1970s in video games

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.

1960s . 1970s in video games . 1980s
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1976 flyer advertising the racing game Fonz.

Notable games released in the 1970s included The Oregon Trail, Pong, Space Invaders, Asteroids, Galaxian, and Zork.

Arcade history
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), Speed Race (1974), Gun Fight (1975), Heavyweight Champ (1976), Fonz (1976), Night Driver (1976), Breakout (1976), Death Race (1976), and Space Wars (1977).

Golden age of arcade video games (1978–1979)
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).

Consoles of the 1970s

First-generation consoles (1972–1979)
Main article: First generation of video game consoles
Polistil VG2 Pong clone (1978), made in Italy

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:

  • Discrete transistor-based digital game logic.
  • Games were native components of consoles rather than based on external or removable media.
  • Entire game playfield occupies only one screen.
  • Players and objects consist of very basic lines, dots or blocks.
  • Colour graphics are basic (mostly black and white or other dichromatic combination; later games may display three or more colors).
  • Either single-channel or no audio.
  • Games had a high score based system.

Second-generation consoles (1976–1983)
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:

Notable video game franchises established in the 1970s

Arcade

Home computers and console

Notes:

  • 1 Game franchises that also accompany major film or television franchises.

Financial performance

Best-selling arcade games of the decade

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+ $4,500,000,000+ 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
USA — Sea Wolf 10,000 Un­known Un­known Dave Nutting Associates Midway Shooter [5][6][7]
1976 USA —
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 USA Video game Wheels / Wheels II (Speed Race) 10,000 Un­known Un­known Taito Midway Racing [9]
1974 USA Video game Tank 10,000 Un­known Un­known Kee Games Kee Games / Atari Maze
1973 USA Video game Pong 8,000 $11,000,000 $73,000,000 Atari, Inc. Atari, Inc. Sports [9][10]
1972 USA Video game Computer Space 200 Un­known Un­known Syzygy Engineering Nutting Associates Space combat [9]

Best-selling home systems of the decade
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]

Hardware timeline

The following gallery highlights hardware used to predominantly play games throughout the 1970s.

References
  1. "After Pong". ACE. No. 6 (March 1988). 4 February 1988. pp. 29-32 (29).
  2. Sullivan, George (1983). "The First Big Hits". Screen Play: The Story of Video Games. F. Warne. p. 38-47 (40). ISBN 978-0-7232-6251-0.
  3. "結果ベスト3" [Best 3 Results] (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 90. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 February 1978. pp. 2–3.
  4. "調査対象5年間のベスト1" [Best 1 of the 5 Years Surveyed] (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 159. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 February 1981. p. 1.
  5. "Top Arcade Games". Play Meter. November 1977.
  6. "Profit Chart". RePlay. October 1976.
  7. Steven L. Kent (2000), The first quarter: a 25-year history of video games, BWD Press, p. 83, ISBN 0-9704755-0-0, retrieved 2011-04-09, Sea Wolf, which was another creation of Dave Nutting, did solid business, selling more than 10,000 machines.)
  8. "本紙アンケー 〜 ト調査の結果" [Paper Questionnaire: Results of the Survey] (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 65. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 February 1977. pp. 2–3.
  9. Baer, Ralph H. (2005). Videogames: In the Beginning. Rolenta Press. pp. 10–3. ISBN 978-0-9643848-1-1.
  10. Barack, Lauren (8 May 2003). "In Blast From the Past, Atari Video Games Plan a Return". New York Post. p. 34. Archived from the original on 2012-05-12. Its first hit game, "Pong," launched in 1972, made $11 million in revenue in just one year.
  11. Horowitz, Ken (2020-07-30). "Video Killed the Electromechanical Star". Beyond Donkey Kong: A History of Nintendo Arcade Games. McFarland & Company. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-4766-4176-8.
  12. Rubin, Michael (2006). "Eighteen: A Hole in the Desert [1982–1983]" (PDF). Droidmaker: George Lucas and the Digital Revolution. Triad Publishing Company. pp. 291-314 (293-4). ISBN 978-0-937404-67-6.
  13. Herman, Leonard (1997). Phoenix: the fall & rise of videogames (2nd ed.). Union, NJ: Rolenta Press. p. 20. ISBN 0-9643848-2-5. Retrieved 16 February 2012. Coleco released Telstar in 1976. Like Pong, Telstar could only play video tennis but it retailed at an inexpensive $50 that made it attractive to most families that were on a budget. Coleco managed to sell over a million units that year.
  14. Reimer, Jeremy (2005-12-15). "Total share: 30 years of personal computer market share figures". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  15. Smith, Alexander (November 27, 2019). They Create Worlds: The Story of the People and Companies That Shaped the Video Game Industry. Vol. 1: 1971 – 1982. CRC Press. pp. 207–9. ISBN 978-1-138-38990-8.
  16. Edwards, Benj (January 22, 2015). "The Untold Story Of The Invention Of The Game Cartridge". Fast Company. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  17. "昔(1970年代）のテレビゲームは何台売れた？" [How many old (1970s) video games sold?]. Classic Videogame Station Odyssey (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2014-01-09. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  18. Ellis, David (2004). "Dedicated Consoles". Official Price Guide to Classic Video Games. Random House. pp. 33–36. ISBN 0-375-72038-3.
  19. West, Joel (January 1996). "Moderators of the Diffusion of Technological Innovation: Growth of the Japanese PC Industry" (PDF). Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations. University of California, Irvine. pp. 9–10. alternate url
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