Is there a more iconic game of the '70s? Physics force you to use your thrusters for a boost in any direction as you blast the rocks you can't dodge, and just like Star Wars, the smart use of blank space has made it age gracefully. Sega has been producing unified arcade systems since the late 1970s. Beat-'em-up games became wildly popular in '80s arcades, but few were better than Final Fight. (Given later press releases that one of the female characters was male, this would lead to much debate between fans and game media outlets about a specific characters gender identity.). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game (1989) As with Asteroids, the stark visuals give the game an authentically serene atmosphere, and the super-sensitive thruster controls are a real test of the players piloting skills. 1971 Galaxy Game, Computer Space, Empire, Star Trek, The Oregon Trail, Baseball They're inseparable from the story of video games as a whole, and we've rounded up the very best from the '70s, '80s, and '90s. This game is still widely popular today and almost every digital device has a version of this game. largely absent from the video game scene. One of the most beautiful painted cabinets of the mid-70s, Sea Wolf was inspired by Sega's late-60s electro-mechanical game, Periscope, but added a monochrome video display instead of cardboard. Different factors help in giving Zaxxon a more 3-D effect, such as a shadow beneath the ship which shows its approximate height. The gameplay is relatively simple: the player works through a variety of levels, collecting coins while keeping Pac-Man away from ghosts. Alongside Tank, Western Gun (known as Gun Fight in the US) helped lay the foundations of the multidirectional shooter genre, allowing two players to navigate a cactus-strewn landscape, blasting six-guns at each other until one cowboy fell. That being said, the game that plays best today is Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, an updated version of the sequel that includes several returning characters alongside a whole bunch introduced for the first time in Street Fighter III. Hugely influential to a whole era of video games including Micro Machines, Indy Heat and Amiga great, Ivan Ironman Stewarts Super Off Road. Joust was well-praised for its captivating visuals and intuitive gameplay and would serve to inspire the co-op characteristics of the Mario Bros arcade game, though unfortunately, it would only live to see an arcade sequel despite its developers efforts to port it to the nintendo 64 and the Gameboy Advance. In 1967, assisted by Sanders technician Bob Tremblay, Baer created the first of several video game test units. Players and objects consist of very basic lines, dots or blocks. Best Arcade Games: From The '70s Through The '90s Let's take a look back at the heyday of arcades. it look like robot it it was atoy u put 4 marker on the side it would draw designs on paper I hope u can help me, Somewhere around 1972 a friend took me to an arcade in vaguely midtown or lower Manhattan where they had an AMAZING game (for the time!) Ataris Pong was released after Magnavoxs take on electronic table tennis hit store shelves, but it had a much bigger impact on the industry. In that vain, here are ten of the most popular and influential arcade games from the 1970s . The Neo Geo was an odd system, allowing owners to swap enormous cartridges out to mix up the game lineup in an arcade. Pong, released in 1972, was the first commercially successful video game. The home versions of the game were wildly successful, too. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site. While the game has been resurfaced as a retro throwback for a variety of consoles, such as the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360, its last release was for an Ataris Greatest Hits pack for the nintendo DS; sadly, the arcade game would never see a peak like it did in the 80s. The arcade version was also made available on the Wiis Virtual Console near the end of the 2000s. A novel shooter that has spawned imitators, sequels, and spiritual successors, Tempest's rotating control scheme gives it the illusion of physical depth despite using basic vector graphics. Greatest Video Games of the 1980s 1. Combat flight simulator video games began appearing from the late 1970s. on April 22, 2022 at 1:48PM PDT. for the newly-installed DEC PDP-1 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Im not going to act like you should play these games all day because you are a video game purist or something. It was lit up with two boys throwing darts.you would get a black box with nothing more than a red button. Entire game playfield occupies only one screen. The game also used rudimentary AI to give attacking