People of different cultures have been playing games for thousands of years, but with advances in technology, playgrounds have moved from outdoors to indoors, from real to virtual. Electronic games emerged as a popular pastime in the 1970s.
In 1972, Atari Corporation, USA devised the first successful video game, Pong, which involved simply batting an electronic ball.
In the 1980s, Roberta Williams started her own gaming company, Sierra Online, which produced the first commercially successful computer game Mystery House that combined text and graphics.
She was a key player in changing the face of computer games, making hers a billion dollar company that became famous for the computer game series King Quest.
In the 90s, with advances in computer graphics and the growth of the internet, the gaming industry became more sophisticated and challenging.
Today, electronic gaming is a multi-billion dollar industry and surpasses the global movie industry in revenues. The electronic gaming industry can be divided into four main categories.
Video gaming
Though Atari Corporation was a pioneer in commercialising video games and video arcades, it took the Japanese company Nintendo Corporation to change the face of video games.
Nintendo realised that to stay competitive the hardware on which the game runs, namely the consoles, have to be upgraded with better chips to sustain the interest for faster games with better graphics.
Therefore, it started producing Game Boy consoles. However, it faced stiff competition from Sega Corporation that introduced Genesis and Sony Corporation that introduced PlayStation.
In 2001, Microsoft joined the race with its Xbox consoles. Today the video game industry is chic, competitive and has a variety of advanced capabilities.
Computer gaming
While video game consoles can be used to only play games, computers, on the other hand, have an advantage that it is not just game-based.
More importantly, due to its storage capabilities, computers provide the much-needed flexibility to play lengthy games of various genres such as puzzles, adventure, strategy and role-playing. With PC game developers offering freeware and shareware games, computer games overtook video gaming.
In 1993, id Software published Doom, one of the most popular games of all time, as it provided the first 3D perspective with camera angles apart from excellent computer graphics.
In the 90s, with the drop in the price of CDs and later DVDs, sale of games became more sophisticated. With the improvement in operating systems for computers, starting with Windows 95, the speed improved as did the quality of games, which became sophisticated, especially the sound system, graphics and interactivity.
This was because Windows 95 and its successors incorporated sound cards, graphics card and other controllers that made them compatible and PC game-friendly.
While educational games are on the rise, the electronic versions of physical games from football to racing and mental games such as chess and puzzles have also been developed over the years.
Improvements in computer hardware have effectively made it easier and cheaper to play computer games.
Online gaming
With the advent of the internet, the current generation of players are taking to online gaming, especially the alternate worlds. It has become a new category by itself -a spin-off from computer games.
Its popularity can be explained through two main developments in the real world, namely loneliness of people and the anonymity they prefer. With working parents and busy neighbours, online gaming offers most youngsters a chance to interact and vent.
It provides escape from loneliness and helps create one's own ideal world.
Alternate worlds
Alternate worlds are to the present generation what playgrounds were to the previous generation minus the advantage of anonymity.
Anonymity in the virtual worlds where you can be anyone and anything provides excitement and ironically human interaction though virtual in nature.
People today have more online friends than real ones whom they chat with on a regular basis apart from playing with or against them.
Online games, especially alternate world gaming sites offer more than social networking and provide a platform for artistic expression, real-life interactions and business transactions.
Second Life
Second Life comes to mind as it is currently the largest alternate world game site that includes money transactions and real estate sales. More importantly, it makes things that are considered impossible possible.
You can run your own company, create your own community, get information about deals offered by financial institutions, and with its 3D environment it could be the pioneer for the way we interact online in the future. This is one of the main draws for the current generation.
For example, you can even participate in the Beijing Olympics on behalf of your country online.
Games on the move
While computer games are fine, the drawback is that you can't play it on the move. This led to the creation of games for mobile phones and handheld devices. With the advent of mobile gaming, one need not even stay stationary to play.
The need to stay connected is extremely strong, and it has become the new means of entertainment for the majority.
Most companies, especially the entertainment industry have recognised the importance of gaming.
So much so, other forms of entertainment, be it movie, books or TV, all have a gaming version. Competition is driving the industry and the growth is there for all to see.
In 30 years, the gaming industry has grown from hitting an electronic ball to interacting, befriending and competing with anonymous people in a virtual world. Gaming has made the world smaller and without borders.
