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This is a list of firsts in gaming history, or list of gaming firsts, listing game concepts and genres by their first appearance. It includes board game firsts and electronic game firsts, the latter including video game firsts.

Tabletop/Board game firsts

The following table lists board game concepts and genres by their first appearance.

Concept Game Year Origin
Linear game Senet c. 3100 BCE
to
c. 1000 BCE
Egypt
Racing
Non-linear game Draughts c. 3000 BCE
to
c. 900 CE
Iraq/Mesopotamia,
Iran/Persia
Sandbox
Strategy
Turn-based strategy (TBS)
Enemy Go c. 300 BCE
to
c. 800 CE
China,
Korea,
Japan
Health
Open-world
Overworld
Strategy wargame
Wargame
Boss Chess c. 500 CE
to
c. 800 CE
Indian subcontinent,
Persia,
Arab world
Character
Creative sandbox Chess [1]
Hack & slash Chess
Level up
Player character
Role-playing game (RPG)
Strategy RPG (SRPG)
Tactical RPG (TRPG)
Tactical wargame
Turn-based tactics (TBT)
Dungeon crawler Dungeons & Dragons 1974 Gary Gygax,
Dave Arneson
Hit points
RPG overworld Dungeons & Dragons 1974 Gary Gygax,
Dave Arneson
Empire of the Petal Throne [2] 1974 Muhammad Barker [3]
Tabletop RPG (TRPG) Dungeons & Dragons 1974 Gary Gygax,
Dave Arneson
Empire of the Petal Throne [2] 1974 Muhammad Barker [3]
Critical hit Empire of the Petal Throne [2] 1974 Muhammad Barker [3]
Battle royale [4] Battle Royale [5] 2000 Japan

Electronic/Video game firsts

This is a list of electronic game firsts, which includes a list of firsts in video game history, or list of video game firsts.

The electronic games listed include video games (arcade, computer and console games), computer games (mainframe and personal computer games), and arcade games (electro-mechanical and video games).

The following tables list concepts related to electronic games, by their first appearance. The tables includes electronic games as well as related hardware.

Concepts

Concept Title Year Developer
Computer game Computer Chess 1951 Dietrich Prinz
Video game Computer Draughts 1952 Christopher Strachey
Linear game Tennis For Two 1958 William Higinbotham
Electro-mechanical
arcade game
Mini Drive [6] 1959 Kasco
(Kenzou Furukawa)
Enemy Periscope [7] 1965 Namco
(Masaya Nakamura)
Character Duck Hunt [8] 1968 SEGA
(Hisashi Suzuki)
Score
Video projection arcade game Duck Hunt [8] 1968 SEGA
(Hisashi Suzuki)
Indy 500 [9][6] 1969 Kasco
(Kenzou Furukawa)
Player character (PC) Gun Fight [10] 1969 SEGA
(Hisashi Suzuki)
Cover system
Non-linear game Jet Rocket [11] 1970 SEGA
(Hisashi Suzuki)
Open-world Jet Rocket [11] 1970 SEGA
(Hisashi Suzuki)
3D open-world
Scrolling open-world
Overworld
Scrolling overworld
Arcade video game Computer Space 1971 Atari
(Nolan Bushnell)
Commercial video game
Video game character Playtron [12][6] 1973 Kasco
(Kenzou Furukawa)
Video game player character
Non-player character (NPC)
Health
Boss Balloon Gun [13][14] 1974 SEGA
Wild Gunman [15] 1974 Nintendo
Video game boss Balloon Gun [13] 1974 SEGA
Cinematic game Wild Gunman [15] 1974 Nintendo
Cutscene
Quick-time event (QTE)
Violence
Human character Basketball [16] 1974 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)[17]
Wild Gunman [15] 1974 Nintendo
Human video game character Basketball [16] 1974 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)[17]
Jump [18]
Video game enemy Balloon Gun [13] 1974 SEGA
Difficulty levels Speed Race 1974 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)
Difficulty curve Space Invaders 1978
Destructible environment [19] Western Gun 1975 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)
Video game cover system
Destructible cover
Non-linear video game
Violent video game
Open-world video game Western Gun,
Heiankyo Alien
1975,
1979
Taito (Nishikado),
University of Tokyo
Video game overworld
High score Space Invaders 1978 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)
Procedural generation Beneath Apple Manor 1978 Don Worth
Survival [20] Space Invaders 1978 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)
Nostromo [21] 1981 Akira Takiguchi [22]
Video game cutscene Space Invaders
Part II
1979 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)
Manbiki Shounen [23] 1979 Hiroshi Suzuki [24]
Online MUD1 1979 Roy Trubshaw,
Richard Bartle
Animated video game cutscene Pac-Man 1980 Namco
(Toru Iwatani)
Power-up
Scrolling open-world
video game
Rally-X 1980 Namco
Scrolling video game
overworld
Combo Flash Boy [25][26] 1981 Data East
Health meter
Hub 005 1981 SEGA
Hub world
Platform jump Donkey Kong
(Nintendo Classic)
1981 Nintendo
(Shigeru Miyamoto)
RPG overworld Ultima 1981 Origin Systems
(Richard Garriott)
Isometric perspective Zaxxon 1982 SEGA
Dialogue choices Danchi Tsuma no Yuwaku [27] 1982 Koei
(Kou Shibusawa)
Portopia Serial Murder Case [28] 1983 Yuji Horii
Moral decisions [29] Danchi Tsuma no Yuwaku 1982 Koei
(Kou Shibusawa)
Nobunaga's Ambition 1983
Portopia Serial
Murder Case
[28]
1983 Yuji Horii
Branching narrative Portopia Serial
Murder Case
[28]
1983 Yuji Horii
Dialogue trees [30]
Health regeneration Punch-Out! 1983 Nintendo
(Genyo Takeda,
Shigeru Miyamoto)
Multiple endings Portopia Serial
Murder Case
[28]
1983 Yuji Horii
Nobunaga's Ambition 1983 Koei
(Kou Shibusawa)
Video game QTE Dragon's Lair 1983 Cinematronics
Timed decisions [31] Albegas [32] 1983 SEGA
Fully-scaled open-world
video game
Courageous Perseus 1984 Cosmos Computer
Hydlide 1984 T&E Soft
(Naito)[33]
Pseudo-3D open-world
video game
Gingahyōryū Vifam [34] 1984 Bandai
Elite 1984 David Braben
Fighting game combo Shanghai Kid [35][36] 1985 Nihon Game
New Game + Ghosts 'n Goblins 1985 Capcom
Beat 'em up combo Kunio-kun 1986 Technōs Japan
(Yoshihisa Kishimoto)[37]
Renegade
Graphical online game Daiva Dr. Amandora,
Super Laydock [38]
1986 T&E Soft [39]
Scrolling cover system Rolling Thunder 1986 Namco
3D open-world video game Wibarm 1986 Arsys Software
(Katsunori Yoshimura)[40]
Star Cruiser 1988
3D cover system Cabal,
Devastators
1988 TAD Corporation,[41]
Konami
Third-person cover system
Deathmatch Last Survivor 1988 SEGA
Free look Star Cruiser 1988 Arsys Software
(Katsunori Yoshimura)[40]
Motion capture Reikai Doushi [42] 1988 Magical Company [43]
Prince of Persia 1989 Brøderbund
WASD Star Cruiser 1988 Arsys Software
(Katsunori Yoshimura)[40]
Quake 1996 id Software
(John Romero)
Hub building Castle of Illusion
Starring Mickey Mouse
1990 SEGA
Hub room
Combo system Street Fighter II 1991 Capcom
(Noritaka Funamizu)
Active time battle (ATB) Final Fantasy IV 1991 Squaresoft
(Hironobu Sakaguchi,
Hiroyuki Ito)[44]
Radial menu [45] Secret of Mana 1993 Squaresoft
(Nasir Gebelli,
Koichi Ishii)
Headshot Virtua Cop 1994 SEGA AM2
(Yu Suzuki)
3D motion capture Virtua Fighter 2 1994 Sega AM2
(Yu Suzuki)
3D polygon cover system Time Crisis 1995 Namco
(Takashi Sano)
First-person cover system
Passive-optical
motion capture
Soul Edge 1995 Namco
RPG New Game + Chrono Trigger 1995 Squaresoft
3D quick-time event [46] Die Hard Arcade 1996 SEGA
(Makoto Uchida)[47]
Shenmue 1999 SEGA AM2
(Yu Suzuki)
Ragdoll physics Trespasser 1998 Dreamworks Interactive
3D polygon third-person
cover system
Metal Gear Solid 1998 Konami
(Hideo Kojima)
WinBack 1999 Koei
Ragdoll physics
melee combat
The Bouncer [48] 2000 Squaresoft
(Takashi Tokita,
Hisahiko Takeuchi)

