Up until 1971, video games were limited to computer platforms. At that point, a group of students from Stanford built a coin-operated version of "Space Wars." The following year, Atari took the idea to market with a coin-operated version of Pong, precluding the home version. Imitators sprang up over the years, among them Donkey Kong, Space Invaders and Galaxia. Children of the 1960s and early 1970s were witnesses to the genesis - no pun intended - of the video game industry.
Home consoles began to develop around the late 1970s, including Colecovision and Intellivision. But it wasn't until the 1983 release of the Nintendo Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System, released 1985 in America) that the market took on a life of its own. The jump in hardware capabilities from the Colecovision (1982) to the Famicom/NES was largely responsible for this. This put children of the 1970s before the birth of the home console era.
Then, in the late 1980s, 1989 to be exact, Nintendo opened up yet another market with the development of the Game Boy and thus the advent of portable gaming. Simple two-colored hand-held games were already popular, but with this, one could play several different games through a single piece of hardware. This event, went on to spawn competition such as the Lynx and the Sega Gamegear, placed the children of the early 1980s as witnesses to the dawn of mobile gaming.
Since then, revolutions in the gaming industry have been minimal. With how quickly technology develops in all fields, a new style of gaming, such as massive multiplayer online or motion sensory, doesn't seem quite as special as when home technology and information moved much more slowly. That is to say, it doesn't feel quite so much like leaps and bounds when it's happening in all fields of technology and doesn't even have time to sink in before the next one comes along.
But, maybe that's just my age showing. People were talking about playing games online via dial-up modem back in the mid-1990s. So multi-player online gaming never seemed to be as big of a deal to me as the marketers presented it to be. It wasn't an advent or a revolution. They were taking someone else's technical advances and applying it to their own existing technology and struggling market.
The existing markets did develop further. Pictures became sharper. 8-bit gradually grew to 64-bit. Electronic midis were replaced with actual music. Games, other than ones based on movies, began to have plots to them. The industry matured. Alongside its original audience, children of the 1960s through the early 1980s, grew up, so too did the video game industry.
Granted, the games typically aren't as difficult now as they were back then. They were so simplistic in the early days, but such aspects and endless levels, poor collision detection and jerky controls made for more hair-pulling than a Malibu cat-fight. But the more responsive controls and increased accuracy in collision detection make the newer games more accessible, and more attractive as a way to wind down after a rough day on the job. Also, with deep narratives, advanced control systems and more vast and complicated worlds, many new games feel adult in their complexity.
Those of us present for the three advents of the gaming industry - arcade machines, home consoles, and hand-held systems - have seen the industry and our favorite franchises grow up alongside us. Donkey Kong and Mario (originally just called Jumpman) grew into titan mascots for Nintendo, the longest standing home console development company. The Legend of Zelda has become a titan in both the console and hand-held markets, making Link a gaming icon. Sonic the Hedgehog spawned a cartoon series spin-off and has turned from 2D side-scrolling to vast 3D worlds. Final Fantasy, which was to be a last ditch effort by Squaresoft, is now developing the 13th game in its numerical series, and this is in addition to a myriad of spin-offs. Warcraft has become a phenomenon in online gaming. While the concept of Gauntlet has remained, the graphics and game-play have improved dramatically with larger worlds and a wider range of capabilities.
And these are just the franchises that have been around since the early days. Several more have risen (some have also fallen) since then, giving the market a broader appeal and making video games feel more accessible. But the point, once again, is that the industry has grown up right alongside its children. And this is the appeal of video games to adults.
Furthermore, as an addendum, the industry is still keeping youngsters in mind with simple and childish games as well as franchises accessible to all ages. This gives their parents, children of the three advents, something over which to bond with their children and soon even grandchildren.