1970s in video games . 1980s |
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The 1970s was the first decade in the history of the video game industry. The 1970s saw the development of some of the earliest video games, chiefly in the arcade game industry, but also several for the earliest video game consoles and personal computers.
Notable games released in the 1970s included Computer Space, The Oregon Trail, Pong, Space Invaders, Asteroids, Galaxian, Combat, Breakout, Lunar Lander, Sea Wolf, and Zork.
See also: History of arcade video games and History of arcade games |
Notable early arcade video games of the early-to-mid-1970s include Computer Space (1971), Pong (1972), Space Race (1973), Gotcha (1973), Speed Race (1974), Gun Fight (1975), Heavyweight Champ (1976), Fonz (1976), Night Driver (1976), Breakout (1976), Death Race (1976), Sea Wolf (1976), and Space Wars (1977).
Main article: Golden age of arcade video games |
Classic arcade games of the late 1970s include Space Invaders (1978), Galaxian (1979), Asteroids (1979), Barrier (1979), Speed Freak (1979), Warrior (1979), Tail Gunner (1979), and Lunar Lander (1979).
Main article: First generation of video game consoles |
The first generation of consoles were on sale between 1972 and 1980 and included the Magnavox Odyssey, Telstar, Home Pong, and Color TV-Game.
Typical characteristics of the first generation of consoles:
Main article: Second generation of video game consoles |
The second generation of consoles, on sale between 1976 and 1988, made several leaps forward technologically. Consoles first available in the late 1970s included the Fairchild Channel F, Atari 2600, Bally Astrocade, and Magnavox Odyssey². The first handheld console, the Microvision, was released in 1979.
Typical characteristics of the second generation of consoles:
Notes:
The following titles were the best-selling arcade games of each year in the 1970s.
Year | Region(s) | Type | Title | Cabinet sales | Revenue | Inflation | Developer | Manufacturer(s) | Genre | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1979 | Worldwide | — | Space Invaders | 750,000 | $1,000,000,000+ | $4,700,000,000+ | Taito | Taito / Midway | Shoot 'em up | [1][2] |
1978 | ||||||||||
1977 | Japan | Electro-mechanical | F-1 | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Namco | Namco | Racing | [3][4] |
Medal game | EVR Race | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Nintendo | Nintendo | ||||
Video game | Speed Race DX | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Taito | Taito | ||||
US | — | Sea Wolf | 10,000 | Unknown | Unknown | Dave Nutting Associates | Midway | Shooter | [5][6][7] | |
1976 | US | — | ||||||||
Japan | Electro-mechanical | F-1 | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Namco | Namco | Racing | [8][4] | |
Medal game | EVR Race | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Nintendo | Nintendo | ||||
Video game | Ball Park (Tornado Baseball) | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Midway Manufacturing | Taito | Sports | |||
1975 | US | Video game | Wheels / Wheels II (Speed Race) | 10,000 | Unknown | Unknown | Taito | Midway | Racing | [9] |
1974 | US | Video game | Tank | 10,000 | Unknown | Unknown | Kee Games | Kee Games / Atari | Maze | |
1973 | US | Video game | Pong | 8,000 | $11,000,000 | $75,000,000 | Atari, Inc. | Atari, Inc. | Sports | [9][10] |
1972 | US | Video game | Computer Space | 200 | Unknown | Unknown | Syzygy Engineering | Nutting Associates | Space combat | [9] |
Rank | System | Release | Manufacturer | Type | Generation | Sales | As of | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Nintendo Color TV Game | 1977 | Nintendo | Console | First | 2,000,000 | 1979 | [11] |
2 | Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) | 1977 | Atari, Inc. | Console | Second | 1,550,000 | 1979 | [12] |
3 | Coleco Telstar | 1976 | Coleco | Console | First | 1,000,000 | 1976 | [13] |
4 | TRS-80 | 1977 | Texas Instruments | Computer | 8-bit | 450,000 | 1979 | [14] |
5 | Magnavox Odyssey | 1972 | Magnavox | Console | First | 367,000 | 1975 | [15] |
6 | Fairchild Channel F | 1976 | Fairchild Camera and Instrument | Console | Second | 350,000 | 1979 | [16] |
7 | Epoch TV Baseball | 1978 | Epoch Co. | Console | First | 230,000 | 1979 | [17] |
8 | Epoch TV Game System 10 | 1977 | Epoch Co. | Console | First | 200,000 | 1979 | [17] |
9 | Home Pong | 1975 | Atari, Inc. | Console | First | 150,000 | 1975 | [18] |
NEC PC-8001 | 1979 | NEC | Computer | 8-bit | 150,000 | 1979 | [19] |
The following gallery highlights hardware used to predominantly play games throughout the 1970s.