Controls

Concept Product Year Developer
Steering wheel Mini Drive [6]
(Arcade)
1959 Kasco
(Kenzou Furukawa)
Light gun Periscope [7]
(Arcade)
1965 Namco
Periscope
Light gun (on-screen) Duck Hunt [8]
(SEGA Arcade)[49]
1968 SEGA
Trigger
Joystick Missile [50]
(Arcade)
1969
2-way joystick
Touchpad tablet Text Editing System [51] 1971 Hitachi
(Hidekazu Terai,
Kazuo Nakata)
Optical light gun Beam Gun 1971 Nintendo
(Gunpei Yokoi)
Video game light gun Shooting Gallery [52]
(Magnavox Odyssey)
1972
Magnavox
(Ralph Baer)
Analog stick Sea Devil [53]
(SEGA Arcade)[49]
1972 SEGA
Positional gun
Trackball Soccer [54]
(Arcade)
1973 Taito
Video game joystick Astro Race [55]
(Arcade)
4-way joystick
Video game analog stick Balloon Gun [13]
(Arcade)
1974 SEGA
Video game positional gun Balloon Gun [13]
(SEGA Discrete Logic)[56]
Video game steering wheel Speed Race
(Taito Discrete Logic)
1974 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)
8-way joystick Western Gun,
Gun Fight
(Arcade)
1975
Dual stick
Wireless TV Tennis 1975 Epoch [57]
Force feedback Fonz
(SEGA Fonz)[58]
1976 SEGA
Trigger button Interceptor 1976 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)
Motion controls [59] Heavyweight Champ
(SEGA Discrete Logic)[56]
1976 SEGA
KO Punch [60]
(Arcade)
1981
Touchscreen tablet Touch Sensitive Tablet [61] 1979 Hitachi
(Masao Hotta,
Yoshikazu Miyamoto)
D-pad Vanguard
(Arcade)
1981 Konami
Donkey Kong
(Game & Watch)[62][63]
1982 Nintendo
(Gunpei Yokoi)
Pressure sensitive controls [64] KO Punch [60]
(Arcade)
1981 SEGA
Full-body motion controls [59]
Hang-On
(SEGA Hang-On)[65]
1985 SEGA AM2
(Yu Suzuki)
Console D-pad Famicom Controller
(NES Controller)
1983 Nintendo
Gamepad
Microphone Famicom Controller
(Famicom)
Point & click interface Star Arthur Densetsu
[66]
1983 T&E Soft
Thumbstick SG-1000 Controller (SG-1000 Mark II) 1984 SEGA
Analog flightstick Space Harrier
(SEGA Space Harrier)[65]
1985 SEGA AM2
(Yu Suzuki)
Video game touchpad tablet SEGA Graphic Board [67]
(SG-1000)
1985 SEGA
Dance pad Power Pad
(NES)
1987 Bandai
Dual analog After Burner II
(SEGA X Board)[68]
1987 SEGA AM2
(Yu Suzuki)
HOTAS [69]
Throttle
Pressure sensitive buttons Street Fighter
(Capcom 68000)
1987 Capcom
(Takashi Nishiyama)
Strafing Star Cruiser 1988 Arsys Software
(Katsunori Yoshimura)[40]
Analog thumbstick XE-1 AP [70]
(SEGA Mega Drive,
Sharp X68000,
FM Towns)
1989 Dempa,[71]
SEGA
Dual analog pad
Grip handles
Portable HOTAS [69]
Portable throttle
Shoulder buttons
Video game touchscreen Game Gear successor Early
1990s
SEGA
Wireless gamepad Remote Control System (Sega Mega Drive) [72] 1992 WKK [73]
Remote Arcade System (Sega Mega Drive)[74] 1993 SEGA
Full-body motion sensors [59] SEGA Activator [75][76][77] 1993 SEGA
(Assaf Gurner)[78]
Analog steering pad neGcon
(PlayStation) [79]
1995 Namco
Console pressure sensitive buttons
Console force feedback Nintendo 64 Controller
(Nintendo 64)
1996 Nintendo
Shoulder trigger
Saturn 3D Controller
(Saturn) [80]
1996 SEGA
Analog triggers
Dual thumbstick controller Dual Analog
(PlayStation)
1997 Sony

