Business[ | ]
- The US arcade game market's revenues decline to $4.5 billion in 1984[1] (equivalent to $10.2 billion in 2024).
Events[ | ]
- 16-bit processors are increasingly used in arcade machines, resulting in much more detailed and faster graphics.
- Japanese developers, with their recently aroused interest in the RPG genre, created the action role-playing game genre, combining the RPG genre with arcade-style action and action-adventure elements.[2][3]
Notable Releases[ | ]
Arcades[ | ]
- June: This trend of combining RPG elements with arcade-style action mechanics was popularized by The Tower of Druaga,[3] an arcade game released by Namco in June 1984,[4] paving the way for action role-playing games.
- June: I, Robot is released, as the first commercially released polygonal 3D arcade game (and one of the first in general, along with Plazma Line).
- July: Data East releases Technōs Japan's Karate Champ,[5] which is credited with establishing and popularizing the one-on-one fighting game genre.[6]
- August: Namco releases Pac-Land, an influential side-scrolling platform game.
- Irem releases Kung-Fu Master, which lays the foundations of the beat 'em up genre,[7][8] combining side-scrolling platform and fighting game elements with multiple enemies.
- December: Namco releases an early action role-playing game called Dragon Buster,[9] the first game to feature a life meter, called "Vitality" in-game.[10]
- December: Atari Games releases Marble Madness, the first arcade game to use the Yamaha YM2151 FM synthesis sound chip, which is subsequently used in many arcade system boards in the 1980s.
Computers[ | ]
- Plazma Line is released, as the first commercially released polygonal 3D computer game, and one of the first in general.
- October: Dragon Slayer,[11] originally released for the FM-7 computer in October 1984,[12] is often considered to be the first true action role-playing game.[13][14]
- December: Hydlide,[15] is an action role-playing game that introduced innovations such as the ability to switch between attack mode and defense mode, quick save and load options through passwords, and a health regeneration mechanic.[16][17]
References[ | ]
- ↑ http://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/video-game-myth-buster-did-crash-of.html
- ↑ Adams, Roe R. (November 1990), "Westward Ho! (Toward Japan, That Is): An Overview of the Evolution of CRPGs on Dedicated Game Machines", Computer Gaming World (76): pp. 83–84, "While America has been concentrating on yet another Wizardry, Ultima, or Might & Magic, each bigger and more complex than the one before it, the Japanese have slowly carved out a completely new niche in the realm of CRPG. The first CRPG entries were Rygar and Deadly Towers on the NES. These differed considerably from the "action adventure" games that had drawn quite a following on the machines beforehand. Action adventures were basically arcade games done in a fantasy setting such as Castlevania, Trojan, and Wizards & Warriors. The new CRPGs had some of the trappings of regular CRPGs. The character could get stronger over time and gain extras which were not merely a result of a short-term "Power-Up." There were specific items that could be acquired which boosted fighting or defense on a permanent basis. Primitive stores were introduced with the concept that a player could buy something to aid him on his journey."
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jeremy Parish (2012). What Happened to the Action RPG?. Retrieved on 2015-01-14
- ↑ The Tower of Druaga at the Gaming-History database
- ↑ Data East v. Epyx, 862 F. 2d 204, 9 U.S.P.Q.2d (BNA) 1322 (9th Cir. 1988).
- ↑ Ryan Geddes & Daemon Hatfield (2007-12-10). IGN's Top 10 Most Influential Games. IGN. Retrieved on 2009-04-14
- ↑ Spencer, Spanner, The Tao of Beat-'em-ups, Eurogamer, Feb 6, 2008, Accessed Mar 18, 2009
- ↑ Kunkel, Bill; Worley, Joyce; Katz, Arnie, "The Furious Fists of Sega!", Computer Gaming World, Oct 1988, pp. 48-49
- ↑ Dragon Buster at Museum of the Game
- ↑ Gaming's most important evolutions, GamesRadar
- ↑ Kurt Kalata, Dragon Slayer, Hardcore Gaming 101
- ↑ Dragon Slayer. Retrieved on 2015-01-14
- ↑ Shigeaki, Kamada (2007). レトロゲーム配信サイトと配信タイトルのピックアップ紹介記事「懐かし (Retro). 4Gamer.net. Retrieved on 2011-05-19 (Translation)
- ↑ Falcom Classics. GameSetWatch (July 12, 2006). Retrieved on 2011-05-18
- ↑ Hydlide (PC88). Retrieved on 2015-01-14
- ↑ Kalata, Kurt. Hydlide. Hardcore Gaming 101.
- ↑ Szczepaniak, John (7 July 2011). "Falcom: Legacy of Ys". GamesTM (111): 152–159 [153]. http://imageshack.us/f/32/yshistory02.jpg/. Retrieved 2011-09-07. (cf. Szczepaniak, John (July 8, 2011). History of Ys interviews. Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved on 6 September 2011)
Video game releases[ | ]
Hardware releases[ | ]
| Name | Release Date | Category | Region(s)
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