there was a time when video games were
only for programmers
then just for serious gamers now games
are
everywhere even on our phones how did
video games go from so niche to
completely mainstream
this is our story hello
this is your story welcome to watch
mojo's series how geek culture became
pop culture
once niche and ridiculed geek culture
has exploded into the mainstream
how did so much change
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join us as we look at how pulp fiction
comics
video games anime and nerd heroes became
pop culture staples
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it actually took a long time for video
games to even catch the public's
interest
the earliest games were created by
computer scientists at universities
it wasn't until mit researchers and
students created space war in 1962
that a game was played on more than one
terminal space war
pushed the limits of the pdp-1's
graphics and real-time capability
even then the computers that ran space
war weighed sixteen hundred pounds
not something the average joe could use
however
space war did inspire the creation of
the first ever commercial arcade video
game
computer space its creators nolan
bushnell and ted dabney went on to found
atari in 1972
and released the legendary pong pong
was a commercial success both in a coin
operated arcade cabinet
and eventually in home console form
competitors piled in
and the video game industry was born
invented by atari
now at last you can play at home atari
found success
again with games like breakout but it
was the 1978 game space invaders that
took the popularity of arcade games to
the next level
japanese designer tomohiro nishikado was
inspired partly by the sci-fi
renaissance caused by star wars
while pong turned a tidy prophet space
invaders was a cultural phenomenon
appearing in restaurants movie theaters
bowling alleys and gas stations
everywhere
showing everyone just what these spiffy
new video games were all about
who's mad max better than you its appeal
included the fact that it could record
high scores
allowing friends to compete not only did
it establish the shoot-'em-up genre
its success also helped usher in what's
now known as the golden era of arcade
games
in the 80s home video consoles also
began to take off
thanks in no small part to the atari
2600
which featured a home version of space
invaders and
interchangeable cartridges that's right
it could play
more than one game you can get nine
cartridges
187 games welcome to the future
around the same time disgruntled atari
employees founded their
own company activision the first ever
third party developer for games
of course video games were still pretty
niche and wouldn't you know it
just as they began to find wings came
disaster
the video game crash of 1983.
water communications said today that its
once booming atari business lost
another 180 million dollars in the third
quarter
for total losses this year of more than
half a billion dollars
the console market had become
oversaturated personal computers were
taking a slice of the pie
and activision wannabes were producing
low quality games
capping it off was the legendary misfire
that was atari's e.t the
extraterrestrial
a game so bad that atari buried unsold
cartridges in a new mexico landfill
as far as the public was concerned the
era of video games was over
who could possibly clean out the pipes
and restart the system
hello in 1985 japanese company nintendo
decided to bring their hit console
famicom or family computer to the us
but the industry was still reeling from
the crash so instead of marketing it as
a console
they marketed it as a toy it was given a
square look resembling a vcr and
bundled with a light gun or zapper and
an interactive robot
the first to play with rob the
extraordinary video robot
the best-selling title of this new
entertainment system
was a little game called super mario
brothers to this day
super mario brothers is regarded as
arguably the most
influential game of all time it wasn't
just a fun and engaging adventure
it wrote the book on modern game design
with mario in its corner
the nes single-handedly revitalized the
video game industry
becoming the talk of schoolyards
everywhere mario
quickly became not only nintendo's
mascot but the face of video games
their competitor sega wouldn't catch up
until several years later
with the help of a certain speedy
hedgehog
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with the crash in mind nintendo
introduced the nintendo seal of quality
to keep third party games up to a high
standard
nintendo also expanded into a new
untapped market
portable systems for short pickup and
play sessions in 1989
they released the game boy bundling it
with a game out of the soviet union
tetris this puzzle game by alexei
pagetnoff was simple to understand
but challenging to master appealing to a
wide audience
and having it on a portable system made
it ideal for kids to take to school
where they could challenge their friends
to beat their high scores
the fact that it wasn't built around
cute or cartoony characters drew in
adults too
and so as we transitioned into the 90s
games were no longer just for kids
i'm sorry sir your flight's been delayed
cool in a roundabout way this adult
appeal grew
thanks to the fallout from a new sort of
game in arcades one-on-one fighting
games
1992 street fighter 2 featured a diverse
set of characters from around the world
