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The majority of us have never known a world without video games, this would not be the case however if it was not for certain companies laying down the path for more developers to follow. These companies took the entertainment industry into new heights and allowed friends and family to bond whilst also being competitive against each other. Read on about that companies that popularised gaming as we know it.
When talking about rising popularity for gaming the first name that comes to mind is Nintendo. Talk to anyone around the world and they can tell you about Nintendo. First founded in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, Nintendo Karuta as it was previously called, originally produced playing cards. It was not until 1977 that Nintendo became what it is today with the launch of its very first console, Color TV-Game. Yet Nintendo starting gaining its major recognition in arcades with the release of the popular retro game Donkey Kong in 1981 and then with the release of the famed NES console in 1985, this gave a name to Nintendo’s plumber mascot in Super Mario Bros.
Nintendo are still one of the biggest gaming companies if not the biggest with the company being worth around $70 billion.
An easy transition from the company above is Sega. Although not as popular in the modern gaming industry, Sega was a founding father of video games and its collection of retro games are nothing to be ashamed of. Founded in 1960 by Martin Bromley and Richard Stewart, Sega would struggle to get their name out for around 20 years due to the likes of Nintendo seeming to dominate the market. Sega introduced their first gaming console called the SG-1000 in 1983 yet the company would not struck gold up until the release of the Sega Genesis in 1989.
The Sega Geneis immediately launched Sega into being one of the big boys and got further increased popularity with its Mascot in 1991, Sonic The Hedgehog. Sonic gave a face to Sega much like Mario did to their competitor. Sega would the go on to produce further classics with their mascot like Sonic The Hedgehog 2 as well as Sonic & Knuckles. Sega is a lot less popular these days yet will always be remembered as a company that made gaming popular.
Though maybe not as big of a name as the previous 2, Konami founded in 1969 by Kagemasa Kōzuki is still a respected gaming company. Konami is still very relevant today with it’s main attractions being games such as; Pro Evolution Soccer, Metal Gear, Silent Hill and most notably Dance Dance Revolution. The later of which was a big hit for Konami with Dance Dance Revolution being a massive hit for arcades and variants of this are still prevalent in arcades today.
With the release of this game it encouraged competition between friends as to see who could get the highest score, it has also established itself in multiple different medias showing up in an array of films and television shows from the late 90’s up until present day, Konami had established themselves within the history of gaming.
There is not a more fitting end to companies that made video games popular than Atari. The original company, responsible for giving birth to the game known as PONG which is perceived as the first recognised video game. Founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, it did not take long for them to get started making games with them releasing PONG the same year.
Atari would further go on to develop the iconic Atari 2600 in 1977, of which built the foundations for the term ‘arcade game’. They would then produce two absolute classics in back to back years with Space Invaders in 1978 and Asteroids in 1979. In recent times Atari has diminished in popularity, yet much like Sega it will be impossible to forget about the impact it had and is still having on the gaming industry. If you are interested in the retro game layout of joysticks and buttons like the Atari then why not check out our pages.
If you’re a fan of popular and exciting arcade games, then you should look at our fantastic range of arcade machines.
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