1984 saw many sequels and prequels along with new titles such as ''

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

'', ''

Boulder Dash ''Boulder Dash'' is a 2D maze-puzzle video game released in 1984 by First Star Software for Atari 8-bit computers. It was created by Canadian developers Peter Liepa and Chris Gray. The player controls Rockford, who collects treasures while ...

'', ''

Cobra Command Cobra (sometimes referred to as Cobra Command) is a fictional terrorist organization and the nemesis of the G.I. Joe Team in the Hasbro action figure toyline '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' and '' G.I. Joe: Sigma 6'', as well as in related ...

'', ''

Jet Set Willy ''Jet Set Willy'' is a platform video game originally written by Matthew Smith for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published in 1984 by Software Projects and ported to most home computers of the time. The game is a sequel to ''Manic ...

'', ''

Karate Champ ''Karate Champ'', known in Japan as , is a 1984 arcade fighting game developed by Technōs Japan (which would later developing 1995 Neo Geo titles '' Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer'' with SNK) and released by Data East. A variety of moves can be per ...

'', '' Kung-Fu Master'', ''

Tetris ''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the approp ...

'', ''

Yie Ar Kung-Fu () is an arcade fighting game developed by Konami. It first had a limited Japanese release in October 1984, before having a wide release nationwide in January 1985 and then internationally in March 1985. Along with ''Karate Champ'' (1984), which ...

'' and ''

Punch-Out!! is a video game series of boxing created by Nintendo's general manager Genyo Takeda, and his partner Makoto Wada. The first game was '' Punch-Out!!'' made in 1984 as an arcade unit, which was followed by a sequel '' Super Punch-Out!!'' (1984) ...

'' The year's highest-grossing

arcade games 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 games of skill and include arcade v ...

were ''

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 rac ...

'' in the United States, for the second year in a row, and ''

Track & Field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

'' in the United Kingdom. The year's best-selling home system was

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

Family Computer The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redes ...

(Famicom), which was only sold in Japan at the time.

Financial performance

the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, home video game sales fall to ( adjusted for inflation).

Highest-grossing arcade games

Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the top-grossing

arcade video game An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arca ...

s of each month on the '' Game Machine'' charts in 1984.

United Kingdom and United States

The following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1984 in the United Kingdom and United States.

Best-selling home systems

Best-selling home video games in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home computer games of 1984, according to N.O.P. Market Research.

Major awards

*The fifth Arcade Awards are held, for games released during 1982–1983. ''

'' wins

Coin-Op A currency detector or currency validator is a device that determines whether notes or coins are genuine or counterfeit. These devices are used in a wide range of automated machines, such as retail kiosks, supermarket self checkout machines, ...

Game of the Year Game of the Year (GotY) is an award given by various award events and media publications to a video game that they feel represented the pinnacle of gaming that year. Events and ceremonies British Academy Games Awards (BAFTA Games Awards) ...

, ''

Ms. Pac-Man is a 1982 maze arcade game developed by General Computer Corporation and published by Midway. It is the first sequel to '' Pac-Man'' (1980) and the first entry in the series to not be made by Namco. Controlling the title character, Pac-Man's ...

'' and '' Lady Bug'' win

console Console may refer to: Computing and video games * System console, a physical device to operate a computer ** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device ** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...

Videogames of the Year, ''

Lode Runner ''Lode Runner'' is a 2D puzzle-platform game, developed by Doug Smith and published by Broderbund in 1983. Its gameplay mechanics are similar to ''Space Panic'' from 1980. The player controls a character who must collect all the gold pieces in a ...

'' wins

Computer Game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games 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 gener ...

of the Year, and ''

Q*bert ''Q*bert'' (also known as ''Qbert'') is an arcade video game developed and published for the North American market by Gottlieb in 1982. It is a 2D action game with puzzle elements that uses isometric graphics to create a pseudo-3D effect. The ...

