So you wanna know when the first video game was made? Buckle up, because it's messier than my garage after a DIY project gone wrong. Most folks spit out "Pong" like it's gospel truth – but nah, that's like calling Elvis the first musician. We gotta dig deeper.
I remember arguing about this at a retro gaming convention last year. Some dude swore it was Space Invaders, while his buddy slammed his soda can yelling "Atari 2600!" (both wrong, by the way). Truth is, answering "when was the first video game made" depends on what you count as a "video game." Screens? Controllers? Pixels? Let's untangle this.
Meet the Contenders: Gaming's Proto-Grandparents
If you thought Pong was ancient, wait till you see these fossils. These aren't just trivia – they're proof that engineers were secretly fun people.
OXO (1952): The Forgotten Grandparent
Picture this: Cambridge University, 1952. No joysticks, no flashy graphics. Just a massive EDSAC computer the size of a fridge and a cathode-ray tube display. British professor Alexander S. Douglas coded "OXO" – aka noughts and crosses (tic-tac-toe). You dialed moves on a rotary phone (!) and watched the computer respond on screen.
Why it matters: This was the earliest known example of a graphical game displayed on a monitor. But here's the rub – only one machine existed, and you needed a PhD to operate it. Not exactly arcade material.
Tennis for Two (1958): The Oscilloscope Wonder
Fast-forward to 1958 at Brookhaven National Lab. Physicist William Higinbotham got bored watching static exhibits at visitor day. So he hacked together "Tennis for Two" using an analog computer and – get this – an oscilloscope as the display. Two boxy controllers with knobs let players volley a glowing dot over a net.
"People lined up for hours to play it," Higinbotham later recalled. "We had to shut it down after two years because it was distracting real scientists."
I tried a replica at the Strong Museum of Play – shockingly intuitive. But was it a video game? Purists argue oscilloscopes aren't "video" displays. Semantics, man.
Spacewar! (1962): The Revolution Starter
Enter MIT nerds in 1962. Steve Russell and crew built "Spacewar!" on a PDP-1 computer. Two spaceships (the needle and wedge) blasted torpedoes while dodging a star's gravity. This thing had physics, scorekeeping, and even hyperspace jumps.
| Feature | OXO (1952) | Tennis for Two (1958) | Spacewar! (1962) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display Type | Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) | Analog Oscilloscope | CRT Monitor |
| Controllers | Rotary Phone Dial | Analog Knobs | Toggle Switches |
| Multiplayer? | Human vs AI | 2 Players | 2 Players |
| Surviving Copies | 0 (rebuilt in museums) | 0 (replicas exist) | 1 original PDP-1 (CHM) |
Spacewar! spread like wildfire across college campuses. Nolan Bushnell (future Atari founder) played it in Utah and later ripped it off as "Computer Space." Still, when was the first video game made technically? 1962 checks more boxes for modern gamers.
The Great Debate: Why Historians Can't Agree
Ask five experts "when was the first video game made," get six answers. Here's why:
- The Screen Test: Does it need a raster display (like TVs), or do oscilloscopes count?
- Interactivity: OXO responded to input but wasn't "real-time." Tennis for Two was.
- Digital vs Analog: Tennis for Two used analog circuits. Does that disqualify it?
Personally, I think gatekeeping based on display tech is nonsense. If great-grandma would call it a video game while squinting at it, it counts.
Honorable Mentions (Or Not)
Some wildcards in this race:
- Cathode-Ray Tube Amusement Device (1947): Thomas Goldsmith's patent used CRT controls to simulate missiles. But no computer – just knobs and overlays. Felt more like a toy.
- Bertie the Brain (1950): A giant computer that played tic-tac-toe at a Canadian exhibition. Same issue as OXO – more demo than game.
Honestly? These feel like tech demos. Fun to cite at parties though.
Where to See Gaming History Alive Today
Wanna play these relics? Good luck finding an original PDP-1. But museums have rebuilt working versions:
| Game | Location | Experience | Visitor Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennis for Two Replica | Brookhaven Lab (NY), Strong Museum (NY) | Playable during special events | Call ahead – not always on display |
| Spacewar! | Computer History Museum (CA) | Live demos on restored PDP-1 | Check demo schedules online |
| OXO Rebuild | National Museum of Computing (UK) | EDSAC replica with playable game | Guided tours recommended |
I dragged my kids to the Computer History Museum last summer. Their review of Spacewar?: "Why doesn't it have Fortnite skins?" Sigh.
The Domino Effect: How These Games Changed Everything
Forget "when was the first video game made" – why does it matter? Because these experiments sparked chains reactions:
Tennis for Two → Atari: Higinbotham never patented it. Bushnell saw similar tech, created Pong in 1972, and launched an empire. Oops.
Meanwhile, Spacewar! inspired:
- Nolan Bushnell's Computer Space (1971) – commercial flop
- Atari's Pong (1972) – massive hit
- Early arcade culture in Silicon Valley garages
OXO? Sadly forgotten until historians dug it up. Proof that being first doesn’t mean you’ll be famous.
FAQ: Burning Questions Answered
Was Pong really the first video game?
Nope! Pong (1972) came 10-20 years after OXO, Tennis for Two, and Spacewar!. It was just the first mass-market success.
Why isn't Tennis for Two more famous?
Higinbotham worked for the government. He didn't commercialize it, and the machine was dismantled in 1959. Only photos survived.
Can I play these games online?
Sort of:
- Spacewar! emulators exist (needs setup)
- Tennis for Two: JavaScript clones online
- OXO: Playable at online EDSAC simulators
Who actually invented video games then?
Depends who you ask!
- Brits say Douglas (OXO)
- Americans say Higinbotham (Tennis) or Russell (Spacewar)
- Patent lawyers say Goldsmith (1947 device)
My Take: So When WAS It Made?
After geeking out for weeks in old journals (yes, I requested 1950s computer manuals – don’t judge), here’s where I land:
1958 feels right for "when was the first video game made." Tennis for Two had real-time interaction, a visual display, and pure entertainment intent. Oscilloscope or not, it felt like a game. Spacewar! wins for digital purity, but it built on earlier ideas.
OXO? Clever, but more academic exercise than game. Cathode-Ray Tube Device? Cool patent, barely functional.
Ultimately, the first video game wasn’t one "Eureka!" moment. It was tinkerers in labs worldwide asking: "What if we made this computer do something fun?" And honestly? That messy origin story makes gaming history way more interesting.
Still wondering when the first video game was made? Go play Tennis for Two at a museum. That flickering dot on an oscilloscope? That's where your PlayStation roots began.