The Video Game Revolution: How Geek Culture Became Pop Culture

There was a time when video games were only for programmers... then just for serious gamers. Now, games are EVERYWHERE, even on our phones. How did video games go from so niche to completely mainstream?"

Welcome to WatchMojo’s series How Geek Culture Became Pop Culture, and today we’re looking at how Video Games went from pixels that made bleeps and bloops, to the biggest media industry today.

It actually took a long time for video games to even catch the public’s interest. The earliest games were created by computer scientists at universities; it wasn’t until MIT researchers and students created “Spacewar!” in 1962 that a game was played on more than one terminal. Even then, the computers that ran “Spacewar!” weighed 1,600 pounds - not something the average joe could use.

However, “Spacewar!” did inspire the creation of the first ever commercial arcade video game - “Computer Space”. Its creators Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney went on to found Atari in 1972 and release the legendary “Pong”! “Pong” was a commercial success both in a coin-operated arcade cabinet, and eventually in home console form. Competitors piled in … and the video game industry was born!

Atari found success again with games like “Breakout”. But it was the 1978 game “Space Invaders” that took the popularity of arcade games to the next level”. Japanese designer Tomohiro Nishikado was inspired partly by the sci-fi renaissance caused by “Star Wars”. While “Pong” turned a tidy profit, “Space Invaders” was a cultural phenomenon, appearing in restaurants, movie theaters, bowling alleys, and gas stations everywhere - showing everyone just what these spiffy new “video games” were all about.

Its appeal included the fact that it could record high scores, allowing friends to compete. Not only did it establish the shoot ‘em up genre, its success helped usher in what’s now known as the Golden Era of Arcade Games!

In the 80s, home video consoles also began to take off, thanks in no small part to the Atari 2600 - which featured a home version of “Space Invaders” and interchangeable cartridges. That’s right: it could play MORE THAN ONE GAME! Welcome … to the future! Around the same time, disgruntled Atari employees founded their own company, Activision - the first ever third party developer for games.

Of course, video games were still pretty niche. And wouldn’t you know it, just as they began to find wings … came disaster: the video crash of 1983. The console market had become oversaturated, personal computers were taking a slice of the pie, and Activision wannabes were producing low-quality games. Capping it off was the legendary misfire that was Atari’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” - a game so bad that Atari buried unsold cartridges in a New Mexico landfill. As far as the public was concerned, the era of video games was over.

Who could possibly clean out the pipes and restart the system?

In 1985, Japanese company Nintendo decided to bring their hit console Famicom, or Family Computer, to the US. But the industry was still reeling from the crash; so instead of marketing it as a console, they marketed it as a toy! It was given a square look resembling a VCR, and bundled with a lightgun, or “Zapper”, and an interactive robot. The best-selling title of this new “entertainment system” was a little game called … “Super Mario Bros.”!

To this day “Super Mario Bros” is regarded as arguably THE most influential game of all time. It wasn’t just a fun and engaging adventure, it wrote the book on modern game design. With Mario in its corner, the NES single-handedly revitalized the video game industry - becoming the talk of schoolyards everywhere. Mario quickly became not only Nintendo’s mascot, but the face of video games. Their competitor Sega wouldn’t catch up until several years later - with the help of a certain speedy hedgehog.

With the crash in mind, Nintendo introduced the “Nintendo Seal of Quality” to keep third party games up to a high standard. Nintendo also expanded into a new, untapped market: portable systems for short pick-up-and-play sessions. In 1989 they released the Game Boy, bundling it with a game out of the Soviet Union: “Tetris”.

This puzzle game by Alexey Pajitnov was simple to understand but challenging to master - appealing to a wide audience. And having it on a portable system made it ideal for kids to take to school, where they could challenge their friends to beat their high scores. The fact that it wasn’t built around cute or cartoony characters drew in adults too. And so as we transition into the 90s, games were no longer just for kids!

In a roundabout way, this adult appeal grew thanks to the fallout from a new sort of game in arcades: one-on-one fighting games. 1992’s “Street Fighter II” featured a diverse set of characters from around the world, though the standout was Chun Li - whose popularity paved the way for future female video game protagonists. However, “Street Fighter II”’s also led to the rise of popular competitor, “Mortal Kombat,” which took a much more bloodier approach. The shock of seeing such scenes got gamers talking, but also led to moral panic among parents. And so video games found themselves in front of the United States Senate, for hearings on whether they were suitable for children!

