148-603: The United Kingdom has the largest video game sector in Europe. By revenue, the UK had the second-largest video game market in Europe in 2022 after Germany , and the sixth-largest globally. By sales, it is Europe's largest market, having overtaken Germany in 2022. The UK video game market was worth £7.16 billion ( $ 9.81 billion ) in 2021, a 2% increase over the previous year. While the North American and Japanese markets were thriving in
296-420: A caesium standard based on a certain transition of the caesium-133 atom, was built by Louis Essen and Jack Parry in 1955 at NPL. Calibration of the caesium standard atomic clock was carried out by the use of the astronomical time scale ephemeris time (ET). This led to the internationally agreed definition of the latest SI second being based on atomic time. NPL has undertaken computer research since
444-803: A fair trial . The English monarchs, through inheritance of substantial territories in France and claims to the French crown, were also heavily involved in conflicts in France, most notably the Hundred Years' War , while the Kings of Scots were in an alliance with the French during this period. Early modern Britain saw religious conflict resulting from the Reformation and the introduction of Protestant state churches in each country. The English Reformation ushered in political, constitutional, social and cultural change in
592-728: A gateway . Concurrently, the NPL connection to the Post Office Experimental Packet Switched Service used a common host protocol in both networks. NPL research confirmed establishing a common host protocol would be more reliable and efficient. The EIN protocol helped to launch the proposed INWG standard. Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf acknowledged Davies and Scantlebury in their 1974 paper " A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication ". Derek Barber proposed an electronic mail protocol in 1979 in INWG 192 and implemented it on
740-509: A subpolar oceanic climate . Higher elevations in Scotland experience a continental subarctic climate and the mountains experience a tundra climate . The prevailing wind is from the southwest and bears frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean, although the eastern parts are mostly sheltered from this wind. Since the majority of the rain falls over the western regions,
888-587: A welfare state was established, and a comprehensive, publicly funded healthcare system, the National Health Service , was created. The rise of nationalism in the colonies coincided with Britain's much-diminished economic position, so that a policy of decolonisation was unavoidable. Independence was granted to India and Pakistan in 1947. Over the next three decades, most colonies of the British Empire gained their independence, and many became members of
1036-407: A National Communications Service for On-line Data Processing . Subsequently, the NPL team, led by Roger Scantlebury , were the first to implement packet switching in the local-area NPL network in early 1969, which operated until 1986. They carried out work to analyse and simulate the performance of a wide-area packet-switched network capable of providing data communications facilities to most of
1184-424: A community of bright people that were interested in new things, they were good fodder for a system like Scrapbook" and "When we had more than one Scrapbook system, hyperlinks could go across the network without the user knowing what was happening". It was decided that any commercial development of Scrapbook should be left to industry and it was licensed to Triad and then to BT who marketed it as Milepost and developed
1332-464: A full team of developers to build games for; the bedroom coders of the previous years began to fade away as development companies formed to build games on these new systems. First released in 1985, the more expensive hardware and software stifled the uptake of both machines. The cheaper but less powerful Atari ST became the more popular of the two computers; in 1988 it accounted for nearly one in ten of all UK personal computer sales, more than double that of
1480-462: A game in the UK. Ukie continues to work alongside the VSC to help UK developers and publishers prepare for the VSC process and prepare educational and advocacy material to make the UK public aware of the ratings system. The VSC ratings only apply to retail titles; digitally distributed titles are not regulated under UK law, through the VSC urges developers, publishers, and storefronts as a best-practice to use
1628-456: A leading role in the movement to abolish slavery worldwide through the blockade of Africa and pressing other nations to end their trade with a series of treaties. In 1800 the parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland each passed an Act of Union, uniting the two kingdoms and creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801. After the defeat of France at the end of
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#17328550114211776-406: A new hobbyist interest arose around 2010 in independent game development . The indie game model of development started to become popular in the late 2000s, with games like World of Goo , Super Meat Boy , and Fez showing the success of the small indie team model and the means to distribute these via digital channels rather than retail. This in turn rekindled the hobbyist programmer mindset in
1924-496: A new voluntary ratings system for digital video games, paralleling their existing rating systems for film and television. The VSC and other groups felt the BBFC's system for video games was too forgiving and was based on a system designed around linean content rather that non-linear content such as video games, and urged the government to adopt a system based on an enhanced PEGI categorization system they were working on. Reports had found that
2072-646: A pinnacle of open-world design. The popularity of video games on home computers within the UK drew sales away from other video game formats. Despite the lack of exposure to the North American crash of 1983, the UK industry of this period still had its notable failures. The success of Imagine Software , formed by former members of Bug-Byte, drew the attention of the BBC as part of a documentary series Commercial Breaks that had been examining successful businesses in new industries. During 1983 and 1984, Imagine had tried to expand its capabilities beyond game programming as well as push
2220-769: A policy of splendid isolation in Europe, and attempted to contain Russian influence in Afghanistan and Persia , in what came to be known as the Great Game . During this time, Canada , Australia and New Zealand were granted self-governing dominion status. At the turn of the century, Britain's industrial dominance became challenged by the German Empire and the United States . The Edwardian era saw social reform and home rule for Ireland become important domestic issues, while
2368-509: A price war on competing systems ahead of end-of-year holidays sales, which created a consumer perception that these systems were nothing more than toys rather than productivity tools. In early 1985, financial institutions became wary of investments into computer companies due to other activities they had made as well. Acorn was acquired by Olivetti over 1985, while Sinclair Research was sold to Amstrad in 1986. The more advanced 16-bit Commodore Amiga and Atari ST machines typically required
2516-559: A primitive programming language, respectively. As computers transitioned to electronic and digital elements in the mid-20th century, Alan Turing established the foundation of modern computer science and the concept of artificial intelligence. The UK's involvement in World War II also pushed forward advances in computing , particularly in cryptography, such as the Colossus computer , to help decipher enemy messages, all of which helped to create
2664-459: A result of a shortage of workers in the 1950s, the government encouraged immigration from Commonwealth countries . In the following decades, the UK became a more multi-ethnic society. Despite rising living standards in the late 1950s and 1960s, the UK's economic performance was less successful than many of its main competitors such as France, West Germany and Japan. The UK was the first democratic nation to lower its voting age to 18 in 1969. In
