Timeline Of Video Arcade Game History

Though not a complete history, herein is a list of what many would consider most of the "game" changers that made arcade experiences so powerful and nostalgic. (The list cuts off around the early 2000s, missing another 10+ years of games from the dwindling era of arcade popularity; though some still exist in specific locales.)

Early history (1971–1977)

;1971
:At Stanford University, two students release the PDP-11-based machine '' Galaxy Game''. It is a clone of ''Spacewar!'', one of the earliest video games, developed in 1962.
:Syzygy Engineering, a precursor to Atari, Inc. launches ''Computer Space'', the first commercial video arcade game, also being a ''Spacewar!'' derivative.
;1972
:Atari, Inc. launches '' Pong'', the first commercially successful video game. It is also the first arcade sports video game.
;1974
: Taito releases '' Speed Race'', which introduces scrolling sprite graphics,Bill Loguidice & Matt Barton (2009), ''Vintage games: an insider look at the history of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the most influential games of all time'', p. 197, Focal Press, and features a racing wheel controller. Midway releases it as ''Racer'' in the United States.
;1975
: Midway MFG. releases '' Gun Fight'', an adaptation of Taito's ''Western Gun'' and the first arcade video game to use a microprocessor, which the original incarnation did not use, allowing for improved graphics and smoother animation.
:Exidy releases ''Destruction Derby''.
:Dr. Reiner Foerst releases ''Nürburgring 1'' in Germany. It is recognized as the world's first first-person racing video game or the first three-dimensional racing video game.
:Atari, Inc. releases '' Hi-way'', which was Atari's first game to use a cockpit cabinet.
:Atari, Inc. releases '' Crash 'N Score'', Gameplay is an early example of a simulation of a demolition derby.
:Atari, Inc. releases ''Indy 800'', Gameplay is a simulation of an Indianapolis 500 style race, the cabinet also features overhead mirrors to allow spectators to watch the game while it's being played.
:Atari, Inc. releases ''Steeplechase''.
;1976
:Sega releases ''Moto-Cross'', which features haptic feedback, causing the handlebars to vibrate during collisions. Sega-Gremlin re-brands it as '' Fonz''.
:Sega releases '' Heavyweight Champ'', which is the first video game to feature hand-to-hand fighting.
:Atari Inc. releases ''Night Driver'', an early example of a first-person perspective racing video game.
:Atari releases '' Breakout'', which inspires a number of ''Breakout'' clones.
:Exidy releases '' Death Race.'' It was the first video game to inspire protest and cause panic.
:Gremlin releases '' Blockade'', the first of what become known as snake games.
:Taito releases ''Speed Race Twin'', a sequel to ''Speed Race'' that allows simultaneous two-player competitive gameplay.
;1977
:Cinematronics releases '' Space Wars'', the first vector graphics arcade game.
: Kee Games releases ''Drag Race'', which was later adapted in 1980 into a Atari 2600 video game by Activision called Dragster.
:Atari, Inc. releases ''Canyon Bomber''.
:Atari, Inc releases ''Super Bug'', which was designed by Howard Delman who also designed Canyon Bomber.
:Midway releases ''Boot Hill'', which is a sequel to the 1975 video game ''Gun Fight.''

Golden age (1978–1986)

