What a difference 30 years makes...

Oct 2, 2007

This month marks the 30th anniversary of Xbox 360's great-grandfather, PS3's distant ancestor and Wii's, er, third cousin once removed. That's right, the Atari 2600! Don't tell us you didn't know...

Being the first real videogame console, 2600 was also the home of the first recognisable videogames genres. So, we thought, what better way to celebrate the old boy's big 3-0 by seeing how its brave gaming heroes compare to the audiovisual treats we take for granted today. Join us, for a scathing walk down memory lane...

Right, first up is Asteroids. Close relative of Spacewar!- perhaps the first game ever created - Asteroids used to be the chief reason we never had any pocket money. We're that old.

Next to modern-day space blast twitchfest Geometry Wars, though, Asteroids looks... er, what's the inoffensive term for 'bag of balls'? Certainly, we owe Asteroids a debt of gratitute, for helping to kickstart a gaming revolution. But on this evidence, we sure don't owe it a replay...

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of GamesRadar+. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games. 

Latest in Platforms
Mio and Zoe holding a dragon during the trailer for Split Fiction.
"What the f*** is this?": Split Fiction's Josef Fares shuts down players upset by the game's two female protagonists
The two characters in Split Fiction holding their hands up in surrender in a futuristic city
Split Fiction, the new game from the It Takes Two devs, launches to Overwhelmingly Positive reviews on Steam and is the highest rated game on Metacritic this year
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds' next update arrives next week, fixing another progression blocker, crashes, and weird monster behavior
Mass Effect 3
BioWare lead proves he's onto us while celebrating Mass Effect 3's birthday, clarifying that's all he's doing so that "nobody can say I purposefully teased them"
ben starr dressed in harequinn makeup chomping down on a banana
Balatro's first few hours generated over $600,000, "far more money" than the roguelike's creator had ever made: "It is the most surreal day of my life"
Ayaneo AM01 mini PC on woodgrain table sitting next to Xbox controller
This adorable mini PC looks like a tiny Mac, and it has completely changed the way I play games in the living room
Latest in News
Mio and Zoe holding a dragon during the trailer for Split Fiction.
"What the f*** is this?": Split Fiction's Josef Fares shuts down players upset by the game's two female protagonists
The two characters in Split Fiction holding their hands up in surrender in a futuristic city
Split Fiction, the new game from the It Takes Two devs, launches to Overwhelmingly Positive reviews on Steam and is the highest rated game on Metacritic this year
A Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX
The Evangelion studio's Gundam anime finally gets a release date and streaming home
Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher in Reacher season 3
Reacher star Alan Ritchson wants to play Batman so bad, he says "you wouldn't even have to pay me"
Daredevil: Born Again
After a comics Easter egg was spotted, Daredevil: Born Again fans now think that [SPOILER] is secretly alive
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds' next update arrives next week, fixing another progression blocker, crashes, and weird monster behavior