This is an update & re-write of an original article that was published on ArcadeHeroes.com on June 27th, 2012 entitled ‘40 Years Of Arcade Games’. You can still read that post here: http://arcadeheroes.com/2012/06/27/ 40-years-of-arcade-games/

 

In last month’s issue, I tackled most of a decade’s worth of arcade titles, covering the groovy 70s as we went from Computer Space & Pong to Space Invaders and Galaxian.

Moving on through history, that means the next stop on our journey is through the most beloved decade in video games (for many of us) – the 1980s. The mere mention of that period in time and you likely have instant memories of the era, as do I. It was a great time to be alive with even better video games to enjoy. Arcades were truly at their height at this time, particularly during the years of 1981 & 1982. But even after the “Great Crash” that affected the market during 1983-84, home gaming devices still carried a strong envy of arcade titles, always trying to pass themselves off as an “arcade machine at home.”

Due to space constraints and the fact that the 80s were jam packed with radical releases, this article will be Part 1, covering 1980-83. Like last time, we’ll go by year and work our way through there. The focus is on titles that were released which were significant in some form or function occa- sionally mentioning an obscure title if it did something innovative. Certainly there will be games missed as we only have so much space & these few years saw an unprec- edented number of new games released.

1980 is our starting point, initiat- ing the first full decade of video arcade goodness. We can thank the games of the 70s for providing the ‘fuel’ that would make this year a startling one for growth and significant new games that would become timeless classics. Read the rest of this article on page 40 by clicking here! 

 

 

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