IELTS 7+ Cấp Tốc & Giao tiếp

Video games may seem impossible to completely defeat. No matter how high a player’s score becomes, the person usually gets tired or eventually makes a mistake. However, millions of people continue playing them. Modern electronic technology has allowed game designers to turn simple screens into exciting game worlds at a relatively low cost. From these simple beginnings, video games developed into a huge global business.

The history of video games can be traced back to 1962. A graduate student at MIT showed a science-fiction game called Spacewar, which was played on a large mainframe computer and screen. The game immediately became popular among computer enthusiasts. In 1968, another important development took place when engineers created a console that could connect to an ordinary television.

In the early 1970s, better technology made the adaptation of Spacewar into a coin-operated machine economically possible. An engineer named Bushnell and his team tried to build such a machine in a small bedroom workshop, but they failed. Instead, they created a simple tennis-style game called Pong. Pong quickly became extremely popular and was the first successful coin-operated video game.

Companies soon began selling Pong-style games for people to play at home. At first, customers were excited, but their interest did not continue for long. Prices fell, companies lost money, and many early manufacturers left the industry. Bushnell’s company, Atari, also experienced financial problems. The company was growing quickly but needed more money and better management. In 1976, Atari’s founders sold their part of the company.

At this time, some people thought video games were only a short-lived fashion. However, a Japanese company called Taito changed this idea when it introduced Space Invaders. Its colourful graphics looked very different from earlier black-and-white games, and it quickly attracted public attention. Many new games followed. One of the most important was Pac-Man, released in 1980. It was especially important because females also began to show interest in video games.

Technology continued to improve during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Faster microprocessors and larger computer memories allowed designers to create better sound and visual effects. These developments were also used in home video consoles. People could now play good versions of their favourite arcade games at home, so programmable consoles began to sell in large numbers.

This change greatly helped Atari. The company had not made a profit during its first three years, but by the end of 1979 it had become successful. Atari either created its own games or bought permission to produce popular arcade games for home use. Eventually, it controlled about 80 percent of the worldwide home video game market.

However, this success did not continue forever. By late 1982, public interest in arcade games had started to slow down. There were also fewer successful new arcade games that Atari could turn into home versions. At the same time, the market became flooded with illegal software. The software industry remained badly organised for several years. By the late 1980s, however, it had become more organised, in some ways similar to the book publishing industry.

The game console market also had serious problems until 1986. In that year, the Japanese company Nintendo introduced a more advanced and easier-to-use console. Nintendo carefully controlled the development and marketing of its games. As a result, it helped revive the video game market and later controlled up to 80 percent of it. There was little serious competition until the early 1990s.

Nintendo became extremely profitable. By the early 1990s, its yearly operating profits had reached more than $1 billion. By 1999, however, the market had changed again. Sales of video game hardware and software were led by PlayStation, and total sales reached around $7 billion, similar to the amount of money earned by US cinemas.

Video games have continued to change since then. Technology, machines, and game styles may be different, but successful games still share an important quality. They are usually simple enough for beginners to understand, but interesting and challenging enough that players may never fully master them.