Graphics

Concept Title Year Developer
2D Computer Draughts 1952 Christopher Strachey
3D Mini Drive [6] 1959 Kasco [81]
(Kenzou Furukawa)[82]
Color
Scrolling
Side-scrolling Periscope [7] 1965 Namco
(Masaya Nakamura)
3D (on-screen) Indy 500 [9][6] 1969 Kasco
(Kenzou Furukawa)
Color (on-screen)
Color video game Playtron [12][6] 1973
Sprite
2D sprite
Color sprite
Sprite character
Phong shading [83] Illumination of
Computer-Generated Images
[84]
1973 Bui Tuong Phong
Full-motion video (FMV) Wild Gunman [15] 1974 Nintendo
FMV cutscene
Human sprite Basketball [16] 1974 Taito
Scrolling video game Speed Race 1974 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)
2D scrolling
Vertical scrolling [85]
Graphics processing unit
(GPU)
Fujitsu MB14241 1975 Fujitsu
Framebuffer
3D video game Road Race,[86]
Fonz
1976 SEGA
Sprite scaling
Graphics card Taito Z80 1977 Taito
SEGA Vic Dual 1977 SEGA
Side-scrolling video game Bomber [87][88][89]
Vector graphics Space Wars 1977 Cinematronics
3D computer graphics
software
3D Art Graphics [90][91] 1978 Kazumasa Mitazawa
8-bit color palette Galaxian
(Namco Galaxian)
1979 Namco
Multi-color sprite
Tilemap background
8-bit color depth Radar Scope (Nintendo Classic) 1979 Nintendo
Page flipping [92] Star Cruiser 1980 Sirius Software
(Nasir Gebelli)[93]
Color vector graphics Space Fury 1981 SEGA
High resolution Hitachi Basic Master Level 3 [94] 1981 Hitachi
Parallax scrolling [95] Scramble 1981 Konami
Color sprite scaling Turbo [96] 1981 SEGA
(Steve Hanawa)[97]
Texture mapping
Buck Rogers:
Planet of Zoom
1982 SEGA
GPU microprocessor NEC µPD7220 1982 NEC
High definition
Stereoscopic 3D [98] SubRoc-3D 1982 SEGA
FMV video game Astron Belt [99]
(Sega LaserDisc [100]
3D FMV game
3D polygons
Pre-rendered 3D polygons
16-bit high color
24-bit color palette
FMV video game
cutscene
Bega's Battle [101] 1983 Data East
Gore [102]
Real-time 3D polygons Plazma Line 1984 Technosoft
(Katsunori Yoshimura)[40]
I, Robot 1984 Atari
(Dave Theurer)
3D polygon computer game Plazma Line 1984 Technosoft
(Katsunori Yoshimura)[40]
Real-time 3D polygon
arcade game
I, Robot 1984 Atari
(Dave Theurer)
Fast real-time 3D polygons Amnork [103] 1986 ASCII
Flat shading [104] Winning Run 1988 Namco
Lighting
Shading
Ray casting [105] Last Survivor 1988 SEGA
Line of Fire 1989
3D polygon console game Star Cruiser (Sega Mega Drive) 1990 Arsys Software
(Katsunori Yoshimura),[40]
Masaya [106]
3D polygon character Virtua Racing 1992 SEGA AM2
(Yu Suzuki)
3D polygon NPC
Anti-aliasing
3D polygon texture mapping Sim Drive [107] 1992 Namco
Gouraud shading [108]
3D polygon player character Virtua Fighter 1993 SEGA AM2
(Yu Suzuki)
Texture filtering Daytona USA
Cel-shading Doctor Hauzer [109] 1994 Riverhillsoft [110]
PaRappa the Rapper 1996 Sony Japan Studio
3D polygon handheld console Sega Nomad [111] 1995 SEGA
Autostereoscopic 3D [112] Floating Image System [113] 1997 SEGA AM3
(Hisao Oguchi)
[114]
High definition (HD) console Dreamcast 1998 SEGA
Video game
Phong shading
[83]
Brave Firefighters [115] 1999 SEGA AM1
Space Channel 5 1999 United Game Artists
(SEGA)
Bloom lighting Skies of Arcadia 2000 SEGA Wow
The Bouncer [48] 2000 Squaresoft
(Takashi Tokita,[116]
Hisahiko Takeuchi)[117]
Cel-shader Jet Set Radio 2000 SEGA Smilebit
Depth-of-field (DOF)[118] The Bouncer [48] 2000 Squaresoft
(Takashi Tokita,
Hisahiko Takeuchi)

Genres

The following table lists electronic game genres by their first appearance.