;1978
: Taito releases '' Space Invaders'', the first blockbuster arcade video game, responsible for starting the golden age of video arcade games. It also sets the template for the shoot 'em up genre, and influences nearly every shooter game released since then.
;1979
:Atari releases ''Lunar Lander'' and '' Asteroids'', a major hit in the United States and Atari's best selling game of all time.
: Namco releases '' Galaxian'', which is in RGB colour.
;1980
: Sun Electronics releases ''Speak & Rescue'' (スピーク&レスキュー) in May 1980, released in North America as ''Stratovox'' and released in North America by Taito. It is the first video game with voice synthesis.
:Atari releases '' Battlezone'', a first-person shooter tank combat game.
:Namco releases ''Pac-Man'', its biggest-selling game. One of the most influential games, it had the first gaming mascot character, established the maze chase genre, opened gaming to female audiences, and introduced power-ups and cutscenes.
: Data East releases DECO Cassette System, the first standardized arcade platform, for which many games were made.
;1981
:Sega/Gremlin releases ''Space Fury'', the first color vector arcade game.
:Nintendo releases '' Donkey Kong'', which was one of the first platform games. It was also the game that introduced Mario (named simply "Jumpman" at the time) to the video game world.
: Namco releases '' Galaga'', sequel to Galaxian.
: Konami releases '' Scramble'', the first side-scrolling shooter with forced scrolling and multiple distinct levels.Game Genres: Shmups
Professor Jim Whitehead, January 29, 2007, Accessed June 17, 2008
:Konami releases '' Frogger'', a popular arcade action game.
: Williams Electronics release '' Defender'', a more challenging shoot-em-up space game with control configuration of five buttons and a joystick.
;1982
: Williams Electronics releases '' Joust''.
:Namco releases ''Pole Position'', one of the most popular racing games of all time. This is also Namco's first game to feature a 16-bit CPU making it the first 16-bit video game.
;1983
:Bally Midway releases '' Journey'', the first game with digitized sprites.
:''Astron Belt'', the first laserdisc video game, is released by Sega.
:'' Dragon's Lair'', the first video game to use cel-animated video instead of computer-generated graphics was advertised as the first truly 3D video game and as the meeting point of video games and animated films.
:Atari brings ''Star Wars'' to the arcades in the form of a 3D vector graphics simulation of the movie's attack on the Death Star sequence and featuring digitized samples of voices from the movie.
: Nintendo releases “ Mario Bros.”
;1984
:'' Marble Madness'' is released by Atari Games.
;1985
:''Gauntlet'' is released by Atari Games
:'' Gradius'' (''Nemesis'' in some countries) is released by Konami.
:'' Space Harrier'' is released by Sega
:''Vs. Super Mario Bros.'', the arcade version of Super Mario Bros. originally on the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom in Japan), is released into arcades.
:'' Tehkan World Cup'', the father of soccer games with an above view of the field, is released by Tehkan, who also release its stablemate, '' Gridiron Fight''.
:''Air Race'' was also planned to be released by Atari in 1985. Due to the high cost of the hardware, the game also was cancelled. If released, it would have been the first arcade racing game to use 3D polygon graphics.
:'' The Empire Strikes Back'' is released and became Atari's last major vector-based arcade game.
:'' Paperboy'' was also released by Atari Games.
;1986
:Taito releases '' Bubble Bobble''.
:Sega releases '' Out Run''.
:'' Chiller'' by Exidy is released and is an early example of blood and gore.
:Top Gunner by Exidy is released and is the last commercial arcade video game to use vector-based(wireframe) graphics.
:Turbo Kourier is released by the Vivid Group and is the first coin-operated Virtual Reality arcade video game to use 3D Polygon Graphics.

Post-golden age (1987–present)