2812-777: A series of connected wars (including the English Civil War ) which led to the temporary overthrow of the monarchy, with the execution of King Charles I , and the establishment of the short-lived unitary republic of the Commonwealth of England , Scotland and Ireland. Although the monarchy was restored , the Interregnum along with the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the subsequent Bill of Rights 1689 in England and Claim of Right Act 1689 in Scotland ensured that, unlike much of
2960-535: A set of ratings in 1993, and used a combination of voluntary suggestions from publishers and their own reviews to establish a game's rating. With the introduction of the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) system in 2003, the VSC standardized its ratings on PEGI's classification system. The VSC system was voluntary at this point, though most UK retailers would respect the ratings marked on boxes to avoid selling mature games to children. The only facet of
3108-400: A severe blow to consoles in the UK. Home computers offered significantly cheaper software compared to the more expensive console game cartridges . By 1984, computer games had overtaken both consoles and LCD games as the largest sector of the UK home video game market. Whereas the North American and Japanese home video game markets boomed with console games , the UK market for home video games
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#17328550114213256-492: A singular vision (these developers were known as "bedroom coders"; some of them achieved a status akin to rockstars within the tech market, and even popular culture more broadly). As there were few game stores in the UK at that time, most of these coders turned to mail order , sending out copies of their games on cassette tape for use in the computer's tape drives . A market developed for companies to help such programmer sell and distribute their games. This industry took off after
3404-890: A transaction processor as an additional feature. Various implementations were marketed on DEC , IBM and ITL machines. All NPL implementations of Scrapbook were closed down in 1984. In the early 1990s, the NPL developed three formal specifications of the MAA : one in Z , one in LOTOS , and one in VDM . The VDM specification became part of the 1992 revision of the International Standard 8731–2, and three implementations in C , Miranda , and Modula-2 . A 2020 study by researchers from Queen Mary University of London and NPL successfully used microwaves to measure blood-based molecules known to be influenced by dehydration. The National Physical Laboratory
3552-499: A widespread drive to improve computers and computing after the war, most prominently at several academic institutions, including the University of Manchester and Cambridge University . Wider use of computers for general-purpose applications became more common in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In the 1980s, British engineers spawned the now-ubiquitous, de facto reference implementation of the reduced instruction set computing paradigm,
3700-439: Is estimated to employ 20,000 people. The United Kingdom had been a key participant in the 18th and 19th century history of computing , in both its theoretical underpinnings (e.g. George Boole 's Boolean algebra ) and especially its practical application, including the first computing device. Notable figures like Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace created both a fundamental computer, the mechanical-based difference engine , and
3848-481: Is only the one specific nominal term 'Great Britain' which invariably excludes Northern Ireland". The BBC historically preferred to use "Britain" as shorthand only for Great Britain, though the present style guide does not take a position except that "Great Britain" excludes Northern Ireland. The adjective "British" is commonly used to refer to matters relating to the United Kingdom and is used in law to refer to United Kingdom citizenship and nationality . People of
3996-525: Is ranked 2nd out of 180 countries in the Environmental Performance Index . A law has been passed that UK greenhouse gas emissions will be net zero by 2050. England accounts for 53 per cent of the UK, covering 50,350 square miles (130,395 km ). Most of the country consists of lowland terrain, with upland and mountainous terrain northwest of the Tees–Exe line which roughly divides
4144-592: Is sometimes used as a loose synonym for the United Kingdom as a whole. The word England is occasionally used incorrectly to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole, a mistake principally made by people from outside the UK. The term "Britain" is used as a synonym for Great Britain , but also sometimes for the United Kingdom. Usage is mixed: the UK Government prefers to use the term "UK" rather than "Britain" or "British" on its website (except when referring to embassies), while acknowledging that both terms refer to
4292-565: Is the Isle of Wight . Scotland accounts for 32 per cent of the UK, covering 30,410 square miles (78,772 km ). This includes nearly 800 islands , notably the Hebrides , Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands. Scotland is the most mountainous constituent country of the UK, the Highlands to the north and west are the more rugged region containing the majority of Scotland's mountainous land, including
4440-631: Is the highest peak in Wales. Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,704 kilometres) of coastline including the Pembrokeshire Coast . Several islands lie off the Welsh mainland, the largest of which is Anglesey ( Ynys Môn ). National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom) The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is the national measurement standards laboratory of the United Kingdom. It sets and maintains physical standards for British industry. Founded in 1900,
4588-614: Is today one of the fundamental technologies of the Internet . The former heads of NPL include many individuals who were pillars of the British scientific establishment. NPL is based at Bushy Park in Teddington , west London. It is operated by NPL Management Ltd, a company owned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology , and is one of the most extensive government laboratories in
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4736-527: The Tomb Raider series (1996–present). The interactive film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is loosely based on the early period of the United Kingdom's video game industry, and makes allusion to Imagine Software , a major publisher in the early 1980s which gained notoriety when it fell into bankruptcy in the midst of being filmed as part of a documentary for the BBC. Jeff Minter , one of the earlier game developers in
4884-572: The 1884 Reform Act championed by William Gladstone granting suffrage to a majority of males for the first time. The British population increased at a dramatic rate, accompanied by rapid urbanisation , causing significant social and economic stresses. By the late 19th century, the Conservatives under Benjamin Disraeli and Lord Salisbury initiated a period of imperial expansion in Africa , maintained
5032-693: The ARM architecture family , which would play a large role as the heart of later games consoles (e.g. the Nintendo Switch ) and mobile gaming . Christopher Strachey 's Draughts, completed around 1951, is the first verifiable video game to run on a general-purpose computer, developed at the British National Physical Laboratory . Up until the 1970s, British amusement arcades typically had mechanical arcade games , electro-mechanical games and pinball machines. Arcade video games arrived with
5180-524: The Atlantic slave trade , mainly between 1662 and 1807 when British or British-colonial slave ships transported nearly 3.3 million slaves from Africa. The slaves were taken to work on plantations , principally in the Caribbean but also North America . However, with pressure from the abolitionism movement , Parliament banned the trade in 1807, banned slavery in the British Empire in 1833, and Britain took
5328-624: The Battle of Culloden in 1746, after which the Scottish Highlanders were forcibly assimilated into Scotland by revoking the feudal independence of clan chiefs . The British colonies in North America that broke away in the American War of Independence became the United States . British imperial ambition turned towards Asia, particularly to India . British merchants played a leading part in
