Editing PC game (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of video games}}

=== Mainframes and minicomputers ===
{{See also|Early mainframe games}}[[File:Spacewar1.svg|thumb|250px|right|''[[Spacewar!]]'', developed for the [[PDP-1]] in 1961, is often credited as being the second ever computer game. The game consisted of two player-controlled spaceships maneuvering around a central star, each attempting to destroy the other.]]

''[[Bertie the Brain]]'' was one of the first game playing machines developed. It was built in 1950 by [[Josef Kates]]. It measured more than four meters tall, and was displayed at the [[Canadian National Exhibition]] that year.<ref name="bertie">{{cite web|url=https://plarium.com/en/blog/the-first-video-game/|title=What was the first video game, who invented it and why|work=[[Plarium]]|date=2018-05-15|access-date=2018-06-22}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=January 2024}}

Although personal computers only became popular with the development of the [[microprocessor]] and [[microcomputer]], computer gaming on [[Mainframe computer|mainframes]] and [[minicomputer]]s had previously already existed. [[OXO (video game)|''OXO'']], an adaptation of [[tic-tac-toe]] for the [[EDSAC]], debuted in 1952. Another pioneer computer game was developed in 1961, when [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] students Martin Graetz and [[Alan Kotok]], with [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] student [[Steve Russell (computer scientist)|Steve Russell]], developed ''[[Spacewar!]]'' on a [[PDP-1]] [[mainframe computer]] used for statistical calculations.<ref name="spacewar">{{cite book | author=Levy, Steven | year = 1984 | title = [[Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution]] | publisher=Anchor Press/Doubleday | isbn = 0-385-19195-2}}</ref>

The first generation of computer games were often [[Text-based game|text-based]] [[adventure game|adventures]] or [[interactive fiction]], in which the player communicated with the computer by entering commands through a keyboard. An early text-adventure, ''[[Colossal Cave Adventure|Adventure]]'', was developed for the [[PDP-11]] [[minicomputer]] by Will Crowther in 1976, and expanded by Don Woods in 1977.<ref name="adventure">{{cite journal|url=http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/001/2/000009/000009.html |year=2007 | title=Somewhere Nearby is Colossal Cave: Examining Will Crowther's Original 'Adventure' in Code and in Kentucky |access-date=September 29, 2007|author=Jerz, Dennis | journal=Digital Humanities Quarterly|volume=001 |issue=2 }}</ref> By the 1980s, personal computers had become powerful enough to run games like ''Adventure'', but by this time, graphics were beginning to become an important factor in games. Later games combined textual commands with basic graphics, as seen in the SSI [[Gold Box]] games such as ''[[Pool of Radiance]]'', or ''[[The Bard's Tale (1985 video game)|The Bard's Tale]]'', for example.

=== Early personal computer games ===
[[File:Mystery House - Apple II - 2.png|thumb|''[[Mystery House]]'' (1980, [[Apple II]]), a text-based [[adventure game]]]]

By the late 1970s to early 1980s, games were developed and distributed through [[hobby]]ist groups and gaming magazines, such as ''[[Creative Computing (magazine)|Creative Computing]]'' and later ''[[Computer Gaming World]]''. These publications provided [[type-in program|game code that could be typed into a computer]] and played, encouraging readers to submit their own software to competitions.<ref name="codesubmission">{{cite magazine |title=Computer Gaming World's RobotWar Tournament |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1981&pub=2&id=1 |format=PDF |magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] |page=17 | date=October 1982 | access-date= October 22, 2006}}</ref> Players could modify the [[BASIC]] source code of even commercial games.<ref name="proctor198201">{{Cite magazine |last=Proctor |first=Bob |date=January 1982 |title=Tanktics: Review and Analysis |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1982&pub=2&id=2 |magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] |pages=17–20}}</ref> ''[[Microchess]]'' was one of the first games for [[microcomputer]]s which was sold to the public. First sold in 1977, Microchess eventually sold over 50,000 copies on [[cassette tape]].

