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Video game

Adapted from Wikipedia · Explorer experience

People enjoying virtual reality gaming at Gamescom with PlayStation VR headsets.

What is a Video Game?

A video game is a fun electronic game you can play using special controls. These controls can be buttons, a stick, or even motions with your hands. When you play, you see what’s happening on a screen like a television or a computer.

Video games can be played on many different devices. You might play them on a TV, a computer, a tablet, or even a special handheld machine. Some games use sounds, and others can make your hands feel vibrations to make the game more real.

A Short History

Video games have been around for a long time. One of the very first games was called Pong. It looked like a game of table tennis and was made for home use in 1972. Since then, video games have grown very fast and are played all over the world.

Why People Love Video Games

People enjoy video games because they are fun and exciting. They let you explore new worlds, solve puzzles, or play with friends. Video games can also teach you new things and help you think in new ways.

Video games continue to shape technology and entertainment. They bring people together and create new ways to have fun and learn. Whether you’re playing on a big screen or a small device, video games are a wonderful part of modern life.

Images

An early Pong video game console on display at a computer museum.
Ralph Baer at the Lara Games Award in Cologne, Germany, in 2009.
Portrait of Nolan Bushnell, a video game pioneer.
An early computer graphic showing a simple tennis game displayed on an oscilloscope, from 1958.
A vintage computer screen displaying the classic space game Spacewar! at the Computer History Museum.
An arcade cabinet located in Malmi, Helsinki, Finland, where kids can enjoy classic video games.
A display of vintage gaming consoles from the 80s and 90s at the Computer Gaming Museum in Berlin.
A Sony PlayStation 2 gaming console with its controller and memory card.
A classic NES game cartridge, shown without any game label, isolated on a white background.
A classic Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) game controller, ready for gaming action!
The Nintendo Game Boy was a popular handheld gaming console from the 1980s and 1990s.
People gathered for a computer networking event in 2004.

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Video game, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Images from Wikimedia Commons. Tap any image to view credits and license.