CHAPTER 1 THE STORY OF VIDEO GAMES The first arcade video game became available in 1971 It was called Computer Space To play the game people put a coin into a machine that was approximately the size of a refrigerator A circuit board inside the machine controlled the game Players steered a spaceship around a small black and white screen The game was not commercially successful But it opened the door for other arcade machines Many early video games were played on machines at arcades
In 1972 a game called Pong was released Pong was an electronic version of ping pong Players moved a paddle to bounce a ball across the screen The game was easy to play People enjoyed playing against their friends Pong quickly became popular A home version was created a few years later This game helped launch the home video game industry Today more than 2 2 billion people around the world play video games Popular genres include action role playing sports adventure and fighting DID YOU KNOW In the United States approximately 99 percent of boys and 94 percent of girls under age 18 say they play video games regularly
Some people play video games competitively at tournaments However not everyone supports video game playing Experts have found that playing video games can be addictive Some kinds of games are especially controversial For example in first person shooter games players use weapons to kill opponents Some people believe these video games can lead to violent behavior or depression But first person shooters remain popular These games were the best selling genre of video games in 2015