As with [[Second generation of video game consoles|second-generation]] [[video game console]]s at the time, early home computer game companies capitalized on [[Golden age of arcade video games|successful arcade games]] at the time with [[porting|ports]] or [[video game clone|clones]] of popular [[arcade video game]]s.<ref name="Enterprise-1982">{{citation|title=Cash In On the Video Game Craze|work=[[Black Enterprise]]|date=December 1982|volume=12|issue=5|issn=0006-4165|pages=41–2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N6pacvfrf0wC&pg=PA41|access-date=May 1, 2011|last1=Earl g. Graves|first1=Ltd}}</ref><ref name="Markoff-1981" /> By 1982, the [[List of best-selling video games|top-selling games]] for the [[Atari 8-bit computers]] were ports of ''[[Frogger]]'' and ''[[Centipede (video game)|Centipede]]'', while the top-selling game for the [[TI-99/4A]] was the ''[[Space Invaders]]'' clone ''[[TI Invaders]]''.<ref name="Enterprise-1982" /> That same year, ''[[Pac-Man]]'' was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers,<ref name="Markoff-1981" /> while ''[[Donkey Kong]]'' was licensed for the [[Coleco Adam]].<ref>{{citation|title=Strategic management: an integrated approach|author1=Charles W. L. Hill |author2=Gareth R. Jones |name-list-style=amp |edition=8|publisher=[[Cengage Learning]]|year=2007|isbn=978-0-618-89469-7}}</ref> In late 1981, [[Atari, Inc.]] attempted to take legal action against unauthorized [[List of Pac-Man clones|''Pac-Man'' clones]], despite some of these predating Atari's exclusive rights to the home versions of [[Namco]]'s game.<ref name="Markoff-1981">{{citation|title=Atari acts in an attempt to scuttle software pirates|author=John Markoff|work=[[InfoWorld]]|date=November 30, 1981|volume=3|issue=28|issn=0199-6649|pages=28–9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SD0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA28|access-date=May 1, 2011}}</ref><ref name="mace19820412">{{Cite magazine |last=Mace |first=Scott |date=1982-04-12 |title=Zenith working on 16-bit micros |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YjAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3#v=onepage&q&f=true |access-date=2025-03-16 |magazine=InfoWorld |pages=1,4}}</ref> Thousands of children attended the 1982 [[West Coast Computer Faire]] to see computer games there, despite organizers warning that the convention "is designed for mature individuals".<ref name="iw19820412">{{Cite magazine |last=Freiberger |first=Paul |last2=Dvorak |first2=John C. |date=1982-04-12 |title=West Coast Computer Faire draws 40,000 people |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YjAEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA3&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=true |access-date=2025-03-16 |magazine=InfoWorld |pages=1, 6-7}}</ref>

=== Industry crash and aftermath ===
{{See also|Video game crash of 1983}}
As the American video game market became flooded with poor-quality cartridge games created by numerous companies attempting to enter the market, and overproduction of high-profile releases such as the [[Atari 2600]] adaptations of ''[[Pac-Man (Atari 2600 video game)|Pac-Man]]'' and ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Atari 2600)|E.T.]]'' grossly underperformed, the popularity of personal computers for education rose dramatically. In 1983, American consumer interest in console video games dwindled to historical lows, as interest in games on personal computers rose.<ref name="crash">{{cite web|url=http://www.thedoteaters.com/p3_stage6.php |title=Player 3 Stage 6: The Great Videogame Crash |quote="The third member of the deadly troika that lays the videogame industry low is the home computer boom currently in full swing by 1984 |access-date=August 16, 2006 |date=April 7, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130105103715/http://www.thedoteaters.com/p3_stage6.php |archive-date=January 5, 2013}}</ref> The effects of the crash were largely limited to the console market, as established companies such as [[Atari]] posted record losses over subsequent years. Conversely, the home computer market boomed, as sales of low-cost color computers such as the [[Commodore 64]] rose to record highs and developers such as [[Electronic Arts]] benefited from increasing interest in the platform.<ref name="crash" />

=== Growth of home computer games ===
The North American console market experienced a resurgence in the United States with the release of the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] (NES). In Europe, computer gaming continued to boom for many years after.<ref name="crash" /> Computers such as the [[ZX Spectrum]] and [[BBC Micro]] were successful in the European market, where the NES was not as successful despite its monopoly in Japan and North America. The only [[Third generation of video game consoles|8-bit console]] to have any success in Europe would be the [[Master System]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.retro.ign.com/articles/974/974695p3.html|title=IGN Presents the History of SEGA: World War|page=3|website=IGN|author=Travis Fahs|date=April 21, 2009 |access-date=May 21, 2011}}</ref> Meanwhile, in Japan, both consoles and computers became major industries, with the console market dominated by [[Nintendo]] and the computer market dominated by [[NEC]]'s [[NEC PC-8801|PC-88]] (1981) and [[NEC PC-9801|PC-98]] (1982). A key difference between Western and Japanese computers at the time was the [[display resolution]], with Japanese systems using a higher resolution of 640x400 to accommodate [[Japanese writing system|Japanese text]], which in turn affected [[video game design]] and allowed more detailed graphics. Japanese computers were also using [[Yamaha Corporation|Yamaha]]'s [[Frequency modulation synthesis|FM synth]] [[Sound card|sound boards]] from the early 1980s.<ref name="hg101_retro">{{cite web|url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/JPNcomputers/Japanesecomputers.htm|title=Retro Japanese Computers: Gaming's Final Frontier Retro Japanese Computers|author=John Szczepaniak|publisher=Hardcore Gaming 101|access-date=March 29, 2011}} Reprinted from {{citation|title=[[Retro Gamer]]|issue=67|year=2009}}</ref>

To enhance the [[Immersion (virtual reality)|immersive]] experience with their unrealistic graphics and electronic sound, early PC games included extras such as the peril-sensitive sunglasses that shipped with ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (video game)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' or the [[science fiction]] novella included with ''[[Elite (video game)|Elite]]''. These extras gradually became less common, but many games were still sold in the traditional oversized boxes that used to hold the extra "[[feelies]]". Today, such extras are usually found only in Special Edition versions of games, such as Battle chests from [[Blizzard Entertainment|Blizzard]].<ref name="feelies">{{cite web|last=Varney|first=Allen|title=Feelies|url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_62/365-Feelies|access-date=September 24, 2006|archive-date=October 12, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012153126/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_62/365-Feelies|url-status=dead}}</ref>

