were as well known to children as were cartoon characters,
and indeed, several such characters made the transition
from games to cartoon series.
In video games, a player is usually rewarded for con-
tinued success at the game through such mecha-
nisms as points, additional lives, and level advance-
ments. Video games of the 1980’s could be played on
a variety of platforms, including consoles (which
were attached to televisions), handheld devices,
personal computers, and dedicated, coin-operated
game machines. Home computing technology dur-
ing the decade was not yet sophisticated enough to
emulate the graphics of coin-operated machines,
however, so the most graphically advanced games
were generally those available in arcades.
History In 1980, Atari released its home version of
the arcade video gameSpace Invadersas a car-
tridge for the Atari 2600 game console. The car-
tridge allowed fans of the game to play it for a
one-time fee and in the privacy of their own
homes. The same year, Mattel released its com-
peting Intellivision game console. Consumers
flocked to buy these and similar systems. Coin-
operated arcade game technology did not cease
in the meantime—Pac-Man, the most popular
arcade game of all time, was released in 1980 as
well. Advances in video game technology would
continue at a rapid pace with the release ofDon-
key KongandTempestin 1981. In 1982, Coleco re-
leased the Colecovision game console, which—
with forty-eight kilobytes of random-access mem-
ory (RAM) and an eight-bit processor—was the
most powerful home system available. Manufac-
turers flocked increasingly to the thriving home
video game market, with predictable results.
The American market for home game sys-
tems became oversupplied, and it crashed in
- The crash drove out of business many of
the third-party game manufacturers (that is, in-
dependent manufacturers of game cartridges to
be played on other companies’ consoles). The
newly burgeoning video game industry col-
lapsed and was stagnant for the next several
years, with manufacturers afraid that any at-
tempts to innovate would be met with further
losses. In 1985, Nintendo gingerly test-marketed
its Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in
the United States and found that its limited re-
lease was a rousing success.
In the same year, Russian game writer Alex
Pajitnov released one of the most popular puzzle
games of all time,Tetris, leading more and more peo-
ple to the world of casual video games. Within the
next few years, demand for console systems grew,
and newly emboldened Nintendo, Sega, and Atari
emerged as video game industry leaders, vying for
market position. Nintendo was responsible for such
games asSuper Mario BrothersandThe Legend of Zelda,
as well as the translation to its console platform of
many coin-operated games by the popular and inno-
vative company Namco, such asDig DugandGalaga.
In 1989, Nintendo released the Game Boy, a hand-
held video game console.Impact The video game industry began to come
into its own during the 1980’s, first as a source ofThe Eighties in America Video games and arcades 1021
Kids play coin-operated video games in an arcade in New York City in
December, 1981.(AP/Wide World Photos)