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1984 in video games

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 14 min

List of years 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 video 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

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In the United States, home video game sales fall to $800 million[1] ($2.4 billion adjusted for inflation).

Highest-grossing arcade games

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Japan

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In Japan, the following titles were the top-grossing arcade video games of each month on the Game Machine charts in 1984.

Month Table arcade cabinet Upright/cockpit cabinet Ref
Title Points Title Points
January Hyper Olympic (Track & Field) 14.54 TX-1 18.19 [2][3]
February 10-Yard Fight 15.64 16.95 [4][5]
March Vs. Tennis 14 16.25 [6][7]
April 13.23 15.56 [8][9]
May Gaplus 14.66 Thunder Storm (Cobra Command) 15.83 [10][11]
June Vs. Baseball 14.79 15.76 [12][13]
July Crowns Golf 15.08 15.44 [14][15]
August Karate Champ 15.58 14.95 [16][17]
September Jan Oh (Jang-Oh) 16.89 TX-1 V8 18 [18][19]
October Night Gal 15 15.67 [20][21]
November Jan Oh (Jang-Oh) 14.68 16.92 [22][23]
December Night Gal 14.36 Super Don Quix-ote 17 [24][25]

United Kingdom and United States

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The following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1984 in the United Kingdom and United States.

Rank United Kingdom United States
Title Manufacturer RePlay[26] AMOA[27] Play Meter[28]
Arcade Route/Street Video Title Points
1 Track & Field[29] Konami Pole Position II Pole Position[30] Dragon's Lair 499.8
2 Un­known Pole Position Track & Field,
Spy Hunter,
M.A.C.H. 3,
Punch-Out!! 		Elevator Action,
Spy Hunter,
Pole Position II,
Punch-Out!! 		Spy Hunter,
Ms. Pac-Man,
Track & Field,
Punch-Out!! 		Pole Position 459
3 Un­known Un­known Track & Field 370.6
4 Un­known Un­known M.A.C.H. 3 280.6
5 Un­known Un­known Spy Hunter 256.5
6 Un­known Un­known — Star Wars 205.7
7 Un­known Un­known — Space Ace 192.6
8 Un­known Un­known — Punch-Out!! 191.8
9 Un­known Un­known — Vs. Tennis 170.8
10 Un­known Un­known — Astron Belt 137.8

Best-selling home systems

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Rank System(s) Manufacturer Type Generation Sales
Japan Worldwide
1 Family Computer 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 PC-88 / PC-98 NEC Computer 8-bit / 16-bit 470,000[34][35] 470,000+
7 Mac Apple Inc. Computer 16-bit — 370,000[32]
8 MSX ASCII Corporation Computer 8-bit 350,000[36] 350,000+
9 Adam Coleco Computer 8-bit — 255,000[37]
10 SG-1000 Sega Console Third 240,000[38] 240,000+

Best-selling home video games in the United Kingdom

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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]

Rank Title Publisher Genre Platform
1 Jet Set Willy Software Projects Platform ZX Spectrum
2 Fighter Pilot Digital Integration Combat flight sim
3 Manic Miner Bug-Byte/Software Projects Platform
4 Atic Atac Ultimate Play the Game Action-adventure
5 Chequered Flag Psion Racing
6 Hunchback Ocean Platform
7 Sabre Wulf Ultimate Play the Game Action-adventure
8 Night Gunner Digital Integration Shoot 'em up
9 Jetpac Ultimate Play the Game
10 Manic Miner Software Projects Platform Commodore 64

Major awards

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Business

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Notable releases

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Games

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Arcade

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Computer

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Console

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Hardware

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  • 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