'' wins dedicated Stand-Alone Game of the Year. *In the second

Golden Joystick Award The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People's Gaming Awards, is a video game award ceremony; it awards the best video games of the year, as voted for originally by the British general public, but is now a global event that can be voted ...

s (held in 1985) for best home computer games, ''

Knight Lore ''Knight Lore'' is a 1984 action-adventure game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game, and written by company founders Chris and Tim Stamper. The game is known for its use of isometric graphics, which it further popularized in vid ...

'' takes Game of the Year.

Business

* New companies:

Accolade The accolade (also known as dubbing or adoubement) ( la, benedictio militis) was the central act in the rite of passage ceremonies conferring knighthood in the Middle Ages. From about 1852, the term ''accolade'' was used much more generally to ...

Elite Systems Elite Systems is a British video game developer and publisher established in 1984 as Richard Wilcox Software. It is known for producing home computer conversions of popular arcade games. Elite also published compilations of games on the Hit-Pak ...

Gremlin Graphics Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited was a British software house based in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer market. Like many software houses established in ...

Kemco Kemco (abbreviated from Kotobuki Engineering & Manufacturing Co., Ltd.) is a Japanese video game developer and publisher established in 1984. It is headquartered in Kure, Hiroshima. One of its best known franchises is the ''Top Gear'' series ...

New World Computing New World Computing, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1984 by Jon Van Caneghem, his wife, Michaela Van Caneghem, and Mark Caldwell. It was best known for its work on the Might and Magic role-playing video ga ...

, Novagen,

Ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

Psygnosis Psygnosis Limited (known as SCE Studio Liverpool or simply Studio Liverpool from 1999) was a British video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher headquartered at Wavertree Technology Park in Liverpool. Founded in 1984 by Ian Hether ...

Sculptured Software Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game publisher from Long Island, active from 1987 until filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on September 1, 2004. Through a series of acquisitions between 1990 and 2002, Acclaim built itself a large portfo ...

* Defunct companies:

Astrocade The ''Bally'' ''Astrocade'' (also known as ''Bally Arcade'' or initially as ''Bally ABA-1000'') is a second-generation home video game console and simple computer system designed by a team at Midway, at that time the videogame division of Bally ...

Human Engineered Software Human Engineered Software (HES, also known as HesWare) was an American software developer and publisher from 1980 until 1984. The company sold video games and educational and productivity software, in addition to several hardware products. It fo ...

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

Sirius Sirius is the list of brightest stars, brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinisation ...

, Starpath. *

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...

, Inc. acquires

Milton Bradley Company Milton Bradley Company or simply Milton Bradley (MB) was an American board game manufacturer established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the ...

. * Management Sciences America acquires Edu-Ware Services. *

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 '' ...

acquires 8-bit gaming competitor

Synapse Software Synapse Software Corporation (marketed as SynSoft in the UK) was an American video game development and publishing company founded in 1981 by Ihor Wolosenko and Ken Grant. It initially focused on the Atari 8-bit family, then later developed for th ...

. *

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...

shuts down the

Atari Program Exchange Atari Program Exchange (APX) was a division of Atari, Inc. that sold software via mail-order for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers. Quarterly APX catalogs were sent to all registered Atari 8-bit owners. APX encouraged any programmer, not j ...

, which sold notable "user written" games such as ''

Eastern Front (1941) ''Eastern Front (1941)'' is a computer wargame for the Atari 8-bit family created by Chris Crawford and published through the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. A scenario editor and assembly language source code for the game were also s ...

'' and ''

Dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle desp ...

''. *

Warner Communications Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

sells the

Atari Inc. Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry. Based primarily around the Sun ...

home video game and home computer intellectual properties, including the

logo and trademark, inventories of home video game and home computer hardware and software, as well as certain international subsidiaries to Tramel Technology, but retains the arcade games division, which becomes

Atari Games Atari Games Corporation, known as Midway Games West Inc. after 1999, was an American producer of Arcade game, arcade Video game, games. It was formed in 1985 when the coin-operated Arcade game, arcade game division of Atari, Inc. was transfered ...

. Tramel Technology is promptly renamed to

Atari Corporation Atari Corporation was an American manufacturer of computers and video game consoles. It was founded by Jack Tramiel on May 17, 1984, as Tramel Technology, Ltd., but then took on the Atari name less than two months later when WarnerMedia, Warn ...

