From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Overview of the events of 1973 in video games
Events
March 19 –
Kagemasa Kōzuki establishes
Konami Industry Co., Ltd.
[1] Formerly the owner of a
jukebox repair/rental business in
Osaka, Japan , Kozuki launches Konami to manufacture amusement machines for
video arcades .
[2]
May –
Hudson Soft Ltd. is established in
Sapporo, Japan for the purpose of marketing telecommunications devices and art photographs.
[3]
Taito , an electro-mechanical
arcade game manufacturer, enters the
video game industry and opens a
North American branch.
[4]
Sega , an electro-mechanical arcade game manufacturer, enters the video game industry with Pong clones.
Computer Space makes appearances in the films
Soylent Green and
Sleeper .
Empire versions I, II and III are developed for the
PLATO system by John Daleske. Possibly the first team game ever, the first fifty-player game ever, and numerous other innovations.
Silas Warner takes over PLATO Empire version I and renames it Conquest.
Lemonade Stand is developed for the first time.
Maze War , an ancestor of the
first-person shooter genre and an early network game, begins development for the
Imlac PDS-1 computer.
Best-selling arcade video games in the United States
The following titles were the best-selling
arcade video games of 1973 in the United States, according to annual
arcade cabinet sales estimates provided by
Ralph H. Baer .
[5]
Rank
Title
Arcade cabinet sales
Manufacturer
Genre
1
Pong
8,000
Atari, Inc.
Pong
2
Pro Tennis
7,000
Williams Electronics
Winner
7,000
Midway Manufacturing
4
Super Soccer
5,000
Allied Leisure
Tennis Tourney
5,000
TV Tennis
5,000
Chicago Coin
7
Gotcha
3,000
Atari, Inc.
Maze
8
Asteroid (Space Race )
2,000
Midway Manufacturing
Racing
9
Space Race
1,500
Atari, Inc.
10
Hockey
1,000
Ramtek
Pong
TV Hockey
1,000
Chicago Coin
Volley
1,000
Ramtek
Notable releases
Arcade games
Computer games
Maze War , an ancestor of the first-person shooter genre, was ported to a number of computer systems. The above image was created from a version of the game written for the
Xerox Star 8010 in 1985.
See also
References
^
a
b
c Thomas, Donald A. Jr (2005).
"-1973-" . ICWhen.com . Archived from
the original on October 26, 2002. Retrieved February 15, 2006 .
^
"Corporate Info / Corporate History" . Konami . Archived from
the original on February 10, 2006. Retrieved February 15, 2006 .
^
"Corporate Info. / History" . Hudson . Archived from
the original on November 24, 2005. Retrieved February 15, 2006 .
^
"The Golden Age Arcade Historian: Video Game Firsts??" . November 22, 2013.
Archived from the original on November 5, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2014 .
^
Baer, Ralph H. (2005).
Videogames: In the Beginning . Rolenta Press. pp. 10–3.
ISBN
978-0-9643848-1-1 .
^
"WINNER from Midway" (PDF) . The International Arcade Museum . 1973.
Archived (PDF) from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015 .
^ Winters, David.
"Atari PONG –The first steps–" . PONG-Story .
Archived from the original on February 13, 2006. Retrieved February 15, 2006 .
^ Kurtz, Bill (1997). Slot Machines and Coin-Op Games . New Jersey: Chartwell Books. p. 125.
ISBN
978-1-55521-731-0 .
^
"The Maze War 30 Year Retrospective" . DigiBarn Games . 2004.
Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2012 .
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