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References

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  1. ^ Lindner, Richard (1990). Video Games: Past, Present and Future; An Industry Overview. United States: Nintendo of America.
  2. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 228. Amusement Press, Inc. January 15, 1984. p. 31.
  3. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 229. Amusement Press, Inc. February 1, 1984. p. 29.
  4. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 230. Amusement Press, Inc. February 15, 1984. p. 27.
  5. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 231. Amusement Press, Inc. March 1, 1984. p. 29.
  6. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 232. Amusement Press, Inc. March 15, 1984. p. 31.
  7. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 233. Amusement Press, Inc. April 1, 1984. p. 27.
  8. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 234. Amusement Press, Inc. April 15, 1984. p. 29.
  9. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 235. Amusement Press, Inc. May 1, 1984. p. 29.
  10. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 236. Amusement Press, Inc. May 15, 1984. p. 29.
  11. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 237. Amusement Press, Inc. June 1, 1984. p. 29.
  12. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 238. Amusement Press, Inc. June 15, 1984. p. 25.
  13. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 239. Amusement Press, Inc. July 1, 1984. p. 25.
  14. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 240. Amusement Press, Inc. July 15, 1984. p. 37.
  15. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 241. Amusement Press, Inc. August 1, 1984. p. 27.
  16. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 242. Amusement Press, Inc. August 15, 1984. p. 25.
  17. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 243. Amusement Press, Inc. September 1, 1984. p. 29.
  18. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 244. Amusement Press, Inc. September 15, 1984. p. 31.
  19. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 245. Amusement Press, Inc. October 1, 1984. p. 35.
  20. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 246. Amusement Press, Inc. October 15, 1984. p. 31.
  21. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 247. Amusement Press, Inc. November 1, 1984. p. 31.
  22. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 248. Amusement Press, Inc. November 15, 1984. p. 25.
  23. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 249. Amusement Press, Inc. December 1, 1984. p. 31.
  24. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 250. Amusement Press, Inc. December 15, 1984. p. 29.
  25. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 251. Amusement Press, Inc. January 1, 1985. p. 37.
  26. ^ "Top Hits of Last 5 Years". RePlay. March 1987.
  27. ^ "Nominees Announced For 1984 AMOA Awards" (PDF). Cash Box. September 8, 1984. p. 28.
  28. ^ "Top 20 Performing Video Games of 1984". Play Meter. Vol. 10, no. 20. November 1, 1984. p. 47.
  29. ^ "Commando: Soldier of Fortune". Your Sinclair. No. 1. January 1986. p. 54.
  30. ^ "Michael Jackson Sweeps AMOA Awards; 'Pole Position' Wins In Games Division" (PDF). Cash Box. November 10, 1984. pp. 31, 33.
  31. ^ "昔(1970年代）のテレビゲームは何台売れた？" [How many old (1970s) video games sold?]. Classic Videogame Station Odyssey (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  32. ^ a b c d Reimer, Jeremy (December 15, 2005). "Total share: 30 years of personal computer market share figures". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on June 7, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  33. ^ Mace, Scott (April 2, 1984). "Speaker at conference predicts software shakeout". InfoWorld. Vol. 6, no. 14. InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. p. 16. ISSN 0199-6649.
  34. ^ Methe, David; Mitchell, Will; Miyabe, Junichiro; Toyama, Ryoko (January 1998). "Overcoming a Standard Bearer: Challenges to NEC's Personal Computer in Japan". Research Papers in Economics (RePEc): 35 – via ResearchGate.
  35. ^ Juliussen, Egil; Juliussen, Karen (1990). The Computer Industry Almanac 1991. Pearson P T R. pp. 10–47, 10–48. ISBN 978-0-13-155748-2.
  36. ^ "ElectronicsWeek". ElectronicsWeek. Vol. 58, no. 13–23. McGraw-Hill. 1985. p. 41. The home computer market in Japan consumed 1.1 million machines last year and is growing modestly in 1985, but it remains essentially a game market. (...) The two largest producers of home computers in Japan—NEC Corp., which claims a 40% market share, and Sharp Corp., which claims 20%—do not use the MSX (Microsoft Extended Basic) system that Microsoft Corp. developed and has licensed to 18 other Japanese companies. Total MSX sales last year are estimated at 350,000 units. But NEC's best-selling 8801-MII is used mostly by university students and small businesses for bookkeeping or document filing; MSX users are overwhelmingly 15 years of age or younger—game fanatics.
  37. ^ Adams, Jane Meredith (January 3, 1985). "Adam Just Couldn't Deliver on Promises". The Boston Globe. p. 41.
  38. ^ Tanaka, Tatsuo (August 2001). Network Externality and Necessary Software Statistics (PDF). Statistics Bureau of Japan. p. 2.
  39. ^ The Year's Top 10 Games. EMAP. p. 88. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2021. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  40. ^ 1984 Arcade Awards – Electronic Games January 1984, pages 68–81.
  41. ^ Current, Michael. "A History of WCI Games / Atari / Atari Games / Atari Holdings". Atari History Timelines. Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  42. ^ Current, Michael. "A History of Tramel Technology / Atari". Atari History Timelines. Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  43. ^ "M Network Titles for Computers". Intellivision Lives. Intellivision Productions. Archived from the original on January 10, 2007. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  44. ^ "Where Are They Now?". Intellivision Lives. Archived from the original on July 27, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  45. ^ Kurt Kalata & Robert Greene. "Hydlide". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  46. ^ Hague, James (1997). Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers. Archived from the original on May 27, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
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