<s>
In	O
the	O
history	B-Application
of	I-Application
video	I-Application
games	I-Application
,	O
the	O
first	B-Device
generation	I-Device
era	I-Device
refers	O
to	O
the	O
video	O
games	O
,	O
video	B-Application
game	I-Application
consoles	I-Application
,	O
and	O
handheld	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
consoles	I-Application
available	O
from	O
1972	O
to	O
1983	O
.	O
Notable	O
consoles	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
generation	O
include	O
the	O
Odyssey	B-Device
series	I-Device
(	O
excluding	O
the	O
Magnavox	B-Application
Odyssey	I-Application
2	I-Application
)	O
,	O
the	O
Atari	O
Home	O
Pong	B-Application
,	O
the	O
Coleco	B-Application
Telstar	I-Application
series	I-Application
and	O
the	O
Color	B-Application
TV-Game	I-Application
series	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
generation	O
ended	O
with	O
the	O
Computer	O
TV-Game	O
in	O
1980	O
,	O
but	O
many	O
manufacturers	O
had	O
left	O
the	O
market	O
prior	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
market	O
decline	O
in	O
the	O
year	O
of	O
1977	O
and	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
the	O
second	B-Application
generation	I-Application
of	I-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
consoles	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Consoles	O
often	O
came	O
with	O
accessories	O
and	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
that	O
could	O
alter	O
the	O
way	O
the	O
game	O
played	O
to	O
enhance	O
the	O
gameplay	O
experience	O
as	O
graphical	O
capabilities	O
consisted	O
of	O
simple	O
geometry	O
such	O
as	O
dots	O
,	O
lines	O
or	O
blocks	O
that	O
would	O
occupy	O
only	O
a	O
single	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
,	O
Magnavox	O
,	O
an	O
established	O
electronics	O
company	O
,	O
released	O
the	O
Odyssey	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
highly	O
limited	O
in	O
its	O
capabilities	O
compared	O
to	O
future	O
consoles	O
and	O
a	O
commercial	O
failure	O
,	O
the	O
Odyssey	B-Device
introduced	O
features	O
that	O
became	O
standards	O
in	O
the	O
industry	O
including	O
removable	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
and	O
multiple	O
detached	O
controllers	O
for	O
two	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inspired	O
by	O
the	O
Odyssey	B-Device
's	O
ping-pong	O
game	O
,	O
Atari	O
would	O
soon	O
go	O
on	O
to	O
market	O
the	O
game	O
Pong	B-Application
in	O
both	O
arcade	O
and	O
home	O
versions	O
;	O
Nintendo	O
,	O
a	O
well-established	O
Japanese	O
company	O
that	O
made	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
different	O
products	O
,	O
entered	O
the	O
video	B-Application
game	I-Application
console	I-Application
market	O
for	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
in	O
1977	O
with	O
its	O
Color	B-Application
TV-Game	I-Application
series	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
included	O
a	O
game	O
where	O
players	O
controlled	O
dots	O
chasing	O
each	O
other	O
and	O
a	O
light	B-Device
gun	I-Device
shooter	O
game	O
with	O
a	O
plastic	O
rifle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
soon	O
proved	O
his	O
value	O
to	O
the	O
team	O
by	O
coming	O
up	O
with	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
display	O
three	O
dots	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
at	O
once	O
rather	O
than	O
the	O
previous	O
two	O
,	O
and	O
proposing	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
a	O
ping	O
pong	B-Application
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
January	O
1969	O
the	O
team	O
had	O
produced	O
the	O
seventh	O
and	O
final	O
prototype	O
,	O
nicknamed	O
the	O
"	O
Brown	B-Device
Box	I-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Magnavox	O
designed	O
the	O
exterior	O
of	O
the	O
machine	O
,	O
and	O
re-engineered	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
internals	O
with	O
consultation	O
from	O
Baer	O
and	O
Harrison	O
;	O
they	O
removed	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
display	O
color	O
,	O
reduced	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
controller	O
types	O
,	O
and	O
changed	O
the	O
