1978 in video games

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List of years in video games

1978 saw the release of several new video games such as Space Invaders. The year is considered the beginning of the golden age of arcade video games.

Highest-grossing arcade games[]

Space Invaders was the top-grossing video game worldwide in 1978.[1] The following table lists the top-grossing arcade games of 1978 in Japan, the United Kingdom, United States, and worldwide.

Market Title Gross revenue Inflation Cabinet sales Developer Distributor Genre Ref
Japan Space Invaders $670,000,000[2] $2,700,000,000 100,000 Taito Taito Shoot 'em up [3][4][5]
United Kingdom Space Invaders Un­known Un­known Un­known[a] Taito Midway Manufacturing Shoot 'em up [1]
United States Space Wars Un­known Un­known 10,000 Cinematronics Cinematronics Shooter [6][7][8]
Worldwide Space Invaders Taito Shoot 'em up [1]

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 games and electro-mechanical games (EM games) on the same arcade game chart. Taito's Space Invaders 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.[3][4]

Arcade video games Arcade electro-mechanical games (EM games)
Rank Title #1 #2 #3 Points Rank Title #1 #2 #3 Points
1 Space Invaders 48 7 4 162 1 F-1 2 4 0 14
2 Super Speed Race V 1 18 8 47 2 Shoot Away 0 2 7 11
3 Block Kakuhi[b] 4 9 8 38 3 Flipper (Pinball)[c] 1 3 1 10
4 Scratch 3 4 5 22 4 Mogura Taiji (Whac-A-Mole) 1 2 2 9
5 Speed Race DX 3 4 3 20 5 Submarine 0 3 2 8
6 Cosmic Monsters 2 3 0 14 6 Magnetic Crane[d] 1 1 1 6
7 Acrobat 1 2 2 9 7 Pai Pai 45[e] 0 1 1 3
8 Gee Bee 1 1 3 8 8 Bank Robbers[f] (Kasco)[g] 1 0 0 3
9 Super Breakout 0 2 2 6 9 Clay Champ 0 0 2 2
10 Castle Take[h] (Sankyo) 0 1 2 4 Oni Nakase[i] 0 1 0 2

The following titles were the highest-grossing games on each Game Machine arcade chart. Nintendo's EVR Race was the highest-grossing medal game for the third year in a row.[3][4]

Chart Top title Gross revenue Inflation Cabinet sales Manufacturer Genre Ref
Arcade game Space Invaders $670,000,000[2] $2,700,000,000 100,000 Taito Shoot 'em up [3][4][5]
Medal game EVR Race Un­known Un­known Un­known Nintendo Racing [4]

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 and RePlay charts.

Rank Play Meter[9] RePlay[7] Cabinet sales
1 Space Wars 10,000[8]
2 Sprint 2 Un­known
3 Sea Wolf Sprint 1
4 Sea Wolf II Sea Wolf
5 Super Bug Breakout
6 Starship 1 Super Bug
7 Circus Starship 1
8 Breakout Sea Wolf II
9 Night Driver Smokey Joe
10 Sprint 1 LeMans

Events[]

  • Consumer-oriented video game journalism begins with the golden age of arcade video games, 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.[10]
  • In North America, the first regular consumer-oriented column about video games, "Arcade Alley" in Video magazine, is penned by Bill Kunkel, Arnie Katz, and Joyce Worley.[11]

Business[]

  • New companies: Automated Simulations (later Epyx), Koei, Muse, Supersoft, Synergistic, U.S. Games.
  • The American arcade game market earns a revenue of $1 billion[12] (equivalent to $3.97 billion in 2021).
  • The American home video game market is worth $200 million.[13]

Notable releases[]

Games[]

Arcade
  • June – Taito releases Space Invaders in Japan. The worldwide success of Space Invaders marks the beginning of the golden age of arcade video games. It sets the template for the fixed shooter genre[14] and influences most subsequent shooters.[15]
  • October – Midway gives Space Invaders a wide release in North America.
  • October – Namco releases their first arcade video game, Gee Bee, in Japan.
  • Atari, Inc. popularizes the trackball controller with Football.
  • Atari, Inc. releases Super Breakout, the multi-directionall scrolling game Fire Truck, Canyon Bomber, and Avalanche. Avalanche later inspires Activision's Kaboom!
  • Konami Corporation releases their first arcade video game, Block Game.
  • Nintendo releases their first arcade video game, Computer Othello.
Computer

Hardware[]

Computer
Console

Notes[]

  1. ^ Space Invaders sold 85,000 cabinets in the United Kingdom between 1978 and 1979.[1]
  2. ^ ブロック 各被, Burokku Kakuhi
  3. ^ フリッパー, Furippā
  4. ^ 各磁 クレーン
  5. ^ パイパイ 45, Paipai 45
  6. ^ バンクロバーズ, Banku Robāzu
  7. ^ 湘阿織機, Kansai Seiki
  8. ^ キャッスルテイク, Kyassuru Teiku
  9. ^ 鬼泣かせ

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "After Pong". ACE. No. 6 (March 1988). February 4, 1988. pp. 29–32 (29).
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Cohen, Daniel (1982). Video Games. New York: Pocket Books. p. 15. ISBN 0-671-45872-8.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "人気マシン・ベスト3" [Popular Machines: Best 3] (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 113. Amusement Press, Inc. February 1979. pp. 2–3.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "調査対象5年間のベスト1" [Best 1 of the 5 Years Surveyed] (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 159. Amusement Press, Inc. February 15, 1981. p. 1.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "Can Asteroids Conquer Space Invaders?" (PDF). Electronic Games. Vol. 1 no. 1. Winter 1981. pp. 30–33 (31). Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  6. ^ Kubey, Craig (1982). The Winners' Book of Video Games. New York: Warner Books. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-446-37115-5.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "Video Games". RePlay. November 1978.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Bloom, Steve. Video Invaders. Arco Publishing. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-668-05520-8.
  9. ^ "The 'Winners' of '78: Top Arcade Games". Play Meter. 1978.
  10. ^ "Players Guide To Electronic Science Fiction Games". Electronic Games. 1 (2): 35–45 [36]. March 1982. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  11. ^ Kohler, Chris (September 6, 2011). "Bill Kunkel, Original Gaming Journalist, Dies at 61". Wired. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  12. ^ "Coin-Op history – 1975 to 1997 – from the pages of RePlay". RePlay. 1998. Archived from the original on April 28, 1998. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  13. ^ Yuko Aoyama & Hiro Izushi (2003), Hardware gimmick or cultural innovation? Technological, cultural, and social foundations of the Japanese video game industry Archived March 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Research Policy 32: 423-44
  14. ^ "Essential 50: Space Invaders". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  15. ^ Edwards, Benj. "Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Space Invaders". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
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