Genre Game Year Developer
Simulation Computer Chess 1951 Dietrich Prinz
Strategy
Turn-based strategy (TBS)
Turn-based tactics (TBT)
Strategy video game Computer Draughts 1952 Christopher Strachey
Sports Tennis For Two 1958 William Higinbotham
Action Mini Drive [6] 1959 Kasco
(Kenzou Furukawa)
Racing
Driving
3D racing
Scrolling racer
Third-person racing
Vehicle simulation
Action video game Spacewar! 1962 Steve Russell
Shooter
2D shooter
Vehicle combat
3D action Periscope [7] 1965 Namco
(Masaya Nakamura)[119]
First-person perspective shooter
Light gun shooter
3D shooter
Side-scrolling shooter
Shoot 'em up
3D action (on-screen) Duck Hunt [8] 1968 SEGA
(Hisashi Suzuki)[120]
First-person perspective shooter
(on-screen)
Light gun shooter (on-screen)
Shoot 'em up (on-screen)
Racing (on-screen) Indy 500 [9][6] 1969 Kasco
(Kenzou Furukawa)
Driving (on-screen)
3D racing (on-screen)
First-person racing
Third-person action Gun Fight [10] 1969 SEGA
(Hisashi Suzuki)
3D third-person action
Third-person shooter (TPS)
3D third-person shooter (TPS)
3D shooter (on-screen) Jet Rocket [11] 1970 SEGA
(Hisashi Suzuki)
Action-adventure
3D action-adventure
Flight simulator
First-person shooter (FPS)
Open-world game
Sandbox
Rhythm game Oh! Mouretsu [6] Early
1970s
Kasco
(Kenzou Furukawa)
Light gun shooter video game Shooting Gallery [52] 1972 Nintendo (Gunpei Yokoi),
Magnavox (Ralph Baer)
Racing video game Astro Race,[55]
Space Race
1973 Taito,
Atari
2D racing
Space flight sim
Adventure game Wild Gunman [15] 1974 Nintendo
3D adventure game
FMV adventure game
Graphic adventure
Interactive fiction
Interactive movie
Basketball Basketball [16] 1974 Taito
First-person perspective shooter
video game
Balloon Gun [13][121] 1974 SEGA
Shoot 'em up video game
Driving video game Speed Race,
Gran Trek 10
1974 Taito (Nishikado),
Atari
2D driving
Scrolling racer video game Speed Race 1974 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)
Action-adventure video game Western Gun 1975 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)
Run & gun shooter
Sandbox video game
Tactical shooter
Computer RPG (CRPG) Pedit5 1975 Rusty Rutherford
Dungeon crawler
Role-playing video game (RPG)
First-person shooter video game Spasim 1975 Jim Bowery
Driving combat Demolition Derby 1975 Fairchild
(Gerald Lawson)
Crashing Race [122][123] 1976 Taito
Open-world video game Western Gun 1975 Taito (Nishikado)
Heiankyo Alien 1979 University of Tokyo
Real-time strategy (RTS) Western Gun,
Space Tactics [124]
1975,
1980
Taito (Nishikado),
SEGA
Real-time tactics (RTT)
3D action video game Road Race,[86]
Fonz
1976 SEGA
3D racing video game
Third-person racing video game
Boxing Heavyweight Champ
Fighting
2D fighting
Versus fighting
Motorbike racing Fonz [125]
First-person racing video game Night Driver 1976 Atari
Adventure video game Colossal Cave
Adventure
1977 William Crowther,
Don Woods
Text adventure
Scrolling shooter Bomber [87][89] 1977 SEGA
Side-scrolling shooter
video game
Shmup Space Invaders 1978 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)
Fixed shooter
Tower defense Space Invaders 1978 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)
Vermin 1980 Nintendo
Bokosuka Wars [126] 1983 Koji Sumii [127]
Pinball video game Bomb Bee 1979 Namco
Vertical scrolling shooter SOS 1979 Namco
Galaxian
Ozma Wars 1979 SNK
3D shooter video game Radar Scope 1979 Nintendo
Third-person action video game
3D third-person action
video game
Third-person shooter
video game
(TPS)
3D third-person shooter
video game
(TPS)
Stealth Manbiki Shounen [23] 1979 Hiroshi Suzuki [24]
3D tactical shooter Space Tactics [128] 1980 SEGA
First-person tactical shooter
Graphic adventure video game Mystery House [129] 1980 Sierra Entertainment
(Roberta Williams)[130]
Hack & slash Samurai [131] 1980 SEGA
Open-world driving Rally-X 1980 Namco
Open-world racing
Platformer Space Panic 1980 Universal
2D platformer
Stealth action Lupin III [132] 1980 Taito
Beat 'em up Samurai,[131][133]
Kung-Fu Master
1980,
1984
SEGA,
Data East
Endless runner Jump Bug 1981 Alpha Denshi
Scrolling platformer
Side-scrolling 2D platformer
Roguelike Rogue 1981 A.I. Design
Stealth action-adventure 005 1981 SEGA
Survival horror Nostromo [21] 1981 Akira Takiguchi [22]
Survival game Nostromo [21] 1981 Akira Takiguchi [22]
Panorama Toh [134] 1983 Nihon Falcom
(Yoshio Kiya)
Adventure RPG Dragon & Princess [135] 1982 Koei
(Kou Shibusawa)
Japanese RPG (JRPG)
Strategy RPG (SRPG)
Tactical RPG (TRPG)
3D survival horror Terror House [136] 1982 Bandai
Eroge Night Life 1982 Koei
Interactive movie video game Astron Belt [99] 1982 SEGA
3D interactive movie
Isometric shooter Zaxxon 1982 SEGA
Rail shooter Buck Rogers:
Planet of Zoom
1982 SEGA
3D rail shooter
Third-person rail shooter
Metroidvania Tutankham 1982 Konami
Mr. Do's Castle 1983 Universal
Portopia Serial
Murder Case
[28]
1983 Yuji Horii
Racing simulation Pole Position 1982 Namco
TX-1 1983 Tatsumi [137]
3D platformer Antarctic Adventure 1983 Konami
Action RPG (ARPG) Panorama Toh [134] 1983 Nihon Falcom
(Yoshio Kiya)[138]
Bokosuka Wars [139] 1983 Koji Sumii
Isometric adventure Congo Bongo 1983 SEGA
Isometric platformer
Open-world action RPG Panorama Toh [134] 1983 Nihon Falcom
(Yoshio Kiya)
Point & click adventure Star Arthur Densetsu
[66]
1983 T&E Soft
Visual novel Portopia Serial
Murder Case
[28]
1983 Yuji Horii
Wrestling Tag Team Wrestling 1983 Technōs Japan
Immersive sim [140] Portopia Serial
Murder Case
[28]
1983 Yuji Horii [141]
Hokkaidou Chain
Murders
[142]
1984
Action RTS (ARTS) Bokosuka Wars [139] 1983 Koji Sumii
Herzog Zwei [143] 1989 Technosoft
3D polygon racing Plazma Line 1984 Technosoft
(Katsunori Yoshimura)[40]
3D polygon first-person racing
3D polygon flight sim
3D polygon space flight sim
Open-world space flight sim Gingahyōryū Vifam 1984 Bandai
Elite 1984 David Braben
Role-playing shooter (RPS) The Screamer [144] 1985 Magical Zoo [145]
Survival horror RPG
3D polygon role-playing game Wibarm 1986 Arsys Software
(Katsunori Yoshimura)[40]
3D action RPG
3D role-playing shooter (RPS)
3D polygon third-person shooter (TPS)
Console RPG (CRPG) Dragon Quest 1986 Chunsoft
(Yuji Horii)
3D open-world
video game
Wibarm 1986 Arsys Software
(Katsunori Yoshimura)[40]
Star Cruiser 1988
3D polygon first-person shooter Amnork [103] 1986 ASCII
Star Cruiser 1988 Arsys Software
(Katsunori Yoshimura)[40]
3D hack & slash Getsu Fuuma Den [146] 1987 Konami
Rhythm video game Dance Aerobics 1987 Human Entertainment
First-person role-playing shooter
(RPS)
Star Cruiser 1988 Arsys Software
(Katsunori Yoshimura)[40]
3D polygon space flight sim
Kart racing Power Drift 1988 SEGA AM2
(Yu Suzuki)
3D kart racing
3D polygon first-person driving Winning Run 1988 Namco
MOBA Herzog Zwei [143] 1989 Technosoft
Dynasty Warriors 2 1997 Koei
Hero shooter [147] Herzog Zwei [143] 1989 Technosoft
Outtrigger [148] 1999 Sega AM2
(Yu Suzuki)
3D light gun shooter Galaxian³ 1990 Namco
3D polygon rail shooter
3D polygon adventure game Alice:
An Interactive Museum
1991 Toshiba-EMI [149]
(Haruhiko Shono)[150]
3D polygon third-person racing Virtua Racing 1992 SEGA AM2
(Yu Suzuki)
3D polygon survival horror
(partial)
Alone in the Dark 1992 Infogrames
(Frédérick Raynal)
3D real-time adventure game The Life Stage:
Virtual House
[151]
1993 Micro Cabin [152]
3D fighting Virtua Fighter 1993 SEGA AM2
(Yu Suzuki)
3D polygon hack & slash King's Field 1994 From Software
3D polygon survival horror
(full)
Doctor Hauzer [153] 1994 Riverhill Software [154]
(Kenichiro Hayashi)[155]
Soulslike Monster Hunter 2004 Capcom
Demon's Souls 2009 From Software
(Hidetaka Miyazaki)[156]

