Top Ten Developments for Video Games

The following are the general notes for the RVA panel given at MAGfest 4 on January 14th, 2006.
These are the Top Ten developments over the history of video games that directly and positively affected the industry as a whole.

10 – Sony/Microsoft

            Prior to the third generation of gaming consoles, games were made by software companies and gaming-specific companies. However, when Sony launched the Playstation, it marked a major change in the industry as well as the world’s perspective on the industry.

            Now that a major corporation had entered into the video game world, as both a game designer as well as a hardware manufacturer, it signaled that video games were reaching a wide enough demographic of players, and basically that there was enough money in the industry, to warrant the attention of major companies. The introduction of Microsoft only furthered this effect. Suddenly, a major corporation (and later, two corporations) were present to throw a seemingly-inconceivable amount of money at hardware and software development. In addition to signaling that gaming was becoming a larger and larger part of the entertainment world, it also signaled that the veterans of the video game world were going to have to up their efforts in order to compete.

9 – Nintendo Power

            The first periodical dedicated solely to video games and the video game community, Nintendo Power was the first real source of news for video games. While it was biased towards Nintendo games (obviously), it represented a growing interest in not just games themselves, but knowing about games, knowing about other gamers, and knowing about developments in the gaming community.

8 – Gameboy

            The GameBoy is, without a doubt or question, the most successful and popular video game system of all time. Reports do vary, but they all indicate that the GameBoy, GameBoy Color, and GameBoy Advance have performed better than their home console brethren by leaps and bounds.

            While not a remarkable piece of hardware in and of itself as there were plenty of other portable games (remember those Tiger Electronic games?), the GameBoy was remarkable because it was the first game that allowed interchangeability with a wide library of games, as well as a low cost and a reasonable battery life (which helped to kill some of the more advanced game systems that would follow).

            While superior handheld systems would come (and go) along, the GameBoy’s simplicity, low cost, and repertoire only helped to cement its success.

7 – Tron

            Love it or hate it, Tron was and is a landmark motion picture. Artistic credentials aside, Tron was the first movie that focused on video games and the video game community. Set in the gaming boom of the early 80s, this Nutcracker-for-the-digital-age tale featured a hero gamers could identify with set in a world that gamers were familiar with. The sheer fact that this movie was made was evidence that gaming was coming into its own and was reaching to a progressively broader audience and had a wider appeal.

6 – Tetris/DDR/Nintendogs

            What do these three games all have in common, you might ask. Well, all three are played by non-gamers. The three games represent the game that opened the doors of video games to non-gamers. Almost literally, just about everybody has played Tetris (in some form or another). DDR brought video games to non-gamers that just wanted something fun to do and helped thousands of white people across the country learn at least some rudimentary dance moves. Sales of Nintendogs alone had secured the DS’ presence as a console powerhouse, while many of those sales were to non-gamers (an interesting statistic is the number of DS and Nintendog sales to elderly individuals that have never played a video game before).

            These three games appealed to the non-gaming demographic, a group that many gaming companies would love to reach out to. Their (usually) simple gameplay and instant appeal helped to move gaming units as well as familiarize non-gamers with some of the fundamentals of gaming. Acting as a proverbial gateway drug, it was easier to get someone who had played Tetris or DDR to give other games a try, sometimes if only to warrant the purchase of the system needed to play the game.

5 – Memory Cards

            While technological developments have been left out of this list, Memory Cards are specific enough to video games to be included. The capacity for games to interact with each other is a powerful tool, one that we’re only now beginning to see the possibilities of. For years, there was a vested interest in the success of a previous game to have an affect on a sequel. Now, that’s possible. Through Memory Cards, it is possible for even minute details to be transferred from one game to another and for the progress of one game to affect the gameplay of another.

            While the true possibilities are just beginning to be realized, the potential alone is both remarkable and mind-boggling.

4 – G4 TV

            Like Tron and Nintendo Power, G4 was and is a yardstick in the video game community, signaling the presence of sufficient interest in gaming, the gaming community, and all-things gaming, to warrant the creation of a television network. Love or hate the network, if you have basic cable, it is now possible to get video game news fed into your home at just about any hour of the day right through your TV. This means advertising dollars, production value, so many things that signal the maturation of gaming and the gaming community as well as a growing interest in all-things gaming.

3 – The Sega/Nintendo War

            To many, this era marked the time of the greatest games. This was the time when the franchises that we have come to know and love were forged. From the launch of the Sega Genesis through the final Super Nintendo game made, this period of gaming is considered a golden age in gaming.

            By having two powerhouse gaming developers constantly running at each other, it became necessary to constantly up the ante on the quality of the games available. While other game consoles would come and go, these two stayed at it, benefiting and suffering from the developments and improvements of the other.

            This time also saw the real splintering of gamers, divided down the line of Nintendo versus Sega. Preferences and styles became more cemented as the two consoles battled against each other, all while gamers sat back and watched as the technological and entertainment marvels were unveiled.

2 – ESRB

            The Electronic Software Ratings Board was created after political pressure regarding the growing maturity of themes in games. It is unique, however, from other governing bodies in that it was A) created voluntarily and B) created by the industry that would be regulated by it.

            Many feel that the ESRB’s ratings are superior to their comparable ratings used for movies, giving gamers a clearer perspective of what to expect from their purchases. The creation of a system of regulation was yet another sign of the maturation of gaming, while the nature of the system’s creation (stemming from congressional hearings) providing gaming with a seemingly-endless amount of coverage and exposure, which only helped to put video games into the minds of viewers across the US.

1 – Consoles

            Prior to the development of the The Fairchild VES in 1976, all games were played on either single-use machines (that is, no games could be added) or computers. But with the development of interchangable cartriges, the consoles that we know and love became possible.

            While the names of the very first gaming consoles may not be familiar, many know the names of the Atari 2600 and later the Nintendo and Sega Genesis. Consoles offered a uniquely different experience from playing on a computer for many reasons. The first, and perhaps most importantly, was that they used the television. It was easier to understand the purchase of the video game systems as they seemed to have more in common with the VCR or stereo than they did with home computers. The fact that they had no monitor would help to keep the cost down.

            Also, consoles offered uniformity. With computer games, the issue of compatability was always present. Would this video card work with this game? Even if it had the processing power, did it have the color-capacity? Would this sound card work? Did this keyboard have enough buttons? What about memory? Processing speed?

But with consoles, everything was uniform for the developers. This was the processing power, the graphics card, the sound card, the controler, you had to work with. With this also, gamers could purchase a game and not have to worry about whether or not they would be able to play it.

            Through the development of consoles, many of the traits that we associate with gaming became possible and recognizable, while consoles themselves opened up gaming from being a ‘computer thing’ into what would later become a cultural presence.