I don't know when it started, or who did it first, but to me the NES was a big jump compared to the Atari, by having levels and defined end. Growing up I had an Atari 2600 and never really got into it, the whole beat the high score thing never resonated with me. NES triggered my love for gaming by offering defined levels and being able to beat the game.
Again, no idea where or who started this, but that was a big change for me.







