The first ever video game was created in 1958 and was called "tennis for two" and was played on an oscilloscope at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Then came the first game meant for use on a computer, called "Spacewar" created in 1967, This game ran on a computer called the PDP-1, when compared to the consoles of today would have been more than five times the size of a PS3

In 1972 one of the first computer game companies was created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, which was called Atari Computers who in 1977 brought out the most popular home gaming console called the Atari VCS 2600.

The gaming industry seemed to grow slowly until an industry collapse in 1983 which had many causes, including too many similar consoles and poor quality games being sold.

However the industry began to make its way back up with consoles such as the Sega master system in 1986 and the extremely popular Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987.

In 1995 the PlayStation was released, this became one of the worlds most popular games consoles, this console had moved on significantly from the cartridges of the Sega master system, and now used CD like disks and were now able to make the game and its characters more 3D looking and more lifelike.
After the PlayStation 2 was released Microsoft brought out a console of their own the x box, and the two companies, Sony and Microsoft have both been at the front of the gaming world, both bringing out better consoles at similar times.
From the two eras the 1950s- Tennis for Two, and today's ever expanding gaming market, with consoles like the PS3. The main difference is the quality of the graphics, and over time becoming more 3D and lifelike. The size of the games in general have also changed dramatically with the consoles of today being able to hold much larger and longer games.