5476-645: The Cairngorms , Loch Lomond and The Trossachs and Ben Nevis which at 1,345 metres (4,413 ft) is the highest point in the British Isles. Wales accounts for less than 9 per cent of the UK, covering 8,020 square miles (20,779 km ). Wales is mostly mountainous, though South Wales is less mountainous than North and mid Wales . The highest mountains in Wales are in Snowdonia and include Snowdon ( Welsh : Yr Wyddfa ) which, at 1,085 metres (3,560 ft),
5624-512: The Commonwealth of Nations . The UK was the third country to develop a nuclear weapons arsenal (with its first atomic bomb test, Operation Hurricane , in 1952), but the post-war limits of Britain's international role were illustrated by the Suez Crisis of 1956. The international spread of the English language ensured the continuing international influence of its literature and culture . As
5772-450: The Department for Children, Schools and Families , made numerous suggestions for how the government could take steps to protect children in the digital environment like the Internet. Among the suggestions were related to video game ratings, which the report found that parents often mistook as difficulty ratings, and instead urged that the BBFC become involved. By May 2008, the BBFC had proposed
5920-731: The European Convention on Human Rights . The UK remained a great power with global diplomatic and military influence and a leading role in the United Nations and NATO . The UK broadly supported the United States' approach to the " war on terror " in the early 21st century. British troops fought in the War in Afghanistan , but controversy surrounded Britain's military deployment in Iraq , which saw
6068-568: The European Union (EU) in 1992, the UK was one of the 12 founding member states. From the late 1960s, Northern Ireland suffered communal and paramilitary violence (sometimes affecting other parts of the UK) conventionally known as the Troubles . It is usually considered to have ended with the 1998 Belfast "Good Friday" Agreement . Following a period of widespread economic slowdown and industrial strife in
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6216-486: The Falkland Islands , leading to the 10-week Falklands War in which Argentine forces were defeated. The inhabitants of the islands are predominantly descendants of British settlers, and strongly favour British sovereignty, expressed in a 2013 referendum . From 1984, the UK economy was helped by the inflow of substantial North Sea oil revenues. Another British overseas territory, Gibraltar , ceded to Great Britain in
6364-527: The French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815), the United Kingdom emerged as the principal naval and imperial power (with London the largest city in the world from about 1830). Unchallenged at sea , British dominance was later described as Pax Britannica ("British Peace"), a period of relative peace among the great powers (1815–1914) during which the British Empire became
6512-723: The Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park during the Second World War to decipher German encrypted messages, worked at the National Physical Laboratory from 1945 to 1947. He designed there the ACE (Automatic Computing Engine), which was one of the first designs for a stored-program computer. Clifford Hodge also worked there and was engaged in research on semiconductors. Others who have spent time at NPL include Robert Watson-Watt , generally considered
6660-555: The International Network Working Group (INWG). Connecting heterogeneous computer networks creates a "basic dilemma" since a common host protocol would require restructuring the existing networks. NPL connected with the European Informatics Network (Barber directed the project and Scantlebury led the UK technical contribution) by translating between two different host protocols; that is, using
6808-630: The Labour Party emerged from an alliance of trade unions and small socialist groups in 1900, and suffragettes campaigned for women's right to vote. Britain was one of the principal Allies that defeated the Central Powers in the First World War (1914–1918). Alongside their French, Russian and (after 1917) American counterparts, British armed forces were engaged across much of the British Empire and in several regions of Europe, particularly on
6956-587: The Nintendo 64 (1997 release). By 1992, Sega and Nintendo were earning more than £700,000,000 or $ 1,230,000,000 (equivalent to $ 2,700,000,000 in 2023) from annual video games sales in the United Kingdom, while British video game magazines had a circulation of 1 million copies per month. In 1992, the UK games market was led by the Mega Drive, followed by the Amiga and Super NES, and then IBM-compatible PC . During
7104-622: The Representation of the People Act 1918 . After the war, Britain became a permanent member of the Executive Council of the League of Nations and received a mandate over a number of former German and Ottoman colonies. Under the leadership of David Lloyd George , the British Empire reached its greatest extent, covering a fifth of the world's land surface and a quarter of its population. By
7252-601: The Roman departure was followed by Anglo-Saxon settlement . In 1066, the Normans conquered England . With the end of the Wars of the Roses the English state stabilised and began to grow in power, resulting by the 16th century in the annexation of Wales , the domination of Scotland , and the establishment of the British Empire . Over the course of the 17th century, the role of the British monarchy
7400-412: The Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 created the present United Kingdom. The UK became the first industrialised country and was the world's foremost power for the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly during the " Pax Britannica " between 1815 and 1914. At its height in the 1920s, the British Empire encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and population, and
7548-463: The Soviet Union formed in 1941, leading the Allies against the Axis powers . There were eventual hard-fought victories in the Battle of the Atlantic , the North Africa campaign and the Italian campaign . British forces played important roles in the Normandy landings of 1944 and the liberation of Europe . The British Army led the Burma campaign against Japan, and the British Pacific Fleet fought Japan at sea. British scientists contributed to
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#17328550114217696-449: The Western Front . The high fatalities of trench warfare caused the loss of much of a generation of men, with lasting social effects in the nation and a great disruption in the social order. Britain had suffered 2.5 million casualties and finished the war with a huge national debt. The consequences of the war persuaded the government to expand the right to vote in national and local elections to all adult men and most adult women with
7844-408: The coastline paradox . It is connected to continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel , which at 31 miles (50 km) (24 miles (38 km) underwater) is the longest underwater tunnel in the world. The UK contains four terrestrial ecoregions: Celtic broadleaf forests , English Lowlands beech forests , North Atlantic moist mixed forests , and Caledonian conifer forests . The area of woodland in
7992-450: The demoscene in the UK, which in turn brought in more developers to stretch the capabilities of the computer. A number of influential British companies emerged during this period: During this period, video game consoles from the fourth generation , including the Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo Entertainment System , began to gain interest in the UK. Such interest led to more corporate structure around video game development to support
8140-436: The largest protest in British history in opposition to the government led by Tony Blair . The Great Recession severely affected the UK economy. The Cameron–Clegg coalition government of 2010 introduced austerity measures intended to tackle the substantial public deficits. Studies have suggested that policy led to significant social disruption and suffering. A referendum on Scottish independence in 2014 resulted in
