Video games capture the rapt attention of millions of children and adults.
U.S. annual shipments more than doubled from 69 million in 1996 to 159 million in 1998. During this time, U.S. sales increased from 3.6 billion dollars to 6.2 billion dollars. Total world sales dollars increased from 9.3 billion dollars in 1996 to 14.2 billion dollars in 1998. The following account, written in 1981, tells how a Department of Energy research and development program led to the pioneering development of video games. Possibly at Brookhaven National Laboratory.