History of video games 1970–1979
The following is the most important data on computer and video game history from 1970 to 1979 .
Platforms
In the 1970s, games on mainframe computers continued to appear , arcade games were added from 1971 , the first hard-wired game consoles from 1972 (especially Pong telegames), and from 1977 home computers . Game consoles with interchangeable game modules prevail mainly towards the end of the 1970s, home computers not until the beginning of the 1980s because of the still high prices. There were also electronic toys and portable handheld consoles (from 1979). Microprocessors (8-bit) were only used gradually.
Arcade games
See the history of the games below.
Consoles
The first game console, the Magnavox Odyssey by Ralph Baer , appeared in 1972. Other important consoles were for example
- Magnavox Odyssey (1972)
- Atari Pong (1972) (and successor, as well as derivatives)
- Coleco Telstar (1976)
- Fairchild Channel F (1976, 2nd generation of consoles )
- Atari 2600 (1977, most successful console)
- Interton VC4000 (1978, only German console)
- Philips G7000 (1978) (marketed in USA as Odyssey²)
- Intellivision (1979)
Handheld console
- Microvision by Milton Bradley (1979)
Home computers
- Apple II (1977)
- Tandy TRS-80 Model 1 (1977)
- Commodore PET 2001 (1977)
- Atari 400 (1979)
Popular genres of the time
In the 1970s, on the one hand, simple game principles such as games of skill and "fun" games were popular, as well as sports and racing games that appeared in arcades. There were also the mostly more demanding simulations, role-playing games and adventures of the mainframe computers. At the end of the decade were particularly Shooter popular. In addition, games could be programmed with the appearance of the first home computers. Games from the 70s and 80s are often referred to as retro games .
Important developers
- Nolan Bushnell , Atari , Spiel Pong u. a.
- Ralph Baer (developer of the first game console)
- Don Daglow , developer of many influential games, initially for mainframes in the 1970s (e.g. Star Trek)
- William Crowther , developer of the first adventure adventure (1976)
- Richard Garriott , developer of the influential Ultima series
Important companies
The most important publisher of the decade was Atari .
There were also Namco , Taito , Konami , Bally Midway , Nintendo , Sega and others. At the end of the 1970s, Apple , Tandy / RadioShack , Commodore and Texas Instruments , in particular , were added to the home computer sector , and they published games and applications in addition to hardware.
Disk
The common storage medium for consoles were cartridges , provided that the games were not only built in. Compact cassettes and sometimes 5.25 " floppy disks were used for home computers .
Chronicle / most important games of the decade
- Pong (1971) first well-known arcade game and later game console
- dnd (1974) oldest surviving role-playing game
- Tank (1974) first game with ROMs, initially an arcade game
- Maze War (1974) first first-person shooter
- Gun Fight (1975), first game with a microprocessor, initially an arcade game
- Adventure (1976) , first (text) adventure
- Night Driver (1976) first 3D racing simulation, initially an arcade game
- Empire (1977) first multiplayer strategy game
- Space Invaders (1978) influential game, beginning of the golden era of arcade games
- Multi User Dungeon / MUD (1978)
- Asteroids (1979) successful vector game, initially an arcade game
- Galaxian (1979) first game with RGB color graphics, initially an arcade game
See also
- computer game
- History of video games
- Game console # History of stationary game consoles
- List of game consoles
- Arcade game / arcade machine
- Category: Computer game by year
literature
- van Burnham, Supercade. A Visual History of the Videogame Age 1971-1984, ISBN 978-0-262-02492-1 .
- Winnie Forster : Game consoles and home computers 1972-2005 . Gameplan, 2005, ISBN 3-00-015290-3 .