The launch of Gamenode's new online game FMX Team, is just another indicator of the explosion of free online gaming available on the internet today. FMX Team, for the uninitiated, is a fast moving, motor-cross game raced out over 15 rounds of grueling action via an online connection. Its popularity is almost assured in a market that devours new games, looking for the next big thrill to take the global internet market in online gaming by storm.



It is a far cry for the humble beginnings of the games industry which dates back to before personal computers. In fact it is 1961 that is credited with the invention of the first video game. The game, 'Spacewars' was invented by a group of MIT students, who were collectively known as The Tech Model Railroad Club. I am sure the group had no idea of what they had done. It would take nearly two decades before the commercial aspects of this industry would start to be exploited. Without forgetting the years when 'Pong' and its tennis game derivatives held our attention, it would be a Japanese technician, Toshihiro Nishikado, who would finally invent the first globally commercial craze in the form of a game called 'Space Invaders'.

The game, simple in its inception, had an addictive quality similar to that seen later in Tetris, the puzzle game launched alongside the Game Boy hand held gaming console, launched in 1989 by Nintendo. Space invaders was the trigger that launched a billion dollar industry which would see some of the giants of the computer world in an endless battle for market supremacy and domination. Nintendo and Sega were the early leaders, but it would not be long before the even bigger names of Sony and Microsoft would take to the stage for a piece, of what was becoming, an ever increasing pie.

Continual launches and relaunches of consoles such as Xbox, Playstation, N-Gage and Dreamcast has seen a continual to and fro between these giants of industry. Yet in such an ever changing world, it is not surprising that the internet, as with so many things, has finally begun to take control of the gaming market. With fiber-optic linkages and highly compressed digital signal transmission capabilities combined with the ever increasing computer power now available, it is possible to send high quality, interactive games and graphics without the need for bulky consoles and hardware.

Gamers are becoming spoilt for choice in this new world as new games are released to the market on a near daily basis. For the moment these games can be found and played for free as companies once again vie for position in this new twist to the market.

The essence of any game however, and its successful attraction to the millions of gamers online, remains very similar to those early games. It needs to be easy to understand and easy to play at the early stages. It addictiveness and ever increasing impossibility to completely master in its latter stages, are what will keep the gamer returning again and again to play. For FMX Team, it will be seen over time whether the qualities mentioned above will turn it into an online classic game. For the industry as a whole, it is just a matter of time before the next generation steps forward to challenge. Be it virtual reality or something not yet conceived, in a market worth so much to so many, it will always be interesting to see what new revolution will be thrown into the ring to attract the gamers eye.