Timeline of arcade game history
Encyclopedia : T : TI : TIM : Timeline of arcade game history
This article contains a timeline of notable events in the history of arcade gaming:
Contents
1971
- Computer Space, the first ever coin-operated arcade video game, is released by Nutting Associates.
1972
1975
- Midway releases Gun Fight, the first arcade video game to use a microprocessor - a game whose original incarnation was released in Japan by Taito and did not use a microprocessor.
1976
- Atari releases Night Driver, the earliest example of a first-person perspective racing game.
1978
- Taito releases Space Invaders, the game that started the Golden Age of Arcade Games.
1979
- Namco releases Galaxian, the first true colour arcade game.
1980
- Namco releases Pac-Man, which is their biggest-selling game of all time. They also release King and Balloon, which is the first game to feature synthesized voices.
- DECO releases DECO Cassette System, the first standardized arcade platform, for which many games were made.
1981
- Nintendo releases Donkey Kong, which was the first platform game. It was also the game that introduced Mario to the video game world.
1982
- Moon Patrol was created by Irem and released in the U.S. by Williams, the first game to use parallax scrolling.
- Namco releases Pole Position, one of the most popular racing games of all time.
1983
- I, Robot, the first commercially produced 3D-polygonal game is released.
1984
- 16-bit processors are used in arcade machines for the first time, resulting in much more detailed and faster graphics:
Marble Madness and Paperboy are released by Atari Games.
1985
- Gauntlet is released by Atari Games
- Space Harrier is released by Sega
1986
- Sega releases Out Run.
1987
- Namco releases Yokai Douchuuki. It was the first game to use 16-bit graphics.
1988
- Reikai Doushi, by Home Data is released, the first digitized fighting game and the first claymation fighting game.#
- Namco releases Ordyne, which was allegedly the first game to make use of sprite scaling and massive sprite rotation. They also release Splatterhouse, which was the first game to get a parental advisory disclaimer.
1989
- Namco releases Blast Off, which is the game that features one of the most popular and well-known Engrish phrases ever created: "To push start only 1 player button".
- Exterminator, the first game with fully digitized graphics, is released. It will have the highest quality digitized graphics until the release of Mortal Kombat II.
1991
- Capcom releases Street Fighter II, revolutionizing competitive play in the arcade setting.
1992
- Mortal Kombat is realeased, it featured blood and fatality
1993
- Mortal Kombat II is released, featuring high quality digitized graphics, and the most advanced sound system in arcades at the time, the DCS sound system which allowed for MP3 style compression to all sounds.
1994
- Killer Instinct is released, the first arcade game with a hard disk, up to that point the game with the highest quality graphics pre-rendered by a rendering program, featuring to this day the highest quality use of the movie background technique.
1998
- Konami releases Dance Dance Revolution, an arcade game with four arrow pads that the players used to "dance." This game would create many sequels and spin-offs.
1999
- Rush 2049 is released, the last arcade game to bear the Atari Games logo. Atari Games in Milpitas is renamed Midway Games West, and closes it's coin-op product development division.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.