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1980 in video gaming
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{{Decadebox | prev = 1979 | next = 1981 }} ==Business== * New companies: [[Mindscape, Inc]]., [[Sierra On-Line]]. * Mattel creates the original five-programmer Intellivision game design team, nicknamed the Blue Sky Rangers by a magazine writer when the company keeps their names secret in a TV Guide interview. * The [[Video gaming in the United States|US arcade game market]]'s revenues rise to $7.19 billion in 1980<ref name=golden_rev>http://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/video-game-myth-buster-did-crash-of.html</ref> (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|7190000000|1980|r=0}}}} in {{CURRENTYEAR}}). * The home [[video game console]] market in the US generates $500 million in sales of systems and [[ROM cartridge|cartridges]]<ref>http://vidgame.info/vid1976.htm</ref> (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US|500000000|1980|r=0}}}} in {{CURRENTYEAR}}). ==Notable releases== ===Games=== ;Arcade * February: [[Namco]] releases ''[[Navarone (video game)|Navarone]]'', ''[[Kaitei Takara Sagashi]]'' (which was originally developed by [[K. K. Tokki]] as a prototype) and ''[[SOS]]''. * May: [[Namco]] releases ''[[Pac-Man]]'', its biggest-selling game. One of the most influential games, it had the first gaming [[mascot]] [[Character (arts)|character]], established the [[maze chase video games]] genre, opened gaming to female audiences,<ref>[http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3122102 The Essential 50 - Pac-Man], [[1UP.com|1UP]]</ref> and introduced [[power-up]]s<ref>[http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3151392 Playing With Power: Great Ideas That Have Changed Gaming Forever], [[1UP.com|1UP]]</ref> and [[cutscene]]s.<ref>[http://www.gamesradar.com/f/gamings-most-important-evolutions/a-20101008102331322035/p-2 Gaming's Most Important Evolutions], [[GamesRadar]]</ref> * June: [[Namco]] releases ''[[King & Balloon]]'', which was one of the first games to feature [[speech synthesis]]. * October: [[Namco]] releases ''[[Tank Battalion]]''. * Namco releases ''[[King & Balloon]]'',<ref>{{Cite book|title=The ultimate history of video games: from Pong to Pokémon and beyond|author=Steve L. Kent|publisher=[[Prima Games|Prima]]|year=2001|isbn=0-7615-3643-4|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=C2MH05ogU9oC|accessdate=2011-04-02|page=142}}</ref> which is the first game to feature [[Speech synthesis|synthesized voices]]. It also featured [[Multi-core processor|dual-core processing]], using two [[Zilog Z80|Z80]] [[microprocessor]]s, the second to drive a [[Digital-to-analog converter|DAC]] for speech.<ref>{{KLOV game|8311|King & Balloon}}</ref> * [[Namco]] releases [[Navalone]], [[Kaitei Takara Sagashi]], [[SOS]], [[Tank Battalion]], and [[Rally-X]], which is the first game to feature a bonus round. * [[Nintendo]] releases the ''[[Radar Scope]]'' arcade game and the [[Game & Watch]] handheld LCD game by [[Gunpei Yokoi]]. * Universal release the arcade game ''[[Space Panic]]'', often cited as the first [[platform game]]. * [[Stern Electronics]] (a subsidiary of Universal Research Laboratories) releases the ''[[Berzerk]]'' arcade game. *Warner Communications' [[Atari]] releases the ''[[Missile Command]]'' arcade game, and the ''[[Battlezone (Atari)|Battlezone]]'' arcade game (it was later enhanced for the US Army for military training) – albeit relying on specialized vector graphics hardware. * [[Williams Electronics]] releases the ''[[Defender]]'' arcade game. * [[Warner Communications]]' Atari releases the ''[[Centipede]]'' (by [[Ed Logg]] & [[Dona Bailey]]) and ''[[Warlords]]'' arcade games and also the ''[[Tempest]]'' color vector arcade game. ;Computer * ''[[Rogue]]'' is written by [[Michael Toy]], [[Glenn Wichman]], and [[Ken Arnold]], spawning the category of [[Roguelike video games|roguelike games]]. * [[Edu-Ware]] releases ''[[The Prisoner]]'', loosely based upon the 1960s TV series of the same name. Programmed by David Mullich, it became a classic of the [[Apple II]] platform. * [[Infocom]] releases [[Zork I]], the first [[Zork (series)|Zork game]] and the first Infocom game. ===Hardware=== ;Arcade * December: [[Data East|DECO]] releases the [[DECO Cassette System]], the first standardized [[Arcade system board|arcade platform]], which many games were developed for. ;Console * [[Mattel]] releases the [[Intellivision]] video game console. ;Computer * Sinclair Research releases the [[ZX80]] home computer and [[Acorn Computers]] release the [[Atom]], the first 'domestic' computers to play games in the [[United Kingdom]]. ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Video game releases== {{ReleasesQueryYear|1980}} ==Hardware releases== {{HardwareReleasesQueryYear|1980}} [[Category:Year articles]]
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