Sound

Concept Product Year Developer
Pulse-code modulation (PCM) Differential Quantization of
Communication Signals
1952 C. Chapin Cutler
Differential PCM (DPCM)
Solid-state electronic audio Periscope [7] 1965 Namco
(Masaya Nakamura)[157]
Digital audio recorder PCM recorder[158] 1967 NHK
PCM recorder
PCM music Uzu: The World Of
Stomu Yamash'ta
1971
Adaptive DPCM (ADPCM) Adaptive quantization in
differential PCM coding
1973 Nikil Jayant,
James L. Flanagan
Digital synthesizer FM Tone Generator 1974 Yamaha,[159]
John Chowning
Frequency modulation synthesis
(FM synthesis)
Game music Western Gun,
Gun Fight
1975 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)
Chiptune [160]
Sound card Taito 597-907
Logic Board
Sound chip
CD audio CD Audio 1976 Sony
(Toshitada Doi)
Audio programming language Sharp MZ,[161]
Hitachi Basic Master
1978 Sharp,
Hitachi
Music Macro Language
Continuous music Space Invaders 1978 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)
Rally-X 1980 Namco
PCM sound chip Oki MSM5205,
Oki MSM5218[162]
1979 Oki
DPCM sound chip
ADPCM sound chip
Video game PCM Namco King & Balloon
Sound Section
1980 Namco
Delta modulation (DM)
Video game DPCM
Speech synthesis [163] Stratovox [164] 1980 Taito
Manbiki Shoujo [165][166] 1980 Hiroshi Suzuki [167]
FM synthesis computer music Yamaha GS-1 Computer 1980 Yamaha
MIDI Musical Instrument
Digital Interface
1981 Roland
(Ikutaro Kakehashi)
Laserdisc audio Sega CN2 Audio Board 1982 SEGA
MIDI computer music NEC PC-88 1982 NEC
NEC PC-98
Pulse-width modulation (PWM) Sega SN76496 1982 SEGA
FM synthesis sound chip Yamaha YM2151 1983 Yamaha [168]
MIDI music software Yamaha CX5 (MSX) 1983 Yamaha
Yamaha MSX Module
Sound card Yamaha MSX Module
FM synthesis sound card
MIDI sound card
LA synthesis Roland D-50 1987 Roland
(Ikutaro Kakehashi)
Roland MT-32
LA synthesis sound card Roland MT-32
Video game CD audio PC-Engine CD-ROM²
(TurboGrafx-CD)
1988 NEC,
Hudson Soft
PC with CD audio FM Towns 1989 Fujitsu

Technology

Concept Hardware Year Developer(s)
Electronic television (TV) All-electronic television 1924 Kenjiro Takayanagi
Cathode ray tube (CRT)
television
Digital circuit Switching circuit theory 1934 NEC
(Akira Nakashima)
Electronic computer Colossus 1944 Post Office Research Station
Random access memory (RAM) Magnetic-core memory 1945 Jeffrey Chuan Chu,
John Presper Eckert
1949 An Wang,
Way-Dong Woo
Color TV Shadow mask CRT 1950 RCA
Floppy disk Magnetic Disk Sheet 1950 Tokyo Imperial University
(Yoshiro Nakamatsu)
Transistor computer Manchester Computer 1953 University of Manchester
Optical fiber A flexible fibrescope 1953 Narinder Singh Kapany
Stored-program
transistor computer
ETL Mark III 1954 Electrotechnical Laboratory
(Japan)
Optical communication Fiber-optic communication 1964 Jun-ichi Nishizawa
Online communication
Dynamic RAM (DRAM) Toscal BC-1411 1965 Toshiba
Aperture grille CRT Trinitron 1968 Sony
(Susumu Yoshida)
Microprocessor,
4-bit microprocessor
Intel 4004 1968 Sharp [169]
(Tadashi Sasaki)
Busicom
(Masatoshi Shima)
1969 Intel
(Marcian Hoff)
8-bit microprocessor Intel 8008 1972
Internet ARPANET 1969 DARPA
Handheld television IC TV MODEL TR-001 1970 Panasonic
Monochrome LCD Twisted Nematic LCD 1970 Hoffmann-La Roche
TFT LCD System for driving LCD device 1970 Canon
(J. Kishimoto)
High definition television (HDTV) MUSE 1970s NHK
Microcomputer SMP80/08 1972 Sord
(Takayohi Shiina)
8-bit microcomputer
Personal computer (PC)
Handheld electronic game Electro Tic-Tac-Toe 1972 Waco
Video game console Magnavox Odyssey 1972 Magnavox
(Ralph Baer)
General-purpose microprocessor Intel 8080 1974 Intel
(Masatoshi Shima,
Federico Faggin)
General-purpose microcomputer SMP80/x 1974 Sord (Toshiba)
Microcomputer operating system
Color LCD Color LCD 1975 Sharp
(Shinji Kato,
Takaaki Miyazaki)
Microprocessor video game Gun Fight 1975 Taito
(Tomohiro Nishikado)
Midway
(Dave Nutting)
Demolition Derby 1975 Fairchild
(Gerald Lawson)
16-bit microprocessor Panafacom MN1610 1975 Panafacom
(Fujitsu, Fuji Electric,
Matsushita)
Wireless TV Tennis 1975 Epoch [57]
Compact disc CD 1976 Sony
(Toshitada Doi)
Microprocessor console Fairchild Channel F 1976 Fairchild
(Gerald Lawson)
8-bit console
ROM cartridge
Home computer
(home microcomputer)
Apple II 1977 Apple
(Steve Jobs)

[170]

Sord M200 1977 Sord
(Toshiba)
16-bit microcomputer Panafacom Lkit-16 1977 Panafacom
(Fujitsu, Fuji Electric,
Matsushita)
8/16-bit game system Sega VIC Dual (Arcade)[171] 1977 SEGA
PC with floppy disk drive M200 Smart Home Computer 1977 Sord (Toshiba)
PC with hard disk drive M223 Mark VI 1979
Magnetic disk
perpendicular recording
Perpendicular recording 1978 Tohoku Institute of Technology
(Shun-ichi Iwasaki)
Laserdisc Laserdisc 1978 MCA DiscoVision
Pioneer
16-bit console Intellivision 1979 Mattel
Handheld console Microvision 1979 Milton Bradley
Digital signal processor (DSP) NEC µPD7720 1980 NEC
Flash memory NOR/NAND 1980 Toshiba
(Fujio Masuoka)
LCD television Epson TV Watch 1980 Hattori Seiko
Constant Angular Acceleration CAA Early
1980s
Pioneer
Laptop HC-20 1981 Suwa Seikosha
Micro floppy disk 3½-inch floppy disk 1981 Sony
CD-ROM CD-ROM 1982 Denon, Sony
High definition (HD) computer NEC PC-9801 1982 NEC
Laserdisc video game Astron Belt 1982 SEGA
Optical disc
Monochrome plasma display IBM 3290 1983 IBM
Laserdisc digital data storage Laserdisc digital data storage 1984 Sony
PC with Laserdisc MSX 1984 Pioneer
16-bit console GPU Master System VDP[172][173] 1985 SEGA, Yamaha [174]
Large LCD Large LCD 1986 Sharp Corporation
32-bit game system Namco System 21 (Arcade) 1988 Namco
CD-ROM game system PC-Engine CD-ROM²
(TurboGrafx-CD)
1988 NEC,
Hudson Soft
8/16-bit handheld console Game Boy 1989 Nintendo
Color plasma display Color plasma display 1989 Fujitsu [175][176]
PC with CD-ROM FM Towns 1989 Fujitsu
Hard drive with glass platter MK1122FC 1990 Toshiba
Compressed instructions SuperH 1992 Hitachi
Blue LED Blue LED 1992 Shuji Nakamura
32-bit console FM Towns Marty 1993 Fujitsu
64-bit game system Namco Magic Edge Hornet Simulator
(Arcade)
1993 Namco
Laserdisc console LaserActive 1993 Pioneer
Static DRAM (SDRAM) Samsung KM48SL2000 1993 Samsung Electronics
DVD Digital Video Disc 1995 Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic
16/32-bit handheld console Sega Nomad [111] 1995 SEGA
Hybrid handheld-home console
64-bit home system Nintendo 64 1996 Nintendo
DVD game system PlayStation 2 2000 Sony
32-bit handheld console Game Boy Advance 2001 Nintendo
LED-backlit LCD Qualia 005 2004 Sony
Blu-Ray disc PlayStation 3 2006 Sony

See also

References

  1. The History and Theory of Sandbox Gameplay, Gamasutra
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Empire of the Petal Throne, Wikipedia
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Muhammad Abd-al-Rahman Barker, Wikipedia
  4. Battle Royale (Giant Bomb)
  5. Battle Royale Card Game
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 Kasco and the Electro-Mechanical Golden Age (Interview), Classic Videogame Station ODYSSEY, 2001
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Periscope, Sega Retro
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Duck Hunt, Sega Retro
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Indy 500, Giant Bomb
  10. 10.0 10.1 Gun Fight, Sega Retro
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Jet Rocket, Sega Retro
  12. 12.0 12.1 Playtron, Giant Bomb
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Balloon Gun, Sega Retro
  14. Balloon Gun at Museum of the Game
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Wild Gunman, Giant Bomb
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Basketball, Giant Bomb
  17. 17.0 17.1 http://shmuplations.com/spaceinvaders/
  18. Jump, Giant Bomb
  19. Destructible Environment, Giant Bomb
  20. Survival, Giant Bomb
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 AX-2: Uchuu Yusousen Nostromo, Giant Bomb
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 Akira Takiguchi, Giant Bomb
  23. 23.0 23.1 Manbiki Shounen, Giant Bomb
  24. 24.0 24.1 Hiroshi Suzuki, Giant Bomb
  25. Flash Boy, Giant Bomb
  26. John Szczepaniak, History of Japanese Video Games, Kinephanos, ISSN 1916-985X
  27. Danchi Tsuma no Yuwaku, Giant Bomb
  28. 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 28.5 28.6 Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken, Giant Bomb
  29. Moral Decisions, Giant Bomb
  30. Dialogue Trees, Giant Bomb
  31. Timed Decisions, Giant Bomb
  32. Albegas, Sega Retro
  33. Tokihiro Naito, Giant Bomb
  34. Gingahyōryū Vifam, MobyGames
  35. Shanghai Kid, Giant Bomb
  36. Jeff Dunn (December 15, 2012). Of Fists and Fatalities: The history of fighting games. Retrieved on 2015-01-27
  37. Yoshihisa Kishimoto, Giant Bomb
  38. The LINKS (Network), MSX Resource Center
  39. T&E Soft, Giant Bomb
  40. 40.00 40.01 40.02 40.03 40.04 40.05 40.06 40.07 40.08 40.09 40.10 40.11 Katsunori Yoshimura, Giant Bomb
  41. TAD Corporation, Giant Bomb
  42. Reikai Doushi, Giant Bomb
  43. Magical Company, Giant Bomb
  44. List of patent family members for US Patent No. 5390937. espacenet. Retrieved on 17 November 2011
  45. Radial Menu, Giant Bomb
  46. Quick-time event, Giant Bomb
  47. Makoto Uchida, Giant Bomb
  48. 48.0 48.1 48.2 The Bouncer, Giant Bomb
  49. 49.0 49.1 Electro-mechanical arcade games, Sega Retro
  50. Missile, Sega Retro
  51. "Text Editing System Using On-Line Real-time Character Recognition", Information Processing in Japan, Volumes 11-14, Information Processing Society of Japan
  52. Sea Devil, Sega Retro
  53. Soccer, Giant Bomb
  54. 55.0 55.1 Astro Race at Museum of the Game
  55. 56.0 56.1 Discrete logic arcade games, Sega Retro
  56. 57.0 57.1 Martin Picard (December 2013), The Foundation of Geemu: A Brief History of Early Japanese video games, The International Journal of Computer Game Research 13 (2), Game Studies
  57. Sega Fonz hardware, Sega Retro
  58. 59.0 59.1 59.2 Motion Control, Giant Bomb
  59. 60.0 60.1 KO Punch, Sega Retro
  60. US4389711A patent: Touch sensitive tablet using force detection
  61. Nintendo Wins Emmy For DS And Wii Engineering | Technology | Sky News. News.sky.com (2008-01-09). Retrieved on 2010-08-30
  62. Magrino, Tom (2008-01-08). CES '08: Nintendo wins second Emmy - News at GameSpot. Gamespot.com. Retrieved on 2010-08-30
  63. Pressure Sensitivity, Giant Bomb
  64. 65.0 65.1 Sega Hang-On hardware, Sega Retro
  65. 66.0 66.1 Star Arthur Densetsu I: Wakusei Mephius, Giant Bomb
  66. Sega Graphic Board, Sega Retro
  67. Sega X Board, Sega Retro
  68. 69.0 69.1 Hands On Throttle-And-Stick
  69. XE-1 AP, Sega Retro
  70. Dempa, Sega Retro
  71. Remote Control System (Sega Retro)
  72. WKK (Sega Retro)
  73. Remote Arcade System (Sega Retro)
  74. Sega Activator, Giant Bomb
  75. Light Harp at CES 1993. YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoxsnCiX05k. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 