craft different behaviours a feature Namco would return to via Pac-Mans ghosts. The original Mortal Kombat set the stage for its superior sequel, which packed in more characters and the same ridiculously graphic blood and gore that fans knew and loved. Faster, more fluid gameplay makes it a better challenge for players today, and that bow is just adorable. Duck Hunt (1984) 14. Asteroids is a vector-based shooter that was designed by Lyle Rains, Ed Logg, and Dominic Walsh of Atari. Intentionally letting a ship get captured only to pull it back down and start blasting with a mini armada is an exceptionally cool trick, and the difficulty level is absolutely ideal. Gotcha is considered the first maze-based game and served as a precursor to games like Pac Man. Typical characteristics of the second generation of consoles: The following titles were the best-selling arcade games of each year in the 1970s. You could even take cover from enemy fire behind destructible barriers. While there are some who may not have the experience of dealing with sticky joysticks and jamming pocketful of quarters into the most popular machines, arcade games played a vital role in the gaming industry and many fan favorites were eventually ported to home consoles. 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. Computer Space was the first commercial video game, location tested in August 1971 and then released to market in November 1971. Tetris (1984) 3. Contra (1987) Overhead-viewed racing games were rife in the 70s but Ataris Sprint titles were the ones I preferred on my childhood jaunts around Blackpool arcades. Using vector graphics to replicate space combat despite releasing in 1983, Star Wars is still impressive today. All Auctions Fixed Price. ), Top 70s Arcade Games: 18 Video Trailblazers. Mortal Kombat 2 was more than just a talking point for lawmakers, however, with intense one-on-one fighting gameplay and a goofy sense of humor that was rarely seen in fighting games at the time. All Rights Reserved. People of all ages and pay grades were getting in on the fun. Released in September of 1972, the Magnavox Odyssey is recognized as the worlds first home video game console. Released in 1981 by Atari, Centipede would be one of the few games programmed with no specific gender-demographic targetit would go on to be one of the most played arcade games among women gamers with Pac-Man coming in second. Colossal Cave Adventure basically laid the groundwork for the entire adventure game genre. Is Galaga better? Final Fight would go on to see action on the SNES and the Gameboy Advance, eventually memorialized in the Capcom Classics Collection. The pathway will twist and turn, and it's very easy to go astray and drive off the path. Following their loss of Nolan Bushnell and his success with Pong, Nutting Associates cobbled together this clone with the branding of Computer Space. The two-on-two games, backed by some of the best commentary audio in history, played out like a child's dreams of what it would be like to be in the NBA. It was the shining jewel in the consoles launch lineup, and it stands as one of the systems best games to this very day. My parents owned a small town hotel & had this in the bar. They could be describe as computer games, but it be a stretch to call them video games. In 1966, while working for Sanders Associates, Inc., Baer began to explore this idea. This site uses cookies to personalize user experiences and analyse traffic. Many folks thought it would be a fad, that video games would pass because, honestly, they werent that much fun to play. The so-called first generation of consoles were on sale between 1972 and 1980 and included the Magnavox Odyssey, Telstar, Home Pong, and Color TV-Game. However, this arcade game is available on mobile devices for those who want a trip to memory lane or for those who are curious. But a newer version. The 1970s were the original decade not only for arcade games but also commercial video games. Top Ten 1970s Arcade Games Space Invaders Pong Galaxian Asteroids Breakout Tank Computer Space Anti-Aircraft Death Race Lunar Lander Star Raiders List of 1970s Video Games 1971 Galaxy Game, Computer Space, Empire, Star Trek, The Oregon Trail, Baseball 1972 Pong, Hunt the Wumpus, Star Trek ; launch of Magnavox Odyssey A color arcade sequel followed two years later - in 1978 - and it sold another 4,000 units. In 1975, Exidy developed a simple racing game called Destruction Derby and licensed it to Chicago Coin. 1 Early games (1969-1984) 1.1 1969-1980 . Ridiculously unrealistic in the best way possible, NBA Jam was the basketball fan for everyone--especially those with no interest in the sport. By the Power of wait this isnt right something is missing. The negative press