1982 was the peak year for the

golden age of arcade video games The golden age of arcade video games was the period of rapid growth, technological development, and cultural influence of arcade video games from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. The release of ''Space Invaders'' in 1978 led to a wave of shoo ...

as well as the

second generation of video game consoles In the history of video games, the second-generation era refers to computer and video games, video game consoles, and handheld game console, handheld video game consoles available from 1976 to 1992. Notable Video game#Platform, platforms of the ...

. Many games were released that would spawn franchises, or at least sequels, including ''

Dig Dug is a maze arcade video game released by Namco in 1982. It was distributed in North America by Atari, Inc. The player digs underground tunnels to attack enemies in each level, by either inflating them to bursting or crushing them underneath rock ...

'', ''

Pole Position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

'', ''

Microsoft Flight Simulator ''Microsoft Flight Simulator'' is a series of Flight simulation video game, flight simulator programs for MS-DOS, Classic Mac OS, and Microsoft Windows operating systems. It was an early product in the Microsoft application portfolio and diff ...

'', '' Mr. Do!'', '' Zaxxon'', ''

Q*bert ''Q*bert'' () is a 1982 Action game, action video game developed and published by Gottlieb for Arcade video game, arcades. It is a Video game graphics, 2D action game with Puzzle video game, puzzle elements that uses Isometric video game gr ...

'', '' Time Pilot'' and ''

Pitfall! ''Pitfall!'' is a video game developed by David Crane for the Atari 2600 and released in September 1982 by Activision. The player controls Pitfall Harry, who has a time limit of 20 minutes to seek treasure in a jungle. The game world is popu ...

'' The year's highest-grossing video game was

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...

Pac-Man ''Pac-Man,'' originally called in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The pla ...

'', for the third year in a row, while the year's best-selling home system was the

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS), it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridg ...

(Atari VCS). Additional

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally ...

s added to a crowded market, notably the

ColecoVision ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision. The console offered a closer expe ...

and Atari 5200. Troubles at

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...

later in the year triggered the

video game crash of 1983 The video game crash of 1983 (known in Japan as the Atari shock) was a large-scale recession in the video game industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985 in the United States. The crash was attributed to several factors, including market saturatio ...

Financial performance

* The US

arcade video game An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-oper ...

market is worth $4.3 billion, equivalent to $ adjusted for inflation. * The US home video game market is worth $3.8 billion, equivalent to $ adjusted for inflation. * The Japanese home video game market is approaching ¥300 billion, equivalent to $ adjusted for inflation.

Highest-grossing arcade games

The highest-grossing

of 1982 was ''

'', which had accumulated a total revenue of worldwide ( adjusted for inflation) by 1982.

Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing

s of 1982, according to the annual '' Game Machine'' chart.

United States

In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1982, according to ''RePlay'' and ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' magazines and the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA). The following table lists the top-grossing titles of each month in 1982, according to the ''RePlay'' and '' Play Meter'' charts.

Best-selling home video games

The following titles were 1982's best-selling home video games.

Best-selling home systems

Events

* December 27 – '' Starcade'', a

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

, debuts on TBS in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Major awards

* ''

Electronic Games ''Electronic Games'' was the first dedicated video game magazine published in the United States and ran from October 15, 1981, to 1997 under different titles. It was co-founded by Bill Kunkel, Joyce Worley, and Arnie Katz. History The h ...

'' holds the third Arcade Awards, for games released during 1980–1981. ''

'' wins the best

award, ''

Asteroids An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

'' (

Atari VCS The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS), it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridg ...

) wins the best

console game A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connec ...

award, and ''

Star Raiders ''Star Raiders'' is a space combat simulator video game created by Doug Neubauer and published in 1980 by Atari, Inc. Originally released for the Atari 8-bit computers, Atari 400/800 computers, ''Star Raiders'' was later ported to the Atari 2 ...

'' (

Atari 8-bit computers The Atari 8-bit computers, formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System, are a series of home computers introduced by Atari, Inc., in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The architecture is designed around the 8-bit MOS Technology 650 ...

) wins the best computer game award. * ''

'' wins the Video Software Dealers Association's VSDA Award for Best Videogame.

