The Color Graphics Adapter (CGA) was a pivotal graphics card standard introduced by IBM in 1981, marking a significant leap forward in the visual capabilities of early personal computers. Before CGA, many PCs were limited to monochrome text displays. CGA offered a palette of 16 colors, though only four could be displayed simultaneously in a given mode. Its resolution of 320×200 pixels, while low by today’s standards, represented a substantial improvement over text-only displays, enabling the creation of simple graphics and games. The card’s relatively low cost and widespread adoption in IBM PCs and compatibles made it a dominant force in the nascent personal computer gaming and application markets. Different modes allowed for higher resolutions, albeit with fewer colors or only monochrome output.
Despite its limitations, the CGA’s significance lies in its role as a foundational technology. It popularized color graphics in personal computing, paving the way for future advancements like the Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) and Video Graphics Array (VGA). Many iconic early PC games and applications were designed for CGA, shaping the visual landscape of the 1980s computing experience. While its low resolution and limited color palette might seem primitive today, the CGA’s impact on the evolution of computer graphics is undeniable, representing a crucial step in the transition from text-based computing to the visually rich world we know today. It served as a springboard for innovation, laying the groundwork for the increasingly sophisticated graphics standards that followed.