Arcade games history 1980's-1990's

Jon King
The Arcade games history
1980-2000

At the beginning of the eighties the arcade games industry saw the release of some of the most influential and popular arcade titles of all time.
The first game that I looked at, even though it was prior to the eighties, was “Space Invaders”, the reason being that it was this game that started the “Golden Age” of arcade games, Space Invaders was said to be the first blockbuster Video Arcade Game. The game was made by Taito in Japan and was such a success there that the Japanese thought there might be a shortage of 100 Yen coins! Midway Games were the lucky licensee in America and quickly rolled their version off the production line. Six thousand machines later and America was saying “Pong who?” The game play itself consisted of one spaceship and three barricades above it, with a marching army of aliens above that. The idea was to shoot all of the approaching aliens before they reached the ground, it was that simple. The game was highly addictive and established the concept of the high score.
The success of this game sparked off a number of similar games such as “Galaxian” which was another title by Midway. This game however was the first game to have full colour. Atari hit back with its version “Missile Command” in 1980. Very similar to Space Invaders in this game the player had to stop three cities on the ground being blow up while missiles would rain down from above. The targeting system was different from other games as it was cursor based. The flaw in this game was that there was a limited number of rockets that you could fire before your bases ran out, meaning the missiles would strike your bases and you would see the words “The End”.
The next Arcade Game that I looked at is “Pac-Man”. This game was released in 1980 by Midway Games and was the most successful Arcade title of all time. After sweeping through Japan, Midway Games did the same kind of deal that brought “Space Invaders” to America with “Pac-Man”. Very quickly the game had the whole country saying “wokka-wokka-wokka”, just like the main character in the game did. The game consisted of Pac-Man, your main character and four ghosts, the idea was to eat all of the dots scattered around the maze before the ghosts could get you. The general public loved this game even declaring an official Pac-Man day off, in some towns. This game was proof that Arcade Games had finally gone mainstream, there were spin off board games and cartoon shows. Midway sold a staggering 99,000 machines, so 8 years after losing out to Atari, when it had the opportunity to manufacture the Arcade smash “Pong”, Midway had finally had its day.
In 1981 “Nintendo” released a game called “Donkey Kong”. It was in this game that saw the first appearance of the famous character “Mario”, then known as “Jumpman”. This would prove to be a milestone for “Nintendo” as “Mario” would become “Nintendo’s” main mascot and face of their company. It wasn’t until 1983 that “Mario” and “Luigi’s” characters were acknowledged in the world of the arcades, with the release of “Super Mario bros”. Mario and his younger brother Luigi are portrayed as Italian-American plumbers, who have to defeat creatures that have been coming from the sewers below New York.
It was in the same year that the famous North American crash occurred. This was due to an oversaturated market, a decline in quality, and the competition of Commodore, PC and Apple computers. Atari puts an end to the Atari 2600, after which Coleco and Mattel exit the video game business, and numerous game related companies go bankrupt. The home computer was taking over from the second generation consoles.
At the same time as the release of “Super Mario bros” in the arcade, “Nintendo” were releasing their “NES” console and the same game “Super Mario bros” was packaged with it. However In 1985, the North American video game console market was revived with Nintendo’s release of its 8-bit console, the Famicom, known outside Asia as the “NES”. It was released with the “Mario Bros” game and instantly became a success. The NES dominated the North American and the Japanese market until the rise of the next generation of consoles in the early 1990s. If the console had been released at the same time as it was in Japan, two years earlier, maybe the crash could have been avoided.
In 1985 the “NES’s” main rival “Sega” released its answer to the “NES”, it was the “Sega mark III”. The “Mark III” was launched in Japan in 1985 but was redesigned and re-launched in 1987. The new model was marketed as the “Master system” and was the fourth model in its development, but not the last.
