September 12, 2012 - National Video Games Day

In the early days, they were sometimes called TV games. 

Nowadays, they're anywhere games!

Video games are interactive electronic games played with some sort of “user interface”--anything from a keyboard or mouse to a track ball, joystick, game controller, even floor sensors. Almost all video games involve 2-D visuals and sounds, but some provide 3-dimensional visuals, vibrations, or even “force feedback.” I think someday there may even be smell-o-vision. Hey, Disneyland can do it—can video games be far behind?

Although the very first patent for a video game was filed in 1947, the first commercially-sold coin-op video game was Computer Space, in 1971. This black-and-white game was soon followed by Atari's Pong, and then a wave of new games including Space Invaders (1978). The late 70s and early 80s was the golden age of arcade video games, but home systems began to be sold, too, and Atari and other companies made a lot of money for a few years. However, there was a video game crash from 1983 to 1985. A new wave of game consoles bloomed, starting with Nintendo and extending to Play Station, X-box, Wii, and many others.

Arcade games, computer games, console games, handheld games, phone games, Facebook games, on and on...and on and on. Nowadays there are soooo many electronic games, there needs to be two Video Games Days—and luckily, there are! The other Video Games Day (no “National” in the title) is July 8.

Play a video game today!

Learn to make video games!

Primer Labs is creating a game called Code Hero—and the object of this game is to teach you how to make games! How rad is that? 

Also on this date:

Anniversary of JFK's “space speech” and other space stuff 

Cape Verde's National Day