(This is a multi-part article taking a look at the evolution of video games and the systems responsible for it.)

Sometimes it’s easy to forget but having 3 different systems to choose from is unprecedented in the history of video games. Historically, the market has only had room for the ‘big 2′ and the third system found itself in a distant third and ultimately out of business i.e. Sega. But here we are in 2009 and there is a battle going on amongst the ‘Big 3′- Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. Some would say the battle is only between Microsoft and Sony for second place because Nintendo has laid the smack down this generation of video gaming with the Wii and I would have to agree, like it or not. Consumers have chosen the system they wish to endorse and are often caught up in flame wars defending the ‘honor’ of their system and discussions can sometimes become really heated.

Don’t worry, this article is not promoting such a discussion, rather, I am here to actually celebrate the merits of ALL systems (now that’s a twist!) Just think about it, with three systems now fully sharing the video game market it shows just how far the video game industry has grown or does it, or better yet, have you even thought about it? Well, if the thought never crossed your mind I humbly invite you to take a stroll down the video game memory lane with me and take a look at the contributions of video game systems past and present, to celebrate each systems merits which directly moved video games into another level of existence- the EVOLUTION of video games, that’s what it’s all about.

I remember wayyy back in 1978 as a kid my mom use to take me and my brother to a Sears department store located in Compton, Ca. and it was there me and my brother was introduced to the Atari 2600. I remember begging my mom to leave us in the department where the Atari 2600 was located while she went shopping, it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Ultimately, the Atari 2600 found it’s way to my home and my love for video games was born. The Atari 2600 was a blockbuster success. At its peak, Atari accounted for a third of Time Warner’s annual income and was the fastest-growing company in the history of the United States at the time. Atari, already a force in the arcades starting with pong, helped the evolution of video games by a programming technique called Player Missile Graphics. To achieve this, Atari created 2 custom graphic chips called ANTIC and GTIA. Before this, computer generated graphics were created solely by the the computer’s CPU.

Through innovation (the blood of evolution) Atari invented custom graphic chips to handle graphics and custom sound chips to handle sound which freed the computer’s CPU. These innovations changed the way games were created and are used to this very day. Atari’s Player Missile Graphics allowed a programmer to create a group of sprites called a player and a group of sprites called a missile that is separated from the background. Now you can create an animated figure, move it quickly to any part of the screen consisting of any mixture of graphic modes, and not worry about erasing any part of the existing background. This breakthrough in video game graphics laid the foundation for video game creation for years to come and helped fuel an industry that would eventually rival Hollywood. To those of you who were there doing the days of Atari, if you are like me, you will always shed a tear or two when looking at what has become of Atari and for those of you who had no idea of how important Atari was to the evolution of video games, hopefully this will help. Thanks Atari.

(PART 2- Atari succumbs to internal problems and gives way to another evolutionary company.)