We're covering a lot of ground this week in video-game history. From the earliest days of pinball to the latest in rock-star developers, we also take a look at one of the worst games ever, the birth of two major Japanese companies, and the first appearance of everyone's favorite video-game character.

May 30

1871 -- Montegue Redgrave patents "Improvements in Bagatelles," paving the way for modern pinball machines. Changes to the old French table game included an inclined field, a plunger with coiled spring, smaller balls, and a smaller playing field. While not completely innovative -- spring launchers were around in some versions of the game -- it was the first table that you can recognize as a direct predecessor to pinball.

1979 -- Capcom opens for business in Japan. The name is derived from "Capsule Computer," and the company would quickly become one of the most important and influential video-game developers. Few companies have such modern relevancy across the entirety of their catalogue. From Mega Man to Super Street Fighter 4, it's hard to think of another company that is more tuned into their past, present, and future.

May 31

1999 -- Titus Software releases one of the worst video games of all time: Superman 64. Titus would go on to create many licensed video games such as Xena: Warrior Princess: The Talisman of Fate, Robocop, and Virtual Kasparov. Needless to say, they went out of business. Sometimes it's sad when a video-game publisher closes. This is not one of those times.

June 1

1955 -- Masaya Nakamura founds Namco as an operator of children's rides at a department store. The company would go on to develop one of the most successful video games and iconic characters with Pac-Man, and it would eventually become one of the most influential fighting-game and light-gun developers with franchises like Tekken, Soul Calibur, and Time Crisis.

1964 -- Happy Birthday, Rod Humble! This head of the Sims Label has his cake and eats it, too. Not only does he run one of the most successful video-game franchises, he's also a notable indie developer. One notable game he's developed on the side is The Marriage.

1971 -- Happy Birthday, Jason Jones! This cofounder of Bungie has been in the news lately, specifically with the announcement of the Bungie-Activision publishing deal. Do you think Microsoft will send him a card?

2006 -- Valve releases Half Life 2: Episode 1. Episode 2 would come more than a year later. Getting toward four years after the second episode, we've yet to see Episode 3....

June 2

1981 -- Nintendo releases Donkey Kong, and video games' most enduring character, Mario (then known as Jumpman), was born. Where Mario would become a superstar, Donkey Kong has had a more bizarre career as a video-game character. Donkey Konga -- now there's a game that needs a kill screen.

June 3

1983 -- WarGames hits theatres. A hit at the time, the movie would popularize the activity known as hacking. Of course, the movie is complete fantasy. While the possibility of a silly computer program beginning a global nuclear war is perfectly believable, the fact that David Lightman, as portrayed by a young Matthew Broderick, gets the girl is a total farce. That doesn't happen to real hackers. That's why they're hackers!

1999 -- NEC Interchannel releases Dead of the Brain 1 & 2, the final game for the PC Engine, marking the end of a 12-year run.

2008 -- Tomonobu Itagaki announces he is leaving Team Ninja. Nintendo would confirm that the Itagaki-less studio was working on Metroid: Other M, which led to much speculation exactly what the studio is capable of without its former leader.

June 4

1989 -- Nintendo shows off the Game Boy at the Consumer Electronic Show in Chicago for the first time in the United States. We can only assume that this also coincided with the first Game Boy-related eye-strain injury.

2008 -- The Jace Hall Show, hosted by Jason Hall, featured Duke Nukem Forever in the premiere episode on June 4, 2008. Hall said: "I saw it. They have been working. It's not a myth. You're going to be pleased." The game would never see the light of day.

June 5

1951 -- Designers demonstrate the Nimrod computer. It is fully dedicated to playing the game Nim, a math game. I would describe it, but you're probably asleep already.

1977 -- The Apple II appears. It would go on to become one of the first successful series of computers. At this point, Apple established its products as a viable platform for early video game development. I wonder what happened.

1978 -- Space Invaders invades Japan. Almost literally. Following its release, Japan experienced nationwide shortage of 100 yen coins. It was so popular that it is one of the key games in popularizing the young industry.

1989 -- Bullfrog releases Populous. Peter Molyneux, currently working on Fable 3, led the project. In a fitting bit of hubris, it is often cited as the first "god game" for computers.

Question of the Week: Do you miss the glory days of pinball?