History of Video Games [6] Golden Age - Years 1973, 1980

Sixth appointment with the history of videogames. Shortly after the success of Pong released in 1972 Nolan Bushnell had become the sole leader of Atari because Ted Dubney, the other founding partner, had jumped ship. In Atari they had also realized that other companies had entered the gaming sector and in a short time they had introduced games similar to Pong into the market. However, Bushnell was sure that his Atari would always be one step ahead of everyone: while companies such as Nutting, Midway, Ramteck offered games that recalled Pong, Atari's creatives brought out games of different genres such as Gotcha in 1973 or Gran Track 10 of 1974.
At Atari, work began on a console code-named Darlene. Bushnell found lenders and for distribution he struck a deal with Sears, a chain of department stores. The home version of Pong was released in December 1975.
In the history of video games, the Italians also proposed their own electronic tennis game. Zanussi, a historic Italian company known for its kitchen appliances, managed to produce and sell a series of consoles inspired by Pong. The most successful model was called Ping or Tronic.
In August 1976, a new machine revolutionized the history of video games: the Channel F. Invented by Jerry Lowson, an engineer with a passion for electronic games, Channel F was the first console to work with interchangeable cartridges in which the play software was inserted in ram memory.
Atari and Mos Tecnology agreed to begin work on a console codenamed Stella. Nolan Bushnell wanted to ensure supremacy by immediately saturating the market: to recover the necessary funds he sold his Atari to Warner Communications.
The Atari 2600 (initially Atari Vcs, acronym for Video Computer System) arrived in stores in September 1977 at a price of $199. It was a historic console with interchangeable cartridges that allowed you to play Atari classics and more: among the most important video games was Space Invaders from 1978.
Space Invaders enemy spaceships were uniquely designed icons. Over the years, the success of the game went beyond gaming and specific merchandising began to be created: mugs, T-shirts, cushions, etc.
Sales of the Atari 2600 went well despite the fact that more performing rival platforms came out in the late 70s and early 80s: Mattel's Intellivision and Coleco's Colecovision.
However, the history of video games teaches us that under the leadership of Warner, Atari over time became a reality that no longer aimed to be innovative. Over the years, some video game programmers also left: some founded development companies that became very famous, such as Activision.
It is no coincidence that after the very early 80s Atari was no longer able to establish itself on the market: the company released home computers such as the Atari ST, and new consoles such as the Atari 5200. But none of these managed to have the same appeal of the Atari 2600.
Nolan Bushnell, once he left Atari, devoted himself to entrepreneurial activities of various types, which ranged from catering to robotics. In 2010 he re-joined the board of directors of Atari while today he deals, together with a group of doctors, with an online game service designed to stimulate memory.
The first computer role-playing games (inspired by the 1974 board game Dungeons and Dragons) also arrived in the 1970s; another video game genre born after the mid-1970s is that of text adventures, such as Zork.
Also in the 70s there were also the first scandals related to violence in video games: the work that caused a sensation is called Death Race, from 1976.
Playlist of this series dedicated to the history of video games:
• Storia dei videogame, ...
Doctor Game and Zanussi: • Doctor Game FILES: Vid...
Atari website: atari.com/
Bushnell's ludic-medical project: anti-aginggames.com/home
Some sources if you want to start delving into some topics of this episode:
www.museumofplay.org/video-ga...
www.primevideo.com/region/eu/...
amzn.eu/d/cpsX0pr
amzn.eu/d/8HvoUuo
Video contributions used:
• Complete Atari Gotcha ...
• Atari Gran Trak 10 (1974)
• Atari Pong Home Consol...
• Fairchild Channel F Co...
• Atari Space Invaders 1...
• 1981 Atari 2600 commer...
• Atari VCS - Official L...
• Atari 50: The Annivers...
• Death Race (1976) - Fi...
#videogamehistory #retrogaming #nobu4games
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[@massimofabrismassimo]

Eccezionale, bravissimo!! Adoro questo genere di video

[@nobu4games]

Grazie! Sul mio canale trovi la playlist con le altre puntate dedicate alla storia dei vg. Buon sabato 👋👋

[@massimofabrismassimo]

Non vedo l'ora di vederle tutte

[@Nullius_in_verba]

Ciao, strano come hai considerato l'età dell'oro a partire dalle origini, di solito viene fatta risalire al 78

[@nobu4games]

@@Nullius_in_verba Ciao, considerato quanto raccontato negli episodi precedenti in questa puntata ho allargato il discorso non solo al settore arcade. Fin dal 1972 l'industria dei videogame ha goduto di una crescita repentina, come mercato e come fermento creativo. Io la vedo così 👋

[@Nullius_in_verba]

@@nobu4games Però perdonami, nel settore home gaming c'era ben poco da poter essere considerato età dell'oro fino al 77 per lo meno, considerando che consisteva per lo più in varianti del ping pong, da cui una piccola crisi di saturazione nel 77. A differenza dell'arcade non vi sono date ufficiali per l'home gaming, il che è deprecabile, per lo più si considera un'età dell'oro delle console a partire al più dal NES, se non addirittura dalla Play e per tutti i restanti anni 90, e per il PC a partire da Doom fino ai primi del 2000..il tutto certo è un tantino arbitrario ma era giusto per fare un confronto. Detto fra noi, mi meraviglio che non si sia fatta maggiore chiarezza nel settore da parte del mainstream giornalistico.