During the [[Fourth generation of video game consoles|16-bit era]], the [[Amiga]] and [[Atari ST]] became popular in Europe, the [[Macintosh]] and [[IBM PC compatible]]s became popular in North America, while the PC-98, [[X68000]], and [[FM Towns]] became popular in Japan. The [[Amiga]], [[X68000]] and [[FM Towns]] were capable of producing near [[Arcade video game|arcade]]-quality hardware [[Sprite (computer graphics)|sprite]] graphics and sound quality when they first released in the mid-to-late 1980s.<ref name="hg101_retro" />

=== Growth of IBM PC compatible games ===
Among [[launch titles]] for the [[IBM Personal Computer]] (PC) in 1981 was ''[[Microsoft Adventure]]'', which IBM described as bringing "players into a fantasy world of caves and treasures".<ref name="bricklin">{{Cite web |url=http://www.bricklin.com/ibmpcannouncement1981.htm |title=IBM PC Announcement 1981 |last=Bricklin |first=Dan |website=Dan Bricklin's Web Site |access-date=2018-03-06}}</ref> ''[[Byte (magazine)|BYTE]]'' that year stated that the computer's speed and sophistication made it "an excellent gaming device", and IBM and others sold games like ''[[Microsoft Flight Simulator]]''. The PC's [[Color Graphics Adapter|CGA graphics]] and [[PC speaker|speaker sound]] were poor, however, and most customers bought the powerful but expensive computer for business.<ref name="williams198112">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1981-12/1981_12_BYTE_06-12_Computer_Games#page/n7/mode/2up | title=New Games New Directions | work=BYTE | date=December 1981 | access-date=19 October 2016 | author=Williams, Gregg | pages=6–10}}</ref>{{r|loguidice2014}} One [[ComputerLand]] owner estimated in 1983 that a quarter of corporate executives with computers "have a game hidden somewhere in their drawers",<ref name="solomon198310">{{Cite magazine |last=Solomon |first=Abby |date=October 1983 |title=Games Businesspeople Play |url=https://www.inc.com/magazine/19831001/5758.html |magazine=Inc. |language=en}}</ref> and ''[[InfoWorld]]'' in 1984 reported that "in offices all over America (more than anyone realizes) executives and managers are playing games on their computers",<ref name="mace19840402">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kC4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56 | title=Games with windows | work=InfoWorld | date=1984-04-02 | access-date=10 February 2015 | author=Mace, Scott | pages=56}}</ref>{{r|shannon19870825}} but software companies found selling games for the PC difficult; an observer said that year that ''Flight Simulator'' had sold hundreds of thousands of copies because customers with corporate PCs could claim that it was a "simulation".<ref name="cgw198410">{{cite magazine | title=The CGW Computer Game Conference | magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] | date=October 1984 | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1984&pub=2&id=18 | access-date=October 31, 2013 | page=30 | type=panel discussion}}</ref>

From mid-1985, however, what ''Compute!'' described as a "wave" of inexpensive [[IBM PC compatible|IBM PC clones]] from American and Asian companies, such as the [[Tandy 1000]] and the [[Leading Edge Model D]], caused prices to decline; by the end of 1986, the equivalent to a $1600 real IBM PC with 256K RAM and two disk drives cost as little as $600, lower than the price of the [[Apple IIc]]. Consumers began purchasing DOS computers for the home in large numbers. While often purchased to do work on evenings and weekends, clones' popularity caused consumer-software companies to increase the number of IBM-compatible products, including those developed specifically for the PC as opposed to [[porting]] from other computers. [[Bing Gordon]] of [[Electronic Arts]] reported that customers used computers for games more than one fifth of the time whether purchased for work or a hobby, with many who purchased computers for other reasons finding PC games "a pretty satisfying experience".<ref name="halfhill198612">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1986-12-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_079_1986_Dec#page/n33/mode/2up | title=The MS-DOS Invasion / IBM Compatibles Are Coming Home | work=Compute! | date=December 1986 | access-date=9 November 2013 | author=Halfhill, Tom R. | pages=32}}</ref>

PC game sales rose by 198% year over year in the first half of 1987, compared to 57% for the market overall. The formerly business-only computer had become the largest and fastest-growing, and most important platform for computer game companies. More than a third of games sold in North America were for the PC, twice as many as those for the Apple II and even outselling those for the Commodore 64.<ref name="shannon19870825">{{Cite news |last=Shannon |first=L. R. |date=1987-08-25 |title=Finally, the Right Stuff |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/25/science/peripherals-finally-the-right-stuff.html |access-date=2025-04-14 |work=The New York Times |department=Peripherals |pages=C8 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="keiser198806">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1988-JUn-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_097_1988_JUn#page/n81/mode/2up | title=MS-DOS Takes Charge of Fun Software | work=Compute! | date=June 1988 | access-date=10 November 2013 | author=Keiser, Gregg | pages=81}}</ref> By 1988 ''Computer Gaming World'' agreed with [[Joel Billings]] of [[Strategic Simulations]] that an inexpensive clone with [[EGA graphics]] was superior for games.<ref name="brooks198711">{{cite magazine | title=Titans of the Computer Gaming World / MicroProse | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1987&pub=2&id=41 | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=November 1987 | access-date=2 November 2013 | author=Brooks, M. Evan | pages=16}}</ref><ref name="proctor198803">{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1988&pub=2&id=45 |title=Titans of the Computer Gaming World / SSI |last=Proctor, Bob |date=March 1988 |magazine=Computer Gaming World |access-date=2 November 2013 |pages=36}}</ref> The Tandy 1000's [[Tandy Graphics Adapter|enhanced graphics, sound]], and built-in joystick ports made it the best platform for IBM PC-compatible games before the VGA era.<ref name="loguidice2014">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wZnpAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA84 | title=Vintage Game Consoles: An Inside Look at Apple, Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, and the Greatest Gaming Platforms of All Time | publisher=CRC Press |author1=Loguidice, Bill |author2=Barton, Matt | year=2014 | pages=85, 89–92, 96–97 | isbn=978-1135006518}}</ref>

