There have been many inventions over the years that have provided entertainment for the masses. From the phonograph so people could listen to their favorite music at home, to the deck of cards so people could play poker, gin and the like – to the board game, so groups can compete in games of skill and fun. But of all the inventions that have provided some level of entertainment – there is one that is by far the most successful, most popular, and most improved on – the video game.

From Atari’s Pong to the soon to be released Microsoft X-Box, the video game is currently the most popular form of entertainment – and was from the very beginning.

It was 1975 when Atari, a company who’s name comes from the ancient Japanese game of Go and means “you are about to be engulfed” – first introduced a home version of its popular arcade game – Pong. Sold exclusively through Sears and even carrying the Sears logo – Pong’s release was a phenomenal success – opening the door to the future of home video games. Based on the success of Pong, Atari released the 2600 Video Computer System in 1977. This revolutionary product could do what no other video game could ever do – use removable cartridges which allowed a multitude of games to be played using the same hardware. On the market from 1977 till 1990 – the Atari 2600 lasted longer than any other home video game system in history.

When released, the Atari 2600 was the biggest selling item of it’s time. Even my mother spent over two hundred dollars to get me one (thanks Mom). Packaged with one video game, Combat – the Atari was like nothing I had ever seen before. Now, I could play video games in my own house, start over whenever I wanted – and even add new video games to my library. As a kid who personally witnessed the birth of the home video game – I can tell you that it was very exciting.

After the release of the Atari 2600, Atari released a second game console, the 5200. And in an effort to cash in on Atari’s success, Coleco released ColecoVision and Mattel introduced IntelliVision, which for the first time, gave consumers a choice in consoles.

As technology moved forward and arcade games became more advanced, interest in home video games began to wane because the quality of the home product lagged far behind arcade standards. But once again, the world of video games changed in 1985 with only one word – Nintendo.

When Nintendo was released, it introduced the world to some of the most memorable video game characters since Pac-Man. From Mario to Zelda to Donkey Kong – the world was hooked to Nintendo just as they were to the Atari.

Since the release of Nintendo, the world has been introduced to Sega, Playstation, Dreamcast, Game Boy and soon – X-Box – which will allow people to play video games over the Internet with people they never even met.

It seems that no matter how much we stretch into the future, video games will move along with us – ever advancing and always entertaining us.

But to be honest – I would love to have my Atari back.