Those who have become parents in the past forty years have likely found themselves shopping for video games for the enjoyment of their children, and more recently, for their own leisure. These days, video games systems are often not just for the kids, as the whole family can delight in imagining themselves as a rock band, professional dancers, or a unit of soldiers.

Web surfers have the luxury of accessing a massive and ever-growing store of media materials and if their search engine skills are good enough, they can find what they\’re looking for in nearly an instant. Much of that material is available free of charge. Computer games have become a popular form of web content for passing the hours, but prior to the online revolution, the level of sophistication and quality of graphics available in free online flash games for kids could not be obtained without paying for it. But the market has proven itself willing to shell out hundreds of dollars for video game systems in the past, and game makers are more than happy to bring out newer, more powerful systems to feed this demand.

Video games systems for home use have always involved a significant investment for families. The original home video game system for use on ones on television was the Odyssey by Magnavox, which offered users variations on the original video game, Pong, that required sticking a plastic overlay directly on to your TV set. The Odyssey retailed for $75 upon its release in 1972; adjusted for inflation, that works out to about $390 today. Three years later, Atari released their first home video game console, with a unit dedicated to the only game around, Pong, which set back households $99, or $400 in the 2011 economy.

We\’ve grown accustomed to game consoles that use individual cartridges or discs to contain the data for different games, but that concept was novel when the Fairchild Video Entertainment System was released in 1976. The Channel F, as it became known, which also introduced the \’hold\’ function, the first \’pause\’ button, set back shaggy-haired bell-bottomed families $170, which equates to $650 after inflation. Games for the system, encased in plastic cartridges tinted bright yellow, ran for $20 apiece, or $77 in today\’s figures. In the wake of the Fairchild, competition was stiff–a little too stiff. Magnavox revamped the Odyssey. Coleco released the Telstar, a Pong game that sold for only $50, or $190 today. And Atari launched the now-legendary Video Computer System with a big push from Sears stores. There simply wasn\’t enough business left over, and most systems failed in the market crash of 1977, with only Atari emerging as a profitable games maker.

The market crashed in large part because many of the potential buyers of gaming systems were still enjoying their pricey Pong units, and making another large financial commitment to a similar unit. It doesn\’t help when you\’ve seen so many of the kids\’ toys end up tossed in a corner with all the other fleeting fancies of days past.

For those who don\’t wish to drop hundreds of dollars on a new video game system that will keep your kids mesmerized like zombies for weeks on end, you may be able to introduce them to the free resources provided by the Internet. Free flash games for kids are available in abundance online, and while they may not be the same as a networked military mission, they can be very fun and just as addictive, as anyone who ever played Windows Solitaire knows.

Your budget should determine what the right route is for your family, but thanks to the Web, fun ways to spend idle time are just a search away.

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For awesome http://www.ytv.com/games/ kids games free based on your favourite YTV shows, check out the latest and greatest at YTV Games!

Author Bio: For awesome kids games free based on your favourite YTV shows, check out the latest and greatest at YTV Games!

Category: Family Concerns
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