By 1988, the enormous popularity of the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] had greatly affected the computer-game industry. A [[Koei]] executive claimed that "Nintendo's success has destroyed the [computer] software entertainment market". A [[Mindscape (company)|Mindscape]] executive agreed, saying that "Unfortunately, its effect has been extremely negative. Without question, Nintendo's success has eroded software sales. There's been a much greater falling off of disk sales than anyone anticipated." A third attributed the end of growth in sales of the [[Commodore 64]] to the console, and [[Trip Hawkins]] called Nintendo "the last hurrah of the 8-bit world". Experts were unsure whether it affected 16-bit computer games,<ref name="ferrell198907">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1989-07-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_110_1989_Jul#page/n29/mode/2up | title=Just Kids' Play or Computer in Disguise? | work=Compute! | date=July 1989 | access-date=11 November 2013 | author=Ferrell, Keith | pages=28}}</ref> but games lost shelf space at computer software stores, and many of the hundreds of computer-game companies went out of business. Hawkins said that while foreign videogame competition increased, "there's an increase in product supply without an increase in demand".<ref name="microbytes198902">{{Cite magazine |date=February 1989 |title=Optical Drives Could Boost Entertainment Software |url=https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1989-02_OCR/page/n15/mode/1up?view=theater |access-date=2024-10-08 |magazine=BYTE |pages=16-17}}</ref> He in 1990 had to deny rumors that Electronic Arts would withdraw from computers and only produce console games.<ref name="cgw199003">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1990&pub=2&id=69 | title=Electronic Arts Reaffirms Commitment to Disk-Based Software | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=March 1990 | access-date=15 November 2013 | pages=14 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405105848/http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1990&pub=2&id=69 | archive-date=April 5, 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref> By 1993, [[ASCII Entertainment]] reported at a [[Software Publishers Association]] conference that the market for console games ($5.9 billion in revenue) was 12 times that of the computer-game market ($430 million).<ref name="wilson199306">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=107 | title=The Software Publishing Association Spring Symposium 1993 | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=June 1993 | access-date=7 July 2014 | author=Wilson, Johnny L. | pages=96}}</ref>

However, computer games did not disappear. The industry hoped that the [[CD-ROM]] and other [[optical storage]] technology would increase computers' [[user friendliness]] and allow for more sophisticated games.{{r|microbytes198902}} By 1989, ''Computer Gaming World'' reported that "the industry is moving toward heavy use of [[Video Graphics Array|VGA graphics]]".<ref name="cgw198907">{{cite magazine | title=The Shadow of Your Style / New Directions at the Consumer Electronics Show | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1989&pub=2&id=61 | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=July 1989 | access-date=3 November 2013 | pages=4}}</ref> While some games were advertised with [[Video Graphics Array|VGA]] support at the start of the year, they usually supported EGA graphics through VGA cards. By the end of 1989, however, most publishers moved to supporting at least 320x200 [[Multi-Color Graphics Array|MCGA]], a subset of VGA.<ref name="sipe199211">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=100 | title=3900 Games Later... | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=November 1992 | access-date=4 July 2014 | author=Sipe, Russell | pages=8}}</ref> VGA gave the PC graphics that outmatched the Amiga. Increasing adoption of the [[computer mouse]], driven partially by the success of [[adventure game]]s such as the highly successful ''[[King's Quest]]'' series, and high resolution [[bitmap]] displays allowed the industry to include increasingly high-quality [[Graphical user interface|graphical interfaces]] in new releases.

Further improvements to game artwork and audio were made possible with the introduction of [[FM synthesis]] sound. [[Yamaha Corporation|Yamaha]] began manufacturing FM synth boards for computers in the early-mid-1980s, and by 1985, the NEC and [[FM-7]] computers had built-in FM sound.<ref name="hg101_retro" /> The first PC [[sound card]]s, such as [[AdLib]]'s Music Synthesizer Card, soon appeared in 1987. These cards allowed [[IBM PC compatible]] computers to produce complex sounds using FM synthesis, where they had previously been limited to simple tones and beeps. However, the rise of the [[Creative Labs]] [[Sound Blaster]] card, released in 1989, which featured much higher sound quality due to the inclusion of a [[Pulse-code modulation|PCM]] channel and [[digital signal processor]], led AdLib to file for bankruptcy by 1992. Also in 1989, the [[FM Towns]] computer included built-in PCM sound, in addition to a [[CD-ROM]] drive and [[24-bit color]] graphics.<ref name="hg101_retro" />

