History of Home Video Console Gaming in the UK
Pre-Generation ONE (Around the World)
Milton Bradley- (United States) Founded 1860
Manufacturer of playing cards and board games
Nintendo- (Japan) Founded 23rd September 1889
Produced 'Hanafuda' (Flower Cards) Japanese playing cards
Philips- (Netherlands) Founded 1891
Electronics Company started off manufacturing light bulbs.
By 1949 were manufacturing television sets
Sears- (United States) Founded in 1893
Chain of department stores
Waddingtons- (United Kingdom) Founded 1899
Printing firm for theatres, By 1922 publisher of playing cards and board games
Circa 1900- Coin operated entertainment machines (such as peep-shows & fortune tellers) appear at fairgrounds and on piers etc.
The term "Penny Arcade" is coined around 1905.
Magnavox- (United States) Founded 1917
Electronics company started off manufacturing loud-speakers and PA systems. Then from the 50's, radios and televisions.
Coleco- (United States) Founded 29th February 1932
Initially supplied leather to shoe repairers
Mattel- (United States) Founded January 1945
Entertainment and toy manufacturing company
(Ralph H. Baer born in Germany on 8th March 1922)
Fairchild- (United States) Founded 1927
Research and development company designing photography equipment
25th August 1950 (Canada) "Bertie the Brain" (single player) a version of naughts and crosses (tic-tac-toe) was built by Josef Kates as an exhibit for the Canadian National Exhibition. It was a four meter tall computer that filled a room. Despite seeing huge interest from the people attending the exhibition, who would queue up for their turn, Bertie was deemed nothing more than a curiosity and subsequently dismantled.
1951 Ralph H. Baer, while working at Loral (US electronics company) believes there could be a way to play games on television sets but Loral do not consider it an idea worthy of any interest or investment.
Binatone- (United Kingdom) Founded 1958
Importer, distributor and subsequent manufacturer of consumer electronics
18th October 1958 (United States) "Tennis for Two", (two player) a tennis game played on an oscilloscope which had been designed by William Higinbotham as an exhibit for the Brookhaven National Laboratory's annual public exhibition.
Sega- (Japan) Founded 3rd June 1960
Importer and manufacturer of coin-operated arcade/slot machines
1962 (United States) Harvord and MIT employees Martin Graetz, Steve Russell, and Wayne Wiitanen programmed the game "Spacewar!" (two players) on the research institutes PDP-1 minicomputer.
1966 Ralph H. Baer, now working for Sanders Associates (US) obtains approval and funding to explore and develop his unique idea of a machine to play games on a TV set.
1971 (United States) inspired by Spacewar! and the 1900's penny arcade fairground machines Bill Pitts and Hugh Tuck, whilst studying at Stanford University, programmed "Galaxy Game" on a PDP-1 microcomputer, which they built within a cabinet that was coin operated, as a leisure machine for students at Stanford. Around the same time Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney were programming a game they called "Computer Space". Following the pairs meeting "Computer Space" was installed within a coin-operated cabinet and became the first commercially sold coin-operated video game (arcade video game) although it was only really situated at student campuses having been unpopular at bars and Arcades.
1971 (united States) Ralph H. Bear, having finally built his prototype console "The Brown Box" that played a number of video games on a TV set, successfully licensed the product to Magnavox.
1972 (United States) Saw both:
The BIRTH of Home Video Gaming Console Market and the true DAWN of the Video Arcade
24th May 1972 (United States) Magnavox announced the arrival of "the new electronic game of the future" the "Magnavox Odyssey". which was the FIRST HOME VIDEO GAME CONSOLE. The Console was exhibited at the Burlingame Convention, California. Nolan Bushnell saw the Tennis game in action and Nolan tasked Allan Alcom with programming a computerised version of the Tennis Game.
Atari- (United States) Founded 1972
(Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney)
Manufacture of arcade video games
5th August 1972 (United States) The worlds first home video game console - The Magnavox Odyssey - is released for sale at $99.99 or $50 if purchased with a Magnavox TV set.
November 1972 (United States) Atari release "PONG" the second commercially available arcade video game which is Allan Alcom's computer programmed version of the Magnavox Odyssey's "Tennis Game" as a coin-operated game - and was the first successful arcade video game popular to the general public at large.
13th November 1972 (United Kingdom) Argos Ltd. is founded by the owner of Green Shield Stamps, when he came up with the idea that people could purchase goods from his "Green Shield Gift House" with cash rather than the saving of stamps. The original Green Shield Stamps catalogue shops where re-branded as Argos from July 1973.
Argos Ltd. is one of the UK's largest general merchandise retailers, operating both in stores and online, consistently selling home video consoles within it's home electronic and entertainment section.
1973 (United Kingdom)
The home video game console industry reaches the United Kingdom
