1978 in video games

In today's world, 1978 in video games has become a topic of great importance and interest to a wide variety of people. Whether due to its impact on society, its relevance in the professional field or its influence on popular culture, 1978 in video games has positioned itself as a fundamental point of reference today. As time progresses, the importance of 1978 in video games continues to grow, making a detailed analysis of its various facets and its relevance in different contexts indispensable. In this article, we will thoroughly explore the meaning and implications of 1978 in video games, as well as its impact on different aspects of contemporary life.

List of years in video games
+...

1978 saw the release of new video games such as Space Invaders. The year is considered the beginning of the golden age of arcade video games. The year's highest-grossing video game was Taito's arcade game Space Invaders, while the best-selling home system was the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS).

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games

Space Invaders was the top-grossing video game worldwide in 1978. The following table lists the top-grossing arcade games of 1978 in Japan, the United Kingdom, United States, and worldwide.

Market Title Gross revenue Inflation Cabinet sales Developer Distributor Genre Ref
Japan Space Invaders $670,000,000 $3,100,000,000 100,000 Taito Taito Shoot 'em up
United Kingdom Space Invaders Un­known Un­known Un­known Taito Midway Manufacturing Shoot 'em up
United States Space Wars Un­known Un­known 10,000 Cinematronics Cinematronics Shooter
Worldwide Space Invaders Taito Shoot 'em up

Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1978, according to the third annual Game Machine chart, which lists both arcade video games and electro-mechanical games (EM games) on the same arcade game chart. Taito's Space Invaders was the first video game to become highest-grossing overall arcade game on the annual Game Machine charts, after the two previous charts were topped by an EM game, F-1 by Namco.

Arcade video games Arcade electro-mechanical games (EM games)
Rank Title #1 #2 #3 Points Rank Title #1 #2 #3 Points
1 Space Invaders 48 7 4 162 1 F-1 2 4 0 14
2 Super Speed Race V 1 18 8 47 2 Shoot Away 0 2 7 11
3 Block Kakuhi 4 9 8 38 3 Flipper (Pinball) 1 3 1 10
4 Scratch 3 4 5 22 4 Mogura Taiji (Whac-A-Mole) 1 2 2 9
5 Speed Race DX 3 4 3 20 5 Submarine 0 3 2 8
6 Cosmic Monsters 2 3 0 14 6 Magnetic Crane 1 1 1 6
7 Acrobat 1 2 2 9 7 Pai Pai 45 0 1 1 3
8 Gee Bee 1 1 3 8 8 Bank Robbers (Kasco) 1 0 0 3
9 Super Breakout 0 2 2 6 9 Clay Champ 0 0 2 2
10 Castle Take (Sankyo) 0 1 2 4 Oni Nakase 0 1 0 2

The following titles were the highest-grossing games on each Game Machine arcade chart. Nintendo's EVR Race was the highest-grossing medal game for the third year in a row.

Chart Top title Gross revenue Inflation Cabinet sales Manufacturer Genre Ref
Arcade game Space Invaders $670,000,000 $3,100,000,000 100,000 Taito Shoot 'em up
Medal game EVR Race Un­known Un­known Un­known Nintendo Racing

United States

In the United States, the following titles were the top ten highest-grossing arcade video games of 1978, in terms of coin drop earnings according to the annual Play Meter and RePlay charts.

