Video games are massive. They’re probably one of the most popular kinds of entertainment in the entire world on any given day, and there’s no sign of this slowing down anytime soon. Whether you’ve been gaming for years or you’re thinking about picking up your first console ever, or maybe even if you’re just a casual PC fan, there are bound to be many things you didn’t know about video games.

Here are some interesting facts about video games:

1. The First Video Game Ever

The first video game was called “Tennis for Two.” It was created by William Higinbotham in 1958 at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. The game used an oscilloscope to display the graphics on a screen, and two players played against each other using separate controllers. [1]

2. World’s First Home Console

With the release of the Magnavox Odyssey gaming console in 1972, home video games became more than a hobby. The Odyssey was packaged with board game paraphernalia such as cards, paper money, and dice to enhance the games.

3. Video Games Are Big Business

In fact, video games are bigger than Hollywood and the music industry combined. The revenue generated by video game sales was $180 billion in 2021. In addition to the money spent on buying games, there is also money spent on subscriptions to online services such as PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold that allow players to access online multiplayer modes. [2]

4. Most Popular Genres Are First-Person Shooters and Open World Games

More than 50% of all games sold in 2018 were first-person shooters or open-world games (games where you can explore an entire environment). These two genres have been popular since the early days of gaming when Pong was released in 1972 and Space Invaders came out six years later.

5. Many Video Games Are Based On Movies or Books

In some cases, movies are based on video games; however, more often than not, it’s the other way around — books or comics are adapted into video games instead of being adapted into movies first.

6. The Number of Online Multiplayer Games Is Massive

There are now more than 1 billion players across the world who play online multiplayer games every day! This stat is projected to surpass 1.3 billion in 2025. [3]

7. The First Handheld Game System

The first handheld game system was called Game Boy and was released by Nintendo in 1989. It featured a monochromatic display and had four buttons for playing Tetris-like puzzles. Today’s handheld devices have color screens and many more buttons for playing more complex games like Grand Theft Auto V or Angry Birds, Rio!

8. The Average Age of a Gamer

Entertainment Software Association found that the average age of a video gamer is 33 years old, with 46 percent of all gamers being female. One in five people who play video games are older than 50 years old (up from 17 percent in 2010). [4] [5]

9. Games Offer Players Various Types of Experiences

You might not know it, but video games have evolved to offer players a variety of experiences. Video games come in a wide range of genres, including role-playing and strategy. People can even learn about Java and C++ by playing programming games. The best thing is children seem to enjoy educational games that teach them about things like reading, science, and math. [6]

10. South Korean gamers did not know about Mario Until 2004

South Korea banned the import of Japanese cultural products in the 1940s; this restriction was not lifted until 2004. Nintendo’s product was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. Hyundai came up with a new name for the NES in South Korea: the Hyundai Comboy. The Comboy 64 followed shortly after. [7]

11. The Story of Sony’s and Nintendo’s Collaboration

When Sony was developing the technology for its PlayStation game console, it entered into a development partnership with Nintendo. But the deal fell apart before Sony was able to launch the console, forcing it to continue developing the technology and launch its own system. The original PlayStation is now known all over the world. [8]

12. First Blockbuster Arcade Game

Space Invaders was the first blockbuster arcade game, selling 100,000 units worldwide within six months of its release in 1978 – it remains one of the highest-grossing arcade games ever produced, with an estimated total revenue exceeding 2 billion dollars.

13. A Game That Ignited the flame of Entrepreneurship

Pong became so popular that it led to a huge boom in video game development. Many manufacturers sprang up all over America, producing their own versions of this new type of entertainment device. Many of these companies went bankrupt within just a couple of years due to poor quality control and high competition from other firms making similar products.

14. Pac-Man is Referenced in Many Other Video Games, Movies, Music, and TV Shows

Pac-Man is one of the most iconic video games of all time. It was created by Toru Iwatani and released by Namco in 1980. It was referenced in:

• The Cartoon Network show ‘Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends’ has a main character ‘Bloo’ who looks like the blue ghost from the Pac-Man game. The show makes a joke about this similarity in the very first episode. There are even sound effects and music from the game playing through the episode
• The movie ‘Wreck-it-Ralph’ showcases Pac-Man as one of the characters in the arcade. A ghost from the game was shown leading a villain support group, while the main character Ralph ate a cherry from Pac-Man as well. Pac-Man himself showed up at the anniversary party.
• The movie ‘Pixels’ showed invading aliens in a Pac-Man form. One of the people fighting them is the creator of Pac-Man himself, Man Toru Iwatani. In a funny twist, he tries appealing to the character as its father. [16]

15. Most Expensive Video Game Ever Made

Grand Theft Auto 5 (2013) cost $265 million to make and market — more than twice the budget of Avatar, which held the previous record for the most expensive film at $237 million. The game’s protagonist is a retired bank robber who returns to his old ways to pay off his debt to a Mexican drug cartel. [9]

16. The First Major Video Game Console War

The first major video game console war was fought between Nintendo and Sega in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Sega released its Genesis console in 1989, which had better graphics and sound than Nintendo’s NES console. Nintendo retaliated with its Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), which featured 16-bit graphics and more colors than Sega’s system.

