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Video games arguably began in 1961, when a group of MIT students created a game called Spacewar on the DEC PDP-1, the very first commercially available interactive computer. The game was competitive: two human players fired missiles at each other while navigating a difficult to control rocket around the screen. It was soon distributed with new DEC computers and traded throughout a very early form of the internet. Its first exposure to the public was in 1962 at the MIT Science Open House.

The first video game that could be played on a common household television set was called Chase. It was developed by early video game innovator Ralph Baer, and featured one dot chasing another around the screen. Baer would later work with the electronics company Magnovox to create the “Odyssey,” the very first home video game console.

In 1971, entrepreneurs Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, seeing commercial potential in video games, created a coin-operated arcade version of Spacewar called Computer Space. Nutting Associates bought the game, hired Bushnell, and manufactured 1,500 units. It was unfortunately not a success because many people found it difficult to play. Deflated but not defeated, Bushnell founded Atari, and developed the company’s first game: Pong (so named because Ping Pong was copyrighted). Made wary by the failure of Computer Space, he placed a Pong cabinet in a small bar in Sunndydale, CA to test whether or not it had market value. The very next day after the experiment began, patrons were lined up outside before the doors were unlocked for opening just so they could play more on the novel invention. From there, Pong cabinets could be seen in bars and bowling alleys across the country, and a home console version was introduced in 1973. The success of Pong sparked the popularity of arcade games, and loose quarters from kids’ pockets would never be safe again.

The “Golden Age of Arcade Games” is believed to have begun some time around 1979-1980. This was a period of innovation which spawned several classics, such as 1942, Galaga, Millipede, and Missile Command, many of which are still enjoyed and found in arcades today.

It is this era which created Pac-Man, the most successful and famous arcade game of all time. The game was first introduced in Japan in the autumn of 1980 where it went by the name Puck-Man, derived from the Japanese phrase pakupaku, meaning to flap one’s mouth open and closed. Its massive success led to the game’s introduction to America. For the American release, Midway decided to change the name from Puck-Man to Pac-Man out of fear that young vandals would scratch out the first letter and replace it with an “F.” Pac-Man’s popularity extends to today. In fact, it was only in 1999 that anyone is recorded with completing a “perfect game,” that is, completing all 255 levels with the maximum possible point score of 3,333,360 without ever being caught by the ghosts.

The Golden Age of Arcade Games ended sometime around the early 90’s, with the rise of popularity of console games. The most popular games produced near the end of the Golden Age were fighting games such as the Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Darkstalkers. In the modern age, arcade games have undergone a second renaissance in the form of trackball, shooting, and driving games which give gamers the kind of experience which are difficult to duplicate on the home console. The most popular trackball games are golfing games like Golden Tee, which has become so well loved that there is an annual tournament with a $25,000 award going to the top virtual golfer. Shooting games such as Ranger Mission 2 PL (6169) has sparked gamer interest with its vast arsenal of virtual weapons and intense 3D graphics. In the realm of driving games, Fast and the Furious - Sitdown (6182) has achieved popularity with adults, while children lean towards the familiarity of the characters in Nicktoons Racing (6204).