10 Fun Facts About Video Games
- Simply Jelly Jam
- Jul 8
- 2 min read
Time to level up your video gaming knowledge bank!
National Video Game Day is celebrated annually on July 8th (not to be confused with National Video Games Day celebrated annually on September 12th). Here are ten fun video game facts in honor of this random day of celebration!
In case it's helpful, below are the main points covered in this post:
10 Fun Facts
1 - Eighty-two percent (82%) of parents who play video games do so with their children.
(Source: Entertainment Software Association (ESA). https://www.theesa.com/resources/essential-facts-about-the-us-video-game-industry/2025-data/)
2 - Tennis for Two was the very first video game created by Physicist William Higinbotham in 1958.
(Source: Advancing Physics (APS). https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2008/09/first-video-game)
3 - In 2011, South Korea's "Shutdown Law" (abolished in 2021) forbade minors sixteen years old and younger from playing online video games between 12AM and 6AM.
(Source: The Korea Herald. https://www.koreaherald.com/article/2677962)
4 - The E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial video game failed so spectacularly that unsold copies of the game cartridge were buried at a landfill in New Mexico.
(Source: Smithsonian. https://www.si.edu/object/video-game-cartridge-et-extra-terrestrial%3Anmah_1519322)
5 - Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time.
(Source: Guinness World Records. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/best-selling-video-game)
6 - Left 4 Dead 2 was so popular with players that an expansion was released eleven years after the game's initial launch date.
(Source: EUROGAMER. https://www.eurogamer.net/11-years-later-valve-is-updating-left-4-dead-2)
7 - Several researchers proposed that Tetris minimizes intrusive memories of traumatic events in people with existing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
(Source: National Library of Medicine. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7828932/)
8 - Sixty-four percent (64%) of Americans play video games.
(Source: Entertainment Software Association (ESA). https://www.theesa.com/resources/essential-facts-about-the-us-video-game-industry/2025-data/)
9 - Nintendo got its start selling Japanese playing cards in 1889.
(Source: Nintendo. https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Hardware/Nintendo-History/Nintendo-History-625945.html?srsltid=AfmBOorNZJCfR4rsVovdWjndevmFtZw5u7S7Ntjl06xEHmykv3VEBfQB)
10 - Studies have shown that surgeons who played laparoscopic simulator trainer and other video games that required eye-hand and visual-spatial skills demonstrated improved performance.
(Source: Intl J Surgical Education (IJSED). https://www.ijsed.com/article/123448)
What's Next?
The best way to celebrate National Video Game Day is by devoting time to playing video games! Even if you can only find a few minutes to spare, consider taking that time to escape reality and have some fun!
Comment below to share video game fun facts I missed!
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Thanks, and have a great day!
~Simply Jelly Jam
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