8288-450: The scrolling shooters Scramble by Konami and Defender by Williams Electronics , Nintendo 's platform game Donkey Kong (1981), and Namco's racing game Pole Position (1982) distributed by Atari. One of the earliest video game magazines , Computer and Video Games , began publication in the United Kingdom in 1981. Some of the first generation of video game consoles like dedicated Pong consoles were imported into
8436-512: The 16th century and established the Church of England . Moreover, it defined a national identity for England and slowly, but profoundly, changed people's religious beliefs. Wales was fully incorporated into the Kingdom of England , and Ireland was constituted as a kingdom in personal union with the English crown. In what was to become Northern Ireland, the lands of the independent Catholic Gaelic nobility were confiscated and given to Protestant settlers from England and Scotland. In 1603,
8584-401: The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, is a key military base . A referendum in 2002 on shared sovereignty with Spain was rejected by 98.97% of voters in the territory. Around the end of the 20th century, there were major changes to the governance of the UK with the establishment of devolved administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The statutory incorporation followed acceptance of
8732-406: The 1970s, the Conservative government of the 1980s led by Margaret Thatcher initiated a radical policy of monetarism , deregulation, particularly of the financial sector (for example, the Big Bang in 1986) and labour markets, the sale of state-owned companies (privatisation), and the withdrawal of subsidies to others. In 1982, Argentina invaded the British territories of South Georgia and
8880-406: The 1973 release of Pong by Atari, Inc. Pong and other similar sports video game clones became popular in British arcades up until their popularity declined a year later in 1974, after which video games were dismissed as a fad. Atari's Breakout (1976) later drew a significant following, but enthusiasm for the game had also waned shortly after. A major breakthrough for video games came with
9028-418: The 1978 release of Taito 's shoot 'em up game Space Invaders , which began the golden age of arcade video games . In order to keep up with high demand for Space Invaders , Taito licensed distribution rights to Midway Manufacturing . By 1979, Space Invaders had sold 85,000 arcade cabinets in the United Kingdom, installed across locations such as arcades, pubs and public buildings . Space Invaders
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#17328550114219176-476: The 5th century) united with the Picts to create the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century. In 1066, the Normans invaded England from northern France. After conquering England , they seized large parts of Wales , conquered much of Ireland and were invited to settle in Scotland, bringing to each country feudalism on the Northern French model and Norman-French culture. The Anglo-Norman ruling class greatly influenced, but eventually assimilated with,
9324-434: The Amiga. Although chart company Gallup reported in February 1989 that Amiga games had begun to outsell ST games for the first time, the combined sales for both platforms were still less than 10% of the total UK games market. The cheaper eight-bit machines like the ZX Spectrum were continuing to sell well, particularly with parents buying their first computer, with stocks of the Commodore 64 running out over Christmas 1988. For
9472-439: The BBFC's review. The BBFC had the authority to outright ban sale of a video game if deemed so, though such bans could be challenged. Up to 2012, only two such games had been temporarily banned by the BBFC due to rating: Manhunt 2 and Carmageddon , both which were later cleared after changes had been made by their publishers. The Byron Review , released in March 2008 under a 2007 order from Prime Minister Gordon Brown to
9620-464: The Brittonic area mainly to what was to become Wales , Cornwall and, until the latter stages of the Anglo-Saxon settlement, the Hen Ogledd (northern England and parts of southern Scotland). Most of the region settled by the Anglo-Saxons became unified as the Kingdom of England in the 10th century. Meanwhile, Gaelic speakers in north-west Britain (with connections to the north-east of Ireland and traditionally supposed to have migrated from there in
9768-420: The EIN. This was referenced by Jon Postel in his early work on Internet email, published in the Internet Experiment Note series. Scrapbook was an information storage and retrieval system that went live in mid-1971. It included what would now be called word processing , e-mail and hypertext , anticipating many elements of the World Wide Web . The project was managed by David Yates who said of it "We had
9916-452: The Manhattan Project whose task was to build an atomic weapon. Once built, it was decided, with British consent, to use the weapon against Japan. The UK was one of the Big Three powers (along with the US and the Soviet Union) who met to plan the post-war world ; it drafted the Declaration by United Nations with the United States and became one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council . It worked closely with
10064-400: The NPL is one of the oldest metrology institutes in the world. Research and development work at the laboratory has contributed to the advancement of many disciplines of science, including the development of early computers in the late 1940s and 1950s, construction of the first accurate atomic clock in 1955, and the invention and first implementation of packet switching in the 1960s, which
10212-425: The Name of Great Britain". The term "United Kingdom" has occasionally been used as a description for the former Kingdom of Great Britain , although its official name from 1707 to 1800 was simply "Great Britain". The Acts of Union 1800 formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . Following the partition of Ireland and the independence of the Irish Free State in 1922, which left Northern Ireland as
10360-406: The PEGI system tended to rate games more conservatively - issuing the game a stricter age rating - compared to what the BBFC would issue for the same title; the VSC stated that 50% of the games they had rated "18+" on the PEGI since 2003 had received a more lenient rating from the BBFC. The DCMS issued a following report in June 2009 to address several points of the Byron Review, among which included
10508-535: The PlayStation) and DMA Design ( Grand Theft Auto for the PlayStation). Others included Rare , which brought many titles to Nintendo consoles , Argonaut Software which helped to bring 3D graphics to the Super NES via Star Fox , and Core Design which brought the Tomb Raider series to the PlayStation console. Other software houses, like Ocean Software , Codemasters , and U.S. Gold expanded into console games as well. While large British studios continued to develop high-profile games for consoles and computers,
10656-701: The Scottish electorate voting by 55.3 to 44.7% to remain part of the United Kingdom. In 2016, 51.9 per cent of voters in the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union . The UK left the EU in 2020. On 1 May 2021, the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement came into force. The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the UK's economy , caused major disruptions to education and had far-reaching impacts on society and politics in 2020 and 2021. The United Kingdom
10804-493: The U.K. Their research and practice influenced the ARPANET in the United States, the forerunner of the Internet , and other researchers in the UK and Europe, including Louis Pouzin . NPL sponsors a gallery, opened in 2009, about the development of packet switching and "Technology of the Internet" at The National Museum of Computing . NPL internetworking research was led by Davies, Barber and Scantlebury, who were members of
10952-580: The UK Games Fund and Tranzfuser was announced by the UK Government in 2018. Further funding of £8m for the UK Games Fund and Tranzfuser was awarded by the UK Government in 2022 In recent years, Northern Ireland has made increasing contributions to the United Kingdom's video game industry. In 2000, Channel 4 produced a documentary, Thumb Candy , on the history of video games. It includes footage from old Nintendo commercials. Prior to 2012, video games in