Business

* Eidansha Boshu Service Center shortens its name to Enix and in August establishes itself as a computer game publisher. * New companies: ** Argonaut ** Artech ** Compile ** Cosmi ** Data Age ** Distinctive Software **

Dragon Data Dragon Data Ltd. was a Welsh producer of home computers during the early 1980s. These computers, the Dragon 32/64, Dragon 32 and Dragon 64, strongly resembled the Tandy Corporation, Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer ("CoCo")—both followed a standard ...

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

** English Software **

First Star Software First Star Software, Inc. was a Chappaqua, New York based video game development, publishing and licensing company, founded by Richard Spitalny (who remains the company's president), Billy Blake, Peter Jablon, and Fernando Herrera in 1982. It is ...

**Gamestar ** Imagine Software ** Llamasoft ** Lucasfilm Games **

Martech Martech was a video game publisher which operated in Pevensey Bay between 1982 and 1989. It was founded as Martech Games. The company published a number of successful video games for the BBC Micro, BBC Model B, ZX Spectrum, ZX81, MSX, Amstrad CPC, ...

MicroProse MicroProse is an American video game publisher and video game developer, developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the ''Civilization (series), Civilizat ...

** Richard Shepherd Software **

System 3 System 3, System/3 or System III may refer to: Computing and electronics *Acorn System 3, a home computer produced by Acorn Computers from 1980 *Cromemco System Three, a home computer produced by Cromemco from 1978 *IBM System/3, a low-end business ...

Ultimate Play the Game Ashby Computers and Graphics Limited, trading as Ultimate Play the Game, was a British video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher, founded in 1982, by ex-arcade video game developers Tim and Chris Stamper. Ultimate released a seri ...

** U.S. Games

Notable releases

Games

Arcade

* January –

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

releases '' Zaxxon'', which introduces isometric graphics and looks far more 3D than any other raster game at the time. * January 13 – Midway releases '' Ms. Pac-Man'' (despite it being copyrighted as 1981); it is (as the name suggests) the sequel to ''

'', but was created without

's authorization. They also release '' Baby Pac-Man'' and '' Pac-Man Plus'' without Namco's authorization later in the year; the former is a pinball/video game hybrid. * April 19 –

releases ''

'', manufactured by

in North America. * August –

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

releases '' Donkey Kong Jr.'', the sequel to ''

Donkey Kong is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo. It follows the adventures of Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong, a large, powerful gorilla, and other members of the List of Don ...

''. * August –

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, Toy, toys, arcade cabinets, and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, Vending machine, vending machines, and Juk ...

releases parallax scroller ''

Jungle Hunt is a side-scrolling platform-action game developed by Taito for arcades. It was originally distributed in 1982 as then quickly modified and re-released as ''Jungle Hunt'' following a copyright dispute over the player character's likeness t ...

''. * September 24 – Namco releases ''

'', one of the first games with

stereophonic Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...

and

quadraphonic sound Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic, also called quadrasonic or by the neologism quadio formed by analogy with "stereo"">portmanteau.html" ;"title="/nowiki>portmanteau">formed by analogy with "stereo" sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 s ...

. Featuring a pseudo-3D, third-person, rear-view perspective, it becomes the most popular

racing game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a motor racing, racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more re ...

of its time. * September –

releases maze game '' Pengo'', starring a cute penguin. * October – Namco releases '' Super Pac-Man'', the third title in the ''Pac-Man'' series. * October – Universal releases '' Mr. Do!'' solely as a conversion kit, the first game in the series. * October –

Gottlieb Gottlieb (formerly D. Gottlieb & Co.) was an American arcade game corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is best known for creating a vast line of pinball machines and arcade games (including ''Q*bert'') throughout much of the 20th century. ...

releases ''

''. * November –

Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...

releases '' Time Pilot''. * Bally/ Midway releases the ''

Tron ''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer ...

'' arcade game before the movie. *

releases ''

Gravitar ''Gravitar'' is a color vector graphics multidirectional shooter arcade video game released by Atari, Inc. in 1982. Using the same "rotate-and-thrust" controls as ''Asteroids (video game), Asteroids'' and ''Space Duel'', the game was known for ...

'' which, though extraordinarily difficult, inspires a number of gravity-based home computer games. * Williams Electronics releases ''

Joust Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants either on horse or on foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism. The term is derived from Old French , ultim ...

'', '' Robotron: 2084'', and the second game of the year with parallax scrolling, Irem's ''

Moon Patrol is a 1982 horizontally scrolling shooter developed and published by Irem as an arcade video game. It was released by Williams Electronics in North America. The player controls a lunar rover which continually drives forward through a horizont ...

