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National Video Games Day

Get together with your friends, or login with distant friends to connect and enjoy one of modern society’s most diverting and fun pastimes.

Hobbies & ActivitiesToys & Games72
Marketing angleinferred

Celebrate National Video Games Day by driving engagement and sales across gaming platforms, hardware, and digital content through community-focused campaigns that highlight both casual and hardcore gaming experiences.

Relevance 72high intent
  • Gaming marathon challenge: encourage followers to stream or share their longest gaming sessions with branded hashtags
  • Throwback gaming nostalgia: feature retro vs. modern game comparisons to appeal across age groups
  • Friend connection angle: promote multiplayer titles and gaming peripherals as tools to reconnect with distant friends
  • Gaming gear flash sales: leverage the day for limited-time offers on consoles, games, and accessories
History

The history of National Video Games Day is really the history of the video game, and that history goes back much farther than most people imagine.

The first game ever created is often thought to be Bertie the Brain, an artificial intelligence designed to play Tic-Tac-Toe.

Considering that Bertie was a 4 meter high machine built on vacuum tube technology, you can imagine it didn’t get out much, in fact, it was disassembled after the Canadian National Exhibition it was revealed at, and never rebuilt.

A year later a computer was built called Nimrod, Nimrod was a computer built and displayed at the Festival of Britain in 1951 and designed to play a game called Nim.

From these humble beginnings things continued to build, first with Cabinet style games (those are the ones you put quarters in kids) which became hugely popular, and then into the first consoles, home based platforms you could play the games on.

In the years that followed development of computers and video games just kept growing exponentially, until they now absolutely permeate our culture. What used to be a luxury item for the rich and elite has now become a standard part of most people’s homes, and a diversion that involves all ages.

FAQ
What was the first video game tournament ever held?
In 1972, Stanford University hosted the first-ever competitive gaming event for Spacewar!, a game played on early computers. The grand prize?A year’s subscription to Rolling Stone magazine. While small, this event set the stage for the massive eSports industry that exists today, where tournaments have prize pools in the millions.
What’s the most expensive video game ever made?
Star Citizen, a space simulation game in development since 2011, has raised over $600 million through crowdfunding.Despite its record-breaking budget, it remains unfinished, making it one of gaming’s most ambitious (and controversial) projects.For released games, Grand Theft Auto V holds the title, costing about $265 million—but it earned $1 billion within three days of launch.
What is the longest a video game has remained in development?
Duke Nukem Forever holds the record, spending 14 years in development before its disastrous 2011 release.Originally announced in 1997, it went through multiple game engines and developers before finally seeing the light of day.Ironically, the game’s title became a joke in the industry, symbolizing a project that might never actually launch.
Are there any ‘cursed’ video games?
Some gamers believe certain games bring bad luck or even supernatural experiences. Berzerk, an arcade game from 1980, is infamous because two players suffered fatal heart attacks shortly after achieving high scores.While likely a coincidence, this eerie connection made Berzerk one of gaming’s most infamous urban legends.
Why do some game cartridges have unusual smells?
Old game cartridges, especially SNES and N64 games, sometimes emit a distinct metallic or burnt plastic smell.This comes from aging capacitors inside the cartridges, which slowly break down over time. Some gamers nostalgically call it the “cartridge smell,” a scent that transports them back to the 90s.
Has a video game ever saved someone’s life?
Yes! In 2007, a 10-year-old boy named Gryffin Sanders saved his grandmother’s life by taking control of their car after she had a stroke.He credited Mario Kart for teaching him how to steer at high speeds.In another case, a gamer playing World of Warcraft recognized the symptoms of a stroke in another player, saving their life by calling emergency services.
What’s the weirdest video game merchandise ever made?
In 2009, Capcom released a Resident Evil 5 special edition that included a life-size zombie-scented candle.The idea was to enhance the horror experience by making your room smell like rotting flesh.Even stranger, a promotional event for Hitman: Absolution sent journalists real dead flowers in coffins as invitations to play the game.
What’s the largest open-world video game ever created?
No Man’s Sky technically holds the record, with 18 quintillion planets—a number so large that even if one person discovered one new planet per second, it would take 585 billion years to see them all.However, for handcrafted open worlds, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall (1996) spans 161,000 square kilometers, roughly the size of England.
Has a video game character ever become a legal citizen?
Yes! In 2008, Japan granted official residency to Pac-Man. Though it was a symbolic move, it recognized the character’s massive cultural impact.Similarly, in 2016, Spain’s town of Zaragoza gave Sonic the Hedgehog a street name in honor of his role in gaming history.
How did a video game create one of the world’s biggest protests?
In 2019, Blizzard Entertainment banned a professional player of Hearthstone for supporting the Hong Kong protests during a tournament.The backlash was massive, with gamers boycotting Blizzard, staging digital protests, and even dressing up as Winnie the Pooh, a banned symbol in China.The event remains one of gaming’s most significant political moments.