Skip to main content

A brief history of video games (Part I) - Safwat Saleem

1,214,231 Views

42,063 Questions Answered

TEDEd Animation

Let’s Begin…

Video games are everywhere these days, but where did they actually come from? The history of video games is a complicated story that involves giant computers in science labs, the founder of Chuck E. Cheese and billions of dollars in quarters. Safwat Saleem examines the evolution of the beloved world of gaming.

Additional Resources for you to Explore

Pong Story has a lot more details about how video games evolved over the past few decades:
Golden age of arcade games on Wikipedia has a comprehensive list of games considered to be part of the that group.
Anita Sarkeesian's Tropes vs. Women in Video Games is really informative.
Nintendo first became available in July, 1983. Here's an article written in typical style and wit by the Onion.
Fusajiro Yamauchi was a Japanese entrepreneur who founded the company that is now known as Nintendo Company Limited. Yamauchi lived in Kyoto, Japan
When the Museum of Modern Art's senior curator of architecture and design announced the acquisition of 14 video games in 2012, "all hell broke loose." In this far-ranging, entertaining, and deeply insightful talk, Paola Antonelli explains why she's delighted to challenge preconceived ideas about art and galleries, and describes her burning wish to help establish a broader understanding of design.
For a list of what's new in video games (with criticisms, praises, critiques, and endorsements) see this Reddit thread.
This Wikipedia article is incredibly detailed. "The history of video games goes as far back as the 1940s, when in 1947 Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. and Estle Ray Mann filed a United States patent request for an invention they described as a "cathode ray tube amusement device." Video gaming would not reach mainstream popularity until the 1970s and 1980s, when arcade video games, gaming consoles and home computer games were introduced to the general public. Since then, video gaming has become a popular form of entertainment and a part of modern culture in most parts of the world. There are currently considered to be eight generations of video game consoles, with the seventh and the eighth concurrently ongoing."

Next Section »

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Safwat Saleem
  • Animator Safwat Saleem
  • Narrator Safwat Saleem

More from Inventions that Shape History