''. ''Robotron'' popularizes the twin-stick control scheme for fast action games. *

Data East , also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. At one time, the company had annual sales of 20 billion yen in ...

releases '' BurgerTime''. *

releases ''

Front Line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an Military, armed force's Military personnel, personnel and Military technology, equipment, usually referring to ...

'', which creates the blueprint for mid-80s, vertically scrolling, commando games. * Electro Sport releases ''Quarter Horse'', the first Laserdisc video game. * ''

Kangaroo Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

'' is one of the first ''Donkey Kong''-inspired games to become popular in arcades. *

releases '' Reactor''.

Console

* February –

releases ''

Haunted House A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property ...

'' for the 2600, which is later considered one of the first survival horror games. * March –

version of ''

'' hits stores. * April –

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

releases ''

'', which goes on to sell 4 million copies. * May –

releases '' Yars' Revenge''. * August – Overlooked arcade games are revitalized as

launch titles, including ''

Cosmic Avenger is a scrolling shooter developed by Universal Entertainment, Universal and released as an arcade video game in July 1981. It is part of the first wave shooters with forced horizontal scrolling which followed Konami's ''Scramble (video game), Scr ...

'', '' Mouse Trap'', '' Lady Bug'', and '' Venture''. * October –

releases '' Swordquest: Earthworld'', the first title in a planned four-game contest. * December –

releases ''

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film, science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott Taylor, Elliott, a boy w ...

''. Written in five and a half weeks, it's one of the games that sparks the

. *

releases '' River Raid'', '' Megamania'', '' Barnstorming'', '' Chopper Command'', and '' Starmaster'' for the Atari 2600. ''River Raid'' becomes one of the all-time bestselling games for the system. * Starpath releases '' Dragonstomper'' (the only RPG for the Atari 2600) and '' Escape From the Mindmaster''. *

Parker Brothers Parker Brothers (known as Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. It remained family owne ...

releases '' Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back'' for the Atari 2600, which is the first ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' video game. *

Imagic Imagic ( ) was an American video game developer and publisher that created games initially for the Atari 2600. Founded in 1981 by corporate alumni of Atari, Inc. and Mattel, its best-selling titles were ''Atlantis'', '' Cosmic Ark'', and '' De ...

releases '' Demon Attack'', ''

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

'', '' Cosmic Ark'', and '' Dragonfire'' for the 2600. ''Atlantis'' sells over a million copies while ''Demon Attack'' doubles that.

Computer

* March 11 –

Infocom Infocom, Inc., was an American software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced a business application, a relational database called ''Cornerstone (software), Cornerston ...

releases their first non-Zork title, '' Deadline''. * August 24 – '' Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress'' is released. * November – ''

'' is released for the

IBM Personal Computer The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible ''de facto'' standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a ...

. It becomes a standard compatibility test for

IBM PC compatible An IBM PC compatible is any personal computer that is hardware- and software-compatible with the IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC) and its subsequent models. Like the original IBM PC, an IBM PC–compatible computer uses an x86-based central p ...

s and launches a long-running series. * Big Five Software releases the widely ported '' Miner 2049er'', a platform game with ten screens compared to the four of ''

''. *

Broderbund Broderbund Software, Inc. (stylized as Brøderbund) was an American maker of video games, educational software, and productivity tools. Broderbund is best known for the 8-bit video game hits '' Choplifter'', '' Lode Runner'', '' Karateka'', and ...

releases '' Choplifter'' for the Apple II. * Edu-Ware releases '' Prisoner 2'' for the

Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...

, and

s. * Koei releases ''History of Eastern role-playing video games#Japanese computer role-playing games, The Dragon and Princess'', the earliest known History of Eastern role-playing video games, Japanese RPG, for

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

's PC-8001 home computer platform.
Translation
It is an early example of tactical turn-based combat in the RPG genre. * Koei releases '' Night Life'', the first erotic computer game (

Eroge An ''eroge'' (, ''eroge'', or , ''erogē'', ), also called an H-game, is a Japanese genre of erotic video game. The term encompasses a wide variety of Japanese games containing erotic content across multiple genres. The first ''eroge'' were crea ...

).Retro Japanese Computers: Gaming's Final Frontier
Hardcore Gaming 101, reprinted from ''

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering Retrogaming, retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' ...

