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40 Years of Commercial Video Games / Computer Space

December 12th, 2011 by Benj Edwards

Computer Space Turns 40

You may not have noticed, but commercial video games turned 40 years old just recently. To celebrate, I’ve written an in-depth history of Computer Space, the first mass-produced video game and the first true arcade video game, which launched in 1971. Those daring enough among you to read over 500 words in one sitting can find the piece over at Technologizer.com. I hope you enjoy it.



This entry was posted on Monday, December 12th, 2011 at 10:45 am and is filed under Gaming History, News & Current Events, Retrogaming. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

11 Responses to “40 Years of Commercial Video Games / Computer Space”

  1. Eagles409 Says:
    December 12th, 2011 at 11:55 am

    Great article!!

  2. SirPaul Says:
    December 12th, 2011 at 7:43 pm

    I was almost late to an appointment because this article sucked me in so much. I never knew about Ted Dabney. I knew about Nutting and the work on computer space, though. Excellent article! I am definitely recommending it to other vintage computing/gaming enthusiasts I know.

  3. SirPaul Says:
    December 12th, 2011 at 7:47 pm

    On a side note… I would pay to be in your shoes, being able to interview the computing pioneers that paved the way for modern computers and video games.

  4. Benj Edwards Says:
    December 12th, 2011 at 7:57 pm

    Thanks for the kind words, guys. I appreciate it. Do you think people would like to read more articles like this one?

  5. JackSoar Says:
    December 12th, 2011 at 10:05 pm

    I especially like your assessment that “Computer Space” was not the failure it is often portrayed to be. This is good history.

  6. V Says:
    December 12th, 2011 at 10:08 pm

    Yes, we certainly would like to read more articles like this one! Very nicely done.

  7. DNA Says:
    December 12th, 2011 at 11:09 pm

    Ditto. Excellent article Benj.

  8. Xyzzy Says:
    December 13th, 2011 at 3:49 am

    I agree with the others — really neat article, it’d be neat to see more like it. I know academically that there were massive technological advancements in that era, but reading about things like this (and comparing it to what the average middle-class family could afford to have in their living rooms by 1980) really hammers it home.

  9. SirPaul Says:
    December 13th, 2011 at 4:05 am

    I can’t speak for everyone, but I would be willing to read larger articles like that one.

  10. Eagles409 Says:
    December 13th, 2011 at 10:18 am

    I would love to read more articles like this one. You’ve had other articles similar to this one and I’ve always enjoyed them greatly.

  11. jarson Says:
    December 19th, 2011 at 12:33 pm

    I as well would love to read more long articles like this. In fact, I think you could write a great book on the dawn of computers and gaming.

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