The race for dominance between these two companies helped fuel the popularity of 16-bit consoles throughout the 1990s, which were eventually replaced by 32-bit consoles like Sony’s PlayStation and Microsoft’s original Xbox in the 2000s.

17. Playing Games has a Connection with Making Correct Decisions

Research has shown that video games may positively affect a person’s performance in the real world. They are better at multitasking and making quick decisions than non-gamers. [10]

Conclusion

Video games have been around for many years. Hopefully, the list of facts we have provided was fun and informative. This industry is still growing, and we can see the impact technology continues to have on it. Video games are still a big money earner, and they will be for years to come. The interesting facts above might help us understand more about video games and perhaps even help in developing this interest further.

References

1. Brookhaven National Laboratory. (2017). BNL | History:The First Video Game? Bnl.gov. https://www.bnl.gov/about/history/firstvideo.php
2. The Gaming Industry Is Now Bigger Than Movies And Music.. Combined. (n.d.). Thc-Pod.com. https://www.thc-pod.com/episode/the-gaming-industry-is-now-bigger-than-movies-and-music-combined
3. cycles, T. text provides general information S. assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct D. to varying update, & Text, S. C. D. M. up-to-Date D. T. R. in the. (n.d.). Topic: Online gaming. Statista. https://www.statista.com/topics/1551/online-gaming
4. Video Game Industry: Statistics, Demographics, Trends. (2021, August 31). INTENTA. https://intenta.digital/gaming/video-game-industry
5. The Way Consumers Interact with Games Is Changing; Nearly Half of Gamers Are Female; Over Half Are 30+. (n.d.). Newzoo. https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/consumer-engagement-with-games-is-changing-gamer-segmentation-personas-gender-age-demographics/
6. Vince. (2018, April). 21 Cool Video Games Facts & Fun Trivia About Gaming for Kids. ID Tech. https://www.idtech.com/blog/fun-video-games-facts-to-sound-like-expert
7. Reiner, A. (n.d.). 25 Fun Facts About Video Games You Likely Didn’t Know. Game Informer. https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/07/04/25-fun-facts-about-video-games-you-likely-didn-39-t-know.aspx
8. Vince. (2018, April). 21 Cool Video Games Facts & Fun Trivia About Gaming for Kids. ID Tech. https://www.idtech.com/blog/fun-video-games-facts-to-sound-like-expert
9. published, W. U. (2013, September 8). GTA 5 Cost $265 Million To Develop And Market. CINEMABLEND. https://www.cinemablend.com/games/GTA-5-Cost-265-Million-Develop-Market-58922.html
10. Granic, I. (2013). Video Games Play May Provide Learning, Health, Social Benefits. Https://Www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2013/11/video-games
11. Poh, M. (2018, May 7). Evolution of Home Video Game Consoles: 1967 – 2011 – Hongkiat. Hongkiat. https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/evolution-of-home-video-game-consoles-1967-2011/
12. Clement, J. (2017). U.S. most popular video game genres 2017 | Statista. Statista; Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/189592/breakdown-of-us-video-game-sales-2009-by-genre/
13. Nintendo Game Boy – Game Console – Computing History. (n.d.). Www.computinghistory.org.uk. Retrieved October 19, 2022, from https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/4033/Nintendo-Game-Boy/#:~:text=The%20Game%20Boy%20is%20an
14. History of Computer & Video Games. (n.d.). Retrieved October 19, 2022, from https://cs.slu.edu/~fritts/csci1030/schedule/csci1030_games_history.pdf
15. The Evolution of Electronic Games. (n.d.). Saylordotorg.github.io. https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_understanding-media-and-culture-an-introduction-to-mass-communication/s13-01-the-evolution-of-electronic-ga.html
16. ubernerd527. (2020, May 25). Ubernerd’s Top 5 Pac-Man Movie and TV Cameos. The Arcade Archives! https://thearcadearchives.com/2020/05/24/my-top-5-pac-man-movie-and-tv-cameos/
17. Kelion, L. (2014, May 12). Sega v Nintendo: Sonic, Mario and the 1990’s console war. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27373587