1980 in video games

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1980 saw the release of a number of games with influential concepts, including Pac-Man , Battlezone , Crazy Climber , Mystery House , Missile Command , Phoenix , Rally-X , Space Panic , Stratovox , Zork , Adventure, and Olympic Decathlon . The year's highest-grossing video game was Namco's arcade game Pac-Man, while the best-selling home system was Nintendo's Game & Watch. The Atari VCS (later called the Atari 2600) also grew in popularity with a port of Space Invaders and support from new third-party developer Activision.

Contents

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games

The following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games worldwide in 1980.

RankTitleGross revenueInflation Cabinet sales DeveloperDistributor(s)GenreRef
1 Pac-Man $1,000,000,000$3,700,000,000100,000 Namco Namco / Midway Maze [3] [4] [5]
2 Asteroids $700,000,000$2,600,000,00070,000 Atari, Inc. Atari, Inc. Shoot 'em up [6] [7]
Galaxian Un­knownUn­knownUn­known Namco Namco / Midway Shoot 'em up [8] [9]
Space Invaders Un­knownUn­knownUn­known Taito Taito / Midway Shoot 'em up [10]

Japan and United States

In Japan and the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1980.

Rank Japan ( Game Machine ) [8] [11] United States
Title#1#2#3Points Cash Box [12] Play Meter [9] [13] RePlay [14] [15] Cabinet sales
1 Pac-Man 624617295 Asteroids < 60,000 [6]
2 Galaxian 442518200 Galaxian < 40,000 [16]
3 Crazy Climber 141930110 Space Invaders < 12,000 [17] [18]
4 Moon Cresta 3241572Un­known Missile Command Un­known
5 Monaco GP 1141152Un­known Rip Off Un­known
6 Rally-X 16318Un­knownUn­knownUn­known
7 Heiankyo Alien (Digger)14415
8 Pitch In 0157
9 Super Speed Race 0226
10 Sasuke vs. Commander 0055
Space Invaders 0135
Missile Command 0215

Best-selling home video games

The following titles were the best-selling home video games in 1980.

RankTitlePlatformDeveloperPublisherRelease YearGenreSalesRef
1 Space Invaders Atari VCS Taito Atari, Inc. 1980 Shoot 'em up 1,318,655 [19] [20]
2 Breakout Atari VCS Atari, Inc. 1978 Action 256,265 [20]
3 Football Atari VCSAtari, Inc. 1979 Sports (American football)248,502
4 Bowling Atari VCSAtari, Inc. 1979 Sports 245,670
5 Night Driver Atari VCSAtari, Inc. 1980 Racing 161,352
6 Air-Sea Battle Atari VCSAtari, Inc. 1977 Shooter 160,093
7 Circus Atari Atari VCSAtari, Inc. 1980 Action 148,756
8 Street Racer Atari VCSAtari, Inc. 1977 Racing 89,269
9 Video Olympics Atari VCSAtari, Inc. 1977 Sports 36,028

Best-selling home systems

RankSystem(s)ManufacturerTypeGenerationSalesRef
1 Game & Watch Nintendo Handheld 2,000,000+ [21]
2 Atari Video Computer System (VCS) Atari, Inc. Console Second 1,250,000 [22]
3 TRS-80 Tandy Corporation Computer 8-bit 290,000 [23]
4 Intellivision Mattel ConsoleSecond200,000 [22] [24]
5 Atari 400 / Atari 800 Atari, Inc.Computer8-bit200,000 [23]
6 Commodore PET Commodore International Computer8-bit90,000 [23]
7 Apple II Apple Inc. Computer8-bit79,500 [25]
8 HP 9800 / HP Series 80 Hewlett-Packard Computer8-bit11,300 [25]
9 North Star Horizon North Star Computers Computer8-bit8,200 [25]
10 TI-99/4 Texas Instruments Computer 16-bit 8,100 [25]

Events

Awards

Business

Notable releases

Games

Arcade
Console
Computer
Handheld

Hardware

Arcade
Console
Computer

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Asteroids</i> (video game) 1979 video game

Asteroids is a space-themed multidirectional shooter arcade video game designed by Lyle Rains and Ed Logg released in November 1979 by Atari, Inc. The player controls a single spaceship in an asteroid field which is periodically traversed by flying saucers. The object of the game is to shoot and destroy the asteroids and saucers, while not colliding with either, or being hit by the saucers' counter-fire. The game becomes harder as the number of asteroids increases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari 2600</span> Home video game console

The Atari 2600 is a discontinued home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System, it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridges, a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F in 1976. The VCS was bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a game cartridge—initially Combat and later Pac-Man. Sears sold the system as the Tele-Games Video Arcade. Atari rebranded the VCS as the Atari 2600 in November 1982 alongside the release of the Atari 5200.

The video game crash of 1983 was a large-scale recession in the video game industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985 in the United States. The crash was attributed to several factors, including market saturation in the number of video game consoles and available games, many of which were of poor quality. Waning interest in console games in favor of personal computers also played a role. Home video game revenue peaked at around $3.2 billion in 1983, then fell to around $100 million by 1985. The crash abruptly ended what is retrospectively considered the second generation of console video gaming in North America. To a lesser extent, the arcade video game market also weakened as the golden age of arcade video games came to an end.

<i>Pac-Man</i> 1980 video game

Pac-Man, originally called Puck Man in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The player controls Pac-Man, who must eat all the dots inside an enclosed maze while avoiding four colored ghosts. Eating large flashing dots called "Power Pellets" causes the ghosts to temporarily turn blue, allowing Pac-Man to eat them for bonus points.