. *

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

and CSK merge to form Sega Enterprises Ltd. *

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

sells it's video game assets, including the

M Network M Network was a video game division of Mattel that, in the 1980s, produced games in cartridge format for the Atari 2600 video game system. History In the early 1980s, Mattel's Intellivision video game console was a direct competitor to Atar ...

and

Intellivision The Intellivision is a home video game console released by Mattel, Mattel Electronics in 1979. The name is a portmanteau of "intelligent television". Development began in 1977, the same year as the launch of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. I ...

hardware and software intellectual property, to a group led by a former Mattel Electronics executive that becomes INTV Corporation. Mattel Electronics closes their game development offices in California and Taiwan. The games development office in France is sold to investors and renamed ''Nice Ideas''.

Births

May

* May 17 –

Alejandro Edda Alejandro Edda (born May 17, 1984) is a Mexican–American actor, best known for his roles as Marco Rodriguez in the AMC television series '' Fear the Walking Dead'' (2016) and Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán in the Netflix original series '' Narcos ...

: Mexican-American actor

Notable releases

Games

;Arcade * February 17 -

launches the initial version of boxing game ''

''. * April –

Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...

releases ''

Gaplus is a 1984 fixed shooter arcade game developed and released by Namco. It is the third game in the ''Galaxian'' series, serving as a direct sequel to ''Galaga'' (1981). In North America, a modification kit was later released to change the name to ' ...

'', the sequel to ''

Galaga is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. In North America, it was released by Midway Manufacturing. It is the sequel to ''Galaxian'' (1979), Namco's first major video game hit in arcades. Controlling a starshi ...

''. * July –

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. Its main headquarters were located in Suginami, Tokyo. The Am ...

releases

Technōs Japan was a Japanese video game Video game developer, developer, best known for the ''Double Dragon'' and ''Kunio-kun (series), Kunio-kun'' Media franchise, franchises (the latter including ''Renegade (video game), Renegade'', ''Super Dodge Ball'' and ...

's ''

'', laying the foundations for the one-one-one

fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...

genre. * July 20 –

releases

action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...

Tower of Druaga is a 1984 arcade action role-playing maze game developed and published in Japan by Namco. Controlling the golden-armored knight Gilgamesh, the player is tasked with scaling 60 floors of the titular tower in an effort to rescue the maiden Ki f ...

''. * October –

releases ''

Pac-Land is a 1984 side-scrolling arcade platform game developed and released by Namco. It was distributed in North America by Bally Midway, and in Europe by Atari Games. Controlling Pac-Man (character), Pac-Man, the player must make it to the end of eac ...

'' and lays the foundations for horizontally-scrolling

platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...

s. * November 1 –

releases ''

Grobda is a 1984 multidirectional shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. It is a spin-off from ''Xevious'', as the player's tank first appeared in that game as an enemy. It runs on Namco Super Pac-Man hardware but with a video syste ...

'', a spin-off from ''

Xevious is a vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Namco for arcades in 1982. It was released in Japan and Europe by Namco and in North America by Atari, Inc. Controlling the Solvalou starship, the player attacks Xevious f ...

''. * December –

releases ''

Super Xevious is a vertically scrolling shooter released as an arcade video game in Japan in 1984. It was developed and published by Namco as an updated version of ''Xevious'' (1982) created as a response to the overwhelming success of the original in Japan. ...

'' and ''

Dragon Buster is a platform, action role-playing dungeon crawl game developed by Namco and released in 1984. It runs on Namco Pac-Land hardware, modified to support vertical scrolling. In Japan, the game was ported to the Family Computer (Famicom), ...

'', the latter of which is one of the first games to feature a

life bar ''Life Bar'' () is a South Korean Talk show distributed by tvN every Thursday night at 11:00. Season 1 broadcast its final episode on April 13, 2017. Season 2 premiered on May 18, 2017. Format It is a unique talk show where celebrity guests an ...

