1972 in video gaming
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| List of years in video gaming (table) |
|---|
| … 1962 . 1963 . 1964 . 1965 . 1966 . 1967 . 1968 … 1969 1970 1971 -1972- 1973 1974 1975 … 1976 . 1977 . 1978 . 1979 . 1980 . 1981 . 1982 … |
| Related time period or subjects |
| … 1969 . 1970 . 1971 - 1972 - 1973 . 1974 . 1975 … … 1940s . 1950s . 1960s -1970s- 1980s . 1990s . 2000s |
| Art . Archaeology . Architecture . Literature . Music . Science +... |
[edit] Events
- Following the poor sales of Computer Space, Nolan Bushnell leaves Nutting Associates to move his coin-op engineering and design firm with Ted Dabney in to a full fledged company. When officially incorporating, Bushnell discovers that a roofing company had already been using their name (syzygy). In its place, the new corporation is named "Atari."[1]
- On 24 May, Magnavox unveils the Odyssey, the first video game console, at a Burlingame, California convention. Nutting Associates, manufacturer of Computer Space, sends Nolan Bushnell to observe the launch. Bushnell reports back that he found the device underwhelming, and expresses no concern over the competition.[1] Later that year, Magnavox files suit against Atari over Pong, claiming that Atari founder Nolan Bushnell appropriated the concept from Tennis, one of the games available for the Odyssey, after having witnessed it at the Odyssey's unveiling. Before the court could find against Atari, Nolan and company agree to license the game from Magnavox and Sanders for a one time fee of $700,000.[2]
[edit] Notable releases
- Magnavox begins to sell the Odyssey through its retail stores.[1]
- Atari releases its first arcade game, Al Alcorn's Pong.[1]
- Gregory Yob programs Hunt the Wumpus, an early progenitor of the interactive fiction genre, in BASIC for mainframe computers.[3]
- Don Daglow programs Star Trek on a PDP-10 mainframe computer at Pomona College. Note that this is a different game from the Star Trek game of 1971[4]
- Civilization (not related to the Sid Meier Civilization games) written on the HP2000 minicomputer at Evergreen State College. A rewrite of this game would come be to known as Empire Classic.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Herman, Leonard et al. (2002). "The Games Begin 1971–1977". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/hov/p3_01.html. Retrieved on 15 February 2006.
- ^ Gegan, Shaun (1997). "Magnavox Odyssey 1.71 FAQ". ClassicGaming.com. http://www.classicgaming.com/museum/o1faq.shtml. Retrieved on 15 February 2006.
- ^ Jerz, Dennis G. (2002). "Hunt the Wumpus -- Gregory Yob (c. 1972)". Interactive Fiction — Foundational Works. http://jerz.setonhill.edu/if/canon/Hunt_the_Wumpus.htm. Retrieved on 15 February 2006.
- ^ "Conclusion". Game Design Workshop: Designing, Prototyping, and Playtesting Games. http://gamedesign.uw.hu/gamedesign0033.html. Retrieved on 15 February 2006.
- ^ "Empire Classic homepage". Empire Classic website. http://empireclassic.com/. Retrieved on 7 April 2007.
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