only served to increase the games popularity, and this began a long-standing tradition. Devised by development engineer George J Klose as a means of repurposing calculator chips, it was a big success, leading to Mattels legendary American football and soccer titles, and no doubt piquing the interest of a certain Nintendo engineer . This version allows you to save your created tracks and race up to three other people over Nintendo Wi-Fi. A stand-alone home version of Pong hit the market in 1975, and several sequels were released that added new features. Another fixed shooter game, Galaga is actually a sequel to a previous game called Galaxian produced by Namco, which was also a big hit in its own right. Each sport can be played with two or four players, the latter in teams of two. Sega's first "video" arcade game. Note: When you click on links to various merchants in this post and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. As players progressed through the levels, the amount of time given to guide a frog back home was also gradually shortened. 1970s Video Games: History, Pictures & Consoles. Your opinion matters! Gauntlet II was also the first game in which you could play four different characters: an elf, warrior, valkyrie, or wizard. Released by nintendo in 1981, Donkey Kong was a platformer game focused more on overcoming a series of obstacles. The average console was about $100 ($400 in todays money), so the average middle class family could afford it. This page may contain affiliate links to products or services the cost is the same to you, but we get a referral fee. One special feature distinctive to this game was the inclusion of characterization in the form of cut scenes and a tangible storylineno doubt setting a precedent for similar games under nintendos production. Night Driver is an arcade driving game from Atari released in 1976. Leaving your initials on the high score table effectively allowed you to compete with other players you had never even met, and this introduced an important social element to the gaming world. Developed by Miyamoto, who also worked on Donkey Kong, the initial challenges met which would later become Super Mario franchise conventions were figuring out Marios bounce and the mechanics to defeat an enemy. Compared to your average racing game, rather than racing against other players or a CPU, Rally-X had players collect flags around a maze-like course. Since the game takes place in outer space, its very easy to build momentum. Table Tennis also served as the inspiration for Ataris Pong, which leads nicely to our next entry. There was only one of the machines at the place and it cost 50 cents a pop instead of 25 cents. Players had a limited number of missiles, for example, and the Newtonian physics model meant that ships would remain in motion even when the player wasnt accelerating. Lunar Lander (1979) In this 9 th placed game, players get to pilot a lunar landing module and then land it safely on the Moon. Truthfully, Street Fighter was never as popular as its sequel, Street Fighter II, but without some of its introduced conventions, we wouldnt have the Street Fighter we know and love today. Announced in 2019 by Netflix and Allspark,Transformers: War for Cybertronfollows the conclusion of thePrime Wars Trilogy. I think I walked away after 30-35 minutes and never played again. An side-scrolling action game developed by Inside System. Your opinion matters! Pong, a two player game where players hit the ball back and forth with paddles to control its movement on an electronic screen. 1975 Colossal Cave Adventure, Gun Fight, Indy 800, dnd, pedit5; launch of Magnavox Odyssey Series It was also a vastly superior product and had features that its Odyssey counterpart lacked including sound effects, on-screen scoring, and the ability to put spin on the ball. The premise of this game was simple: destroy wave after wave of aliens descending upon the world and try to obtain the most number of points possible. 2023 GAMESPOT, A FANDOM COMPANY. If players prefer playing it while on the go, a 2012 version dubbed Zaxxons Escape is available for Android and iOS, though it has faced severe criticism for derailing from the original. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network and Amazon Associates. Widely considered the first handheld video game, Mattel Auto Race used a grid of red LEDs to simulate a simple race track, the player avoiding incoming dots to keep driving as a timer ticked down. Fantasy top-down shoot 'em up where the four phoenixes must fight their way through 100 levels. Do you agree with this list? "Spacewar!," released in 1961, became popular enough to generate about 1500 individual arcade machines, but was so complicated to learn that it failed to really develop mass appeal. Galaxy Game is one of the first coin-operated arcade games. 