The first video game system that I actually owned was an Atari game console that played only pong and pong like games. The console used your television to visually display the game and its “action”. We were thrilled with the system and many hours were spent staring at the television screen with the eerie beep of the pong hitting the paddles echoing through out the room. The next video game system I owned was also an Atari, but instead of being dedicated to only one game, this actually accepted a variety of cartridges which played wonderful games, including Asteroids, Space Invaders and Pac-man. And we once again embraced them as wonderful advancements in technology and introduced them to our children.
Before I knew it, the kids were asking for a Commodore 64. They now wanted a personal computer and I was saving the money to get one, because the price was right. The C64 did not require a monitor, and could be plugged into a television set, and had graphics that were evolving away from the simple shapes of Atari to realistic drawings. Instead of all action games, some of the games involved solving problems and were much more “intellectual”. Even better, you could copy the games on a cheap cassette tape and pass them around.
The next video game system that the kids were asking for was the Nintendo Entertainment System. It had high-resolution, full color, tiled backgrounds and the games were longer and contained more detailed graphics. Super Mario Brothers was the big hit game that everyone wanted. When the Sega Mega Drive was introduced, they were still happy with their NES. Then the kids outgrew the video game systems and it wasn’t until I discovered the role playing game called Morrowind that I was drawn into PC video games. I was totally blown away! I could not believe the advancements in technology that enabled such realism! And to my grandchildren, who by the way have Nintendo 64 and Play Station 2 and full access to PC games, these are common, everyday toys. How amazing is that!?
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