1990

Microsoft created a video game version of the classic card game, Solitaire. Solitaire
becomes one of the most popular electronic games ever and provides a gaming model
for quick, easy-to-play, and casual games.

1991
Nintendo released the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), which does quite
reach the heights of the original NES console. The 16-bit machine boasted 32K colors,
and could also support special effects, including scaling, rotating, and transparency.
Super Mario World was included as a pack-in game, much to the delight of fans. Total
worldwide sales are 49,100,000 to date.
This was also the year that Sega needed an iconic hero for its Genesis (known as Mega
Drive in Japan) system and then made it as Sonic the Hedgehog.

1993
Mortal Kombat, one of the first two-player fighting games, came out in arcades. It
sparked the debate among parents about video game violence and how it affects
children. Concern about bloodshed in games such as Mortal Kombat prompted United
States Senate hearings on video game violence. The controversy riled the industry and
prompted the creation of a video game rating system.
1994
The first Warcraft game, Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, is released on PC as a real-time
strategy game, drawing a massive following.

1995
Sony gets in on the gaming industry, releasing PlayStation. This is the first console of
any type to ship over 100 million units, doing so in under a decade.

1996
Nintendo 64 came out, which is Nintendo's with third console. Sales didn't reach the
console's predecessor, ending at 32,930,000
This is also the year Lara Croft debuted as the star of Eidos's adventure game Tomb
Raider. Players loved her, but critics say that she's an example of sexism in video
games.

1999
Konami's Dance Dance Revolution, an interactive dancing game, gets arcade gamers
moving.
Also, this year, through the PC hit and first MMO game Everquest, massive multiplayer
online role-playing game (MMORPGs), which freed users from the limited number of
simultaneous players in other games brought persistent worlds to the mass market.

2000
Sony released the most popular and most widely distributed console of all time: the
PlayStation 2. No console has ever beat the worldwide sales record of the PS2, at
157,680,000 units to date.
This was also the year that The Sims, a simulation game that modeled real life, was
released. It's not the first simulation game but it became the best-selling computer game
ever and the most popular game with female players.

2001
The next generation Gameboy, the Gameboy Advance, was released, with worldwide
sales at 81,510,000 to date.
Nintendo also released the GameCube, with popular titles like Mario Sunshine, Luigi's
Mansion and Super Smash Brothers. Worldwide sales only reached 21,740,000 to date.
This was also the year that Microsoft released the first Xbox console. Worldwide sales
reached 24,650,000 globally to date. Halo, an FPS game from Xbox, became one of the
most popular games, which made other companies release their own FPS (first person
shooter) games.

2003
Valve released Steam, hyping up the PC gaming industry. Steam is a digital distribution
platform that allows players to download, play, and update games.
2004
Nintendo released the Nintendo DS, maintaining their dominance in the handheld
market, it is an easy-to-use, portable gaming system with two processors, two screens,
multiplayer capabilities, and a stylus for the touchscreen. Worldwide sales reached an
impressive 154,010,000 units, at the time which put Nintendo back on the map.
This was also the year that Sony released its handheld product, the PlayStation
Portable (PSP). The device features an impressive screen with high-resolution graphics.
Worldwide sales have currently reached 80,820,000.

2005
Microsoft released its second console in the Xbox series, the Xbox 360, the first console
to have high-definition graphics, it also features an online service which is Xbox Live
which allows players to play games online; download games and game demos;
purchase and stream music, television programs, and films through the Xbox Music and
Xbox Video portals; and it also allows people to access third-party content services
through media streaming applications.

2006
Sony released PlayStation 3. The PS3 holds the exclusive rights to Blu-ray technology
on the console.
This was also the year that Nintendo released Nintendo Wii, an interactive console.
Nintendo Wii gets gamers off the couch and moving with innovative, motion-sensitive
remotes. People can play games like bowling, archery, golf, and more.

2007
This was the year that Rock Band, a music video game, was released with its
controllers modeled after musical instruments like the microphone, drum, guitar, and
other musical instruments.