though the standout was chun-li whose
popularity paved the way for future
female video game protagonists
however street fighter 2 also led to the
rise of popular competitor mortal kombat
which took a much more bloody approach
the shock of seeing such scenes got
gamers talking
but also led to moral panic among
parents
and so video games found themselves in
front of the united states senate
for hearings on whether they were
suitable for children
this newfound infamy had an upside the
congressional hearings led to the
establishment of a rating system for
video games
allowing parents to make informed
decisions while also permitting games to
tackle mature themes within certain
ratings
video games had grown up the
entertainment software rating board or
esrb
has proven controversial but it also
opened the floodgates
no longer were games shackled to being
kid-friendly or stigmatized as just for
kids
leading to the emergence of new
household names and with the rise of
mature games came consoles designed for
that audience
in 1994 sony released their playstation
a console using cd-roms which allowed
far more storage space
while other manufacturers also switched
from cartridges playstation stood tall
unleashing a wave of cinematic games
using full motion video that started
blurring the line between games and
movies
this also allowed them to tap into other
markets gran turismo brought in racing
fans
fifa and madden started to look like the
actual sports they were based on
tomb raider established a female
character in the lead role and
horror fans found the likes of resident
evil and silent hill to get spooked by
some of these titles were also available
on pc and
sega saturn in the 2000s the industry
continued to expand to cover diverse
interests
mario kart and halo became the biggest
games at university dorm room party
nights
grand theft auto 3 showed that it was
possible to explore entire cities inside
of games
call of duty 4 modern warfare released
at the controversial height of the iraq
war
showed that video games could be
grounded in realism
and touch on contemporary themes and the
nintendo wii
broke down even more audience barriers
as casual games became a popular
activity for the whole family
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thanks to online gaming and streaming
there's also been a major shift in how
gaming is perceived as a hobby
it's no longer a solo activity or even
just for local co-op
lan parties have been replaced by online
multiplayer but what's more
games have become a spectator affair
online streaming has seen the
popularization of esports
while platforms like youtube and twitch
allow people to sit back and watch
rather than play
the personalities behind video game
content have become bona fide
celebrities wait you need to eat bro
bro you need to eat in fact let's play
videos have played a significant role in
youtube's history
in turn youtube helped popularize the
best-selling video game of all time
minecraft these online platforms allow
fans to connect like never before
as they exchange content and duke it out
in the comments
however arguably the biggest shake-up
over the last few decades
has come with the rise of mobile devices
the first mobile game was actually
tetris back in 1994
snake followed soon after around the
same time
graphing calculators had 90s kids all
pretending to be very hard at work in
their math classes
while playing games like lemmings doom
and dope wars
yeah teachers weren't too happy about
that last one but this was really just
the smallest glimpse of what was to come
following the launch of the iphone in
2007 touchscreen smartphones and tablets
changed everything suddenly games were
more accessible than ever
in your pocket whenever you wanted
casual games had already experienced a
boom online
thanks to sites like gamesville and
miniclip social networks like facebook
gave them an added boost
damn you farmville but mobile devices
like smartphones and tablets made them
absolutely ubiquitous
candy crush has been downloaded 1
billion times
angry birds 300 million sure serious
gamers might turn up their noses but
consider this
the first casual game was arguably
pac-man and increasingly
mobile platforms are becoming home to
more complex games
some port it over and some knew the
point is games
are now omnipresent in parallel to those
changes the portrayal of gamers and
games on screen has undergone its own
evolution
slowly pushing back against the
stereotype of gamers as lazy
socially awkward losers living in their
parents basement gamer heroes save the
world
and video game characters are well
they're rock
actually they've been the rock more than
once must be my lucky day
it's been a steeper uphill battle for
movie adaptations
but there is hope
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today the gaming industry is worth more
than the film and music industry
combined
while games have had breakout success
stories what's really made them a pop
culture mainstay is how their appeal has
diversified over the years
this has proven that video games can be
for anyone whether you play on a
high-end gaming pc
just want to kill some time on your
phone or something in between
it's been a long journey for games and
gamers but the pixels of your have
become the future of entertainment
make sure to tune in for our next
episode of how geek culture became pop
culture
where we'll be talking anime
you