Summary
Undoubtedly one of the most important eras of video games, the 1980s were filled to the brim with strife and change for the industry. It saw the home console market die, then explode again, and saw the emergence of many oftoday’s most prominent franchises. Franchises likeSuper Mario Bros.,Metal Gear,Final Fantasy,andThe Legend of Zeldaall took their first steps, ushering in a new generation with gusto.
The ’80s were a time of massive technological innovations and the gaming industry was able to benefit, parlaying those into a decade that featured failure and success all in one go. Whether it was the rapid ascent of computer gaming, the beginning of the end of the Arcade Golden Age, or the explosion of home consoles, the ’80s was an era packed with events that are still being felt to this day.
6The 1983 Video Game Crash Nearly Killed The Industry
An Oversaturated Market Collapses And Nearly Kills Video Games
By the early 1980s, the video game industry wasn’t just a little fun hobby. It was no longer just a fad, but an obsession that was taking hold of the world. But as the old saying goes, the industry was perhaps too much of a good thing. Through over-saturation and a deluge of poor, low-quality titles, the industry started to inflate to the point where the only thing it could do was burst.
Games likeE.T.and a historically bad home conversion ofPac-Manon the Atari 2600, as well as looming threats from PC gaming, meant thatthe home console market went up in smoke.Though it would eventually recover thanks to the likes of Nintendo and Sega, this historic moment essentially created the industry as it exists today.
Nintendo Entertainment System
Before the video game crash of 1983, the United States had a dominant hold on the home console market. Prior to entering the video game industry, Nintendo manufactured playing cards and toys, before releasing the Color TV-Game in 1977. In the wake of the crash, the Japanese giant pounced andlaunched the Nintendo Entertainment System,and with it a gamecalledSuper Mario Bros.,in 1985.
The balance of power in the home console scene shifted, as Japan took a stranglehold on the market. It allowed Nintendo to form long-lasting relationships with companies like Squaresoft, Konami and SNK in order to carve out a historic place in the industry moving forward.
4Sega Enters Into A Bitter Rivalry With Nintendo
Sega Declares War For Home Console Domination
After dominating in the arcades during the ’70s and ’80s with titles likeZaxxonand games based onStar Trek,Sega entered into the home console marketwith the Master System in 1985. Its successor, known as the Genesis, was directly competing with the Super Nintendo and started a long, protracted war between the two companies.
This 16-bit battleground was a vicious battle between mascots Mario and Sonic, as the two icons spearheaded a long conflict that lasted for almost 10 years. This push for perfection from the two companies wound up benefiting the fans the most, as it led to the creation of some of thegreatest games of all time.
3The PC Gaming Scene Explodes
A Burgeoning PC Market Ascends To New Heights
While Nintendo and Sega had control of the home console scene in the US and Japan following the crash of 1983, the PC market was more or less unaffected by it. As the console market was recovering from its nearly fatal wounds, the launch of machines like the Amiga and MSX2, as well as the IBM Personal Computer,allowed PC gaming to flourish.
Thanks to DOS, the Disk Operating System that powered many popular games of the time, and its successor MS-DOS, PC gaming was on a rocket that showed no signs of slowing down. Over the decade, PC gaming began to stop competing directly with consoles and carved outits own unique marketplace.
2The Golden Age Of Arcades Comes To An End
A Run Of Low-Effort Copycat Games Marked The End Of Arcade Dominance
Gaming has a reputation for being very communal, but no aspect of the industry demonstrates that more than the arcade. Beginning in the 1970s, arcades experienced a surge in popularity due to games likeSpace Invaders,Pac-Man,Donkey Kong,andJoust. Many of thesegames defined arcadesand the culture surrounding them, as they became a place for kids and teenagers to come together.
As the 1980s started to grow weary of the number of clones and lack of innovation that was plaguing the arcade scene,this unique side of the industry started to wane in popularity.The Golden Age that had permeated arcades suffered a slow death, one punctuated by the rebirth of home consoles in the 1980s. It ultimately led the way for what arcades would become in the 1990s and beyond.
Nintendo Game Boy
Video games were already the epicenter of innovation during the 1980s but were still limited to two play spaces. Players were either at home or in an arcade. Nintendo sought to change all of that and create an entirely new and fascinating way to play games.They launched the Game Boy in 1989,creating an obsession that would dominate the next decade and beyond.
The Game Boy was created by a team lead by Gunpei Yokoi and a team that had previously developed the Game & Watch line of systems, but this was something different. Boasting a fantastic launch library that consisted of the likes ofTetrisandSuper Mario Land, the Game Boy would inspire numerous copycats and become an essential part ofthe industry moving forward.