In the late 80s and throughout the entire 1990s decade, DOS was one of the most popular gaming platforms in regions where it was officially sold.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Jennings |first=Peter |title=The Century |last2=Brewster |first2=Todd |date=November 1998 |publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] |isbn=0-385-48327-9 |edition=1st |location=New York |pages=551 |author-link=Peter Jennings |author-link2=Todd Brewster}}</ref>

By 1990, [[DOS]] was 65% of the computer-game market, with the Amiga at 10%; all other computers, including the [[Mac (computer)|Apple Macintosh]], were below 10% and declining. Although both Apple and IBM tried to avoid customers associating their products with "game machines", the latter acknowledged that VGA, audio, and joystick options for its [[IBM PS/1|PS/1]] computer were popular.<ref name="cgw199012">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1990&pub=2&id=77 | title=Fusion, Transfusion or Confusion / Future Directions In Computer Entertainment | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=December 1990 | access-date=16 November 2013 | pages=26}}</ref> In 1991, [[id Software]] produced an early [[first-person shooter]], ''[[Hovertank 3D]]'', which was the company's first in their line of highly influential games in the genre. There were also several other companies that produced early [[First-person shooter|first-person shooters]], such as [[Arsys Software]]'s ''[[Star Cruiser (1988 video game)|Star Cruiser]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=16126|title=Star Cruiser|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101010101/https://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=16126|archive-date=2014-01-01|url-status=dead|website=[[All Media Network#AllGame|AllGame]]}}</ref> which featured fully [[3D computer graphics|3D polygonal graphics]] in 1988,<ref>[http://www.4gamer.net/games/008/G000896/20080428044/ スタークルーザー] ([https://translate.google.com/translate?&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.4gamer.net%2Fgames%2F008%2FG000896%2F20080428044%2F translation]), 4Gamer.net</ref> and [[Accolade, Inc.|Accolade]]'s ''[[Day of the Viper]]'' in 1989. Id Software went on to develop ''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]'' in 1992, which helped to popularize the genre, kick-starting a genre that would become one of the highest-selling in modern times.<ref name="fpssales">{{cite web | url =https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/analysts-fps-most-attractive-genre-for-publishers | title =Analysts: FPS 'Most Attractive' Genre for Publishers | access-date =August 17, 2006 | last =Cifaldi | first =Frank | date =February 21, 2006 | archive-date =June 27, 2022 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20220627230555/https://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=8241 | url-status =live }}</ref> The game was originally distributed through the [[shareware|shareware distribution model]], allowing players to try a limited part of the game for free but requiring payment to play the rest, and represented one of the first uses of [[texture mapping]] graphics in a popular game, along with ''[[Ultima Underworld]]''.<ref name="texturemapping">{{cite web |url=http://dir.salon.com/story/tech/feature/2003/05/05/doom/index.html?pn=2 |title=Masters of "Doom" |access-date=September 23, 2006 |last=James |first=Wagner |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813010113/http://dir.salon.com/story/tech/feature/2003/05/05/doom/index.html?pn=2 |archive-date=August 13, 2007 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In December 1992, ''Computer Gaming World'' reported that DOS accounted for 82% of computer-game sales in 1991, compared to Macintosh's 8% and Amiga's 5%. In response to a reader's challenge to find a DOS game that played better than the Amiga version the magazine cited ''[[Wing Commander (video game)|Wing Commander]]'' and ''[[Civilization (video game)|Civilization]]'', and added that "The heavy MS-DOS emphasis in ''CGW'' merely reflects the realities of the market".<ref name="cgw199212">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=101 | title=Letters | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=December 1992 | access-date=5 July 2014 | pages=122}}</ref> A self-reported ''Computer Gaming World'' survey in April 1993 similarly found that 91% of readers primarily used IBM PCs and compatibles for gaming, compared to 6% for Amiga, 3% for Macintosh, and 1% for Atari ST,<ref name="cgw199304p176">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=105 | title=What You've Been Playing Lately | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=April 1993 | access-date=7 July 2014 | pages=176}}</ref> while a [[Software Publishers Association]] study found that 74% of personal computers were IBMs or compatible, 10% Macintosh, 7% Apple II, and 8% other. 51% of IBM or compatible had 386 or faster CPUs.<ref name="wilson199306" />

By 1992, DOS games such as ''[[Links 386 Pro]]'' supported [[Super VGA]] graphics.<ref name="mcdonald199211">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=100 | title=Links 386 Pro from Access | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=November 1992 | access-date=4 July 2014 | author=McDonald, T. Liam | pages=72}}</ref> While leading [[Sega]] and [[Nintendo]] console systems kept their CPU speed at 3–7&nbsp;[[clock rate|MHz]], the [[i486|486]] PC processor ran much faster, allowing it to perform many more calculations per second. The 1993 release of ''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]]'' on the PC was a breakthrough in 3D graphics, and was soon ported to various game consoles in a general shift toward greater realism.<ref name="realismshift">{{cite web|url=http://www.gamepilgrimage.com/Consolehistory2.htm |title=Console history |access-date=September 23, 2006}}</ref> ''Computer Gaming World'' reiterated in 1994, "we have to advise readers who want a machine that will play most of the games to purchase high-end MS-DOS machines".<ref name="cgw199401sound">{{Cite magazine |date=January 1994 |title=Sound Philosophy |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=114 |department=Letters from Paradise |magazine=Computer Gaming World |pages=120, 122}}</ref>

