National Video Games Day

National Video Games Day is an American holiday dedicated to video games on September 12th. Video games are an integral part of society, and many researchers position them as an element of culture.

History

The history of National Video Games Day begins in the second half of the 20th century, when game consoles were developed, which then flooded the market. In the 1970s, the first TV set-top boxes appeared, and five years later, the Pong (table tennis) game came out, which sold copies worth about $ 200 million. In 1976, the world saw the Atari 2600 with replaceable cartridges. To run another game, you had to change the cartridge. In the late 80s, the popularity of such gadgets fell sharply – the market was over-saturated.

In 1985-1990, a revolution in video games was made by Nintendo, which released the NES, an 8-bit machine of its own design. The video game Super Mario captivated the whole world – the funny plumber became a real legend that is still remembered and loved.

In 1989, a 16-bit console from SEGA (and the highly popular Sonic Hedgehog game) was released. Until the beginning of the 21st century, the most popular consoles were from SEGA and Nintendo. With the spread of the Internet and the creation of the first home computers, attention shifted to them. Since then, many series of interesting games have been created: Doom, Mortal Kombat, Counter-Strike, and so on.

Interesting facts

• For all time, more than a million game projects have been created. Some of them are known all over the world, and almost no one knows about the others. The exact number cannot be given and is constantly changing.
• People over the age of 60 who play games are less prone to memory problems, suffer less from blood pressure drops and are generally more active. This data is confirmed by research scientists.
• There is an opinion that games harm children. This statement will be true only in the case of many hours of daily gaming. 8 hours or more of play is a serious load.

How to take part

During the celebration of National Video Games Day, get together with friends or family and play your favorite games together. Not only is it fun, but it also brings people together.

Play the most interesting game projects together. Visit various exhibitions and themed events, or simply discuss moments from your favorite games on the relevant forums on the internet.

When is National Video Games Day celebrated in 2023?

National Video Games Day is observed on September 12 each year.

Observations