The standard for the compact disc was first proposed by Philips (Netherlands) and Sony (Japan) in 1980, and agreed upon in 1981 by the Compact Disc Standard Digital Audio Disc Committee. The first CDs became available to the public in Europe and Japan in the autumn of 1982, and the USA in 1983, where 800,000 discs were sold in the first year alone. Optical discs, which are written and read with a laser, have become the standard medium for home entertainment and computing.

The first computer controlled deathmatch opponent was the Reaper Bot, created for Quake by programmer Steve Polge who would go on to work for Epic Games on Unreal Tournament series. Indeed, Unreal was the first game to officially include deathmatch bots created by the programmers.

The first computer programme that replicates itself surreptitiously was demonstrated by Fred Cohen, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, on 11 Nov 1983.

The earliest game to receive a downloadable patch was Unreal Championship on the Xbox which featured a small software update patch that was issued to address performance issues with the game.

On 3 December 2008, Norway, as the sponsor of the move to outlaw cluster bombs, was the first of over 100 nations to begin signing an international convention to ban their production. Used principally as an anti-personnel weapon, there are several types of cluster bomb, but the principle is the fundamentally the same. It is a bomb that carries a significant load of smaller bomblets, about the size of a tin can. These contain hundreds of metal pieces, which cause deadly damage up to 25 Continue reading →

Final Fantasy XI was the first game to allow gamers across multiple platforms (Xbox 360, PS2 and PC) to play together. It has between 200,000 and 300,000 players logging in every day, and remains the most popular MMORPG in Japan. GWR Video Gamer’s Edition 2008, title: First cross-platform online RPG.

The first to swim the English Channel from shore to shore (without a life jacket) was the Merchant Navy captain Matthew Webb (UK, 1848-83) who swam an estimated 61 km (38 miles) to make the 33-km (21-mile) crossing from Dover, England to Calais Sands, France, in 21 hr 45 min from 12:56 p.m. to 10:41 a.m. on 24-25 August 1875. Paul Boyton (USA) had swum from Cap Gris-Nez to the South Foreland in his patent life-saving suit in 23 hr 30 min on 28-29 May Continue reading →

The first dance mat game ever to allow players to dance to their own music CDs was Codemasters’ Dance Factory, which was developed for the PlayStation 2 and generates dance routines for any song. Not only does the game software create its own moves based on the beats and rhythms of any inserted track, but players can also manually input their own moves if they’re unsatisfied with the results provided. Featured in Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2010

A dog named Laika (meaning ‘barker’) became the first animal to orbit the Earth when she launched into space aboard the Soviet Sputnik 2 spacecraft on 3 November 1957. However, Sputnik 2 was not designed to return to Earth and the mission was a death sentence for the dog. The capsule was fitted with systems to provide food, water and oxygen, as well as enough room for Laika to stand or lie down. In October 2002, it was revealed that Laika had died just a Continue reading →

The earliest date in the calendar year on which the English Channel has been swum is 30 May by Kevin Murphy (UK) in 1990, who achieved a time of 13 hr 16 min with the water at a temperature of 12ºC (54ºF).