By 1993, PC [[floppy disk]] games had a sales volume equivalent to about one-quarter that of [[console game]] [[ROM cartridge]] sales. A hit PC game typically sold about 250,000 disks at the time, while a hit console game typically sold about {{nowrap|1 million}} cartridges.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Microtimes |magazine=Microtimes |date=July 1993 |volume=10 |page=74 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Dw9AQAAIAAJ |publisher=BAM Publications, Incorporated |quote=But the reality is, today's business is cartridge business. The difference in volume is about four to one per title. With exceptions{{mdash}}a {{nowrap|Falcom 3.0}} will sell as much as a cartridge title would out in the open market. But even a hit title in the floppy disk market is a quarter million copies. (Cartridge game) Street Fighter II sold nine million copies worldwide.}}</ref>

By spring 1994, an estimated 24 million US homes (27% of households) had a personal computer. 48% played games on their computer; 40% had the 486 CPU or higher; 35% had CD-ROM drives; and 20% had a sound card.<ref name="cgw199405">{{Cite magazine
| date=May 1994
| title=Software Publishing Association Unveils New Data
| department=Read.Me
| url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=118 
| magazine=Computer Gaming World
| pages=12}}</ref> Another survey found that an estimated 2.46 million multimedia computers had internal CD-ROM drives by the end of 1993, an increase of almost 2,000%. ''Computer Gaming World'' reported in April 1994 that some software publishers planned to only distribute on CD as of 1995.<ref name="cgw199404">{{Cite magazine
| date=April 1994
| title=Invasion Of The Data Stashers
| url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=117 
| magazine=Computer Gaming World
| pages=20–42}}</ref> CD-ROM had much larger storage capacity than floppies, helped reduce software piracy, and was less expensive to produce. [[Chris Crawford (game designer)|Chris Crawford]] warned that it was "a data-intensive technology, not a process-intensive one", tempting developers to emphasize the quantity of [[digital asset]]s like art and music over the quality of gameplay; ''Computer Gaming World'' wrote in 1993 that "publishers may be losing their focus". While many companies used the additional storage to release poor-quality [[shovelware]] collections of older software, or [[video game remake|"enhanced" versions of existing ones]]<ref name="cgw199304p24">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=105 | title=Forging Ahead or Fit to be Smashed? | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=April 1993 | access-date=6 July 2014 | pages=24}}</ref>—often with what the magazine mocked as "amateur acting" in the added audio and video{{r|cgw199404}}—new games such as ''[[Myst]]'' included many more assets for a richer game experience.

Many companies sold "multimedia upgrade kits" that bundled CD drives, sound cards, and software during the mid-1990s, but [[device driver]]s for the new peripherals further depleted scarce RAM.<ref name="weksler199406">{{Cite magazine
| last=Weksler
| first=Mike
| date=June 1994
| title=CDs On A ROMpage
| url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=118 
| magazine=Computer Gaming World
| pages=36–40
}}</ref> By 1993, PC games required much more memory than other software, often consuming all of [[conventional memory]], while device drivers could go into [[upper memory area|upper memory]] with [[DOS memory management|DOS memory managers]]. Players found modifying <code>[[CONFIG.SYS]]</code> and <code>[[AUTOEXEC.BAT]]</code> files for memory management cumbersome and confusing, and each game needed a different configuration. (The game ''[[Les Manley in: Lost in L.A.]]'' satirizes this by depicting two beautiful women exhaust the hero in bed, by requesting that he again explain the difference between [[extended memory|extended]] and [[expanded memory]].) ''Computer Gaming World'' provided technical assistance to its writers to help install games for review,<ref name="weksler199306">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=107 | title=Memory Management and System Configuration for MS-DOS Games | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=June 1993 | access-date=7 July 2014 | author=Weksler, Mike | pages=99}}</ref> and published sample configuration files.<ref name="cgw199401load">{{Cite magazine |date=January 1994 |title=Load For Bear |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=114 |magazine=Computer Gaming World |page=34}}</ref> The magazine advised non-technical gamers to purchase commercial memory managers like [[QEMM]] and [[386MAX]]{{r|weksler199406}} and criticized nonstandard software like [[Origin Systems]]'s "infamous late and unlamented Voodoo Memory Manager",<ref name="wilson199312">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=113 | title=The Sub-Standard In Computer software | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=December 1993 | access-date=29 March 2016 | author=Wilson, Johnny L. | type=editorial | pages=10}}</ref> which used [[unreal mode]].