Rank Play Meter RePlay Cabinet sales
1 Space Wars 10,000
2 Sprint 2 Un­known
3 Sea Wolf Sprint 1
4 Sea Wolf II Sea Wolf
5 Super Bug Breakout
6 Starship 1 Super Bug
7 Circus Starship 1
8 Breakout Sea Wolf II
9 Night Driver Smokey Joe
10 Sprint 1 LeMans

Best-selling home systems

Rank System(s) Manufacturer(s) Type Generation Sales Ref
1 Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) Atari, Inc. Console Second 300,000
Bandai Baseball Bandai Handheld — 300,000
3 TRS-80 Tandy Corporation Computer 8-bit 150,000
4 Commodore PET Commodore International Computer 8-bit 30,000
5 Apple II Apple Inc. Computer 8-bit 20,000
6 IMSAI 8080 IMS Associates, Inc. Computer 8-bit 5,000
IBM 5110 IBM Computer — 5,000
8 Altair 8800 MITS Computer 8-bit 4,000
HP 9800 series Hewlett-Packard Computer — 4,000
10 Pertec/MITS 300 Pertec Computer Computer 8-bit 3,000

Events

Business

Notable releases

Games

Arcade
Computer

Hardware

Computer
Console

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Space Invaders sold 85,000 cabinets in the United Kingdom between 1978 and 1979.
  2. ^ ブロック 各被, Burokku Kakuhi
  3. ^ フリッパー, Furippā
  4. ^ 各磁 クレーン
  5. ^ パイパイ 45, Paipai 45
  6. ^ バンクロバーズ, Banku Robāzu
  7. ^ 湘阿織機, Kansai Seiki
  8. ^ キャッスルテイク, Kyassuru Teiku
  9. ^ 鬼泣かせ

References

  1. ^ a b c d "After Pong". ACE. No. 6 (March 1988). February 4, 1988. pp. 29–32 (29).
  2. ^ a b Cohen, Daniel (1982). Video Games. New York: Pocket Books. p. 15. ISBN 0-671-45872-8.
  3. ^ a b c d "人気マシン・ベスト3" [Popular Machines: Best 3] (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 113. Amusement Press, Inc. February 1979. pp. 2–3.
  4. ^ a b c d e "調査対象5年間のベスト1" [Best 1 of the 5 Years Surveyed] (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 159. Amusement Press, Inc. February 15, 1981. p. 1.
  5. ^ a b "Can Asteroids Conquer Space Invaders?" (PDF). Electronic Games. Vol. 1, no. 1. Winter 1981. pp. 30–33 (31). Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  6. ^ Kubey, Craig (1982). The Winners' Book of Video Games. New York: Warner Books. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-446-37115-5.
  7. ^ a b "Video Games". RePlay. November 1978.
  8. ^ a b Bloom, Steve (1982). Video Invaders. Arco Publishing. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-668-05520-8.
  9. ^ "The 'Winners' of '78: Top Arcade Games". Play Meter. 1978.
  10. ^ Rubin, Michael (2006). "Eighteen: A Hole in the Desert [1982–1983]" (PDF). Droidmaker: George Lucas and the Digital Revolution. Triad Publishing Company. pp. 291-314 (292-3). ISBN 978-0-937404-67-6.
  11. ^ "昔(1970年代）のテレビゲームは何台売れた？" [How many old (1970s) video games sold?]. Classic Videogame Station Odyssey (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  12. ^ a b c Reimer, Jeremy (December 15, 2005). "Total share: 30 years of personal computer market share figures". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on June 7, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  13. ^ a b c d "BYTE News... Radio Shack Has Over 50 Percent of Personal Computer Business". BYTE. Vol. 4, no. 5. May 1979. p. 117.
  14. ^ "Players Guide To Electronic Science Fiction Games". Electronic Games. 1 (2): 35–45 . March 1982. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  15. ^ Kohler, Chris (September 6, 2011). "Bill Kunkel, Original Gaming Journalist, Dies at 61". Wired. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  16. ^ "Coin-Op history – 1975 to 1997 – from the pages of RePlay". RePlay. 1998. Archived from the original on April 28, 1998. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  17. ^ Yuko Aoyama & Hiro Izushi (2003), Hardware gimmick or cultural innovation? Technological, cultural, and social foundations of the Japanese video game industry Archived March 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Research Policy 32: 423-44
  18. ^ "Essential 50: Space Invaders". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  19. ^ Edwards, Benj. "Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Space Invaders". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia