When video games were first created, computers were still just beginning to break in to the mainstream. Computers were still seen as an object that should be used for mostly mathematical calculations. The idea of using them for playing games was still hard to understand for many. However, as people continued to develop computers more and more, the uses for them kept expanding. Eventually assembly languages were created to make creating a program more convenient. This began the start of computers as gaming devices.
Once assembly language was created, more and more people became attracted to computers because they were becoming easier to use and operate. Though games such as ‘Spacewar!’ were created prior to assembly languages as an initial start to computer gaming, these languages allowed for more of the general public to have better access to computers. Once a person learned the language, he or she could create just about anything they wanted. Quickly people began to develop simple games on their own.
In 1971, the first coin-operated arcade game was created. Spacewar! was put in to an arcade cabinet and mass produced, though it became largely unpopular, due to its learning curve. However, even though the game itself was not so popular, it was the first game to stand alone from a computer set-up. The arcade cabinet had no other purpose than to run this single game. A year later, Atari formed and created Pong, which became a huge success in bars and popular hang-out destinations. "One day within the first week, I got a call in the evening saying the machine stopped playing, and could I come down and fix it cause they got customers that want to play the game,” said Alcorn. “So I drove down to
In the early 1980’s, an abundance of poor-quality games hit the shelves and consumers became weary of them. Companies began to release consoles for home gaming, such as the Atari 2600. Third-party developers began creating games for them and would simply rush through them just to get them on the shelves in time for different events. This was around the time when the first appearance of Mario was seen, in 1981. He was the main character in the first Donkey Kong game. In 1983, E.T.: The Extraterrestrial and Pac-Man were both released for the Atari 2600. Both were over-produced and undersold, due to the extremely low quality of the games. It was later found that there were more copies of Pac-Man produced than there were actual Atari systems in existence. There was a huge crash in the game market due to all of these problems caused the bankruptcy of several game companies and the end of what was considered the second generation of gaming.
In 1985, Nintendo decided to try again at creating a video game console. The company released the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), also known as the Famicom. It was released along-side a game called Super Mario Bros. The system immediately became a success. The Super Mario Bros. title was revolutionary to the gaming industry. It was in full color, the main character was completely controlled by the person, and the best part was that it could be played from home. It was also one of the first games to have an actual storyline of a sort backing the game. The game featured an Italian plumber who needed to rescue a princess from the grasps of an evil dragon known as Bowser. Nintendo finally hit the right market at the right time with the right game. “The legendary title [Super Mario Bros.] has gone on to sell more than 50 million units worldwide” (http://ign64.ign.com/articles/060/060310p1.html), making Mario, created by Shigeru Miyamoto, an instant pop-culture icon. The game is still marked as one of the top-selling games of all-time.
Many believe Super Mario Bros. gained its popularity and sales from being bundled with the Nintendo Entertainment System, but when later games were released, they saw a lot of the same popularity. Mario was the first video game character to become so mainstream. He was easily merchandisable and highly popular. Consumers began buying Mario toys and decorations for everything. Anyone who paid attention to the consumer market knew the name ‘Mario,’ including those who had never touched a video game.
As more developers began creating their own games, they all began trying to find their own characters that would sell in the way Mario did. Very few had that kind of success. Sega was able to create Sonic, but that was about the closest any other company ever came to such a huge name. Mario beat the odds from being such an early character. Nintendo keeps on managing to release Mario titles that are always original in some way. No two games are ever identical in game play and often even have different art styles, just to keep the player’s interest. However, simply by keeping the ‘Mario’ name on the title of a game, it seems to sell. A great example of this is the recent success of Sonic and Mario at the Olympics. The game itself is not one of the greatest games that have been released recently, but because of the characters mentioned on the title, the game is one of the top twenty games in sales currently. (http://vgchartz.com/aweekly.php#hard)
Mario is possibly one of the biggest credits to the current success of the game industry. Whenever someone talks about video games, it seems that Mario is always mentioned in some way. He holds a big place in the history of video games. It could easily be said that Mario is the reason we have video games today. If it weren’t for him, the game industry may have never picked back up after the crash it saw in 1983. Mario opened the way for other companies to develop their own consoles and games. Even third-party developers became successful as the years went on. The video game industry is now one of the fastest-growing industries in existence, at a net worth of over $27.5 billion and counting. It is possible to say that all of this is thanks to Nintendo and it’s largely popular character, Mario.
Sources:
http://ign64.ign.com/articles/060/060310p1.html (IGN)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-man (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_language (Wikipedia)
http://themushroomkingdom.net/mario_history.shtml (TMK)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15734058/ (MSNBC)
http://vgchartz.com/aweekly.php#hard (VG Chartz)
No comments:
Post a Comment