1976 Artillery, Breakout, Blockade, Death Race, Sea Wolf, Night Driver, Sprint 2, Microchess; launch of Coleco Telstar and Fairchild Channel F Mega Man 2 (1988) 11. Strikers 1945 II and plenty more classic arcade games are available in the iiRcade library. Your email address will not be published. Dragon's Lair (1983) 34. The 1970s was the first decade in the history of the video game industry. beautiful retro-futuristic cabinet design, written by school student Jim Storer in the weeks following the Apollo 11 mission. Consoles of the 1970s[edit] First-generation consoles (1972-1979)[edit] Main article: First generation of video game consoles Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time is nearly a perfect beat-'em-up game, simple enough for younger players to enjoy alongside older kids and adults. There were two versions of the game: a 1974 FMV arcade game, and later a 1984 NES game developed by Intelligent Systems; the latter uses the NES Zapper to draw, aim and shoot the opponent. Or you might just get a free toaster. The objective of the game is to fly a small ship around in asteroid field. Included as much for its beautiful retro-futuristic cabinet design as the game itself, Computer Space was the first commercially available video arcade game, built by Atari founders Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney a year before the arrival of the much more successful Pong. If your local arcade had Metal Slug on that marquee, you knew it was going to be a good day. Armed with only a lance and a flying ostrich, players focus on defeating hordes of buzzard-riding knights while avoiding an indestructible pterodactyl in Joust. The key to success is understanding how to control this momentum, and the inertia allows you to shoot in one direction while your ship is moving in another. Pong rights that wrong the following year, and a phenomenon is born. Thank you. The iconic four turtles all play differently, and you're sure to have a favorite like the party animal Michelangelo or the objectively superior Donatello. Super Bug is one of the first games to feature a car driving, or racing-type game. Although the game was popular with students, it was deleted from the school mainframe at the end of the semester. Over the course of the next year or so, other national newspapers like The New York Times wrote similar hit pieces. A four-player sports game released by UPL in 1975; it features several different sports including tennis, hockey, football, and volleyball. You simply press the button and hold it down until you wanted the boy to release the darts.you would take turns. Its sequel is better known--and rightfully so--but Galaxian is no slouch in its own right. The gremlins would let out an audible screech after being hit, and they would leave behind a cross to mark their apparent grave. Among the first games to feature human v human combat, it was almost as influential as designer Tomohiro Nishikados later project, Space Invaders. First-person battles are difficult to nail, but Atari did it with both the original game and its sequel, and there's something charming about seeing the little technical tricks the developers had to use to make such a high-tech experience with such decidedly low-tech tools. You play as a starship pilot protecting airspace against the invading alien Zylon fleet. When the game was ported to the Atari 2600 in 1980, it moved over two million in its first year and effectively quadrupled the systems sales. Racing against other cars is fun, but Crazy Taxi offered a new spin on driving. Golden age of arcade video games (19781979), Notable video game franchises established in the 1970s, "In Blast From the Past, Atari Video Games Plan a Return", "Video Killed the Electromechanical Star", "Eighteen: A Hole in the Desert [19821983]", "Total share: 30 years of personal computer market share figures", "Total Share: Personal Computer Market Share 1975-2010", "The Untold Story Of The Invention Of The Game Cartridge", "Moderators of the Diffusion of Technological Innovation: Growth of the Japanese PC Industry", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1970s_in_video_games&oldid=1150102395. The music consisted of four descending bass notes repeating in a loop, but the pace increased as enemies approached and it almost felt like a heartbeat. Anyone have any idea what game it was that I played back in 72? The 1970s were not the best decade. Jerks, that's who, and they don't get to play Frogger when we start dumping quarters into the cabinet. (William Higinbothams Tennis for Two was demonstrated on an oscilloscope screen at a technology exhibition way back in 1958!)