Many people have played video games before. Some of them have wondered how video games came to be. From oscilloscopes to Pong to Super Mario Bros, video games have had a long, complicated history.

The history of video games can be traced back to 1947. The year gave way to an invention called the cathode-ray tube amusement device. This early video game was the first to be played on an electronic display. It was invented by Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann.

When the year 1950 came around, a machine called Bertie the Brain was built. This video game was made for the 1950 Canadian National Exhibition, which takes place at the Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario. Bertie the Brain allowed attendees of the CNE to play tic-tac-toe against the computer. A similar game, simply titled OXO, was developed in 1952 and was written on the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator.

The year 1962 saw the development of Spacewar!, which was written for the PDP-1 minicomputer. The computer itself was one of the first minicomputers to be built. PDP stands for Programmed Data Processor. Spacewar! was the first video game to be played at multiple computer installations. It also inspired many later games, such as Computer Space and Asteroids.

The Magnavox Odyssey, released in 1972, was the first device that allowed people to play video games at home. Planning for it began back in 1966. It came packaged with dice, play money, and other familiar board game items such as playing cards and poker chips, as well as plastic overlays which attached to the screen via static cling.

Video games have shown people a new way to play with others. From old content like Super Mario Bros, Metroid, and Pokemon, and new content such as a new Kirby game and a console from Intellivision Entertainment, video games are a part of our everyday lives. If it weren't for Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann, video games wouldn't be here today.