 While further games like checkers and chess were developed on research computers , the next milestone in video games came in 1958 with Tennis for Two . Perhaps the first game created solely for entertainment rather than as a technology demonstration or a research tool , the program simulated a game of tennis . Created by American physicist William Higinbotham for visitors at the Brookhaven National Laboratory to be more entertaining for visitors on their public day than the usual static exhibits about nuclear power , the game ran on a Donner Model 30 analog computer and displayed a side view of a tennis court on an oscilloscope . The players controlled the angle of their shots with attached controllers , and the game calculated and simulated the trajectory of the ball , including the possibility of hitting the net . The game was first shown on October 18 , 1958 . Hundreds of visitors lined up to play the new game during its debut . Due to the game 's popularity , an upgraded version was shown the following year , with enhancements including a larger screen and different levels of simulated gravity . Afterwards , having served its purpose , the game was dismantled for its component parts . While the game had no innovations in game design or technological development , its status as an entertainment @-@ focused game , rather than an academic project or technological showpiece , has led it to be considered one of the first " real " video games as they are generally thought of today . 
