On November 15, 1971, Intel released the 4004 processor, the first commercial microprocessor. Operating at 740 KHz (0.74 MHz), it was a 4-bit processor, and it could access up to 4 KB of memory. Although the 4004 was never used in a PC or video game console, it can still be thought of as paving the way for all home video games.
The 8-bit version, designed at the same time as the 4004 and released a year later, called the 8008 processor, was succeeded by the 16-bit 8080, which was 10 times faster. Finally the 16-bit 8086 was released, which was backwards compatible with the 8080. Although the 8086 was never used in a PC, the lobotomized version called the 8088, released in 1979, was chosen for the IBM PC in 1981, and the x86 architecture remains the most dominant CPU architecture to this day. So wait, what does the 4004 have to do with the IBM PC that wasn’t released until 10 years later? Actually, not that much!
Certainly the success of the 4004 led Intel to develop further processors until they got to the 8086, but the implications for gaming occurred much sooner. The high price of Intel and Motorola CPUs led a company called MOS to develop an inexpensive CPU called the 6502 in 1975. It was used in hobbyist computers, the Apple I (1976) and Apple II (1977), Commodore PET (1977) and a little video game system called the Atari VCS (1977). It was later used in the Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System (1983/1985), a modified version was used in the Commodore 64 (1982), and a next-generation version was used in the Super Famicom/Super NES (1990/1991). Remember Super Mario RPG? Those graphics were made possible by an extra chip in the cartridge called the Nintendo SA-1 (1995), which is a 10 MHz next-generation version of the 6502 processor.
The popularity of the 6502 (and continued expense of Intel processors) also led Zilog to create the 8080-compatible Z80 processor in 1976. It was used in the Tandy TRS-80 in 1977, and was was later used in the Osborne 1 portable computer (1981), Kaypro computers (1982), ColecoVision (1982) and Commodore 128 (1985). It also led to an explosion in the popularity of the CP/M operating system, which had originally been designed for the 8080/8085 processors. The power of the Z80 processor and the ease of use of CP/M put 8080-compatible software on home computers around the world.
The remarkable success of home computers from Apple, Atari, Commodore, Kaypro, and Tandy led IBM to join the market, selecting the inexpensive 8088 for their IBM “Personal Computer”, causing things to go full circle. The 8088 led to DOS, which led to Windows, and competition from Linux and Mac OS X for Intel processors. Whatever operating system you’re running, you almost certainly are using an x86 CPU.
It would be simplistic to say that the popularity of home computers is directly attributable to the 4004 processor, through a royal line of succession from 4004 to 8008 to 8080 to 8086, and all the generations of the 8086 that followed. In fact, if Intel hadn’t had competition from cheaper alternatives, there might never have been an 8088 for the IBM PC to use! But the 4004 led to the 6502, and the 8080 led to the Z80, and the tremendous popularity of video game systems and computers derived from Intel’s competitors eventually caused the market to come full circle back to Intel when IBM chose the 8088 for their PC. The 4004 led both directly and indirectly to the entire video game industry and personal computer industry.
Most of the first video game systems never used an Intel processor, and most modern video game systems still don’t (Wii uses a PowerPC processor and PS3 uses a Cell processor), but whether you do your gaming on a video game console or a PC, you’re playing your games on a system that might never have existed without the Intel 4004. So, happy 36th birthday, 4004! Game on!