1980s in video gaming

The most important data for the computer and video game story of 1980 until 1989.

• 2.1 Online Games

• 3.1 Important Companies

Platforms

Arcade games

Arcade games were, especially graphically, often much more powerful than other platforms. Many games had there their origin and appeared usually somewhat later on consoles and home computers. The golden era of arcade games lasted until the mid-80s. From 1984, partially 16 -bit processors were used. The most important games are in the book below.

Consoles

In the 1980s, many game consoles appeared, mostly in the 8- bit architecture. Particularly widespread the Nintendo Entertainment System / NES were (1986 in Germany ) and the Sega Master System (1987 ) with the series and game characters their own. The earliest machines with 16- bit technology (4th generation ) published in 1987, in Germany in 1990. Moreover, the earlier consoles, especially the Atari 2600 were widespread. The following is a chronicle of the major consoles:

• ColecoVision (1982 ), 2nd generation
• Atari 5200 (1982)
• Nintendo Famicom (1983 Japan) / Nintendo Entertainment System (1986 Germany ), 3rd generation
• Sega Master System (1987 )
• PC Engine / TurboGrafx 16 (1987 ), 4th Generation ( 8 -bit processor, some 16 -bit Features )
• Sega Mega Drive ( 1988) 16-bit
• Nintendo Super Nintendo Entertainment System / SNES (1989 )

Handheld consoles

• Nintendo Game & Watch (1980 ), LCD game
• Atari Lynx (1989 ) 8 Bit
• Nintendo Game Boy (1989, Germany in 1990) 8 Bit

Home computer

• Commodore VIC-20 (1980 )
• Texas Instruments TI-99/4A (1981 )
• Sinclair ZX81 (1981) simple model, s / w, membrane keyboard
• Sinclair ZX Spectrum (1982 )
• Commodore 64 / C64 (1982 ), the most successful home computer
• Atari XL (1982 ) 8- bit
• Apple IIe (1983)
• MSX (1983 ), hardly used in Germany
• Amstrad CPC / Amstrad CPC (1984 )
• Atari ST ( 1985) 16- bit
• Commodore 128 (1985), less successful games mostly in C64 mode
• Commodore Amiga (1985 ) 16/32-bit, very successful

PC

• IBM-PC (1981)
• IBM PC / XT (1983 )
• IBM PC Jr. (1983 )
• IBM PC / AT (1984)

DOS games were mainly in the 80s played on PCs. Windows games contact only with the version 3 by starting in 1990.

Popular genres of time

Existent in the 1980s were almost all, today known genres. Were particularly widespread, still the one hand simple game Prinzipe as shoot ' em ups, action games, sports and racing games, as well as extensive simulations., With the added jump 'n ' runs and beat ' em ups. Many classics of this time are still popular today as retro game.

Online Games

Simple text-based games by mailbox (BBS ) and Multi -User Dungeons ( MUDs ) were early representatives of the online games. Later, there were also special online services.

Important developers

• Scott Adams (Adventure games )
• Ken Williams
• David Braben, Elite Game
• Rob Fulop (Atari )
• Will Wright, SimCity

Many games have been published by major publishers; individual developers fell into the background. Extensive games often emerged in larger teams.

Major Companies

The game consoles Nintendo and Sega dominated together; Home computers Commodore was leading by the C64 and Amiga models. PC Games ( DOS Games ) sat down slowly by, on the one hand by the high cost and limited by the first hardware properties. Until 1984 there was the 16-color EGA standard sound cards were later mostly retrofitted.

In the Arcade area, there were numerous companies, including Atari continues, Konami, Taito, Sega, Nintendo, and Namco, and Capcom Data East.

Software companies emerged and disappeared in high numbers, or were taken over. Of 1983 in the United States to the collapse of the market, the video game crash. Known publishers were in addition to the above example, Acclaim, Accolade, Activision, bug byte, Epyx, Sierra On-Line and Ubisoft.

Disk / costs

Arcade games cost at that time in Germany is usually a DM per game and players, but the stand could set level of difficulty and number of "life." Outside Germany, the costs were often lower.

The home computers Cartridges and compact cassettes were first the usual disk. 1982/1983 cost commercial games for home computers up to 89 DM for consoles between 70 and 140 DM Alternatively games themselves were programmed or typed program prints from books or magazines. In the mid- 80s, the spread of the devices increased sharply and appeared the first 5.25 " floppy drives, the price of games declined to about 50-60 DM and were usually much more demanding. Prices for blank media dropped dramatically and there were many Black copies. Towards the end of the decade, 3.5 -inch floppy spread (Amiga and partly for the PC ) and a game usually cost up to 89 DM (Amiga) and DM 119 (PC), while the game was often on multiple floppy disks distributed, partly out of 10 despite compression. console games were much cheaper and had often fixed prices.

Chronicle / most important games of the decade

• Pac -Man ( 1980)
• Defender (1980 ), first game with scrolling
• Battlezone (1980 ), first game with first-person
• Centipede ( 1980)
• Donkey Kong (1981 ), First Jump ' n' Run
• Frogger (1981 )
• Q * bert (1982 )
• Pole Position (1982 ), successful and first modern racing game
• Track & Field ( 1983)
• Tetris ( 1985)
• Double Dragon (1987 )
• SimCity (1989 )

Other widespread games, some were just on different platforms:

• Ultima (1980 ), role play on Apple II
• Microsoft Flight Simulator ( 1982), Flight Simulator for PC
• Elite ( 1984), simulation game on the BBC Micro
• Super Mario Bros. (1985 ), Jump ' n' Run on Famicom / NES
• The Legend of Zelda (1986 ), action-adventure on NES
• The Great Giana Sisters ( 1987), Jump ' n' Run on C64, inter alia,
• Defender of the Crown (1987 ), Strategy Game on Amiga, among others
• Ports of Call (1987) trading simulation on Amiga

Other innovative, some lesser known titles were:

• Mystery House (1980 ), the first text adventure with graphics
• Space Panic ( 1980), the first platform game, forerunner of Jump ' n' Runs
• 3D Monster Maze (1981 ), the first 3D game for home computers
• Moon Patrol ( 1982), first game with parallax scrolling
• Dragon's Lair (1983 ), first known laserdisc game
• Ant Attack (1983 ), the first 3D game with freedom of movement
• I, Robot (1983 ), the first commercial game with 3D polygons
• Karate Champ (1984 ), first fighting game with a side view
• Little Computer People (1985 ), first life simulation
• Out Run (1986 ), first game with force feedback ( force feedback )

Despite copy black copies were widely used in the 80s.