David McManus recalls Pong, Space Invaders and the latest hi-tech wizardry

The world of computer gaming has evolved beyond all recognition since the legendary Pong bleeped itself into existence in 1972.

I am not quite old enough to recall the original game but it was only a few years later when I was presented with the first home console featuring those iconic paddles, now renamed as Tennis.

My brother and I would spend hours batting that square ball back and forth to a monotonous tone. When he would grow tired of the battle, I would switch the machine to Squash (the console had several games all slightly different versions of the same thing) and continue knocking the imaginary ball against an imaginary wall.

Had anyone else been in the room they would have been driven quite mad. That single tone itself would serve as torture if you weren’t engaged in controlling it.

It only took minor advances in graphics before playing video games became a spectator event. Images of those early arcades, now sadly confined to history, were of teenagers gathered around a cabinet while some heroic accomplice battled wave upon wave on aliens in Space Invaders.

The game itself offered scarcely any greater level of variety than Pong but it was enough to draw interest from onlookers, even if most of them were hanging around with a 10p coin clutched firmly in their fists waiting for their go.

Zip forward 40 years and today’s games have such realistic graphics that they are practically indistinguishable from the genuine thing and watching others play them has become almost as popular as playing them yourself.

Online tournaments are held where a global audience can watch their favourite players compete against each other, accompanied by over-excited commentary. The whole thing can take on the air of a top purse boxing match.

Indeed moves have been made to have video games recognised as a geinitially absurd but there is no doubt that playing these things offers at least a level of physical activity higher than chess which is officially classified as a sport.

In 2011 the world got its first big live streaming video platform in form of Twitch TV. The site plays host to hugely popular contests, gaming guides, audio commentary and post match podcasts.

I have just checked to see what is currently shown and was treated to five minutes of a teenager sitting in a chair, superimposed over a game of Super Mario that he was trying to play while answering questions about his favourite video game (Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch in case you are wondering).

When Twitch TV went up for sale last year it seemed an obvious acquisition for Google who could roll it into a Youtube channel and make megabucks from video game adverts.

The prize instead went to Amazon who paid $970 million for the site.

As of now the online retailer has yet to do anything with Twitch TV but Google has declared its intention to create its own gaming channel to be ‘in the game’ saving a billion dollars in the process.