History of Video Games 1980's-1990's

In 1981 ‘Donkey Kong’ and the character “Mario” is introduced which proved to be a successful game from industry giant Miyamoto. Rival company Nintendo releases 8-bit system in 1984 called ‘The Famicom’ home console which becomes popular with gamers. Shortly after, in 1985 ‘Tetris’ is developed by mathematician Alexey Pajitnov. The game has a simple aim of connecting blocks with various levels and this spark of genius gave ‘Tetris’ an addictive quality to it. NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) is released in 1986 and the developed impressive qualities become popular with American gamers.

A different approach was considered for game play with ‘Sim City’ by the publisher Will Wright in 1989. This game allows users to create and run a city. By 1991, ‘Street Fighter II’ becomes a big success with gamers due to its breakthrough in the fighting genre from its smooth animation and quick complex controls which is a significant development and a step forward to realism and maintaining the gamers’ attention while playing the game.

In 1992, ‘Mortal Kombat’ used digitalized images of real actors; however controversy arose over with the contents of bloody violence hence leading to the introduction of age ratings for games in 1994. Also, Sony releases Playstation that played games from CD ROMs. In 1996, the Nintendo 64 was launched. Unlike Sony’s Playstation, the console had lack of CD technology but it offered 3D games such as Mario 64. This introduction of 3D games has allowed the leap forward and development of amazingly realistic 3D games we see today.

By 1998 Nintendo releases virtual pets and the Sega Dreamcast was released in 1999 with a built in 56 Kbps modem that allowed online play. Popular Science magazine stated that the Sega Dreamcast is “one of the most important and innovative product of 1999.” This advance in technology allowed gamers to play with people around the world.

Between 1980 and 1990, the industry grew into the home with consoles. By the end of this period, the companies in the gaming industry continued to grow and meet consumer demands by introducing 3D games and online game playing along with improvements in technology.

‘Street Fighter’ and ‘Tekken 3’ was definitely the highlight of gaming in my childhood; I don’t remember playing better quality and more addictive games.