Editing History of video games (section)

====IBM PC compatible====
While the second wave of home computer systems flourished in the early 1980s, they remained as closed hardware systems from each other; while programs written in BASIC or other simple languages could be easily copied over, more advanced programs would require porting to meet the hardware requirements of the target system. Separately, [[IBM]] released the first of its [[IBM Personal Computer]]s (IBM PC) in 1981, shipping with the [[MS-DOS]] operating system. The IBM PC was designed with an [[open architecture]] to allow new components to be added to it, but IBM intended to maintain control on manufacturing with the proprietary [[BIOS]] developed for the system.<ref name="apple ibm platform control">{{cite journal | last1= Den Hartigh | first1= Erik | first2= J. Roland | last2= Ortt | first3= Geerten  | last3 = Van de Kaa | first4 = Claire CM | last4= Stolwijk | title = Platform control during battles for market dominance: The case of Apple versus IBM in the early personal computer industry | journal = [[Technovation]] | volume = 48 | pages = 4–12 | year = 2016 }}</ref> As IBM struggled to meet demand for its PC, other computer manufacturers such as [[Compaq]] worked to [[reverse engineer]] the BIOS and created [[IBM PC compatible]] computers by 1983.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1981-12/1981_12_BYTE_06-12_Computer_Games#page/n315/mode/2up | title=Bytelines | work=BYTE | date=December 1981 | access-date=January 29, 2015 | author=Libes, Sol | pages=314–318}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w_OhaFDePS4C&pg=PA5 | title=Lookalikes From Home & Abroad | work=PC Magazine | date=February–March 1982 | access-date=October 20, 2013 | pages=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VDAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA29 | title=Let's keep those systems open | work=InfoWorld | date=August 23, 1982 | access-date=January 29, 2015 | author=Zussman, John Unger | page=29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/10/business/corporate-triumph-then-death-in-a-ferrari.html |title=Corporate Triumph, Then Death in a Ferrari |last=Barmash |first=Isadore |date=June 10, 1983 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 19, 2019 |page=A1 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="mace19840109_16">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ey4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA79 | title=IBM PC clone makers shun total compatibility | work=InfoWorld | date=January 9–16, 1984 | access-date=February 4, 2015 | author=Mace, Scott | pages=79–81}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kSzKzjWHeVEC&pg=PA39 | title=PC-Compatible Portables | work=PC Magazine | date=January 24, 1984 | access-date=October 23, 2013 |author1=Cook, Karen |author2=Langdell, James | pages=39}}</ref> By 1987, IBM PC compatible computers dominated the home and business computer market.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/features/2005/12/total-share/5/|title=Total share: 30 years of personal computer market share figures|last=Reimer|first=Jeremy |website=Ars Technica|date=December 15, 2005|access-date=September 13, 2008}}</ref>

From a video games standpoint, the IBM PC compatible invigorated further game development. A software developer could write to meet IBM PC compatible specifications and not worry about which make or model was being used. While the initial IBM PC supported only monochromatic text games, game developers nevertheless ported mainframe and other simple text games to the PC, such as Infocom with ''Zork''. IBM introduced video display controllers such as the [[Color Graphics Adapter]] (CGA) (1981), the [[Enhanced Graphics Adapter]] (EGA) (1984) and the [[Video Graphics Array]] (VGA) (1987) that expanded the computer's ability to display color graphics, though even with the VGA, these still lagged behind those of the Amiga. The first dedicated [[sound card]]s for IBM PC compatibles were released starting in 1987, which provided digital sound conversion input and output far exceeding the computer's internal speakers, and with [[Creative Labs]]' [[Sound Blaster]] in 1989, the ability to plug in a game controller or similar device.

In 2008, [[Sid Meier]] listed the IBM PC as one of the three most important innovations in the history of video games.<ref name="totilo20080303">{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1582662/the-three-most-important-moments-in-gaming-and-other-lessons-from-sid-meier-in-gamefile/ |title=The Three Most Important Moments In Gaming, And Other Lessons From Sid Meier, In GameFile |work=MTV News |date=March 3, 2008 |access-date=July 7, 2014 |author=Totilo, Stephen |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715192325/http://www.mtv.com/news/1582662/the-three-most-important-moments-in-gaming-and-other-lessons-from-sid-meier-in-gamefile/ |archive-date=July 15, 2014 }}</ref>  The advancement in graphic and sound capabilities of the IBM PC compatible led to several influential games from this period. Numerous games that were already made for the earlier home computers were later ported to IBM PC compatible system to take advantage of the larger consumer base, including the ''Wizardry'' and ''Ultima'' series, with future installments released for the IBM PC. [[Sierra On-Line]]'s first graphical adventure games launched with the ''[[King's Quest]]'' series. The first ''[[SimCity]]'' game by [[Maxis]] was released in 1989.<ref name="pcgamers most important games">{{cite web | url = https://www.pcgamer.com/most-important-pc-games/ | title =  The 50 most important PC games of all time | date = January 18, 2016 | access-date = March 11, 2021 | work = [[PC Gamer]] }}</ref>

The Apple [[Macintosh 128K|Macintosh]] also arrived at this time. In contrast to the IBM PC, Apple maintained a more closed system on the Macintosh, creating a system based around a [[graphical user interface]] (GUI)-driven operating system. As a result, it did not have the same market share as the IBM PC compatible, but still had a respectable software library including video games, typically ports from other systems.<ref name="apple ibm platform control"/>

The first major [[video game publisher]]s arose during the 1980s, primarily supporting personal computer games on both IBM PC compatible games and the popular earlier systems along with some console games. Among the major publishers formed at this time included [[Electronic Arts]],<ref name="polygon ea history">{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/a/how-ea-lost-its-soul/ | title = How Electronic Arts Lost Its Soul | first1 = Colin | last1 = Campbell | first2= Andres | last2= Gurman | date = July 14, 2015 | access-date = March 17, 2021 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] }}</ref> and [[Broderbund]], while Sierra On-Line expanded its own publishing capabilities for other developers.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1989/04/24/screen-play-software-adventure-games-for-personal-computers/c40aa762-3c1d-408a-b542-2b243c5559ef/ | title = Software Adventure Games For Personal Computers | first = Stephan | last = Jones | date = April 24, 1989 | access-date=  March 19, 2021 | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] }}</ref> Activision, still recovering from the financial impacts of the 1983 video game crash, expanded out to include other software properties for the office, rebranding itself as Mediagenic until 1990.<ref name="gamasutra activision"/>