11100-437: The UK against the effects of the North American video game crash in 1983, after which the microcomputer game market continued to grow, with significant levels of domestic game production taking place. In 1984, computer games replaced console and LCD games as the largest sector of the UK home video game market. Computer literacy had been seen by the UK government as a key skill that Britain's children should possess to help improve
11248-525: The UK but did not gain much traction. Home video games were popularized in the United Kingdom during 1982–1984. There was a short-lived home console market in the United Kingdom during the early 1980s. The success of Space Invaders in the arcades generated demand for the Atari VCS , which had an official home version of Space Invaders released in 1980. The Atari VCS sold 125,000 units in the United Kingdom that year along with 500,000 game cartridges , becoming
11396-563: The UK games industry. According to TIGA, prior to this, the UK Games industry was lagging behind other countries where game developers benefitted from substantial tax breaks and government grants: "Between 2008 and 2011, employment in the [games industry] fell by over 10 per cent and investment fell by £48 million". Thus the UK VGTR aims to ensure the UK games industry's competitiveness on the global stage, promotes investment and job creation and encourage
11544-492: The UK has the world's sixth-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP). It is a nuclear state , and is ranked fifth globally in military expenditure . The UK has been a permanent member of the UN Security Council since its first session in 1946. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations , Council of Europe , G7 , OECD , NATO , Five Eyes , AUKUS and CPTPP . British influence can be observed in
11692-484: The UK in 2023 is estimated to be 3.25 million hectares, which represents 13% of the total land area in the UK. Most of the United Kingdom has a temperate climate, with generally cool temperatures and plentiful rainfall all year round. The temperature varies with the seasons seldom dropping below 0 °C (32 °F ) or rising above 30 °C (86 °F). Some parts, away from the coast, of upland England, Wales, Northern Ireland and most of Scotland, experience
11840-908: The UK into lowland and upland areas. Lowland areas include Cornwall , the New Forest , the South Downs and the Norfolk Broads . Upland areas include the Lake District , the Pennines , the Yorkshire Dales , Exmoor , and Dartmoor . The main rivers and estuaries are the Thames , Severn , and the Humber . England's highest mountain is Scafell Pike , at 978 metres (3,209 ft) in the Lake District; its largest island
11988-452: The UK market, in totality, not only withstood the crash but immediately began growing, albeit almost entirely in the new direction of microcomputers. Pre-dating and then becoming concurrent with the console market's troubles, the arrival of affordable home computers in the early 1980s, with graphical capabilities matching or exceeding the second-generation consoles , such as the Atari VCS, dealt
12136-493: The UK ratings system for video games set in law were for titles deemed to have excessive violent or pornographic content; such titles were required to be reviewed by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), a non-government body designed in law to review film and television content, if such a designation was determined by the VSC. Legal penalties existed for publishers and retailers that attempted to sell such games without
12284-677: The UK would be rated through the Video Standards Council (VSC), which had been established in 1989 under the government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The VSC worked initially with the UK video game trade group known as the Entertainment Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) at the time but later renamed to the UK Interactive Entertainment Association (Ukie). The VSC and ELPSA developed
12432-522: The UK's industry, has a cameo role within the movie. United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK ) or Britain , is a country in Northwestern Europe , off the coast of the continental mainland . It comprises England , Scotland , Wales , and Northern Ireland . The UK includes the island of Great Britain ,
12580-402: The United Kingdom and that elsewhere "British government" is used at least as frequently as "United Kingdom government". The UK Permanent Committee on Geographical Names recognises "United Kingdom", "UK" and "U.K." as shortened and abbreviated geopolitical terms for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in its toponymic guidelines; it does not list "Britain" but notes that "it
12728-512: The United Kingdom is London , whose wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe , with a population of 14.9 million. The cities of Edinburgh , Cardiff , and Belfast are the national capitals of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, respectively. The lands of the UK have been inhabited continuously since the Neolithic . In AD 43 the Roman conquest of Britain began;
12876-411: The United Kingdom is 1339.7 hours, which is just under 30% of the maximum possible. The hours of sunshine vary from 1200 to about 1580 hours per year, and since 1996 the UK has been and still is receiving above the 1981 to 2010 average hours of sunshine. Climate change has a serious impact on the country. A third of food price rise in 2023 is attributed to climate change. As of 2022, the United Kingdom
13024-436: The United Kingdom use several different terms to describe their national identity and may identify themselves as being British , English , Scottish , Welsh , Northern Irish , or Irish ; or as having a combination of different national identities. Settlement by Cro-Magnons of what was to become the United Kingdom occurred in waves beginning by about 30,000 years ago. The island has been continuously inhabited only since
13172-425: The United Kingdom, starting a new wave of individual and small team British developers. In 2009, the profits of Britain's video game industry exceeded those from its film industry for the first time. The UK video game market was worth £5.7 billion ( $ 7.6 billion ) in 2018, a 10% increase over the previous year. From this, £4.01 billion was from the sales of software (+10.3% increase over 2017), £1.57 billion from
13320-483: The United Kingdom. In the 19th century, the Kew Observatory was run by self-funded devotees of science. In the early 1850s, the observatory began charging fees for testing meteorological instruments and other scientific equipment. As universities in the United Kingdom created and expanded physics departments, the governing committee of the observatory became increasingly dominated by paid university physicists in
13468-663: The United Kingdom. The 1928 Equal Franchise Act gave women electoral equality with men in national elections. Strikes in the mid-1920s culminated in the General Strike of 1926 . Britain had still not recovered from the effects of the First World War when the Great Depression (1929–1932) led to considerable unemployment and hardship in the old industrial areas, as well as political and social unrest with rising membership in communist and socialist parties. A coalition government
13616-626: The United States to establish the IMF , World Bank and NATO . The war left the UK severely weakened and financially dependent on the Marshall Plan , but it was spared the total war that devastated eastern Europe. In the immediate post-war years, the Labour government under Clement Attlee initiated a radical programme of reforms, which significantly impacted British society in the following decades . Major industries and public utilities were nationalised ,
13764-607: The acquisition and settlement of overseas colonies , particularly in North America and the Caribbean. Though previous attempts at uniting the two kingdoms within Great Britain in 1606, 1667, and 1689 had proved unsuccessful, the attempt initiated in 1705 led to the Treaty of Union of 1706 being agreed and ratified by both parliaments. On 1 May 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed,
