Early history of video games
Throughout the rest of the 1960s, digital computer games were created by increasingly numerous programmers and sometimes sold commercially in catalogs. As the audience for video games expanded to more than a few dozen research institutions with the falling cost of computers, and programming languages that would run on multiple types of computers were created, a wider variety of games began to be developed. Video games transitioned into a new era in the early 1970s with the launch of the commercial video game industry in 1971 with the display of the coin-operated arcade game "Galaxy Game" and the release of the first arcade video game "Computer Space", and then in 1972 with the release of the immensely successful arcade game "Pong" and the first home video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, which launched the first generation of video game consoles.
Video gaming in the United States
The 1970s included the birth of the video game console. The first console released was titled "Magnavox Odyssey" and the foundation of Atari occurred around the same time, marking the start of "Pong's" development. Upon "Pong's" completion it become the hottest selling Christmas product of 1975. The evolution of the console was incredibly rapid. A few years after their invention, consoles received microprocessors and programmable ROM cartridge based games, allowing users the ability to change games by simply switching cartridges. Important consoles released at this time were the "Telstar, Fairchild Channel F., "and "Atari 2600." Arcade games also received advances with the game "Space Invaders", which allowed high scores to be tracked and displayed. A year later the game "Asteroids "built on the idea and gave high scorers the ability to enter initials by their scores.