International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

A game is a voluntary activity with rules and some sought-after outcome. A video game is a game played on some electronic device. Playing video games is not necessarily fun all the time. However, succeeding at the challenge of learning the skills to master a game is rewarding. The computer game industry developed quickly and flourished. Computer or video games have been around since at least 1962 when MIT student Steve Russell programmed Spacewar! There was no keyboard, no joystick, and no sound; instead you toggled built-in switches to move the rocket ships. Ten years later, Nolan Bushnell, Atari founder, successfully introduced a version of Pong (electronic Ping-Pong). The first home console units were introduced in the 1970s and the well-known arcade game PacMan was introduced in 1980, followed by Donkey Kong in 1981 (→  Digital Media, History of ). In 2005, the industry saw more than US$7 billion in sales. Almost 85 percent of the games sold were rated T for Teen or E for Everyone. Puzzle, board, card, or trivia games are played most often. The typical player is no longer a teenage boy playing violent shooter games. In 2005, the average age of video game players was 33; almost 40 percent are women and 25 percent of game players were 50 or older. Cable television is a good place to start looking for examples of how video games have become a part of our culture. G4, a channel ... log in or subscribe to read full text