abstract
| - Although there were many tests and attempts to produce a player controlled game viewed on a screen, the first "video game" was the obscure Computer Space released in 1971. Computer Space was a space shooter in which the player would control a rocket ship defending itself from attacks by UFOs. Despite its action theme, Computer Space earned lukewarm reception, and was viewed as too confusing by many players. Therefore, Computer Space has largely been forgotten. In 1972, PONG was released in arcades, and was an instant hit, drawing massive popularity. Due to its strong reception, a home version was released in 1975. Owing to PONG's critical acclaim, many developers began to create their own PONG "clones", leading to the creation of the video game industry. Following the crash of the video game industry (resulting from an abundance of PONG clones), a Japanese game company known as Taito created a video game called Space Invaders, the game was incredibly well received (similar to the success of PONG), and led the gaming industry into its golden age.
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