1978 in video games
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Events
- Consumer-oriented video game journalism begins with the golden age of arcade video games, soon after the success of Space Invaders, leading to hundreds of favourable articles and stories about the emerging video game medium being aired on television and printed in newspapers and magazines.[1]
- In North America, the first regular consumer-oriented column about video games, "Arcade Alley" in Video magazine, is penned by Bill Kunkel, Arnie Katz, and Joyce Worley.[2]
Business
- New companies: Automated Simulations (later Epyx), Koei, Muse, Supersoft, Synergistic, U.S. Games.
- The American arcade game market earns a revenue of $1 billion[3] (equivalent to $3.92 billion in 2020).
- The American home video game market is worth $200 million.[4]
Notable releases
Games
- Arcade
- June – Taito releases Space Invaders in Japan. The worldwide success of Space Invaders marks the beginning of the golden age of arcade video games. It sets the template for the fixed shooter genre[5] and influences most subsequent shooters.[6]
- October – Midway gives Space Invaders a wide release in North America.
- October – Namco releases their first arcade video game, Gee Bee, in Japan.
- Atari, Inc. popularizes the trackball controller with Football.
- Atari, Inc. releases Super Breakout, the multi-directionall scrolling game Fire Truck, Canyon Bomber, and Avalanche. Avalanche later inspires Activision's Kaboom!
- Konami Corporation releases their first arcade video game, Block Game.
- Nintendo releases their first arcade video game, Computer Othello.
- Computer
- The book BASIC Computer Games, microcomputer edition, is released.
Hardware
- Computer
- Elektor releases the TV Games Computer.
- Console
- December – Magnavox launches the Odyssey².
- APF Electronics releases the APF-M1000.
- Bally/Midway releases the Bally Professional Arcade.
- Entreprex releases the Apollo 2001.
- Interton releases the VC 4000.
References
- "Players Guide To Electronic Science Fiction Games". Electronic Games. 1 (2): 35–45 [36]. March 1982. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
- Kohler, Chris (September 6, 2011). "Bill Kunkel, Original Gaming Journalist, Dies at 61". Wired. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- https://web.archive.org/web/20071222225649/http://www.replaymag.com/history.htm
- Yuko Aoyama & Hiro Izushi (2003), Hardware gimmick or cultural innovation? Technological, cultural, and social foundations of the Japanese video game industry Archived March 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Research Policy 32: 423-44
- "Essential 50: Space Invaders". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- Edwards, Benj. "Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Space Invaders". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
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