1978 saw the release of new video games such as ''

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter an ...

''. The year is considered the beginning of the

golden age of arcade video games The golden age of arcade video games was the period of rapid growth, technological development and cultural influence of arcade video games, from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. The period began with the release of ''Space Invaders'' in 1978, ...

. The year's highest-grossing video game was

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. I ...

's arcade game ''Space Invaders'', while the best-selling home system was the

Atari Video Computer System The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocesso ...

(Atari VCS).

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games

'' was the top-grossing

video 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, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

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

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 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 arc ...

s and

electro-mechanical game Electro-mechanical games (EM games) are types of arcade games that operate on a combination of some electronic circuitry and mechanical actions from the player to move items contained within the game's cabinet. Some of these were early light gun ...

s (EM games) on the same arcade game chart.

's ''

'' 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 was a Japanese 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, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiung, ...

. The following titles were the highest-grossing games on each ''Game Machine'' arcade chart. Nintendo's '' EVR Race'' was the highest-grossing

medal game are a type of arcade game commonly found in amusement arcades and casinos, especially in Japan. In order to play a medal game, a customer must first exchange their cash into medals (metal coins, much like an arcade token). The rate of medals v ...

for the third year in a row.

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 ''Play Meter'' (initially ''Coin Industry Play Meter'') was an American trade magazine focusing on the coin-op amusement arcade industry, including jukebox and arcade game machines. It was founded in December 1974 by publisher and editor Ralph C. ...

'' and ''RePlay'' charts.

Best-selling home systems

Events

* Consumer-oriented

video game journalism Video game journalism is a branch of journalism concerned with the reporting and discussion of video games, typically based on a core "reveal–preview–review" cycle. With the prevalence and rise of independent media online, online publicati ...

begins with the

, soon after the success of ''Space Invaders'', leading to hundreds of favourable articles and stories about the emerging video game medium being aired on television and printed in newspapers and magazines. * In North America, the first regular consumer-oriented column about video games, " Arcade Alley" in ''

Video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syst ...

'' magazine, is penned by Bill Kunkel, Arnie Katz, and Joyce Worley.

Business

* New companies: Automated Simulations (later Epyx), Koei,

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

Supersoft Supersoft was a software and computer game developer and publisher founded in England in 1978. It was founded by Peter Calver and Pearl Wellard to develop and publish software primarily for the Commodore PET. History The earliest Supersoft catalo ...

, Synergistic, U.S. Games. * The American arcade game market earns a revenue of $1 billion (equivalent to $ in ). * The American home video game market is worth $200 million.Yuko Aoyama & Hiro Izushi (2003)
Hardware gimmick or cultural innovation? Technological, cultural, and social foundations of the Japanese video game industry
, ''Research Policy'' 32: 423-44

Notable releases

Games

;Arcade * June – Taito releases ''

'' in Japan. The worldwide success of ''Space Invaders'' marks the beginning of the

. It sets the template for the

fixed shooter Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charac ...

genre and influences most subsequent shooters. * October – Midway gives ''Space Invaders'' a wide release in North America. * October –

releases their first arcade video game, '' Gee Bee'', in Japan. *

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 Sunny ...

popularizes the

trackball A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down ball mouse with an exposed protruding ball. Users roll the ball to position the o ...

controller with '' Football''. *

releases ''

Super Breakout ''Super Breakout'' is a sequel to the 1976 video game '' Breakout'' released in arcades in September 1978 by Atari, Inc. It was written by Ed Rotberg. The game uses the same mechanics as ''Breakout'', but allows the selection of three distinct ...

'', the multi-directionall scrolling game ''

Fire Truck A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an i ...

'', '' Canyon Bomber'', and ''

Avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and eart ...

''. ''Avalanche'' later inspires Activision's '' Kaboom!'' *

Konami , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casino ...

Corporation releases their first arcade video game, '' Block Game''. * Nintendo releases their first arcade video game, ''

Computer Othello Computer Othello refers to computer architecture encompassing computer hardware and computer software capable of playing the game of Othello. It is also known as Reversi for Microsoft Windows (1.0- XP, 1985-2005) and Classic Mac OS (since 1984). ...

''. ;Computer * The book

BASIC Computer Games ''BASIC Computer Games'' is a compilation of type-in computer games in the BASIC programming language collected by David H. Ahl. Some of the games were written or modified by Ahl as well. Among its better-known games are '' Hamurabi'' and '' Sup ...

, microcomputer edition, is released.

Hardware

;Computer *

Elektor :''Elektor (ἠλέκτωρ) is also an ancient Greek name or epithet of the Sun, see Helios.'' ''Elektor'', also known as ''Elektor Magazine'', is a monthly magazine about all aspects of electronics, originally published in the Netherlands as ''E ...

releases the TV Games Computer. ;Console * December –

Magnavox Magnavox (Latin for "great voice", stylized as MAGNAVOX) is an American electronics company that since 1974 has been a subsidiary of the Dutch electronics corporation Philips. The predecessor to Magnavox was founded in 1911 by Edwin Pridham and ...

launches the Odyssey². * APF Electronics releases the APF-M1000. * Bally/ Midway releases the

Bally Professional Arcade 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 ...

. * Entreprex releases the Apollo 2001. * Interton releases the

VC 4000 The Interton Video Computer 4000 (officially abbreviated as Interton VC 4000) is an early 8-bit ROM cartridge-based second-generation home video game console that was released in Germany, England, France, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands and A ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1978 In Video games Video games by year

Video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...