When it comes to video game tattoos, most would say the oldies are the best. You will tend to see many video game tattoos revolve around the originals like the Mario Brothers or Zelda, however, we are starting to see an astronomical rise in the popularity of video games with the creation of online play, Twitch and other streaming options. These days, anyone can watch another person play video games.
The rise of today’s games means the original gamers end up grasping onto the past and sometimes get games from their childhood tattooed on their body. These games are nostalgic to us old people and getting a tattoo of our favorite Nintendo or PlayStation game will give us somewhere to look if we need to go to our happy place. We are also seeing the new generation of games being tattooed as well.
One thing we do know is video games aren’t going anywhere. There are going to be better systems released yearly along with better games. Future generations will be playing these games and once they are able to, they might get a tattoo to represent their favorite one.
In this post, we will discuss the history of video games and how they have evolved. After that we will get into the different video game tattoo variations while listing some of the more popular ones we have seen. We hope that by the end of this post you will have a better understanding of the video game tattoo and some of the history behind these games.
History of Video Games
Video games have been making their way to our living rooms since the early 1970’s. Computer Space was introduced by Nutting Associates in 1971 and was the first commercial video game of its kind. Then came Atari’s Pong in 1972. In talking about Atari, one thing to note is that it was created by Nolan Bushnell who was the developer of Computer Space.
In that same year, the Odyssey was released by Magnavox and it was the first game system that could be played at home. It’s crazy to think that the system was lacking a microprocessor. This game system was extremely limited, required a plastic overlay be put over the screen of the TV, and only produce simple graphics.
Then in 1975, Atari introduced the home version of Pong. It was a huge success, and this was the beginning to the next wave of gaming systems. From there, the gaming industry has only flourished into some of the most intricate and beautiful games and systems you can imagine.
Video Game Tattoo Variations
As far as video game tattoos go, there are too many to mention. Since the 70’s, games have been introduced to the market so if you add up every game that has ever been released, you’re talking millions. So, when it comes to video game tattoos, we are going to stick to a few of the popular ones we have seen out there.
Mario Brothers Tattoo
The Mario Bros game was created by Nintendo for arcades in 1983. It was one of the first games released for the Nintendo for home play and therefore, creates a lot of memories for those who had the Nintendo gaming system.
The story of the arcade version follows two plumbers named Mario and Luigi as they investigate the sewers of New York after strange creatures had been seen down there. The object of the game is to get through all enemies on each stage. Unlike future Mario Bros games, you couldn’t jump directly on an enemy unless they were already flipped upside down.
If you look around at some gaming tattoos, you’ll be sure to see some Mario themed tattoos as this game was somewhat of a pioneer in the video games.
Legend of Zelda Tattoo
The Legend of Zelda is another Nintendo game set in the land of Hyrule. The plot revolves around a young boy named Link. The goal of the game is to collect the eight fragmented pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom, so you can save Princess Zelda from Ganon.
This 1986 release is one of the most well-known Nintendo games (or any gaming system) of all time. It was a best seller for Nintendo and sold over 6.5 million copies. It is considered one of the best and most influential video games ever so it’s no surprise that this game makes a fitting video game tattoo. With so many images to potentially use in this game, The Legend of Zelda is often seen in ink.
Bioshock Tattoos
Bioshock is a newer game when compared to the former two we talked about. The game was first released in 2007 for Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. It was later released for PlayStation 3 and that was all folks. This game is still coming out with new versions to be played and is one of the more popular ones to get a video game tattoo of seeing as there are numerous recognizable images from the game.
BioShock is a first-person shooter game set in the 1960’s. In this game, Jack crashes his airplane in the ocean and happens to land by the bathysphere terminus which takes him to the underwater city of Rapture. The city was created to be an underwater utopia but the discovery of a substance that gives people superhuman power lead the city to it’s downfall. The story follows Jack as he tries to escape.
Pac-Man Tattoos
Pac-Man is probably the most iconic arcade game there has ever been. Young or old, everyone knows what Pac-Man is and since its release in 1980, the gaming world was never the same. It’s a very simple concept in which a pie shaped character moves around a maze eating dots and avoiding ghosts. Even though this game is simple, it is one of the most addicting and challenging games around. It is the subject of movies, TV and books. This should tell you that the Pac-Man tattoo is legendary for gamers and will be recognized by anyone that hasn’t been living in a bunker their whole life.
There are plenty more games out there that are the subject of video game tattoos and if you are curious about some ideas, any Google search should do the trick. If you know what you are looking for and not sure where to go, reach out to us because we’d love to help.