<i>Space Invaders</i> 1978 video game

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade video game, developed and released by Taito in Japan and licensed to Midway Manufacturing for overseas distribution. Commonly considered to be one of the most influential video games of all time, Space Invaders was the first fixed shooter and the first video game with endless gameplay and set the template for the genre. The goal is to defeat wave after wave of descending aliens with a horizontally moving laser cannon to earn as many points as possible.

<i>Ms. Pac-Man</i> 1982 video game

Ms. Pac-Man is a 1982 maze arcade video game developed by General Computer Corporation and published by Midway. It is a spin-off sequel to Pac-Man (1980) and the first entry in the series to not be made by Namco. Controlling the title character, Pac-Man's wife, the player is tasked with eating all of the pellets in an enclosed maze while avoiding four colored ghosts. Eating the larger "power pellets" lets the player eat the ghosts, who turn blue and flee.

1983 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Mario Bros. and Pole Position II, along with new titles such as Astron Belt, Champion Baseball, Dragon's Lair, Elevator Action, Spy Hunter and Track & Field. Major events include the video game crash of 1983 in North America, and the third generation of video game consoles beginning with the launch of Nintendo's Family Computer (Famicom) and Sega's SG-1000 in Japan. The year's highest-grossing video game was Namco's arcade game Pole Position, while the year's best-selling home system was Nintendo's Game & Watch for the third time since 1980.

<i>Galaxian</i> 1979 video game

Galaxian is a 1979 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. The player assumes control of the Galaxip starfighter in its mission to protect Earth from waves of aliens. Gameplay involves destroying each formation of aliens, who dive down towards the player in an attempt to hit them.

The golden age of arcade video games was the period of rapid growth, technological development, and cultural influence of arcade video games from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. The release of Space Invaders in 1978 led to a wave of shoot-'em-up games such as Galaxian and the vector graphics-based Asteroids in 1979, made possible by new computing technology that had greater power and lower costs. Arcade video games switched from black-and-white to color, with titles such as Frogger and Centipede taking advantage of the visual opportunities of bright palettes.

The following article is a broad timeline of arcade video games.

1984 saw many sequels and prequels along with new titles such as 1942, Boulder Dash, Cobra Command, Jet Set Willy, Karate Champ, Kung-Fu Master, Yie Ar Kung-Fu and Punch-Out!! The year's highest-grossing arcade games were Pole Position in the United States, for the second year in a row, and Track & Field in the United Kingdom. The year's best-selling home system was Nintendo's Family Computer (Famicom), which was only sold in Japan at the time.

1982 was the peak year for the golden age of arcade video games as well as the second generation of video game consoles. Many games were released that would spawn franchises, or at least sequels, including Dig Dug, Pole Position, Mr. Do!, Zaxxon, Q*bert, Time Pilot and Pitfall! The year's highest-grossing video game was Namco's arcade game Pac-Man, for the third year in a row, while the year's best-selling home system was the Atari 2600. Additional video game consoles added to a crowded market, notably the ColecoVision and Atari 5200. Troubles at Atari late in the year triggered the video game crash of 1983.

Fueled by the previous year's release of the colorful and appealing Pac-Man, the audience for arcade video games in 1981 became much wider. Pac-Man influenced maze games began appearing in arcades and on home systems. Pac-Man was the highest grossing video game for the second year in a row. Nintendo's Donkey Kong defined the platform game genre, while Konami's Scramble established scrolling shooters. The lesser known Jump Bug combined the two concepts into both the first scrolling platform game and the first platform shooter. Other arcade hits released in 1981 include Defender, Frogger, and the Galaxian sequel Galaga.

1979 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Space Invaders Part II and Super Speed Race, along with new titles such as Asteroids, Football, Galaxian, Head On, Heiankyo Alien, Monaco GP, Sheriff and Warrior. For the second year in a row, the highest-grossing video game was Taito's arcade game Space Invaders and the best-selling home system was the Atari Video Computer System.

1978 saw the release of new video games such as Space Invaders. The year is considered the beginning of the golden age of arcade video games. The year's highest-grossing video game was Taito's arcade game Space Invaders, while the best-selling home system was the Atari Video Computer System.

1977 had sequels such as Super Speed Race and Datsun 280 ZZZAP as well as several new titles such as Space Wars. The year's highest-grossing arcade games were F-1 and Speed Race DX in Japan, and Sea Wolf and Sprint 2 in the United States. The year's best-selling home system was Nintendo's Color TV-Game, which was only sold in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari, Inc.</span> American video game developer (1972–1992)

Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry.

The 1980s was the second decade in the industry's history. It was a decade of highs and lows for video games. The decade began amidst a boom in the arcade video game business with the golden age of arcade video games, the Atari 2600's dominance of the home console market during the second generation of video game consoles, and the rising influence of home computers. However, an oversatuation of low quality games led to an implosion of the video game market that nearly destroyed the industry in North America. Most investors believed video games to be a fad that had since passed, up until Nintendo's success with its Nintendo Entertainment System revived interest in game consoles and led to a recovery of the home video game industry. In the remaining years of the decade, Sega ignites a console war with Nintendo, developers that had been affected by the crash experimented with PC games, and Nintendo released the Game Boy, which would become the best-selling handheld gaming device for the next two decades. Other consoles released in the decade included the Intellivision, ColecoVision, TurboGrafx-16 and Sega Genesis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of arcade video games</span>

An arcade video game is an arcade game where the player's inputs from the game's controllers are processed through electronic or computerized components and displayed to a video device, typically a monitor, all contained within an enclosed arcade cabinet. Arcade video games are often installed alongside other arcade games such as pinball and redemption games at amusement arcades. Up until the late 1990s, arcade video games were the largest and most technologically advanced sector of the video game industry.

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