system	O
of	O
selecting	O
games	O
from	O
a	O
dial	O
to	O
separate	O
game	B-Protocol
cards	I-Protocol
that	O
modified	O
the	O
console	O
's	O
circuitry	O
when	O
plugged	O
into	O
the	O
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Magnavox	O
named	O
the	O
console	O
the	O
Magnavox	B-Device
Odyssey	I-Device
and	O
announced	O
the	O
system	O
's	O
launch	O
date	O
for	O
September	O
1972	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
late	O
1960s	O
,	O
Nolan	O
Bushnell	O
saw	O
Spacewar	B-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Spacewar	B-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
is	O
a	O
1962	O
mainframe	B-Application
game	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
students	O
and	O
employees	O
at	O
the	O
Massachusetts	O
Institute	O
of	O
Technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1970	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
were	O
beginning	O
to	O
come	O
down	O
in	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	B-Application
Space	I-Application
,	O
the	O
first	O
commercial	O
arcade	O
video	O
game	O
,	O
was	O
released	O
by	O
the	O
pair	O
as	O
Syzygy	O
Engineering	O
through	O
Nutting	O
Associates	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
1971	O
and	O
after	O
its	O
release	O
they	O
incorporated	O
as	O
Atari	O
in	O
the	O
following	O
year	O
and	O
began	O
designing	O
more	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bushnell	O
saw	O
a	O
demonstration	O
of	O
the	O
Odyssey	B-Device
console	O
playing	O
its	O
Table	O
Tennis	O
game	O
in	O
early	O
1972	O
and	O
assigned	O
their	O
first	O
employee	O
,	O
Allan	O
Alcorn	O
,	O
to	O
produce	O
an	O
arcade	O
table	O
tennis	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
result	O
,	O
Pong	B-Application
,	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
major	O
arcade	O
video	O
game	O
success	O
,	O
and	O
inspired	O
a	O
large	O
number	O
of	O
arcade	O
and	O
dedicated	B-Device
console	I-Device
versions	O
and	O
clones	O
,	O
including	O
Atari	O
's	O
Home	O
Pong	B-Application
in	O
1975	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
generation	O
of	O
consoles	O
did	O
not	O
contain	O
a	O
microprocessor	B-Architecture
and	O
were	O
based	O
on	O
custom	O
codeless	O
state	B-Architecture
machine	I-Architecture
computers	I-Architecture
consisting	O
of	O
discrete	O
logic	O
(	O
TTL	B-General_Concept
)	O
circuits	O
comprising	O
each	O
element	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Over	O
the	O
generation	O
,	O
technology	O
steadily	O
improved	O
and	O
later	O
consoles	O
of	O
the	O
generation	O
moved	O
the	O
bulk	O
of	O
the	O
circuitry	O
to	O
custom	O
integrated	O
circuits	O
such	O
as	O
Atari	O
's	O
custom	O
Pong	B-Application
chips	O
and	O
General	O
Instruments	O
 '	O
AY-3-8500	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
Odyssey	B-Device
could	O
only	O
display	O
3	O
square	O
dots	O
in	O
black	O
and	O
white	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
generation	O
progressed	O
,	O
consoles	O
started	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
display	O
color	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
more	O
complex	O
shapes	O
and	O
text	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
consoles	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Odyssey	B-Device
and	O
TV	B-Application
Tennis	I-Application
Electrotennis	I-Application
required	O
players	O
to	O
keep	O
track	O
of	O
scores	O
manually	O
but	O
later	O
,	O
many	O
introduced	O
score	O
counters	O
on	O
the	O
display	O
to	O
assist	O
players	O
in	O
score	O
tracking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Audio	O
capabilities	O
were	O
slow	O
to	O
improve	O
over	O
the	O
generation	O
,	O
starting	O
with	O
the	O
Odyssey	B-Device
,	O
which	O
had	O
no	O
audio	O
,	O
and	O
later	O
moving	O
on	O
to	O
consoles	O
which	O
had	O
buzzers	O
that	O
could	O
produce	O
a	O
small	O
range	O
of	O
beeps	O
and	O
buzzes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
significant	O
number	O
released	O
consoles	O
that	O
were	O
essentially	O
clones	O
of	O
Atari	O
's	O
Home	O
Pong	B-Application
and	O
many	O
were	O
poorly	O
