What is the equipment needed to make a game. (software, computer systems, artist stuff, ect....)

It depends!

What type of game are you going to make? Facebook, Mobile (iPhone/iPad, Android, Kindle, etc), Console (PS3/xbox), there's also web based games (usually Flash).

You need a computer that you can use to write the game. Writing code, compiling it or packaging it, etc. For a iOS game, you need a Apple Mac. You also need a $99/year subscription to be an Apple Developer. Xcode (the Software Development Kit for iOS is free from Apple)

If you make a flash based game, you'll need the SDK for that.

You also need a computer for artwork (it could be the same computer as above) and whatever art program you use. Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. I believe Adobe allows you to pay a small monthly fee for using these programs. Previously you had to spend hundreds of dollars to get a software license, now they sell a subscription. An artist will probably want a Wacom or Cintiq for drawing.

Your game probably need to be hosted somewhere, so you'll need some server(s). There are services that you can pay for monthly such as Amazon EC2.

Now is a great time to make games. For like $2k you can get a nice MacBook Pro, pay $100/month to license the software you need, and make a game has unlimited earning potential!

If we're talking digital games, these are some great leads above from Paul.

However, there are a lot of free tools. Unity has a free version you can get started with. UDK is the lighter, free version of Unreal. Things like GameMaker, Game Salad, and Stencyl also have free versions. That's just scratching the surface of what's out there! There are essentially tons of tools that will allow you to get your feet wet and learn them without paying a dime, plus they often have great documentation and communities behind them.

There is even asset production software you can get for free. GIMP and Inkscape are essentially open source equivalents to Photoshop and Illustrator. Open Office is great for design docs. Audacity will allow you to create basic sound if you have a mic.

However, you can create tons of games without even having a computer if you think about analog games (board/card/etc.) If you have some note cards you can make a card game. If you have some spare change, dice, cardboard, figurines, pieces of wood... countless found objects can be leveraged for game prototypes. Later on when you refine your design, it's up to your crafty self how the final product should be created! I've laid out card designs with software, printed them inexpensively at Office Max, and cut them apart myself at home for great finished results.

Since this is for an entrepreneurship class, you may not be as interested in analog games but I figured I'd throw it out there. You may consider researching indie game developers (independent game developers) to see more of the lean startup mentality some folks follow. Many great games have been created on a shoestring budget!