video games were introduced as an entertainment medium in 1971, becoming the start for a big entertainment industry in the late 1970s/early 1980s in the united states, japan, and europe. after a bad industry collapse in 1983 and a rebirth two years later, the video game industry has experienced large growth for over twenty years. now, it is a $10 billion industry and it earns almost as much money as the motion picture industry.