=== Contemporary PC gaming ===
{{See also|Games for Windows}}
[[File:PC CD-ROM Software Logo.svg|thumb|upright=0.5|right|Logo used by majority of PC games sold in a [[CD]] format]]
[[File:PC DVD-ROM Software Logo.svg|thumb|upright=0.5|right|Logo used by majority of PC games sold in a [[DVD]] format]]
[[File:Pc game logo.png|thumb|upright=0.5|PC Game logo found on most contemporary box arts and trailers]]
By 1996, the growing popularity of [[Microsoft Windows]] simplified device driver and memory management. The success of 3D console titles such as ''[[Super Mario 64]]'' and ''[[Tomb Raider (1996 video game)|Tomb Raider]]'' increased interest in [[3D rendering|hardware accelerated 3D graphics]] on PCs, and soon resulted in attempts to produce affordable products with the [[ATI Rage]], [[Matrox Mystique]], [[S3 ViRGE]], and [[Rendition (company)|Rendition Vérité]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title=PC Goes 3D|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |issue=26|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|date=February 1997|pages=54–63}}</ref> As 3D graphics libraries such as [[DirectX]] and [[OpenGL]] matured and knocked proprietary interfaces out of the market, these platforms gained greater acceptance in the market, particularly with their demonstrated benefits in games such as ''[[Unreal (1998 video game)|Unreal]]''.<ref name="unreal">Shamma, Tahsin. [http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/unreal/review.html Review of Unreal], Gamespot.com, June 10, 1998.</ref> However, major changes to the [[Microsoft Windows]] operating system, by then the market leader, made many older DOS-based games unplayable on [[Windows NT]], and later, [[Windows XP]] (without using an [[emulator]], such as [[DOSBox]]).<ref name="dosincompatibility">{{cite web|url=http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/games/expert/durham_og.mspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070420123928/http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/games/expert/durham_og.mspx|archive-date=April 20, 2007 |title=Getting Older Games to Run on Windows XP |access-date=September 22, 2006 |last=Durham |first=Joel Jr. |website=[[Microsoft]]|date=May 14, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/appcompat.mspx|title=Run Older Programs on Windows XP|website=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref>

The faster graphics accelerators and improving [[Central processing unit|CPU]] technology resulted in increasing levels of realism in computer games. During this time, the improvements introduced with products such as ATI's [[Radeon R300]] and [[NVidia]]'s [[GeForce 6 series]] have allowed developers to increase the complexity of modern [[game engine]]s. PC gaming currently tends strongly toward improvements in 3D graphics.<ref name="graphicstrend">{{cite web |url=http://www.justadventure.com/articles/3D/3DGraphicsTrens.shtm |title=Brief Glimpse into the Future of 3D Game Graphics |access-date=September 23, 2006 |last=Necasek |first=Michal |date=October 30, 2006 |archive-date=October 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011001859/http://justadventure.com/articles/3D/3DGraphicsTrens.shtm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Unlike the generally accepted push for improved graphical performance, the use of [[physics engine]]s in computer games has become a matter of debate since announcement and 2005 release of the [[nVidia]] [[PhysX]] [[physics processing unit|PPU]], ostensibly competing with [[middleware]] such as the [[Havok (software)|Havok physics engine]]. Issues such as difficulty in ensuring consistent experiences for all players,<ref name="ppumultiplayer">{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/old/content/2006/05/6828.ars |title=Tim Sweeney ponders the future of physics cards |access-date=August 22, 2006 |last=Reimer |first=Jeremy |date=May 14, 2006}}</ref> and the uncertain benefit of first generation PhysX cards in games such as ''[[Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter]]'' and ''[[City of Villains]]'', prompted arguments over the value of such technology.<ref name="grawppubenchmark">{{cite web |url=http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=245 |title=AGEIA PhysX PPU Videos – Ghost Recon and Cell Factor |access-date=August 22, 2006 |last=Shrout |first=Ryan |date=May 2, 2006 |archive-date=September 29, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100929000622/http://pcper.com/article.php?aid=245 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="covppubenchmark">{{cite web|url=http://www.anandtech.com/show/2076 |title=PhysX Performance Update: City of Villains |access-date=September 13, 2006 |last=Smith |first=Ryan |date=September 7, 2006}}</ref>

Similarly, many game publishers began to experiment with new forms of marketing. Chief among these alternative strategies is [[episodic gaming]], an adaptation of the older concept of [[expansion pack]]s, in which game content is provided in smaller quantities but for a proportionally lower price. Titles such as ''[[Half-Life 2: Episode One]]'' took advantage of the idea, with mixed results rising from concerns for the amount of content provided for the price.<ref name="episodereactions">{{cite web|url=http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflife2aftermath/review.html|title=Half Life 2: Episode One for PC Review|access-date=September 2, 2006|date=June 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090924003908/http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflife2aftermath/review.html|archive-date=September 24, 2009|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