'', Issue 67, 2009 The company also released the erotic title, , which was an early

role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing ...

adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...

with color graphics, owing to the eight-color palette of the PC-8001 computer. It became a hit, helping Koei become a major software company. *

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966, which distributes music, films, home video, and video games. It is affiliated with the Japanese media group Fujisankei Communications Group. Pony Canyo ...

releases ''Spy Daisakusen'', another early Japanese RPG. Based on the '' Mission: Impossible'' franchise, it replaces the traditional

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

setting with a modern

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

setting. *

Sir-Tech Sir-Tech Software, Inc. was a video game developer and video game publisher, publisher based in the United States and Canada. History In fall 1979, Sirotech Software was founded by Norman Sirotek, Robert Sirotek and Robert Woodhead. Sirotech Soft ...

releases '' Wizardry II: The Knight of Diamonds'', the second scenario in the ''

Wizardry Wizardry may refer to: * ''Wizardry'' (video game series), role-playing video game series, originally published by Sir-Tech ** '' Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord'', the first game of the series, released in 1981 * ''Wizardry'' (The ...

'' series. * Sierra On-Line releases ''

Time Zone A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, Commerce, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between Country, countries and their Administrative division, subdivisions instead of ...

'' for the

. Written and directed by Roberta Williams, the graphical adventure game shipped with 6 double-sided floppy disks and cost US$99. * Synapse Software, Synapse releases ''Necromancer (video game), Necromancer'' and ''Shamus (video game), Shamus'' for the

. * Hiroyuki Imabayashi's Sokoban is released for the PC-88 and becomes an oft-cloned puzzle game concept. *

Datamost Datamost was an American computer book publisher and computer game company founded by David Gordon and based in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, Chatsworth, California. Datamost operated in the early 1980s producing games and other software mainly for th ...

releases the action/adventure game ''

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

'' for the Apple II. * '' The Arcade Machine'' from Broderbund is one of the first general-purpose game creation kits.

Hardware

Arcade

* January – Sega releases the Sega Zaxxon, an

arcade system board An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-opera ...

that introduces isometric graphics. * September – Namco releases the Namco Pole Position, the first arcade system board to use

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two ...

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor (computing), processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, a ...

s, with two Zilog Z8002 processors. It is capable of pseudo-3D, sprite-scaling, and displays up to 3840

colors Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorpt ...

Console

* May – Emerson releases the Arcadia 2001. * August – Starpath releases the Starpath Supercharger add-on for the

* August –

Coleco Coleco Industries, Inc. ( ) was an American company founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg as The Connecticut Leather Company. The name "COLECO" is an abbreviation derived from the company's original name which combines the first two letters of "C ...

launches

in North America, the first console with versions of ''

'' and Sega's isometric '' Zaxxon''. * November – General Consumer Electronics releases the Vectrex with built-in vector monitor. * November – Atari renames the venerable Atari Video Computer System to the Atari 2600. * Atari releases the Atari 5200, a console based on the hardware of

with analog joysticks and no keyboard. * Entex releases the Adventure Vision tabletop console.

Computer

* July – Timex Sinclair releases a modified

ZX81 The ZX81 is a home computer that was produced by Sinclair Research and manufactured in Dundee, Scotland, by Timex Corporation. It was launched in the United Kingdom in March 1981 as the successor to Sinclair's ZX80 and designed to be a low-c ...

in the US as the TS1000. It's the first sub-$100 home computer. *

Commodore Business Machines Commodore International Corporation was a home computer and electronics manufacturer with its head office in The Bahamas and its executive office in the United States founded in 1976 by Jack Tramiel and Irving Gould. It was the successor comp ...

releases the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

home computer, which would become one of the best-selling computers of all time. *

releases the NEC PC-98, which would become the Japanese market leader and one of the best-selling computers of all time. It is released as the APC overseas. * Sharp releases the X1. *

Sinclair Research Sinclair Research Ltd is a British consumer electronics company founded by Clive Sinclair in Cambridge in the 1970s. In 1980, the company entered the home computer market with the ZX80 at £99.95, at that time the cheapest personal computer ...

releases the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

home computer, which would become Britain's best-selling computer. *

, initially a subsidiary of Mettoy, releases the Dragon 32 home microcomputer.

Notes

References

{{History of video games Video games by year

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games

Japan

United States

Best-selling home video games

Best-selling home systems

Events

Major awards

Business

Notable releases

Games

Arcade

Console

Computer

Hardware

Arcade

Console

Computer

See also

Notes

References