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Overview of the events of 1984 in video games
1984 saw many sequels and prequels along with new titles such as
1942 ,
Boulder Dash ,
Cobra Command ,
Jet Set Willy ,
Karate Champ ,
Kung-Fu Master ,
Yie Ar Kung-Fu and
Punch-Out!! The year's highest-grossing
arcade games were
Pole Position in the United States, for the second year in a row, and
Track & Field in the United Kingdom. The year's best-selling home system was
Nintendo 's
Family Computer (Famicom), which was only sold
in Japan at the time.
Financial performance
In
the United States , home video game
sales fall to $800 million
[1] ($2.3 billion adjusted for inflation).
Highest-grossing arcade games
Japan
In Japan , the following titles were the top-grossing
arcade video games 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
Rank
System(s)
Manufacturer
Type
Generation
Sales
Japan
Worldwide
1
Family Computer (Famicom / NES)
Nintendo
Console
Third
2,940,000
[31]
2,940,000
2
Commodore 64 (C64)
Commodore
Computer
8-bit
—
2,500,000
[32]
3
IBM Personal Computer (PC)
IBM
Computer
8-bit /
16-bit
—
2,000,000
[32]
4
TI-99/4A
Texas Instruments
Computer
16-bit
—
1,000,000+
[33]
5
Apple II
Apple Inc.
Computer
8-bit
—
1,000,000
[32]
6
NEC PC-88 /
PC-98
NEC
Computer
8-bit / 16-bit
470,000
[34]
[35]
470,000+
7
Apple Macintosh
Apple Inc.
Computer
16-bit
—
370,000
[32]
8
MSX
ASCII Corporation
Computer
8-bit
350,000
[36]
350,000+
9
Coleco Adam
Coleco
Computer
8-bit
—
255,000
[37]
10
Sega SG-1000
Sega
Console
Third
240,000
[38]
240,000+
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.
[39]
Major awards
Business
New companies:
Accolade ,
Elite Systems ,
Gremlin Graphics ,
Kemco ,
New World Computing ,
Novagen ,
Ocean ,
Psygnosis ,
Sculptured Software
Defunct companies:
Astrocade ,
Human Engineered Software ,
Imagine ,
Sirius ,
Starpath .
Hasbro , Inc. acquires
Milton Bradley Company .
Management Sciences America acquires
Edu-Ware Services .
Broderbund acquires 8-bit gaming competitor
Synapse Software .
Atari shuts down the
Atari Program Exchange , which sold notable "user written" games such as
Eastern Front (1941) and
Dandy .
Warner Communications sells the
Atari, Inc. home video game and home computer intellectual properties, including the
Atari 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 .
[41] Tramel Technology is promptly renamed to
Atari Corporation .
[42]
Sega and CSK merge to form Sega Enterprises Ltd.
Mattel sells it's video game assets, including the
M Network and
Intellivision 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.
[43] The games development office in France is sold to investors and renamed Nice Ideas .
[44]
The largest video game retailer in the world,
GameStop was founded (then known as Babbage's) in
Dallas , Texas.
Births
This section
needs expansion . You can help by
adding to it .
(April 2024 )
May
Notable releases
Games
Arcade
Computer
January -
Bullet-Proof Software releases
The Black Onyx on the
PC-8801 , which helps popularize
turn-based
role-playing games in Japan .
June -
Ultimate Play the Game releases
Sabre Wulf on the
ZX Spectrum .
September 20 –
Elite , an influential wireframe 3D space trading game offering a then-unique open-ended design, is published by
Acornsoft .
October –
Nihon Falcom releases
action role-playing game
Dragon Slayer .
October -
Automata UK releases
Deus Ex Machina on the
ZX Spectrum .
December –
T&E Soft releases
Hydlide , an early action role-playing game that features a
health regeneration mechanic and anticipates elements of
The Legend of Zelda and
Ys series.
[45]
December 7 –
Knight Lore by
Ultimate Play the Game is released for the
ZX Spectrum (and later ported to the
BBC Micro ,
Amstrad CPC ,
MSX , and
Famicom Disk System ). It is the third title in the
Sabreman series, but the first to use the
isometric
Filmation engine .
Broderbund releases
The Ancient Art of War by Dave and Barry Murry. It is a
real-time tactics game and a precursor to the
real-time strategy genre.
Broderbund releases
Karateka for the Apple II.
The Lords of Midnight , a strategy adventure game by
Mike Singleton , is released.
Infocom releases
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ,
Sorcerer ,
Cutthroats , and
Seastalker .
First Star releases
Boulder Dash , 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 releases the Atari 8-bit game
Dimension X , over 9 months after running magazine ads showing features that were not present in the final game.
[46]
Software Projects releases the seminal platformer
Jet Set Willy on the ZX Spectrum.
First Star Software releases
Spy vs. Spy for the Commodore 64.
Console
Hardware
January 24 –
Apple Inc. announces the original, 128K, floppy disc-only,
Macintosh 128K .
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
See also
References
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^
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^ "Top Hits of Last 5 Years". RePlay . March 1987.
^
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^
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^
"Commando: Soldier of Fortune" .
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^
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^
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^ Adams, Jane Meredith (January 3, 1985). "Adam Just Couldn't Deliver on Promises". The Boston Globe . p. 41.
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