By 1988, Nintendo commanded 83% of the North American video game market share and due to this the rights to the Master System in North America were sold to a company called “Tonka”. In 1990 “Sega” was having success in other areas and decided to take back their rights from “Tonka” in order to again redevelop the “Master system”. The new look console was to ditch several of its predecessors attributes in order to remain cost effective and to become easier on the eye. The new system was sleeker and more modern looking but lacked a reset button. It however came with a game built it, it was “Alex the kid in miracle world” and was developed to try to swing favor back in “Sega’s” direction, as “Mario” was taking the market by storm. The new system was heavily marketed in North America, but the sales finally ceased in 1992, having failed to have taken the top spot in the market.
It wasn’t until the arrival of a famous hedgehog called “Sonic” that Sega’s fortunes were to change. After the failure of “Alex the kid” as the new mascot of “Sega”, they released a game called “Sonic the Hedgehog” with the hope of “Sonic” becoming popular enough to topple “Mario”. By 1990 the fourth generation of consoles was under way with Sega’s next development the “Mega Drive”. This console had far superior graphics and sound to that of the “NES” and quickly became popular throughout the world. Except for in Japan where the “Mega Drive” was largely ignored.
Shortly after the release of the “Mega Drive” came the inevitable launch of Nintendo’s next edition the “Super Nintendo entertainment system” or “SNES”. This new system was the next step in the console war between Sega and Nintendo. Both of the two companies released versions of their mascot games and both were successful. However Nintendo seemed to keep the edge on their rivals after a few years of an even share of the spoils.
The release of these two consoles was probably the final nail in the coffin for the Arcade games industry as people were able to buy the games that were being played in the arcades and play them in the comfort of their own homes and for as long as they wanted without putting another coin in.
There were several good games released by both companies which included “Sonic the Hedgehog”, “Super Mario world”, “Road Rash”, “Super Bomberman”, “Street Fighter”, “Mortal Combat”, “Micro machines”, “Fifa Football” and many more.
The next and final generation for this period of time is the fifth generation. Now the fifth generation saw several changes in the console wars and a new giant appear on the scene. While Sega and Nintendo released the “Sega Saturn” and the “N64” respectfully, there was a new player on the block. This was “Sony” and their platform was the “Play Station 1”. After the Saturn’s release and a succession of poor games, with only a handful of more memorable ones Sega soon ditched the Saturn. However three of its games did have massive success in the arcades. They were “Virtual Fighter”, “Sega rally” and “Daytona USA”. These games did do exceptional well, with “Daytona USA” becoming the most profitable arcade game ever.
The difference with this generation of consoles and games was the use of 3d graphics, which was to change the industry forever. The first game to fully use 3d graphics was another game on the Saturn, a successful one too, it was “Quake”. This game was a first person shooter game and it was released on the 22nd June 1996. The game engine developed for Quake, the Quake engine, popularized several major advances in the 3D game genre. There were polygonal models instead of prerendered sprites, full 3D level design instead of a 2.5D map, prerendered lightmaps, and allowing end users to partially program the game (in this case with QuakeC), which popularized fan-created modifications. Not only was Quake utilising 3D graphics but its online multiplayer gaming was revolutionary. Several computers would connect to a server and people would play against each other, in various different styles of gameplay. The N64 meanwhile had a game called “Golden Eye 007” and again this game was a massive success, however this console also didn’t do very well. Sega was to try once more by releasing the “dream cast” in 1999 but it too soon failed and Sega later announced it was dipping out of the hardware market, 23 January 2001, in order to pursue software development instead.
The release of the “PlayStation” worldwide in 1995 was the probable cause of the downfall of its competitors. It quickly became the first video games console to sell over 100 million units worldwide and stayed in production for around eleven years. The range of games and the power of its graphics and sound were far superior to any of its rivals. The PlayStations games like its rival, the Saturn and Dreamcast, came on CD’s and it had a portable memory card. Its best selling game surprisingly enough was “Grand Turismo”, which sold over ten million copies. However like its predecessors it too needed a mascot and this came in the form of “Lara Croft” in the game “Tomb Raider”. Tomb Raider video games have together sold over 35 million units, making it one of the bestselling video games series of all time. The Play Station stayed at the top for the next few years until the launch of the “Xbox” it had no real rivals.