Personal computer game
Platforms
• Arcade game
• Audio game
• Console game
• Handheld game
• Mobile game
• Online game
• Personal computer game
Genres
• Action game
• Action-adventure game
• Adventure game
• Role-playing game
• Simulation game
• Sports game
• Strategy game
Topics
• Video game culture
• Video game history
• Video game industry
• Video game music
Lists
• List of best-selling video games
• List of gaming topics
• List of video game companies
• List of video game franchises
• List of video game industry people
• List of video game publishers
• List of video game records
• List of years in video games
A personal computer game (also known as
a computer game or simply PC game) is a
game played on a personal computer, rather
than on a video game console or arcade ma-
chine. Computer games have evolved from
the simple graphics and gameplay of early
titles like Spacewar!, to a wide range of more
visually advanced titles.[1]
PC games are created by one or more
game developers, often in conjunction with
other specialists (such as game artists) and
either published independently or through a
third party publisher. They may then be
distributed on physical media such as DVDs
and CDs, as Internet-downloadable share-
ware, or through online delivery services
such as Direct2Drive and Steam. PC games
often require specialized hardware in the
user’s computer in order to play, such as a
specific generation of graphics processing
unit or an Internet connection for online play,
although these system requirements vary
from game to game.
History
Early growth
Spacewar!, developed for the PDP-1 in 1961,
is often credited as being the first ever com-
puter game. The game consisted of two
player-controlled spaceships maneuvering
around a central star, each attempting to
destroy the other.
Although personal computers only became
popular with the development of the micro-
processor, mainframe and minicomputers,
computer gaming has existed since at least
the 1960s. One of the first computer games
was developed in 1961, when MIT