. * December –

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

releases ''

''. * December –

Irem is a Japanese video game console developer and publisher, and formerly a developer and manufacturer of arcade games as well. The company has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The full name of the company that uses the brand is Irem Softwar ...

releases '' Kung-Fu Master'' and lays the foundations for the

beat 'em up The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, ...

genre. * December –

releases ''

Marble Madness ''Marble Madness'' is an arcade game, arcade video game designed by Mark Cerny and published by Atari Games in 1984. It is a platform game in which the player must guide a marble through six courses, populated with obstacles and enemies, within ...

'', their first game written in the

C programming language ''The C Programming Language'' (sometimes termed ''K&R'', after its authors' initials) is a computer programming book written by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie, the latter of whom originally designed and implemented the language, as well as ...

and to use a 68000-family microprocessor. * Bally/Midway releases '' Demolition Derby'', which features a damage bar and the ability to join a game in progress. ;Computer * January -

Bullet-Proof Software Blue Planet Software, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher. Established as Bullet-Proof Software, Inc. in Japan, Blue Planet Software became a separate company founded by Henk Rogers in Honolulu, Hawaii Hawaii ( ; h ...

releases ''

The Black Onyx is a 1984 role-playing video game released in Japan, developed by Bullet-Proof Software, with development led by Henk Rogers. It was originally released for the NEC PC-8801, and ported to several other platforms. The Famicom version featured ...

'' on the

PC-8801 The , commonly shortened to PC-88, are a brand of Zilog Z80-based 8-bit home computers released by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in 1981 and primarily sold in Japan. The PC-8800 series sold extremely well and became one of the three major Japane ...

, which helps popularize

turn-based In video and other games, the passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. This is usually done in one of the two ways: real-time and turn-based. Real-time Real-time games have game time progress cont ...

role-playing games in Japan. * June -

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

releases ''

Sabre Wulf ''Sabre Wulf'' is an action-adventure game released by British video game developer Ultimate Play the Game for the ZX Spectrum home computer in 1984. The player navigates the pith-helmeted Sabreman through a 2D jungle maze while collecting ...

'' on the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

. * June 6 – Alexei Pajitnov creates ''

'' for the

Electronika 60 The Electronika 60 (russian: Электроника 60) is a computer made in the Soviet Union by Elektronika in Voronezh. Overview Alone the ''Electronika 60'' is a rack-mounted computer with no built-in display or storage devices. It was usu ...

in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. * September 20 – ''

Elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...

'', an influential wireframe 3D space trading game offering a then-unique open-ended design, is published by

Acornsoft Acornsoft was the software arm of Acorn Computers, and a major publisher of software for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. As well as games, it also produced a large number of educational titles, extra computer languages and business and util ...

. * October –

Nihon Falcom is a Japanese video game developer, best known for their '' Ys'', '' The Legend of Heroes'', and ''Trails'' series. The company was founded in March 1981, making them one of the oldest active video game companies. They are credited with pioneer ...

releases

Dragon Slayer A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...

''. * October -

Automata UK Automata UK was a software house which developed and published ZX Spectrum video games between 1982 and 1985. Significant releases included '' Pimania'' (1982), '' My Name Is Uncle Groucho, You Win A Fat Cigar'' (1983) and ''Deus Ex Machina'' (19 ...

releases ''

Deus Ex Machina ''Deus ex machina'' ( , ; plural: ''dei ex machina''; English "god out of the machine") is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function ...

'' on the

. * December –

T&E Soft was a Japanese-based video game developer founded in 1982. Although they have made games with a wide variety of genres, they are primarily known in the U.S. for their golf and puzzle video games. The original company exists today under the name ...

releases ''

Hydlide is an action role-playing game developed and published by T&E Soft. It was originally released for the NEC PC-6001 and PC-8801 computers in 1984, in Japan only; ports for the MSX, MSX2, FM-7 and NEC PC-9801 were released the following year ...

'', an early action role-playing game that features a health regeneration mechanic and anticipates elements of ''

The Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...