2008
The most popular MMO, World of Warcraft, was released. A massively multiplayer
online game is an online game with a big number of players, typically from hundreds to
thousands, on the same server. MMOs create entire virtual universes for players.
2009
Social games like Farmville and mobile games like Angry Birds shake up the games
industry. Millions of people who never would have considered themselves as gamers
started playing games on new platforms like Facebook and the iPhone during this year.
https://www.dailyinfographic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Video-Game-History.jpg

https://www.museumofplay.org/about/icheg/video-game-history/timeline

https://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/consoles/how-the-xbox-360-won-the-console-
war-1196990

http://www.gamepilgrimage.com/book/export/html/10920

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/wii-and-ds-thrash-competition-in-us

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rock-band-music-catalog-surpasses-2000-
song-milestone-with-the-jimi-hendrix-experiences-classic-song-are-you-experienced-
104341113.html

https://newzoo.com/insights/rankings/top-20-core-pc-games/
PC Games – A personal computer game (PC game) is a video game that is played on a
personal computer rather than on a console.
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/31136/personal-computer-game-pc-game
Offline Games – games that can be played without an Internet connection.
https://www.warrington-worldwide.co.uk/2017/06/16/online-vs-offline-gaming-influence-
on-modern-society/
1. Feeding Frenzy – is an arcade-style aquatic video game written by Sprout
Games, and published by PopCap Games. In Feeding Frenzy, players control a
hungry marine predator intent on munching as many other fish as possible.
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_feedingfrenzy_x360
2. Inspector Gadget – is a side-scrolling action video game for the Super Nintendo
Entertainment System. It was based on the television show of the same title. In
Inspector Gadget, the player controls Inspector Gadget as he travels around the
world to rescue his niece Penny, who has been kidnapped by the terrorist
organization M.A.D. and its leader Dr. Claw.
https://www.mobygames.com/game/inspector-gadget
3. Insaniquarium – is a puzzle video game. In this game, players must manage a
tank of guppies and other aquatic creatures, and each stage begins with two
guppies in the tank or one breeder which creates guppies. Guppies and other
fish drop money, which can be collected by the player and used to purchase fish
food and upgrades, such as more aquatic creatures, more filling food, and
powerful lasers to repel attackers. The guppies must be fed to be alive.
https://jayisgames.com/review/insaniquarium.php

Online Games – games that need an Internet connection in order to be played

1. World of Warcraft – is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game
(MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released
game set in the Warcraft fantasy universe. Like other MMORPGs, players control
a character avatar within a game world in third- or first-person view, exploring the
landscape, fighting various monsters, completing quests, and interacting with
non-player characters (NPCs) or other players.
http://worldofwarcraft.com/info/story/timeline.html
http://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/game/new-players-guide
  DOTA - Defense of the Ancients (DotA) is a multiplayer online battle arena
(MOBA) mod for the video game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (2002) and
its expansion, The Frozen Throne. The objective of the game is for each
team to destroy their opponents' Ancient, a heavily guarded structure at
the opposing corner of the map. Two teams of players play against each
other: the Sentinel and the Scourge. Each human player controls one
hero, a powerful unit with unique abilities. DotA allows up to ten players in
a five-versus-five format.
http://www.playdota.com/learn

2. Counter-Strike – also known as CS, is a series of multiplayer first-person shooter

video games, in which teams of terrorists battle to perpetrate an act of terror
(bombing, hostage-taking, assassination) and counter-terrorists try to prevent it
(bomb defusal, hostage rescue). It is an objective-based, multiplayer FPS (first-
person shooter). Two opposing teams compete in game modes to complete
objectives, such as securing a location to plant or defuse a bomb and rescuing or
guarding hostages.
http://counter-strike.net/
3. League of Legends – is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game in the
three-dimensional isometric perspective. Players compete in matches, lasting
anywhere from 20 to 50 minutes on average. In each game mode, teams work
together to achieve victory by destroying the core building (called the Nexus) in
the enemy team's base after getting through a line of defensive structures called
turrets, or towers. In all game modes, players control characters called
champions, chosen or assigned every match, who each have a set of unique
abilities. Champions begin every match at a low level, and then gain experience
over the course of the match to achieve a maximum level of 18.
https://na.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/how-to-play/
4. PUBG – PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is an online multiplayer battle royale
game. It is a player versus player shooter game wherein up to one hundred
players fight in a battle royale, a type of large-scale last man standing
deathmatch where players fight to remain the last alive. Players can choose to
enter the match solo, duo, or with a small team of up to four people. The last
person or team alive wins the match.
https://www.polygon.com/playerunknowns-battlegrounds-
guide/2017/6/9/15721366/pubg-how-to-play-blue-wall-white-red-circle-map-weapon-
vehicle-inventory-air-drop
 5. Minecraft – is a 3D sandbox video game that has no specific victory or goals to
accomplish, allowing players a large amount of freedom in choosing how to play
the game. It is described as a “sandbox game” because players can create,
modify, and destroy their own worlds where the possibilities are truly limitless.
The Minecraft game world is composed of rough 3D objects, mainly cubes and
fluids, and commonly called "blocks", representing various materials, such as
dirt, stone, ores, tree trunks, water, and lava.
https://www.dummies.com/programming/programming-games/minecraft/how-to-play-
minecraft/