History of Classic Video Game Consoles

Let's See How Far Gaming Has Come!

The history of the classic video game is a long and interesting one. Let's take a look at some of the devices that spawned gaming culture as we know it today.

Magnavox Odyssey - 1972

Some believe that the Atari was the first video game because it was the most popular, but the Magnavox Odyssey was the very first true video game. It came out 3 years earlier than the Atari. Designed by Ralph Baer, The Odyssey prototype is affectionately known as the "Brown Box" to video game enthusiasts. Throughout the gaming community, true followers of gaming refer to Ralph Baer as the grandfather of gaming. The Odyssey is extraordinary in that it is a purely analog invention and ran completely on batteries. Most other video game systems or even early video games were purely digital.

Though it was incredible at the time and it marked the beginning of gaming, it lacked the capability to produce audio. The retail version of the Odyssey was released in the month of May, 1972. It wore the crown of gaming consoles until the Atari PONG came out but purely because gamers had no alternative. The company misled the public into believing that the console would only perform on Magnavox televisions. When another alternative finally came, gamers were eager to jump ship.

Atari PONG - 1975

The year was 1973. Atari engineer Harold Lee hatched his idea of the PONG home entertainment system. This was an incredible feat at the time and they all agreed that if they were to pull it off, they'd soon be giants in a fledgeling gaming industry.

In 1975, Atari and Sears got together and decided that Sears would retail the game system under their own brand, Tele-Games. In the first shipment 50,000 units of the game were available for consumer purchase. The system immediately became a hit, and when christmas came in 1975, output had gone up 300%, as Atari began manufacturing 150,000 units. There would now be a longstanding relationship with Atari and Sears, which would thrive after Atari owner Nolan Bushnell would ultimately sell Atari to Warner.

Magnavox Odyssey 100 - 1975