- National Video Game Day, July 8, is a day to celebrate the history, culture, and joy of video games.
- The video game industry, which emerged in the early 1970s, has grown to become a $200 billion industry that is larger than other entertainment fields combined.
- Video games can deliver a range of benefits, from improved visual attention to greater connections with communities.
- A few simple best practices—such as using distinct passwords and two-factor authentication—can keep gamers safe online.
National Video Game Day is here! Whether you’re a lifelong gamer who remembers saving up for that new Nintendo Super Mario Bros cartridge, a casual mobile player sneaking in a little Candy Crush Saga during lunch, or someone who only picks up a controller to play Madden NFL at holiday gatherings, today is for you.
Video games shine a light on some of the benefits of technology (and sure, maybe just a few of the risks). For example, games can entertain us, promote creativity, build connections with others, and even augment some cognitive abilities.
So, today we’re celebrating the history, culture, and joy of video games while dropping just a few friendly tips to make sure your gaming life is as secure as it is enjoyable.
A Quick History: From Pong to Parallel Worlds
The video game industry did not start with a bang in an action-packed online multiplayer experience. It started with a dot bouncing (fairly slowly) between two rectangular “paddles” on a black-and-white screen. Pong, released by Atari as an arcade game in 1972, was painfully simple by today’s standards. And yet in the ’70s, people lined up to play it, feeding quarters into machines for hours. In 1975, Atari released Home Pong—a version that helped launch the home video game industry.
From there, the industry’s evolution continued to gain steam. By the 1980s, millions of people were plugging in their Nintendo Entertainment Systems to help a plumber named Mario rescue Princess Peach. In the 1990s, players experienced 3D graphics, swapped out cartridges for CD-ROMs, and had their pick of multiple consoles, each with a wide variety of games. With the Internet boom of the early 2000s, online multiplayer games and downloadable content ushered in an era of more immersive experiences and attracted a wider demographic: Games were no longer just for kids.
Today, the global video game industry brings in approximately $200 billion in revenue from software, add-ons, and content—making it far larger than the film and music industries combined.1 Gaming tops $360 billion if you include hardware, in-game advertising, and licensing.2
Billions of people play games for fun, “speedrun” them (finishing a game as fast as possible), compete professionally, and even analyze them academically. Meanwhile, industries that seem to have nothing to do with games have “gamified” key processes, like training surgeons, pilots, and astronauts.
We’ve definitely progressed from Pong’s slowly ricocheting dot.
Why Gaming Is Good for You (Yes, Really)
Let’s acknowledge that gaming has been blamed for shortening our attention spans and even promoting antisocial behavior. Believe it or not, though, there are studies that suggest games can be good for you.
Studies have shown that action games, for example, can improve visual attention, spatial visualization, and the ability to track multiple objects simultaneously.3 Puzzle games, meanwhile, can help enhance pattern recognition and improve response inhibition, meaning puzzle players are better able to suppress impulses and choose more deliberate, goal-directed actions.4 Multiplayer online games have the potential to improve communication skills and foster group cohesion. Among older people, video game play with others can facilitate intergenerational connection.5
And of course, there is also the simple, but important, benefit of play. Humans need it. Games give us a safe space to take risks, fail without real consequences, try again, and eventually succeed. That loop—attempt, fail, learn, succeed—is one of the most satisfying experiences a brain can have. Games are built entirely around delivering it on repeat.
A Cheat Code for Staying Safe Online
Like any online activity, online gaming comes with some risks. There are cybercriminals eager to steal passwords, use your personal information to commit fraud, launch malware, or otherwise ruin your fun.
A little awareness and preparation will go a long way to keeping things fun and safe online.
- Use unique passwords for your gaming accounts. Your gaming account can hold payment information and personal details, not to mention years of your game progress. Creating unique passwords helps ensure that this account stays safe even if something happens with one of your other accounts. Too many passwords to remember? Try a password manager.
- Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA). Most major platforms—PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, Nintendo, Epic—offer 2FA. When logging in with 2FA, you might provide a password but then also use a temporary code sent to your phone. It takes only a few minutes to set up and makes your account dramatically harder to break into.
- Be thoughtful about what you share in chat. Online gaming communities can be fun an inclusive, but they are also public. Consider keeping your real name, city, school or employer, and daily routine out of the multiplayer lobby. A good username is all the introduction you need.
- Watch out for “too good to be true” offers. You might get an in-game message for free V-Bucks for Fortnite, unlimited Robux for Roblox, or a cool, rare skin—all you have to do is click a link. Don’t do it. If something sounds too good to be true, it is. When in doubt, go directly to the official gaming platform.
- Keep your gaming software updated. Updates are not only important for accessing new features or fixing bugs. They often include security patches for vulnerabilities that the gaming companies have discovered. Turning on automatic updates is one of the simplest things you can do to keep your setup healthy.
- Parents, talk to your kids about online interactions. Gaming is a huge part of how young people socialize today. Consider having a relaxed, ongoing conversation about who they are playing with and what kind of interactions feel normal versus uncomfortable. Make sure they know they can always come to you without getting their console taken away.
Games Define Generations
Every era of gaming has its touchstones—the devices and experiences that define what it was like to be a gamer at a particular time. Maybe it’s the Atari 2600 console and its Space Invaders game, which you played for hours with friends in your family’s wood-paneled basement. Or maybe it’s the act of pulling a sword out of a stone pedestal in the Legend of Zelda—one of the first games you experienced in 3D.
Games create important personal and shared cultural moments like few other mediums can. Those moments give us insight into how we connect with others, what is happening in our lives, and what kinds of worlds we want to escape into for a few hours. These powers of gaming, to create moments and generate insights, are certainly worth celebrating on National Video Game Day.
So today, load up your favorite game. Reconnect with an old gaming friend. Introduce someone new to a title you love. And maybe, while you are at it, take five minutes to check that your accounts are locked down tight.
A: National Video Game Day is July 8. It is an unofficial holiday celebrating the history, culture, and joy of gaming.
A: The game industry began with the 1972 launch of Atari’s simple arcade game Pong. The industry began to expand rapidly with the introduction of the home version of the game in 1975. Today, game software, content, and digital add-ons bring in approximately $200 billion annually, eclipsing the film and music industries combined.
A: While games are often criticized, scientific studies show that video games offer several distinct psychological and mental benefits, from improved visual attention to stronger intergenerational connections among players.
A: To protect personal data, digital assets, and game progress, players should use distinct passwords for games, restrict sharing of personal information, enable two-factor authentication (2FA), keep software up to date, beware of too-good-to-be-true offers, and talk among families about safe online interactions.
- David Bloom, The Game Business Is Bigger Than Ever. So Why Are So Many Having Problems? Forbes, March 2026
- McKinsey & Company, Gaming’s next growth era: Unlocking the value of attention, March 2026
- Andrew J Latham et al, The virtual brain: 30 years of video-game play and cognitive abilities, Frontiers in Psychology, September 2013
- Aaron Yew Cheong Leong, Min Hooi Yong, and Mei-Hua Lin, The Effect of Strategy Game Types on Inhibition, Psychological Research, November 2022
- Jeffrey Tsifan Tseng, Online Communication Attitudes and Video Game Co-Play in Older Adults: Cross-Sectional Mediation Study, JMIR Aging, April 2026