13912-527: The best-selling console in the UK up until then. Portable LCD games also gained popularity the same year, including Space Invaders clones such as Atari 's Galaxy Invaders and Casio 's MG-880 calculator game , as well as the Sharp PC-1211 pocket computer sold by Tandy under the Radio Shack TRS-80 brand. The home console market crash of 1983 , whose effects primarily impacted North America,
14060-429: The costs and hardware needed to develop games on these platforms, and caused a decline of the popularity of the bedroom coder by 1995. However, the bedroom coders had seeded the necessary elements as to gain interest from United States companies looking for talent around this time, leading to various acquisitions and partnerships between US and UK game companies around this time. During the late 1980s to early 1990s, there
14208-697: The decades-long process of European integration , the UK was a founding member of the Western European Union , established with the London and Paris Conferences in 1954. In 1960 the UK was one of the seven founding members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), but in 1973 it left to join the European Communities (EC). In a 1975 referendum 67% voted to stay in it. When the EC became
14356-585: The determination of physical constants". The laboratory was run by the UK government, with members of staff being part of the civil service . It grew to fill a large selection of buildings on the Teddington site. Administration of NPL was contracted out in 1995 under a Government Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO) model, via a new operating company, NPL Management Ltd. Serco won the bid and all staff transferred to their employment. Under this regime, overhead costs halved, third-party revenues grew by 16% per annum, and
14504-513: The earliest such successful titles was Manic Miner , developed and released by Matthew Smith in 1983, sold by Bug-Byte , one of the first publishers in this market. While a loose clone of the United States-developed Miner 2049er , Manic Miner incorporated elements of British humour and other oddities. Manic Miner is considered the quintessential "British game" for this reason, and since then, inspired similar games with
14652-523: The early 1980s with arcade and home console games, the UK's game industry grew out of amateur "bedroom coders" on home computers, in part due to the government's initiative, through the BBC to teach computer programming to students. Subsequently, many larger developers and publishers were established in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Many major video game franchises are developed in the UK, including Grand Theft Auto , Tomb Raider , Burnout , LittleBigPlanet , Wipeout and Dirt , making Britain
14800-575: The early 1990s, Sega and Nintendo dominated the UK video game market, which led to both companies coming under investigation by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) for alleged monopolistic business practices. With the increasing power and popularity of consoles, more UK developers targeted console platforms in the 1990s. As noted above, some of those that were instrumental in Britain's contribution to consoles included Psygnosis (developing Wipeout for
14948-477: The eastern parts are the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by the Gulf Stream , bring mild winters, especially in the west where winters are wet and even more so over high ground. Summers are warmest in the southeast of England and coolest in the north. Heavy snowfall can occur in winter and early spring on high ground, and occasionally settles to great depth away from the hills. The average total annual sunshine in
15096-499: The fantasy literary genre through J. R. R. Tolkien 's works, a major point of inspiration for the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game. Thus, with the ability to program their own games through these early home computers, the UK developed an initial home computer game market. Throughout most of the 1980s, British games were typically made by only one person with no formal experience in computer programming attempting to realise
15244-522: The first 24 hours of the game's sale. Another major British contribution to the game industry was the ZX Spectrum home computer, released in 1982. The organisations responsible for rating video games in the UK are the British Board of Film Classification and PEGI , the latter of which was elected to rate British games in 2009 and subsequently began doing so in July 2012. The United Kingdom's video game industry
15392-575: The first year, Britain and its Empire continued the war against Germany. Churchill engaged industry, scientists and engineers to support the government and the military in the prosecution of the war effort. In 1940, the Royal Air Force defeated the German Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain . Urban areas suffered heavy bombing during the Blitz . The Grand Alliance of Britain, the United States and
15540-575: The following Christmas period, Commodore allowed Ocean Software to bundle Batman , their first game specifically designed for the sixteen-bit machines, with their Amiga 500 computers to create the "Batman Pack". Launched in October 1989 with a TV advertising campaign, it became one of the most successful hardware/software bundles of all time selling over 186,000 units by the end of the following year. The Amiga's more powerful graphics capabilities enabled game developers to experiment more and helped to expand
15688-569: The formal control it exerted over its own colonies, British dominance of much of world trade meant that it effectively controlled the economies of regions such as East Asia and Latin America . Throughout the Victorian era , political attitudes favoured free trade and laissez-faire policies. Beginning with the Great Reform Act in 1832, Parliament gradually widened the voting franchise , with
15836-467: The game as "innocent and harmless pleasure", which he himself had enjoyed that day, and criticized the bill as an example of " Socialist beliefs in restriction and control". A motion to bring the bill before Parliament was defeated by 114 votes to 94 votes; the bill itself was never considered by Parliament. Space Invaders was followed by other hit arcade video games, including Namco 's shoot 'em up Galaxian (1979) and maze game Pac-Man (1980),
15984-482: The game disc. Instead, all published video games in retail marketplaces were required to be rated under the PEGI system by the special Games Ratings Authority (GRA) within the VSC. Retailers were bound to prevent sales of mature games (PEGI ratings of 12, 16, or 18) to younger children under this law, with both fines and prison time should they be found guilty of such sales. The VSC also became the only body that could ban sale of
16132-731: The global hegemon and adopted the role of global policeman. From 1853 to 1856, Britain took part in the Crimean War , allied with the Ottoman Empire against Tsarist Russia , participating in the naval battles of the Baltic Sea known as the Åland War in the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland , among others. Following the Indian Rebellion in 1857 , the British government led by Lord Palmerston assumed direct rule over India . Alongside
16280-596: The graphical capabilities of 8-bit and 16-bit home computers, respectively, while being more affordable. Computer and Video Games magazine credited the success of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog in particular as "one of the main reasons for the popularity of" console video games in the United Kingdom. Other popular console systems followed in the UK, including the Nintendo consoles , Game Boy (1990 release) and Super NES (1992 release), and then 32-bit fourth-generation consoles including Sony 's PlayStation (1995 release) and
16428-474: The idea of "megagames" that stretched a computer's hardware limits and would be sold at a higher cost, but these efforts backfired, costing Imagine staff and money. By the time the BBC began filming for this episode of Commercial Breaks , Imagine was in a downward spiral, which was notoriously documented by the BBC. A short-term collapse of the computer market occurred from the end of 1984 into 1985. Rival companies Sinclair Research and Acorn Computers began entering
