History of Video Games

Descriptions and analysis of developments and events that significantly impacted video game creation and playing.

Resources in this category:

Arcade History
http://www.arcade-history.com/

A searchable, browsable database cataloging coin-operated games of all kinds, including arcade video games, pinball, slot machines. More popular entries contain images from the games, trivia, and detailed information about release history and hardware. Users can submit additional information or new game entries, and can leave comments on the games. There is also a timeline of arcade game history and user forums.

Atari Age
http://www.atariage.com/

Do you love Atari? Check out this comprehensive site for Atari systems. Atari Age is a history, news, information, and community site for all things Atari - including updates on conferences, user-made games for old systems, resources for building your own games, newsletters, reference, trivia, collecting info, forums, and more.

Atari Archives
http://www.atariarchives.org/

Archive of full-text versions of classic computing books on Atari, programming languages, graphics, machine language, and more. You can also find newsletter and newsgroup archives, and download old and new 8-bit software. Everything provided with permission of copyright holders.

The Atari Museum
http://www.atarimuseum.com/mainmenu/mainmenu.html

Multimedia museum on everything Atari - video games, computing, and the company itself. Archive of news stories about Atari, company memos and press releases, history of consoles and computers, and references to further reading online and offline.

Classic Computer Magazine Archive
http://www.atarimagazines.com/

Archive of classic computer magazines from the 1970s-1990s. View full text and scans on topics including Atari, Tandy, and Commodore computers, single-board computers, and video games. Includes a short history of the magazines. Magazines are reproduced with permission of the copyright holders.

Digital Press - The Video Game Database
http://www.digitpress.com/

For collectors and fans of classic games. This site provides a collector's guide and online rarity guide, a place to submit photos of your collection, plus fun features like a monthly mystery game contest (with prize!), easter egg guide, reviews, multimedia, forums, and news feeds.

The Dot Eaters
http://www.thedoteaters.com/

Comprehensive history of early video games from the pre-Atari age, through arcade and console games, and covering early online games like Sierra Online and Ultima. Lots of biographical information, references to other sites with more info, images, and videos of early games.

The Edsac Simulator
http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/~edsac/

Cambridge University's EDSAC was "the world's first stored-program computer to operate a regular computing service." This downloadable simulator mimics the computer as it existed in 1949-1951 and includes programs from the original EDSAC, including games. There is also a photo gallery of the original EDSAC.

Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Video and Computer Game Programmers
http://www.dadgum.com/halcyon/

Interviews with game programming legends conducted in 1997, collected and distributed as a free book. The site retains the same look and feel as the original 1997 disk. Provides suggestions about where to start reading based on your interests, and includes an introduction by John Romero.

The History of Computing Project
http://www.thocp.net/index.html

Comprehensive account of computing history. Includes biographies of key figures, and information about computing companies, hardware, software, and a history of video and computer games. You can also view a timeline of computing history, and access a list of historic papers available online in full text.

Intellivision Lives
http://www.intellivisionlives.com/

Site run by some original Intellivision designers and programmers, the Blue Sky Rangers. Includes history and a timeline (with personal stories and photos from the development of the Intellivision), biographies, news, downloads, and technical support for your console.

The LucasArts Museum
http://lucasarts.vintagegaming.org/

Digital archive of LucasArts games from 1986 to the present, with a focus on information for collectors. Each edition of a game is listed separately by country of release, and provides release info, indication of availability on the used market, and game images. Includes forums for collectors and links to more LucasArts info.

Pong-Story: the Site of the First Video Game
http://www.pong-story.com/

Detailed early history of video games, including the popular Pong game. Contains images of many different vintage video game systems, information about games and schematics, and articles about aspects of video game history in the USA and Europe.

Sega-16
http://www.sega-16.com/

"The complete online resource for everything Genesis/Mega-Drive." Historical archive with game reviews, master lists of all games for Sega Genesis/CD/32X systems, vintage ads and game videos, reader roundtable, song lyrics, and forums.

The Video Game Memorabilia Museum
http://www.videogamemm.com/

Virtual museum dedicated to video game merchandise and swag of all kinds. You can find detailed information and photos of stuffed animals, toys, and other memorabilia organized by game character or franchise, and check for fakes. Includes a community area where you can upload photos of your own collection and talk to other collectors.

The Video Game Revolution
http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/index.html

Companion site to the PBS documentary on video games and their history. Here, you can learn about video game history via an interactive timeline, learn about video game ratings, play classic games online and test your game knowledge with quizzes, find out about how games are made, and check out lists of the best and worst games of all time.