'' and '' Ys'' series. * December 7 – ''

'' by

is released for the

(and later ported to the

BBC Micro The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphas ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

, MSX, and

Famicom Disk System The commonly shortened to the Famicom Disk System or just Disk System, is a peripheral for Nintendo's Nintendo Entertainment System, Family Computer home video game console, released only in Japan on February 21, 1986. It uses proprietary flopp ...

). It is the third title in the

Sabreman The ''Sabreman'' series of games was released by Ultimate Play the Game for the ZX Spectrum in the 1980s. Some of the instalments were also released on other popular home microcomputers, namely the Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Commodore 64 ,and MSX ...

series, but the first to use the isometric

Filmation engine Filmation is the trademark name of the isometric graphics engine employed in a series of games developed by Ultimate Play the Game during the 1980s, primarily on the 8-bit ZX Spectrum platform, though various titles also appeared on the BBC ...

. *

releases ''

The Ancient Art of War ''The Ancient Art of War'' is a video game designed by Dave and Barry Murry, developed by Evryware, and published by Broderbund in 1984. It is recognized as one of the first real-time strategy or real-time tactics games. Gameplay A battlefield si ...

'' by Dave and Barry Murry. It is a

real-time tactics Real-time tactics (RTT)(Article at IGN discussing their perception of RTS and related genres as of 2006. RTT is discussed as a new and not yet established genre from the publisher's perspective, so currently all RTT possible titles are still con ...

game and a precursor to the

real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, turn ...

genre. *

releases ''

Karateka (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

'' for the Apple II. * '' The Lords of Midnight'', a strategy adventure game by

Mike Singleton Mike Singleton (21 February 1951 – 10 October 2012) was a British video game designer who wrote various well-regarded titles for the ZX Spectrum during the 1980s. His titles include '' The Lords of Midnight'', ''Doomdark's Revenge'', ' ...

, is released. * Infocom releases ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (computer game), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', ''Sorcerer (video game), Sorcerer'', ''Cutthroats (video game), Cutthroats'', and ''Seastalker''. * First Star Software, First Star releases ''

'', which inspired enough clones to create the rocks-and-diamonds genre. * Epyx releases ''Impossible Mission'' for the Commodore 64. * Electronic Arts releases ''Adventure Construction Set''. * Sierra On-Line releases ''King's Quest I'' for the PCjr. * Synapse Software, Synapse releases the Atari 8-bit game ''Dimension X (video game), Dimension X'', over 9 months after running magazine ads showing features that were not present in the final game. * Software Projects releases the seminal platformer ''

'' on the ZX Spectrum. * First Star Software releases ''Spy vs. Spy (1984 video game), Spy vs. Spy'' for the Commodore 64. ;Console * March 30 - Activision releases ''H.E.R.O. (video game), H.E.R.O.'' for the Atari 2600. * June 4 –

releases a conversion of their own ''Donkey Kong 3'' for the Famicom. * October 5 -

releases ''Devil World'' on the Famicom in Japan. * December 17 –

releases ''Ice Climber'' and ''Balloon Fight'' for the Famicom. * Activision releases ''Pitfall II: Lost Caverns'', one of the last major titles for the Atari 2600. Each cartridge contains a custom chip allowing improved visuals and 4-voice sound.

Hardware

* January 24 – Apple Inc. announces the original, 128K, floppy disc-only, Macintosh. * March – IBM releases the IBM PCjr in an attempt to enter the home computer market. It has improved sound and graphics over the original, business-oriented IBM PC, but is a commercial failure. * Atari, Inc. announces the Atari 7800, a next-gen console that's compatible with Atari 2600 cartridges, but capable of greatly improved visuals. It is shelved until 1986 due to the sale of the company and legal issues. * Discontinued systems: Atari 5200, Magnavox Odyssey², Vectrex

References

{{History of video games 1984 in video gaming, 1984 software, Video games Video games by year

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games

Japan

United Kingdom and United States

Best-selling home systems

Best-selling home video games in the United Kingdom

Major awards

Business

Births

May

Notable releases

Games

Hardware

See also

References