made	O
and	O
rushed	O
to	O
market	O
,	O
causing	O
the	O
home	O
console	O
market	O
to	O
saturate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Coleco	O
received	O
their	O
order	O
early	O
on	O
,	O
allowing	O
them	O
to	O
build	O
up	O
strong	O
production	O
capabilities	O
and	O
have	O
success	O
with	O
their	O
Telstar	B-Application
range	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
start	O
of	O
the	O
second	O
generation	O
and	O
the	O
next	O
major	O
advancement	O
in	O
home	O
console	O
technology	O
began	O
in	O
1976	O
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
Fairchild	B-Operating_System
Channel	I-Operating_System
F	I-Operating_System
.	O
The	O
technology	O
behind	O
the	O
first	O
generation	O
quickly	O
became	O
obsolete	O
as	O
consumers	O
had	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
purchase	O
new	O
games	O
for	O
second	O
generation	O
consoles	O
instead	O
of	O
having	O
to	O
purchase	O
new	O
systems	O
when	O
they	O
wanted	O
new	O
content	O
as	O
with	O
the	O
dedicated	B-Device
consoles	I-Device
of	O
the	O
first	O
generation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
comparison	O
to	O
the	O
limited	O
game	O
library	O
for	O
each	O
dedicated	B-Device
console	I-Device
,	O
the	O
Atari	O
VCS	O
launched	O
with	O
Combat	O
,	O
a	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
containing	O
27	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
events	O
became	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
crash	O
of	O
1977	O
,	O
as	O
sales	O
of	O
second	O
generation	O
consoles	O
were	O
only	O
modest	O
for	O
the	O
next	O
few	O
years	O
until	O
the	O
arrival	O
of	O
the	O
killer	O
app	O
,	O
the	O
home	O
port	O
of	O
Space	B-Application
Invaders	I-Application
for	O
the	O
Atari	O
VCS	O
in	O
1980	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
hundreds	O
of	O
home	O
video	B-Application
game	I-Application
consoles	I-Application
known	O
to	O
have	O
existed	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
generation	O
of	O
video	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1972	O
Magnavox	O
released	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
first	O
home	O
video	B-Application
game	I-Application
console	I-Application
,	O
the	O
Magnavox	B-Device
Odyssey	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
had	O
features	O
that	O
became	O
industry	O
standard	O
in	O
subsequent	O
generations	O
such	O
as	O
detachable	O
controllers	O
,	O
light	B-Device
gun	I-Device
accessories	O
and	O
interchangeable	O
game	B-Protocol
cartridges	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
no	O
game	O
data	O
was	O
stored	O
on	O
the	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
as	O
they	O
would	O
be	O
in	O
future	O
consoles	O
,	O
they	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
select	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
twelve	O
games	O
built	O
onto	O
the	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
with	O
the	O
Odyssey	B-Device
that	O
Nintendo	O
first	O
became	O
involved	O
in	O
the	O
home	O
video	O
game	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Martin	O
Picard	O
in	O
the	O
International	O
Journal	O
of	O
Computer	O
Game	O
Research	O
:	O
"	O
in	O
1971	O
,	O
Nintendo	O
had	O
–	O
even	O
before	O
the	O
marketing	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
home	O
console	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
–	O
an	O
alliance	O
with	O
the	O
American	O
pioneer	O
Magnavox	O
to	O
develop	O
and	O
produce	O
optoelectronic	B-Device
guns	I-Device
for	O
the	O
Odyssey	B-Device
,	O
since	O
it	O
was	O
similar	O
to	O
what	O
Nintendo	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
offer	O
in	O
the	O
Japanese	O
toy	O
market	O
in	O
 [ the ] 	O
1970s.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1974	O
Philips	O
purchased	O
Magnavox	O
and	O
released	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
eight	O
Odyssey	B-Device
consoles	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
from	O
1975	O
to	O
1977	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
of	O
them	O
were	O
dedicated	B-Device
consoles	I-Device