;1987
: Technōs Japan releases '' Double Dragon''. It became a huge hit, paving the way for beat 'em up games.
;1988
:'' NARC'', by Williams is released and is the first commercially released game to use a 32-bit processor.
: Namco releases ''Assault'', which was the first game to make use of massive sprite rotation as well as sprite scaling. It also released ''Splatterhouse'', which was the first game to get a parental advisory disclaimer.
:Namco introduces the Namco System 21 "Polygonizer", the first arcade system board designed for 3D polygonal graphics. The first game to use it is the racing video game '' Winning Run''.
:''Top Landing'' by Taito is released and is the first coin-operated flight simulation to use 3D polygon graphics and runs on Taito's Air System board.
:'' Tetris'' makes the jump from home to arcade as an Atari coin-op.
;1989
:''Exterminator'' by Gottlieb is released and is the first video game to use fully digitized graphics in every element of the game. This was Gottlieb's last video game.
:'' Hard Drivin''', by Atari Games is released and is the second arcade driving game to have 3D polygonal graphics.
:'' S.T.U.N. Runner'' is released by ''Atari Games'' and is known for early use of high-speed 3-D Polygonal Graphics.
;1990
:'' Pit-Fighter'' is released by Atari Games and is the first-ever fighting game to use fully digitized graphics. Released two years before Midway's Mortal Kombat.
:'' Galaxian³'' is released by Namco as a video game Theme Park Attraction and is the first to feature 8-players. This game is a sequel to the Galaxian series and is known for combining pre-laserdisc background images and 3D Polygonal graphics. It was later released as an arcade cabinet to the public in 1994.
:'' NAM-1975'' is released by '' SNK'' and is the first game running on a Neo Geo hardware and became the standardized arcade platform throughout the 90s to the early 2000s. Many 2D fighting games like Fatal Fury, World Heroes, and Samurai Showdown ran on this hardware and was very popular in the arcades for its time.
;1991
:Capcom releases ''Street Fighter II'', revolutionizing competitive play in the arcade setting and setting the template for fighting games.
;1992
:Midway Games releases ''Mortal Kombat'', which features blood and fatalities.
:Sega releases '' Virtua Racing'', Sega's first 3D racer as well as Sega's first polygonal 3D game.
;1993
: '' Mortal Kombat II'' is released, featuring high quality digitized graphics, and the most advanced sound system in arcades at the time, the DCS sound system which allowed for MP3 style compression to all sounds.
:Sega releases '' Virtua Fighter'', the first 3D fighting game.
;1994
: '' Killer Instinct'' is released, the first arcade game with a hard disk, up to that point the game with the highest quality graphics pre-rendered by a rendering program, featuring to this day the highest quality use of the movie background technique.
: Namco releases ''Tekken'', another fighting game.
;1995
:Midway Games releases '' Mortal Kombat 3'', which was part of the Mortal Kombat series.
;1996
:SNK releases '' Metal Slug'', a run and gun game widely known for its sense of humor, fluid hand-drawn animation, and fast-paced two-player action.
;1998
:Konami releases '' Dance Dance Revolution'', an arcade game with four arrow pads that the players used to "dance." This game would create many sequels and spin-offs.
:'' Gauntlet Legends'' is released by Atari Games and it is the first game in the Gauntlet series to be produced in 3D and is the last Gauntlet game released by Atari Games.
;1999
:'' Rush 2049'' is released, the last arcade game to bear the Atari Games logo. Atari Games in Milpitas is renamed Midway Games West, and closes its coin-op product development division.
:'' Hydro Thunder'' is released by Midway Games. It is a 3D speedboat racing game and was one of the first to run on QuickSilver II hardware, a windows-based hardware setup that was less expensive to use. The game was one of Midway Games most successful arcade games to date.
:'' Derby Owners Club'' which was the first large-scale satellite arcade machine with smartcards, which have become a staple in Japanese game centers since.
;2000
:'' Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes'' is released by Capcom and runs on Sega's NAOMI hardware. This game combines 2D character sprites, background arenas and special effects are 3D polygon based.
;2001
:Namco releases '' Tekken 4'', the first talking game to feature almost all characters talking to one another.
:Sega releases '' Virtua Fighter 4'', the first arcade game with online features in Japan.
;2002
:''Arctic Thunder'' Special Edition is released and is the last arcade game by Midway Games and runs on a PC based Hardware Midway Graphite. Its arcade division was later shut down.
:Sega launched '' World Club Champion Football'', which introduced trading cards, which have become a staple in Japanese game centers.
;2020
:The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 caused many Japanese arcades to close down

See also

:Arcade game
: Golden age of arcade video games
: List of highest-grossing arcade video games
: Video arcade

References

External links

Arcade Games history

{{History of video games

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Arcade History
History of video games