This newfound infamy had an upside. The congressional hearings led to the establishment of a rating system for video games - allowing parents to make informed decisions, while also permitting games to tackle mature themes within certain ratings. Video games had grown up! The Entertainment Software Rating Board, or ESRB, has proven controversial; but it also opened the floodgates. No longer were games shackled to being kid friendly, or stigmatized as “just for kids” - leading to the emergence of new household names. And with the rise of mature games came consoles designed for that audience ...

In 1994, Sony released their Playstation, a console using CD-ROMs, which allowed far more storage space. While other manufacturers also switched from cartridges, Playstation stood tall - unleashing a wave of cinematic games using Full Motion Video that started blurring the line between games and movies. This also allowed them to tap into other markets. “Gran Turismo” brought in racing fans. “Fifa” and “Madden” started to look like the actual sports they were based on. “Tomb Raider” established a female character in the lead role. And horror fans found the likes of “Resident Evil” and “Silent Hill” to get spooked by. Some of these titles were also available on PC and Sega Saturn.

In the 2000s, the industry continued to expand to cover diverse interests. “Mario Kart” and “Halo” became the biggest games in university dorm room party nights. “Grand Theft Auto III” showed that it was possible to explore entire cities inside of games. “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare”, released at the controversial height of the Iraq War, showed that video games could be grounded in realism and touch on contemporary themes. And the Nintendo Wii broke down even more audience barriers, as casual games became a popular activity for the whole family.

Thanks to online gaming and streaming, there’s also been a major shift in how gaming is perceived as a hobby. It’s no longer a solo activity, or even just for local co-op. LAN parties have been replaced by online multiplayer, but what’s more, games have become a spectator affair. Online streaming has seen the popularization of esports, while platforms like YouTube and Twitch allow people to sit back and watch, rather than play. The personalities behind video game content have become bona fide celebrities. In fact, Let’s Play videos have played a significant role in YouTube’s history. In turn, YouTube helped popularize the best-selling video game of all time: “Minecraft”! These online platforms allow fans to connect like never before, as they exchange content and duke it out in the comments.

However, arguably the biggest shake-up over the last few decades has come with the rise of mobile devices. The first mobile game was actually “Tetris” back in 1994; “Snake” followed soon after. Around the same time, graphing calculators had 90s kids all pretending to be VERY hard at work in their maths classes … while playing games like “Lemmings”, “Doom”, and “Dope Wars”. Yeah, teachers weren’t TOO happy about that last one … But this was really just the smallest glimpse of what was to come.

Following the launch of the iPhone in 2007, touchscreen smartphones and tablets changed everything. Suddenly, games were more accessible than ever - in your pocket, whenever you wanted. Casual games had already experienced a boom online, thanks to sites like “Gamesville” and “Miniclip” … Social networks like Facebook gave them an added boost (damn you “FarmVille”!). But mobile devices like smartphones and tablets made them absolutely ubiquitous! “Candy Crush” has been downloaded one billion times; “Angry Birds” 300 million. Sure, serious gamers might turn up their noses. But consider this: the first casual game was arguably “Pac-Man”.

And, increasingly, mobile platforms are becoming home to more complex games, some ported over and some new. The point is, games are now omnipresent.



In parallel to these changes, the portrayal of gamers and games on screen has undergone its own evolution - slowly pushing back against the stereotype of gamers as lazy, socially awkward losers living in their parents’ basement. Gamer heroes save the world. And video game characters are … well, the Rock! Hmm, actually, they’ve been the Rock more than once … It’s been a steeper uphill battle for movie adaptations, but there is hope!

Today, the gaming industry is now worth more than the film and music industry COMBINED! While games have had breakout success stories, what’s really made them a pop culture mainstay is how their appeal has diversified over the years. This has proven that video games can be for anyone, whether you play on a high end gaming PC, just want to kill some time on your phone, or something in between.

It’s been a long journey for games and gamers - but the pixels of yore have become the future of entertainment!

Make sure to tune in for our next episode of How Geek Culture Became Pop Culture, where we’ll be talking anime!