• Interactive multimedia games began with consoles connected to televisions.Video Game Gear image by Alhazm Salemi from Fotolia.com
  
  The development of interactive multimedia games began as a concept by Ralph Baer in 1951. His idea was to develop an interactive game for use with television sets. Over time, technological advances have changed the course of multimedia games to encourage more interaction and use of a wider variety of media.
  
  

Early Multimedia Games and Arcade Games

• From 1962 to 1970, the focus of multimedia interactive games was to create arcade games for use on televisions or computers. However, computers were not financial feasible for most people at this time. In 1967, Baer succeeded in creating Computer Space, a game played on a television screen. The game was too difficult to play and did not do well. Bushnell, who supervised the creation of Computer Space, then developed Atari with simpler games like Pong. In 1985, Nintendo test marketed its system.
  
  

Hand-held Multimedia Games

• Hand-held Game Boy systems by Nintendo became popular in 1989 with games like Super Mario, Tetris and a baseball game. Hand-held games offered interactive multimedia entertainment on the go.
  
  Another development in the hand-held category is in the increased use of cellular phones. Most phones now come with games or have the ability to download game applications.
  
  

TV and Platform Games

• The launch of Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation in 1994 offered competition with Nintendo in the TV Platform games. By 1996, PlayStation held the No. 1 game console position. However, the release of the Wii system by Nintendo in 2006, created a new level of interaction, allowing users to interact via wireless controllers including motion-sensored controllers.
  
  

CD and Computer Interactive Games

• In 1989, the release of Tetris, a puzzle game for PC's, marked the beginning of interactive computer games. By 1990, with more affordable computers available, PC games became increasingly popular. Games produced on CDs provided offline multimedia entertainment. However, as the Internet developed, an additional level of interaction came into computer game play. Currently, social networks, like MySpace and Facebook offer games to play individually or by interacting with others. An example of this is Farmville on Facebook; where users build and manage their farms with the option to go to the marketplace or to interact with other players by email or messages.
  
  

Virtual Environments

• Current interactive multimedia games such as World of Warcraft, Runescape, Sims and 3 Kingdoms create virtual environments. Common features of these types of games include a shared sense of space, presence as an avatar, real-time interaction, and ways to communicate and share resources with other players. Games in this category will improve by immersing players in issues of identity and responsibility such as in Freedom Fighters where players confront ideas about the U.S.-Iraq war.
  
  

Educational

• Interactive multimedia games have extended into the educational arena. In the early 1990s the development of Interactive Whiteboards along with advances in computers and Internet use have opened avenues to reach and teach students. Whiteboards games created for all subject areas help students review, interact, create, observe, play and learn.