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1970s in video gaming
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==Video game crash of 1977== {{Main|Video game crash of 1977}} The first major crash in 1977 occurred when companies were forced to sell their older obsolete systems flooding the market. In 1977, manufacturers of older, obsolete consoles and ''[[Pong]]'' clones sold their systems at a loss to clear stock, creating a glut in the market.<ref name="Whittaker-122"/> [[Atari]] and [[Magnavox]] remained in the home console market, despite suffering losses in 1977 and 1978.<ref name="Montfort-66">{{Cite book|title=Racing the beam: the Atari Video computer system|author=Nick Montfort & Ian Bogost|publisher=[[MIT Press]]|year=2009|isbn=0-262-01257-X|page=66|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DqePfdz_x6gC&pg=PA66|accessdate=2011-05-01}}</ref> Many manufacturers were negatively affected by the market collapse, with Allied Leisure going bankrupt, [[Fairchild Semiconductor]] and [[National Semiconductor]] leaving console development, and Magnavox cancelling their next console. [[Coleco]] remained after making a $30 million loss in 1977, while Atari remained with the help of funding from [[Warner Communications]].<ref>http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=oK3D4i5ldKgC&pg=PA86</ref> In North America this drove most smaller game companies out of business, but in Europe it had a different impact. The reduction in demand for the chips that powered first-generation consoles caused the price of those chips to drop dramatically. European manufacturers such as Hanimex, Secam, and Soundic released cartridge-based game consoles that contained no CPU. Cartridges for these consoles would contain the same chips that power later Pong consoles.<ref>{{Cite web| title = Hanimex SD 070 Colour| date = November 21, 2014| url = http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=1267&st=2| accessdate = November 21, 2014}}</ref> The crash was largely caused by the significant number of ''Pong'' clones that flooded the market. The crash eventually came to an end with the success of [[Taito Corporation|Taito]]'s ''[[Space Invaders]]'', released in 1978, sparking a renaissance for the video game industry and paving the way for the [[golden age of arcade video games]].<ref name="Whittaker-122">{{Cite book|title=The cyberspace handbook|author=Jason Whittaker|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2004|isbn=0-415-16835-X|page=122}}</ref> Soon after, ''Space Invaders'' was licensed for the [[Atari 2600|Atari VCS]] (later known as Atari 2600), becoming its first big hit and quadrupling the console's sales.<ref name="RG-41">{{Cite journal|date=September 2007| title= The Definitive Space Invaders| journal= [[Retro Gamer]]| publisher= [[Imagine Publishing]]|issue= 41| pages= 24β33 | url= http://www.nowgamer.com/features/894697/the_definitive_space_invaders_part_1.html | accessdate=2011-04-20}}</ref> This helped Atari recover from their earlier losses.<ref name="Montfort-66"/> The success of the Atari 2600 in turn revived the home video game market, up until the [[North American video game crash of 1983]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The cyberspace handbook|author=Jason Whittaker|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2004|isbn=0-415-16835-X|pages=122β3}}</ref>
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