The Beginning: 1947 -1960
Contrary to what most people may believe, the famous Atari 2600 game, Pong, is not the first video game ever made. Such a point is debatable, since that all depends on what a person's definition of a video game is, but the idea of such an interactive medium predates Pong by decades.
In 1947, a pair of programmers, Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. and Estle Ray Mann filed a US patent request for something that they called a 'cathode ray tube amusement device'. It was essentially a machine with two knobs that allowed players to throw 'air-bombs' at an enemy airplane. However, they were not the only ones looking to make such interactive mediums.
In 1951, Ralph Baer while manufacturing televisions, came up with the idea of using the lights and patterns he worked with for more than simple calibration. He wanted to let the audience manipulate where those lights appear on their TV. So, he and a select group of people began an experiment to create the first TV based 'video game'. This would soon create two of the very first TV-manipulated video games, one of which was bought by Magnavox, the creator of the very first home video game console, The Odyssey, but that will be explained in further detail later.
In 1958, Professor William Higinbothom created one of the first two-player games, Tennis for Two, using an oscilloscope and analog controller.
Dozens of other similar games were created, which served to pave the way for more ideas, more experiments, and more innovation. It was only a matter of time before this idea of an interactive medium became a hit with the public.
In 1947, a pair of programmers, Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. and Estle Ray Mann filed a US patent request for something that they called a 'cathode ray tube amusement device'. It was essentially a machine with two knobs that allowed players to throw 'air-bombs' at an enemy airplane. However, they were not the only ones looking to make such interactive mediums.
In 1951, Ralph Baer while manufacturing televisions, came up with the idea of using the lights and patterns he worked with for more than simple calibration. He wanted to let the audience manipulate where those lights appear on their TV. So, he and a select group of people began an experiment to create the first TV based 'video game'. This would soon create two of the very first TV-manipulated video games, one of which was bought by Magnavox, the creator of the very first home video game console, The Odyssey, but that will be explained in further detail later.
In 1958, Professor William Higinbothom created one of the first two-player games, Tennis for Two, using an oscilloscope and analog controller.
Dozens of other similar games were created, which served to pave the way for more ideas, more experiments, and more innovation. It was only a matter of time before this idea of an interactive medium became a hit with the public.