16576-455: The intent to standardized video game ratings on the PEGI system. The Video Recordings (Labelling) Regulations act was passed in May 2012 and came into force on 30 July 2012. With it, it eliminated the BBFC's oversight of video games with limited exceptions on excessively pornographic titles, as well as for games with limited interactivity (such as interactive DVD games) and for any direct video content on
16724-570: The inventor of radar, Oswald Kubaschewski, the father of computational materials thermodynamics and the numerical analyst James Wilkinson . Metallurgist Walter Rosenhain appointed the NPL's first female scientific staff members in 1915, Marie Laura Violet Gayler and Isabel Hadfield . NPL research has contributed to physical science , materials science , computing , and bioscience . Applications have been found in ship design , aircraft development , radar , computer networking , and global positioning . The first accurate atomic clock,
16872-403: The kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were united in a personal union when James VI, King of Scots , inherited the crowns of England and Ireland and moved his court from Edinburgh to London; each country nevertheless remained a separate political entity and retained its separate political, legal, and religious institutions. In the mid-17th century, all three kingdoms were involved in
17020-408: The last retreat of the ice around 11,500 years ago. By the end of the region's prehistoric period , the population is thought to have belonged largely to a culture termed Insular Celtic , comprising Brittonic Britain and Gaelic Ireland . The Roman conquest , beginning in 43 AD, and the 400-year rule of southern Britain , was followed by an invasion by Germanic Anglo-Saxon settlers, reducing
17168-410: The last two decades of the nineteenth century. By this time, instrument-testing was the observatory's main role. Physicists sought the establishment of a state-funded scientific institution for testing electrical standards. The National Physical Laboratory was established in 1900 at Bushy House in Teddington . Its purpose was "for standardising and verifying instruments, for testing materials, and for
17316-458: The legal and political systems of many of its former colonies , and British culture remains globally influential, particularly in language , literature , music and sport . English is the world's most widely spoken language and the third-most spoken native language . The Acts of Union 1707 declared that the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland were "United into One Kingdom by
17464-524: The local cultures. Subsequent medieval English kings completed the conquest of Wales and tried unsuccessfully to annex Scotland . Asserting its independence in the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath , Scotland maintained its independence thereafter, albeit in near-constant conflict with England . In 1215 the Magna Carta was the first document to state that no government was above the law, that citizens have rights protecting them and that they were entitled to
17612-664: The low-cost self-ratings services of the International Age Rating Coalition to assign their game an appropriate PEGI rating for the digital service. The Royal Mail issued a limited postal stamp series in 2020 featuring games that represent the United Kingdom's early video game industry. The series featured Elite (1984), the Dizzy series (1987–1992), WipeOut (1995), the Worms series (1995–present), Lemmings (1991), Micro Machines (1991), Populous (1989), and
17760-712: The major part of the British Isles archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and some smaller surrounding islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea with the southeast coast coming within 22 miles (35 km) of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by the English Channel . The Royal Greenwich Observatory in London
17908-669: The mid-1920s, most of the British population could listen to BBC radio programmes. Experimental television broadcasts began in 1929 and the first scheduled BBC Television Service commenced in 1936. The rise of Irish nationalism , and disputes within Ireland over the terms of Irish Home Rule , led eventually to the partition of the island in 1921. A period of conflict in what is now Northern Ireland occurred from June 1920 until June 1922. The Irish Free State became independent, initially with Dominion status in 1922, and unambiguously independent in 1931 . Northern Ireland remained part of
18056-513: The mid-1940s. From 1945, Alan Turing led the design of the Automatic Computing Engine (ACE) computer. The ACE project was overambitious and floundered, leading to Turing's departure. Donald Davies took the project over and concentrated on delivering the less ambitious Pilot ACE computer, which first worked in May 1950. Among those who worked on the project was American computer pioneer Harry Huskey . A commercial spin-off, DEUCE
18204-800: The north-eastern part of the island of Ireland , and most of the smaller islands within the British Isles , making up a total area of 94,354 square miles (244,376 km ). Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland ; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , the North Sea , the English Channel , the Celtic Sea , and the Irish Sea . The United Kingdom had an estimated population of over 68.2 million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and
18352-451: The number of peer-reviewed research papers published doubled. NPL procured a large state-of-the-art laboratory under a Private Finance Initiative contract in 1998. The construction was undertaken by John Laing . The new laboratory building, which had been maintained by Serco, was transferred back to the DTI in 2004 after the private sector companies involved made losses of over £100m. It
18500-463: The only part of the island of Ireland within the United Kingdom, the name was changed in 1927 to the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". Although the United Kingdom is a sovereign country, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also widely referred to as countries . The UK Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom. Some statistical summaries, such as those for
18648-652: The production of culturally British video games. The key benefit of the tax relief is that qualifying companies can claim up to 20% of their "core expenditure" back, provided that expenditure has been made in the European Economic Area. In 2015 the UK Government provided £4m to launch a games prototype fund, the UK Games Fund and a graduate enterprise programme called Tranzfuser. The UK Games Fund and Tranzfuser programmes are run by UK Games Talent and Finance Community Interest Company (UKGTF) Further funding of £1.5m for
18796-526: The release of the ZX Spectrum in 1982: by the end of 1983 there were more than 450 companies selling video games on cassette compared to 95 the year before. An estimated 10,000 to 50,000 youth, mostly male, were making games out of their homes at this time based on advertisements for games in popular magazines. The growth of video games in the UK during this period was comparable to the punk subculture , fueled by young people making money from their games. One of
18944-497: The rest of Europe, royal absolutism would not prevail, and a professed Catholic could never accede to the throne. The British constitution would develop on the basis of constitutional monarchy and the parliamentary system . With the founding of the Royal Society in 1660, science was greatly encouraged. During this period, particularly in England, the development of naval power and the interest in voyages of discovery led to
19092-568: The result of the Acts of Union 1707 between the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland . In the 18th century, cabinet government developed under Robert Walpole , in practice the first prime minister (1721–1742). A series of Jacobite uprisings sought to remove the Protestant House of Hanover from the throne and restore the Catholic House of Stuart . The Jacobites were finally defeated at
19240-443: The sales of hardware (+10.7% increase), and £0.11 billion from the sales of other game related items. In the software market, the data showed a significant increase in digital and online revenues, up +20.3% to a record £2.01bn. £1.17 billion of software sales came from mobile games. In 2017, the number of players was estimated at 32.4 million people. The Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR) was established in 2014 to help support creativity in
