a decade.
1982
Golden Age Peak
US arcade revenue hits $8 billion. The Commodore 64 launches. The ZX Spectrum launches in the UK.
1983
The Great Crash
The North American video game market collapses. Atari's disastrous E.T. port is emblematic of the oversaturation crisis.
1984
Tetris
Alexey Pajitnov creates Tetris in the Soviet Union. Apple Macintosh launches. EA is founded by Trip Hawkins.
1985
NES & Super Mario Bros.
Nintendo launches the NES in North America alongside Super Mario Bros., reviving the US game industry.
1986
Zelda & Sega
The Legend of Zelda launches. Sega releases the Master System. Nintendo sells 1.1 million NES units in North America.
1987
Final Fantasy & Metal Gear
Square launches Final Fantasy and Konami launches Metal Gear — two franchises that define the next two decades.
1988
Mega Drive & Game Boy
Sega launches the Mega Drive (Genesis) in Japan. Nintendo's Game Boy launches the following year with Tetris.
1989
Game Boy
Nintendo's Game Boy launches with Tetris, selling 1 million units in the first week in the US alone.
1990
SNES
Super Nintendo launches in Japan. Super Mario World ships with the system. Sonic the Hedgehog launches on Mega Drive.
1991
Sonic & Street Fighter II
Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog outsells Mario. Street Fighter II becomes the highest-grossing arcade game of the era.
1992
Mortal Kombat & SEGA CD
Mortal Kombat's gore controversy leads directly to the creation of the ESRB content rating system.
1993
Doom
id Software releases Doom as shareware — it reaches more PCs than Microsoft Windows 95 in its first two years.
1994
PlayStation & 32-bit Era
Sony enters gaming with the PlayStation. Donkey Kong Country demonstrates pre-rendered 3D graphics on SNES.
1995
PlayStation Launches Globally
PlayStation launches in the US and Europe. Sega Saturn also launches but loses the race. Nintendo 64 is announced.
1996
N64 & Super Mario 64
Nintendo 64 launches with Super Mario 64 — widely considered the template for all 3D platformers.
1997
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII on PlayStation brings JRPGs to a Western mainstream audience. GoldenEye 007 defines console FPS.
1998
Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time launches to universal perfect scores, setting records that stood for years.
1999
Dreamcast
Sega's Dreamcast launches — ahead of its time with online play and an internal memory card. Sega's last console.
2001
PS2 & GameCube & Xbox
PlayStation 2 sells 150 million lifetime units. Nintendo releases GameCube. Microsoft enters gaming with Xbox.