,	O
and	O
each	O
subsequent	O
release	O
was	O
an	O
improvement	O
over	O
the	O
previous	O
,	O
adding	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
additional	O
game	O
variations	O
,	O
on-screen	O
displays	O
,	O
and	O
player-controlled	O
handicaps	O
such	O
as	O
smaller	O
paddle	O
sizes	O
and	O
variable	O
ball	O
speed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Three	O
Odyssey	B-Device
series	I-Device
consoles	O
were	O
also	O
released	O
in	O
Europe	O
with	O
similar	O
features	O
from	O
1976	O
to	O
1978	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
12	O
,	O
1975	O
,	O
several	O
months	O
before	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Home	O
Pong	B-Application
in	O
North	O
America	O
,	O
Epoch	O
released	O
Japan	O
's	O
first	O
home	O
console	O
,	O
the	O
TV	B-Application
Tennis	I-Application
Electrotennis	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
technology	O
was	O
licensed	O
from	O
Magnavox	O
and	O
it	O
contained	O
a	O
single	O
ball	O
and	O
paddle	O
style	O
game	O
that	O
resembled	O
Pong	B-Application
but	O
without	O
an	O
onscreen	O
score	O
display	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
1975	O
Atari	O
released	O
a	O
home	O
version	O
of	O
their	O
popular	O
arcade	O
game	O
Pong	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
1975	O
,	O
Atari	O
had	O
become	O
a	O
major	O
company	O
in	O
the	O
home	O
console	O
market	O
due	O
to	O
Home	O
Pong	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
Pong	B-Application
's	O
success	O
,	O
Magnavox	O
filed	O
suit	O
against	O
Atari	O
for	O
infringement	O
on	O
its	O
technology	O
patents	O
and	O
ended	O
up	O
settling	O
out	O
of	O
court	O
with	O
Atari	O
becoming	O
a	O
licensee	O
of	O
Magnavox	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Home	O
video	O
games	O
achieved	O
widespread	O
popularity	O
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
a	O
home	O
version	O
of	O
Pong	B-Application
and	O
its	O
success	O
sparked	O
hundreds	O
of	O
clones	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
Coleco	B-Application
Telstar	I-Application
,	O
which	O
went	O
on	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
success	O
in	O
its	O
own	O
right	O
with	O
over	O
a	O
dozen	O
models	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Binatone	O
TV	O
Master	O
by	O
British	O
company	O
Binatone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
in	O
1976	O
,	O
Coleco	O
released	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
fourteen	O
dedicated	B-Device
consoles	I-Device
up	O
until	O
1978	O
,	O
when	O
they	O
suffered	O
a	O
significant	O
loss	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
combination	O
of	O
dock	O
workers	O
 '	O
strike	O
,	O
preventing	O
it	O
from	O
shipping	O
the	O
final	O
product	O
in	O
time	O
for	O
the	O
holidays	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
the	O
second	O
generation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
series	O
featured	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
different	O
styles	O
of	O
ball	O
games	O
and	O
external	O
accessories	O
to	O
enhance	O
gameplay	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Telstar	B-Application
Arcade	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
a	O
unique	O
triangular	O
design	O
that	O
came	O
with	O
a	O
light	B-Device
gun	I-Device
and	O
steering	O
wheel	O
attached	O
to	O
the	O
casing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
of	O
the	O
series	O
and	O
the	O
first	O
console	O
created	O
by	O
Nintendo	O
,	O
the	O
Color	B-Application
TV-Game	I-Application
6	O
,	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
1977	O
and	O
contained	O
six	O
ball-and-paddle	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
third	O
console	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
,	O
the	O
Color	B-Application
TV-Game	I-Application
Racing	O
112	O
,	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
project	O
of	O
Shigeru	O
Miyamoto	O
,	O
who	O
would	O
go	O
on	O
to	O
become	O
the	O
creator	O
of	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
well-known	O
video	O
game	O
franchises	O
.	O
</s>
