Gamers have a fine excuse to log a few extra hours on Thursday, July 8, 2027, which is National Video Game Day. The holiday’s own origin turns out to be a small mystery.
National Video Game Day Date
It’s July 8 on most calendars. You’ll also spot a “Video Games Day” on September 12, and the Video Game History Foundation found that both trace back to one holiday.
A Mystery Sponsor and a Moving Date
Frank Cifaldi of the foundation went digging through old calendars and newspapers. His earliest find was the 1991 edition of Chase’s Calendar of Events, which listed July 8.
That listing named a sponsor, David Earle, president of a group called Kid Video Warriors. Cifaldi couldn’t find anything else about either one. Chase’s kept July 8 from 1991 to 1993.
After that, the date wandered. Chase’s moved it to July 12 in 1994 and to September 10 in 1996. From 1997 on, it listed September 12, with no sponsor at all. Cifaldi published his findings on September 12, 2017.
Tennis on an oscilloscope
One of the earliest video games was built for a science open house. Physicist William Higinbotham, head of Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Instrumentation Division, showed Tennis for Two there on October 18, 1958.
Most lab exhibits back then just sat still. Higinbotham wanted visitors to play.
Brookhaven’s small analog computer moved the ball, a dot that left trails across a side view of the court. Other amplifiers detected hits and switched control between the two players. An oscilloscope about five inches across served as the screen. As he put it:
“it might liven up the place to have a game that people could play”
Games come home
Then, in 1972, the Magnavox Odyssey brought games into living rooms, months ahead of Atari’s Pong. It grew out of inventor Ralph Baer’s “Brown Box” prototype, the Smithsonian says.
Graphics were a few white blocks and a line, so colored plastic overlays went on the TV screen. Dice, cards, play money and poker chips came in the box, and a light gun was sold separately. Roughly 350,000 units sold.
Who Plays Today
In 2025, 205.1 million Americans ages 5 to 90 played video games, the Entertainment Software Association found. That’s nearly two-thirds of the population, a huge audience.
The average player is 36, and 60% of adults play every week. Men and women are close to even, at 52% and 47%. Kids play most often: 83% of children ages 5 to 12 game weekly. Among boomers, women actually outnumber men, 52% to 46%.
Parents who play with their kids mostly say it’s fun for everyone (61%) and a way to connect (55%).
Fun Ways to Play Along
- Play a retro game and see just how far design has come.
- Pick a co-op game the whole family can share.
- Teach a parent or grandparent something easy to start with.
- Visit a museum that shows early consoles.
- Take regular breaks to stand up, stretch and rest your eyes.
- Donate old game magazines or manuals to a game history archive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do older adults play video games?
Mainly to relax or pass the time (77%) and to keep their minds sharp (65%), the ESA’s survey of boomers and older players found.
Could you play tennis in space on Tennis for Two?
In the 1959 upgrade, yes. Players could choose low-gravity tennis on the Moon or high gravity on Jupiter, on a bigger screen.
Why wasn’t the Magnavox Odyssey a bigger hit?
Weak marketing, the Smithsonian says, plus a mistaken belief that it worked only on Magnavox TVs.