William A. Higinbotham Game Studies Collection at Stony Brook University

The William A. Higinbotham Game Studies Collection contributes directly to the study of video games as popular culture and to their historical longevity. It is dedicated to collecting and preserving the texts and ephemera that document: the history of video games; and the work of early game innovator and Brookhaven National Laboratory scientist William A. Higinbotham, who in 1958 invented the first interactive analog computer game, Tennis for Two.

 

William A. Higinbotham

After reading an instruction manual that accompanied a Systron-Donner analog computer, William Alfred Higinbotham was inspired to design Tennis for Two, the first computer game to utilize handheld controllers and to display motion. It was also the first game to be played by general public, in this instance, attendees of “visitors day” at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in 1958. Learn More »