What are your earliest memories of video computer games?  Mine are of arcade games which were dull by modern standards but tremendously exciting then.  Black and white tennis or ping-pong, played between two players, was the first I remember playing, and was also the first I ever bought to play on my TV.  And it wasn’t cheap, even though I got it at sale price.

Then there was Space Invaders, the first real shoot-em-up game I remember.  In fact my tennis game wasn’t far out, because the very first ever Graphical video game was developed in 1958 and called ‘Tennis for Two’.  I played my game in a pub in 1969, and was so impressed by this ball bouncing back and forth across the screen that I paid a fortune to buy one for myself. I still have it in my attic. However, I later found it was a version of ‘Pong’ that people was queuing up to buy.  It had a number of games on it, but that is another story.

No history of video games would be complete without the famed Asteroids. This was an Atari game released in 1980 and played in arcades and pubs all over the world.  It’s probably the best known arcade game ever, though perhaps unheard of by today’s youngsters brought up on much more realistic fare – but is it as much fun?  Asteroids was real fun, and didn’t turn kids neurotic! In fact I believe that it was the first even copyrighted video game. I looked in every store I could find but it wasn’t for sale anywhere.

After that came a plethora of games including the famous Pac-Man, and a whole raft of computer games including Breakout, Battle Zone, Donkey Kong, Centipede, Frogger, Star Wars, Tron, Gauntlet and Alpine Racer in 1996. Today’s games are more combative, although many have a sports theme.

It was the invention of home computer players such as Playstation that started off the explosion of home computer games. Prior to that most games were played only in arcades or using keyboards, but now they can be played in your own home with genuine arcade style controls.

Now we have games such as the Legend of Zelda and the Resident Evil series, and may have been criticized for their excessive violence.  There is an answer to that in parental control, although it is difficult to see many kids being negatively affected by many of these sometimes very boring games. The more innovative have been Activision’s Guitar Hero and World of Warcraft by Blizzard Entertainment. However, as with all forms of entertainment, quality is in the eye of the player, and only they know what is best for them. The history of video and computer games has been a relatively short one, but where does it go now:  and how more realistic will they become? Only time will tell.

Video Games and Computer Games Buying Guide.

This guide is intended for parents, since the kids don’t need guides:  they know what they want and aren’t interested in advice.  All parents know that.

1.  If intending to buy a game, don’t.  At least not unless you have asked your child what he or she wants. To buy anything but the latest blockbuster will be a total waste of money.