19388-483: The same type of British wit and humour through the present. Another key title from this period was Elite , developed by David Braben and Ian Bell and released in 1984. A non-linear space exploration, trading and combat game, Elite established many of the principles of the open world gameplay concept that are used in most space simulation games today as well as influencing the Grand Theft Auto series, itself
19536-513: The technology of quartz clocks ; the inventor Sir Barnes Wallis who did early development work on the "Bouncing Bomb" used in the "Dam Busters" wartime raids; H. J. Gough , one of the pioneers of research into metal fatigue , who worked at NPL for 19 years from 1914 to 1938; and Sydney Goldstein and Sir James Lighthill who worked in NPL's aerodynamics division during World War II researching boundary layer theory and supersonic aerodynamics respectively. Alan Turing , known for his work at
19684-476: The technology savvy of the nation in the future. While home computers did exist in the UK market like the Commodore PET and Apple II (both released in 1977), these were comparatively expensive for broad use across the population. The BBC worked with Acorn to create the low-cost BBC Micro home computer alongside a set of broadcast programming to help teach fundamentals of computers for school-aged children. This
19832-495: The third-largest producer of video game series behind Japan and the United States . The best-selling video game series made in the UK is Grand Theft Auto (primary developed by Rockstar North in Edinburgh ), which has sold over 150 million copies as of September 2013; the most recent instalment Grand Theft Auto V became the fastest-selling video game of all time by making $ 815.7 million (£511.8 million) in sales worldwide during
19980-436: The twelve NUTS 1 regions , refer to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as "regions". Northern Ireland is also referred to as a "province". With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used "can be controversial, with the choice often revealing one's political preferences". The term "Great Britain" conventionally refers to the island of Great Britain, or politically to England, Scotland and Wales in combination. It
20128-521: Was a gradual transition in the UK home video game market from home computers to video game consoles , with the arrival of 8-bit third-generation consoles and then 16-bit fourth-generation consoles. By 1991, home consoles had overtaken home computers as the larger sector of the UK home video game market. The growth of consoles in the UK was largely driven by Sega consoles , the Master System (1987 release) and Mega Drive (1990 release); they exceeded
20276-502: Was announced in January 2013 for a new £25m Advanced Metrology Laboratory that will be built on the footprint of an existing unused building. NPL Management Ltd and the operation of the laboratory transferred back to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (now the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology ) on 1 January 2015. Researchers who have worked at NPL include: D. W. Dye who did important work in developing
20424-416: Was chosen as the defining point of the Prime Meridian at the International Meridian Conference in 1884. The United Kingdom lies between latitudes 49° and 61° N , and longitudes 9° W and 2° E . Northern Ireland shares a 224-mile (360 km) land boundary with the Republic of Ireland. The coastline of Great Britain is 11,073 miles (17,820 km) long, though measurements can vary greatly due to
20572-451: Was decided in 2012 to change the operating model for NPL from 2014 onwards to include academic partners and to establish a postgraduate teaching institute on site. The date of the changeover was later postponed for a year. The candidates for lead academic partner were the Universities of Edinburgh , Southampton , Strathclyde and Surrey with an alliance of the Universities of Strathclyde and Surrey chosen as preferred partners. Funding
20720-404: Was formed in 1931. Nonetheless, "Britain was a very wealthy country, formidable in arms, ruthless in pursuit of its interests and sitting at the heart of a global production system." After Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Britain entered the Second World War . Winston Churchill became prime minister and head of a coalition government in 1940. Despite the defeat of its European allies in
20868-550: Was grown out of home computers (also known as microcomputers ), specifically the BBC Micro from Acorn Computers in 1981, and the ZX Spectrum from Sinclair Research (alongside Sinclair's earlier ZX80 and ZX81 systems) and the Commodore 64 by Commodore International in 1982. In the early 1980s, the UK home computer game industry initially began with British programmers developing unofficial ports and clones of arcade games for home computers , followed by original computer games . The saturation of home computers immunised
21016-409: Was manufactured by English Electric Computers and became one of the best-selling machines of the 1950s. Beginning in the mid-1960s, Donald Davies invented and pioneered the implementation of packet switching , now the dominant basis for data communications in computer networks worldwide. Davies designed and proposed a national commercial data network in his 1965 Proposal for the Development of
21164-447: Was offset in the UK by the simultaneous transition to a market dominated by microcomputers and LCD games. The switch towards microcomputers, and the more transient fad of LCD games, was already an apparent, emergent trend by the time of the crash, which, in the UK, merely accelerated an inevitable transition to microcomputers. The home computer market and concomitant domestic game production took off so rapidly during 1983 and thereafter that
21312-415: Was reduced, particularly as a result of the English Civil War . In 1707, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland united under the Treaty of Union to create the Kingdom of Great Britain . The Acts of Union 1800 incorporated the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Most of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922 as the Irish Free State , and
21460-581: Was the largest empire in history . However, its involvement in the First World War and the Second World War damaged Britain's economic power and a global wave of decolonisation led to the independence of most British colonies. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy . The UK has three distinct jurisdictions: England and Wales , Scotland , and Northern Ireland . Since 1999, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own governments and parliaments which control various devolved matters. A developed country ,
21608-432: Was the first country in the world to use an approved COVID-19 vaccine , developing its own vaccine through a collaboration between Oxford University and AstraZeneca , which allowed the UK's vaccine rollout to be among the fastest in the world. The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 94,354 square miles (244,376 km ), with a land area of 93,723 square miles (242,741 km ). The country occupies
21756-441: Was the first video game to attract political controversy when a 1981 Private Member's Bill known as the "Control of Space Invaders (and other Electronic Games) Bill", drafted by British Labour Member of Parliament (MP) George Foulkes , attempted to allow local councils to restrict the game and those like it by licensing for its " addictive properties " and for causing " deviancy ". Conservative MP Michael Brown defended
21904-482: Was used in up to 80% of the schools in the UK at the time, and led to creation of the Spectrum and Commodore 64 to help meet growing demand for the systems. Additionally, youth of the United Kingdom at that time were tinkerers, taking apart and repairing devices including electronics, and the nature of computer programming felt within this same scope. The United Kingdom had already had a history with board games prior to this revolution, as well as laying claim to starting
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