  76. Horowitz, Ken (2004-08-03). Top 10 Tuesday: Worst Game Controllers. Sega-16. Archived from the original on 2010-02-06 Retrieved on 2010-12-04
  77. Assaf Gurner, Giant Bomb
  78. neGcon, Giant Bomb
  79. 3D Control Pad, Sega Retro
  80. Kasco, Giant Bomb
  81. Kenzou Furukawa, Giant Bomb
  82. 83.0 83.1 Phong Shading, Giant Bomb
  83. Bui Tuong Phong, Illumination of Computer-Generated Images, Department of Computer Science, University of Utah, UTEC-CSs-73-129, July 1973.
  84. Vertical scrolling
  85. 86.0 86.1 Road Race, Sega Retro
  86. 87.0 87.1 Bomber, Sega Retro
  87. Bomber, Giant Bomb
  88. 89.0 89.1 Bomber at Museum of the Game
  89. brutaldeluxe.fr
  90. PROJECTS AND ARTICLES Retrieving Japanese Apple II programs.
  91. Page flipping
  92. Levy, Steven. Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution. O'Reilly Media. p. 263. ISBN 1449393748. https://books.google.com/books?id=mShXzzKtpmEC&pg=PA263. 
  93. Hitachi Basic Master Level 3 (Old Computer Museum)
  94. Parallax Scrolling, Giant bomb
  95. Turbo, Sega Retro
  96. Steve Hanawa, Sega Retro
  97. Stereoscopic 3D, Giant Bomb
  98. 99.0 99.1 Astron Belt, Sega Retro
  99. Sega LaserDisc hardware (Sega Retro)
  100. Bega's Battle, Giant Bomb
  101. Extreme Violence, Giant Bomb
  102. 103.0 103.1 Amnork (Giant Bomb)
  103. Flat Shading, Giant Bomb
  104. Ray Casting, Giant Bomb
  105. Masaya (Giant Bomb)
  106. Sim Drive (Giant Bomb)
  107. Gouraud Shading, Giant Bomb
  108. Doctor Hauzer, Giant Bomb
  109. Riverhill Software, Giant Bomb
  110. 111.0 111.1 DF Retro: Sega Nomad - The Original Switch-Style Hybrid Console?
  111. Autostereoscopy, Giant Bomb
  112. Electronic Gaming Monthly, issue 93, April 1997, page 22
  113. Hisao Oguchi, Sega Retro
  114. Brave Firefighters, Giant Bomb
  115. Takashi Tokita, Giant Bomb
  116. Hisahiko Takeuchi, MobyGames
  117. Depth-of-field, Giant Bomb
  118. Masaya Nakamura, Giant Bomb
  119. Hisashi Suzuki, Sega Retro
  120. Balloon Gun at Museum of the Game
  121. Masser, Jeff (2012). A Brief History Of Kart Racing Games. Modojo.
  122. Crashing Race at Museum of the Game
  123. Space Tactics, Sega Retro
  124. Fonz, Sega Retro
  125. Dru Hill: The Chronicle of Druaga, 1UP
  126. Koji Sumii, Giant Bomb
  127. Space Tactics, Sega Retro
  128. Mystery House, Giant Bomb
  129. Roberta Williams, Giant Bomb
  130. 131.0 131.1 Samurai, Giant Bomb
  131. Lupin III, Giant Bomb
  132. Samurai at Museum of the Game
  133. 134.0 134.1 134.2 Panorama Toh, Giant Bomb
  134. The Dragon & Princess, Giant Bomb
  135. Terror House, Giant Bomb
  136. Tatsumi, Giant Bomb
  137. Yoshio Kiya, Giant Bomb
  138. 139.0 139.1 Bokosuka Wars, Giant Bomb
  139. Immersive Sim, Giant Bomb
  140. Yuji Horii, Giant Bomb
  141. Hokkaidou Rensa Satsujin: Ohotsuku ni Kiyu!!, Giant Bomb
  142. 143.0 143.1 143.2 Herzog Zwei, Sega Retro
  143. The Screamer, Giant Bomb
  144. Magical Zoo, Giant Bomb
  145. Getsu Fuuma Den, Giant Bomb
  146. Hero Shooter (TV Tropes)
  147. Outtrigger (Sega Retro)
  148. Toshiba-EMI Ltd, Giant Bomb
  149. Haruhiko Shono, Giant Bomb
  150. The Life Stage: Virtual House, Giant Bomb
  151. Micro Cabin, Giant Bomb
  152. Doctor Hauzer, Giant Bomb
  153. Riverhill Software, Giant Bomb
  154. Kenichiro Hayashi, Giant Bomb
  155. Hidetaka Miyazaki (Giant Bomb)
  156. Masaya Nakamura, Giant Bomb
  157. Thomas Fine (2008). "The dawn of commercial digital recording". ARSC Journal 39 (1): 1–17. http://www.aes.org/aeshc/pdf/fine_dawn-of-digital.pdf. 
  158. Yamaha, Sega Retro
  159. Chiptune, Giant Bomb
  160. Sharp MZ (Giant Bomb)
  161. Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar, Volume 4 (1979)
  162. https://www.giantbomb.com/speech-synthesis/3015-3801/ Speech Synthesis], Giant Bomb
  163. Gaming's most important evolutions, GamesRadar
  164. Manbiki Shoujo, Giant Bomb
  165. Szczepaniak, John (2014). The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers. 1. SMG Szczepaniak. pp. 544–615. ISBN 978-0992926007. 
  166. Hiroshi Suzuki, Giant Bomb
  167. Yamaha, VGM Rips
  168. Sharp Corporation, Giant Bomb
  169. Steve Jobs, Giant Bomb
  170. Sega VIC Dual (Sega Retro)
  171. https://segaretro.org/Sega_Master_System
  172. https://segaretro.org/Sega_Master_System/Technical_specifications
  173. https://segaretro.org/Yamaha
  174. Fujitsu (Giant Bomb)
  175. Fujitsu (Sega Retro)
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