<!--== Polish PC games ==
During the 1980s, the cheap and talented workforce of the [[Polish People's Republic]] began producing video games with Warsaw company Karen,&nbsp;founded by enterprising emigrant Lucjan Wencel, developing many hits that were released in the United States.<ref name=":18">{{Cite news|url=http://technopolis.polityka.pl/2014/25-lat-wolnosci-w-grach-wideo|title=25 lat wolności w grach wideo|work=Technopolis|access-date=January 10, 2018|language=pl-PL}}</ref> The 1991 strategy game "''[[Solidarność (video game)|Solidarność]]''" by Przemysław Rokita, where players led a trade union to political victory, was the symbolic beginning of a new trend where interactive works applied video game conventions to local Polish culture and history,<ref name=":18" /> and through a distorting mirror portrayed the [[Eastern Bloc]], local villages, and the mentality of citizens.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.benchmark.pl/testy_i_recenzje/najlepsze-polskie-gry-2922/strona/9445.html|title=Najlepsze polskie gry. Podsumowanie|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107175012/http://www.benchmark.pl/testy_i_recenzje/najlepsze-polskie-gry-2922/strona/9445.html|archive-date=January 7, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=January 6, 2018}}</ref> Developers in this age struggled with minimal profits, working after hours, harsh working conditions, older computers, and an ignorance of foreign languages and sentiments.<ref name=":18" /> The&nbsp;country saw its own text based games – e.g. ''[[Mózgprocesor]]'' (1989),&nbsp;arcade games – e.g. ''[[Robbo (video game)|Robbo]]'' (1989), football manager – ''Polish League'' (1995), ''Doom''-clone – ''Cytadela'' (1995), and ''[[The Settlers (1993 video game)|The Settlers]]''-clone&nbsp;– ''[[Polanie (video game)|Polanie]]'' (1995), however the adventure game genre was the "most significant species in the 90s", a genre which was finally cracked with ''Tajemnica Statuetki.''<ref name=":18" />

''Tajemnica Statuetki'' was the first commercially released Polish adventure game,<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=http://www.miastogier.pl/publicystyka,401.html|title=RetroStrefa – Tajemnica Statuetki|last=Onysk|first=Wojciech "Raaistlin"|date=May 16, 2013|website=MiastoGier.pl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228232518/http://www.miastogier.pl/publicystyka,401.html|archive-date=December 28, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=December 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://gry.wp.pl/artykul/zapowiedz,a-quiet-weekend-in-capri,1168,1.html|title=A Quiet Weekend in Capri|last=Polska|first=Grupa Wirtualna|work=Gry.wp.pl|access-date=February 2, 2017}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> one of the first Polish and Polish-language video games ever,<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|url=http://xn--czytelniamagazynw-vyb.karpacz.pl/15.php |title=Tajemnica Statuetki (page 15)|last=Marciniak|first=Jacek "AloneMan"|date=2003 |website=SS-NG|language=pl|access-date=December 28, 2017}}</ref> and Chmielarz's first game that he had developed from start to finish<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UKYTAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Tajemnica+Statuetki%22|title=Przekrʹoj|date=2001|publisher=Czytelnik.|pages=50|language=pl|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229052316/https://books.google.com.au/books?id=UKYTAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Tajemnica+Statuetki%22&dq=%22Tajemnica+Statuetki%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiY_Oyi56zYAhVFUbwKHRkKDKgQ6AEILjAB|archive-date=December 29, 2017}}</ref> – the first officially sold program that he wrote.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/gambler_magazine-1998-11|title=Co ja robie tu?|last=Piekara|first=Jacek|publisher=Gambler Magazine|year=1998|pages=73}}</ref> It is sometimes erroneously considered the first Polish computer game, a distinction held by Witold Podgórski's 1961 [[Early mainframe games|mainframe game]] ''[[Marienbad (video game)|Marienbad]]'', inspired by a Chinese puzzle called "[[Nim]]", and released on the [[Odra (computer)|Odra 1003]].<ref name="auto3">{{Cite news|url=http://gry.onet.pl/artykuly/dawno-dawno-temu-zanim-powstal-wiedzmin/n2vn5|title=Dawno, dawno temu, zanim powstał "Wiedźmin"…|last=Quark|date=July 15, 2013|work=Onet|access-date=December 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228232222/http://gry.onet.pl/artykuly/dawno-dawno-temu-zanim-powstal-wiedzmin/n2vn5|archive-date=December 28, 2017|url-status=live|language=pl-PL}}</ref> (Meanwhile, ''Polygamia'' writes that 1986's text-based ''[[Puszka Pandory]]'' is the first game written by a Pole, sold in Poland, and reviewed in Polish press).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://polygamia.pl/opowie-ci-z-krypty-puszka-pandory|title=Opowieści z krypty: Puszka Pandory|last=Kluska|first=Bartłomiej|date=March 5, 2010|website=Polygamia|language=pl-PL|access-date=December 28, 2017}}</ref> Despite this, Onet wrote in 2013 about a [[List of common misconceptions|common misconception]] that the game marks the point where the history of digital entertainment in Poland begins.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://gry.onet.pl/wiadomosci/slyszeliscie-kiedys-o-marienbad-pierwszej-polskiej-grze-wideo-w-historii-nie-no-to/vwwqx|title=Słyszeliście kiedyś o "Marienbad", pierwszej polskiej grze wideo w historii? Nie? No to koniecznie musicie nadrobić zaległości!|date=March 18, 2013|work=Onet Gry|access-date=January 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107061117/http://gry.onet.pl/wiadomosci/slyszeliscie-kiedys-o-marienbad-pierwszej-polskiej-grze-wideo-w-historii-nie-no-to/vwwqx|archive-date=January 7, 2018|url-status=live|language=pl-PL}}</ref>

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