It didn’t just revolutionize a franchise - it reshaped the entire video game industry, much like Super Mario Bros. had done more than a decade earlier. Just as the 1985 NES classic defined the blueprint for side-scrolling platformers, Super Mario 64 established the...

This masterpiece was one of the largest games ever made back in 1982. Think about this: 255 screens of gaming, all packed in 4 KB. The file size of Activision’s breakout title, Pitfall! (1982), was 4 KB. Every copy sold of this game would total 15.25 GB (4 million...

..swimming against a 1980 tide of space shooters and war games. “Around the time that we launched Pac-Man, video arcades were filled with games where you shoot aliens… it was for men,” he recalled, speaking to WIRED magazine.. “If women and couples were going to come...

On the surface, it’s straightforward: one ship, descending waves of alien insects, and a single fire button… but underneath that simplicity is a rhythm that feels almost musical. The swooping enemy patterns, the slight delay on your shots, and that delicious risk of...

Donkey Kong not only started a trend with platform games back then, but it also created a vast universe of games based on the two main characters from the game (Donkey Kong and Mario, then known as Jumpman). I remember seeing this game for the very first time in the...

I can still remember my Atari 800.  The screen went that deep shade of blue, and the cursor appeared, waiting for me to type something… No joystick… No sprites… Just text. Then these words appeared: “You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a...

A more adventured had forgone the“first”Atari in 2600 video is honored game history.to have It is the first adventure-type game on a console, and it is also considered the first action-adventure game (inspired by the text-only adventure game Colossal Cave Adventure)....

In 1979, Ken Williams was busy starting up his new business software company, On-Line Systems; years later, this company would be better known as Sierra Online. His wife, Roberta, had her own ambitions, often playing text adventure computer games like Colossal Cave or...

I discovered Space Invaders in 1978,Space was visiting my aunt and cousins in McGregor, Texas (outside of Waco), a town of barely over 2,000 people. It was in a dingy, seedy arcade and was very imposing. I’d already played my share of pinball and electromechanical...

Beating our educations had taken upon moving from New York (Catholic schooling, Nuns who also acted as Wardens, Mandatory Mass every Friday Morning) to California (“Deliverance” music, lots of “twins”, English? “Wash” pronounced as “Warsh”). The first thing he brought...

Pong! was my very first experience with Atari Home Pong released in 1975. Not only was I hooked on the game, but so was my dad, my uncle, and just about everyone in my family. It was easy to play, but the game really shined when we were playing against each other. Of...

As the “father of videogame history,” I’m often asked about what I consider the most influential of all videogames. Without any hesitation, I’ll always respond with the simplest game imaginable. Although it consisted of only three spots, no sound, and no scoring,...