This Month in Video Game History: June 1 - June 10

1981

Rob Fulop, William Grubb and several other former employers of video game giants Atari and Mattel Electronics founded Imagic as a third-party developer of Atari 2600 games. The company put its name on the map when it released the iconic arcade game Missile Command.

1983

Atari consolidated of its home computer and video game divisions in an attempt to streamline the company in the face of the infamous video game crash of 1983, during which the company will suffer losses totaling over half a billion dollars.

1991

Nintendo unveiled its Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) at the Consumer Electronics Show trade show. The new 16-bit game system featured cartridges and (later) compact discs co-developed with Philips N.V. Nintendo announced that the system would hit shelves in September.

1994

Sunsoft released The Death and Return of Superman for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The game was based on the best-selling DC Comics mini-series Death of Superman.

1995

U.S. video game developer Maxis, the creator of the blockbuster game SimCity, goes public. Two years later, it will be acquired by Electronic Arts.

1998

Nintendo released a Camera accessory for its Game Boy in the U.S. Price: US$49.95

Nintendo released a Printer accessory for its Game Boy in the US. Price: US$59.95

1999

The 3DO Company released the turn-based strategy game Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia for Windows in the U.S. This, the third game in the series, will largely be received as the best of the series, and it will outsell both of its predecessors. (ESRB: E)

2004

 THQ released the real-time military tactics game Full Spectrum Warrior for the Xbox in the U.S. The game was notable for U.S. Army's involvement in its development. The US Army Science & Technology community assisted in the game development in order to determine whether commercial game platforms could be complement and enhance established training methods. Among the Army's contributions to the game was the decision not to give the game a first-person shooter mode despite the popularity of the genre at the time. Instead, users' first-person actions were limited to issuing orders to Fire Teams and Squad members as a commander. The decision flew in the face of conventional market wisdom, but the game would garner a great deal of publicity due to its unconventional gameplay. The game would be exceptionally well-received, but controversy arose after the game's release. After sinking money into the project, the Army did not use the game because it wasn't "realistic enough," leading many to protest that the project was a waste of government funds. (ERB: M)

2006

Valve Corporation released the first-person shooter Half-Life 2: Episode One for Windows, the PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The game, the first in a trilogy, debuts a number of new animation technologies and techniques. (ESRB: M)

1994

Vic Tokai released the Top Gear 2 racing game for the Sega Genesis in North America.

2000

Sony publicly announced that it would market the chipset of its PlayStation 2 video game console to other hardware manufacturers.

2003

Walt Disney launched its Toontown Online massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Windows. The game was marketed as the first MMORPG safe for children. It was designed with a host of kid-safe restrictions, including limited hours of operation, a chat system strictly restricted to a limited dictionary of approved words, and a prohibition on in-game violence, including PVP gameplay. The game will earn a number of family-oriented awards, but will ultimately fail due to a lack of popularity. (ESRB: E)

1983

 MGM released the film WarGames, starring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. In the film, a computer gamer begins playing games with the computer responsible for operating NORAD, inadvertently triggering a count-down to a missile launch. The film is the most popular of a string of films highlighting gamer culture to be released in the early eighties. It is most notable for being the first to introduce the hacker sub-culture into mainstream media. To prepare Broderick for his role, the studio gave the actor Galaga and Galaxian arcade units to help him get into the mindset of his character.

1990

Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Lewis Galoob Toys, the manufacturer of Micro Machines, in an attempt to obtain an injunction to prevent the company from releasing the Game Genie "game enhancement system" from being released to market. Ultimately, the suit will be unsuccessful.

1993

Nintendo announced that its next game console (later revealed as the Nintendo 64) would feature a top-loading cartridge slot at the International Summer Consumer Electronics Show. Price: US$49.95

Nintendo released the 3D shooter Star Fox for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe as "Star Wing." It was the first title feature the Super FX chip, a coprocessor used as a graphics accelerator. The three-dimensional models made possible by the chip will draw a great deal of attention, and the game will ultimately become one of the console's best-selling titles.

1994

Acclaim released a port of the Mortal Kombat arcade game for the Sega Mega CD in Japan.

2002

Capcom released Resident Evil Gaiden for its Game Boy Color in the U.S. The game is only title in the popular Resident Evil series to star Barry Burton in the lead role. (ESRB: T)

2005

Namco released a Nintendo DS port of the popular Nintendo 64 title Ridge Racer, Ridge Racer DS, in Europe.