| Year |
Event |
| 1947 |
Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann. file patent #2,455,992 describing
one of the first computer games played on a CRT January 25, 1947. |
| 1952 |
Alexander Sandy Douglas created the first graphical computer game of Tic-Tac-Toe on a EDSAC known s "OXO." |
| 1958 |
William Higinbotham created the first video game called: Tennis for Two. |
| 1962 |
Steve Russell creates "SpaceWar!" and releases it in February 1962. This game is considered the first game intended for computers. |
| 1967 |
Ralph Baer created "Chase", the first video game that was capable of being played on a television. |
| 1969 |
Ralph Baer files for a US Patent on August 21, 1969 that describes playing games on a television and would later be a part of the Magnavox Odyssey. |
| 1971 |
Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney create the first arcade game called "Computer Space." |
| 1972 |
The first video game console called the
Magnavox Odyssey is demonstrated May 24, 1972 and later released by Magnavox and
sold for $100.00 USD. |
| 1972 |
Atari releases Pong, the first commercial video game on November 29, 1972. |
| 1978 |
Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle create the first MUD. |
| 1980 |
Atari becomes the first company to register a Copyright for two computer games: "Asteroids" and "Lunar Landar" on June 17, 1980. |
| 1981 |
Jeff
Dailey, a 19-year old becomes the first person to die from computer gaming after
dying from a heart attack after posting a score of 16,660 on Berzerk. |
| 1984 |
The MUD was known as MAD becomes the first global MUD and runs across BITNET. |
| 1984 |
The
game Tetris is first released in the USSR June 6, 1984. |
| 1986 |
The
Legend of Zelda for the NES is released February 21, 1986. |
| 1993 |
Broderbund releases the computer game Myst is released
September 24, 1993 and later is honored for being one of the most popular, well known, and sold IBM compatible and Apple Macintosh title. |
| 1993 |
The PC game DOOM by Id Software was released December
10, 1993. Today, DOOM is thought of as a turning point for first person shooters and for
computer games in general. |
| 1996 |
The
game Duke Nukem 3D is released January 29, 1996. |
| 1996 |
The
first Tomb Raider game is released November 14, 1996. |
| 1997 |
The
popular massively multiplayer role-playing game (MMORPG) Ultima Online (UO) is
released September 24, 1997. |
| 1998 |
Valve Half-Life a popular FPS game is released November 19, 1998. |
| 1999 |
The
popular massively multiplayer role-playing game (MMORPG) EverQuest (EQ) is
released March 16, 1999. |
| 2000 |
EA releases
The Sims, the best-selling PC game in history February 04, 2000. |
| 2001 |
Microsoft releases the original Xbox game console November 15, 2001. |
| 2004 |
Blizzard's World of Warcraft game, the most popular and
successful MMORPG is released November 23, 2004. |
| 2003 |
The
game Second Life is released June 23, 2003. |
| 2003 |
Valve introduces Steam September 12, 2003. |
| 2005 |
Microsoft releases the Xbox 360, the second generation of their popular game console
November 16, 2005. |
| 2009 |
The Minecraft game is released. |
