1978 in video games

Overview of the events of 1978 in video games

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1978 saw the release of new video games such as Space Invaders. The year is considered the beginning of the golden age of arcade video games. The year's highest-grossing video game was Taito's arcade game Space Invaders, while the best-selling home system was the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS).

## Financial performance

[edit]

### Highest-grossing arcade games

[edit]

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] | $3,200,000,000 | 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

[edit]

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] | $3,200,000,000 | 100,000  | Taito | Shoot 'em up | [3][4][5]
Medal game | EVR Race | Un­known  | Un­known  | Un­known  | Nintendo | Racing | [4]

#### United States

[edit]

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

### Best-selling home systems

[edit]

Rank  | System(s)  | Manufacturer(s)  | Type  | Generation  | Sales  | Ref

|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS)  | Atari, Inc. | Console | Second | 300,000  | [10]
Bandai Baseball  | Bandai | Handheld | —  | 300,000  | [11]
3  | TRS-80 | Tandy Corporation | Computer | 8-bit | 150,000  | [12]
4  | Commodore PET | Commodore International | Computer  | 8-bit  | 30,000  | [12]
5  | Apple II | Apple Inc. | Computer  | 8-bit  | 20,000  | [13]
6  | IMSAI 8080 | IMS Associates, Inc. | Computer  | 8-bit  | 5,000  | [13]
IBM 5110 | IBM | Computer  | —  | 5,000
8  | Altair 8800 | MITS | Computer  | 8-bit  | 4,000  | [12]
HP 9800 series | Hewlett-Packard | Computer  | —  | 4,000  | [13]
10  | Pertec/MITS 300  | Pertec Computer | Computer  | 8-bit  | 3,000  | [13]

## Events

[edit]

* 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.[14]
* 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.[15]

## Business

[edit]

* New companies: Automated Simulations (later Epyx), Koei, Muse, Supersoft, Synergistic, U.S. Games.
* The American arcade game market earns a revenue of $1 billion[16] (equivalent to $4.82 billion in 2024).
* The American home video game market is worth $200 million.[17]

## Notable releases

[edit]

### Games

[edit]

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[18] and influences most subsequent shooters.[19]
* 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

* The book BASIC Computer Games, microcomputer edition, is released.

### Hardware

[edit]

Bally Astrocade

Computer

* Elektor releases the TV Games Computer.

Console

* December – Magnavox launches the Odyssey².
* APF Electronics releases the APF-M1000.
* Bally/Midway releases the Bally Professional Arcade.
* Entreprex releases the Apollo 2001.
* Interton releases the VC 4000.

## See also

[edit]

* 1978 in games

## Notes

[edit]

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

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "After Pong". ACE. No. 6 (March 1988). February 4, 1988. pp. 29–32 (29).
2. ^ a b Cohen, Daniel (1982). Video Games. New York: Pocket Books. p. 15\. ISBN 0-671-45872-8.
3. ^ 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. ^ 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. ^ 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.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
7. ^ a b "Video Games". RePlay. November 1978.
8. ^ a b Bloom, Steve (1982). Video Invaders. Arco Publishing. p. 18\. ISBN 978-0-668-05520-8.
9. ^ "The 'Winners' of '78: Top Arcade Games". Play Meter. 1978.
10. ^ Rubin, Michael (2006). "Eighteen: A Hole in the Desert [1982–1983]" (PDF). Droidmaker: George Lucas and the Digital Revolution. Triad Publishing Company. pp. 291-314 (292-3). ISBN 978-0-937404-67-6.
11. ^ "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.
12. ^ a b c 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.
* Jeremy Reimer (December 7, 2012). "Total Share: Personal Computer Market Share 1975-2010". Jeremy Reimer.
13. ^ a b c d "BYTE News... Radio Shack Has Over 50 Percent of Personal Computer Business". BYTE. Vol. 4, no. 5\. May 1979. p. 117.
14. ^ "Players Guide To Electronic Science Fiction Games". Electronic Games. 1 (2): 35–45 [36]. March 1982. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
15. ^ Kohler, Chris (September 6, 2011). "Bill Kunkel, Original Gaming Journalist, Dies at 61". Wired. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
16. ^ "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.
17. ^ 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
18. ^ "Essential 50: Space Invaders". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
19. ^ Edwards, Benj. "Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Space Invaders". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2008.

History of video games

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Chronology of video games

Early history|

* 1947–1972

1970s|

* 1970
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1980s|

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1990s|

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2000s|

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2010s|

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2020s|

* 2020
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* 2025
* In development

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Video game history by platform

By platform|

* Early mainframe games
* History of arcade video games
* Golden age
* Timeline
* History of video game consoles
* Crash of 1983
* Console war
* History of mobile games

By console generation|

* First (1972–1980)
* Second (1976–1992)
* Third (1983–2003)
* Fourth (1987–2003)
* Fifth (1993–2005)
* Sixth (1998–2013)
* Seventh (2005–2017)
* Eighth (2012–)
* Ninth (2020–)

* v
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* e

Video game genres

* List of video game genres

Action|

| Platformer|

* Endless runner
* Platform fighter

|

Shooter|

* Arena
* First-person
* Hero
* Light gun
* Shoot 'em up
* Bullet hell
* Rail
* Twin-stick
* Tactical
* Third-person

Survival|

* Battle royale
* Survival horror

Other|

* Beat 'em up
* Hack and slash
* Fighting
* Platform fighter
* Maze
* Pac-Man clone
* Snake
* Stealth

Action-adventure|

* Grand Theft Auto clone
* Metroidvania

Adventure|

* Escape room
* Graphic adventure
* Interactive fiction
* Interactive film
* Visual novel
* Walking sim

Digital tabletop|

* Deck-building
* Roguelike deck-building
* Digital collectible card

Puzzle|

* Hidden object
* Sokoban
* Tile-matching

Role-playing|

* Action role-playing
* Looter shooter
* Soulslike
* Dungeon crawl
* MMORPG
* Monster-taming
* Roguelike
* Roguelike deck-building
* Tactical role-playing
* Turn-based role-playing

Simulation|

| Life|

* Dating
* Farming
* God
* Social
* Virtual pet

|

CMS|

* Business
* City-building
* Government

Sports|

* Fishing
* Racing
* Kart racing
* Sim racing

Vehicle|

* Flight simulation
* Combat
* Lunar Lander
* Space
* Submarine simulator
* Train simulator
* Vehicular combat

Other|

* Falling-sand
* Immersive sim

Strategy|

* 4X
* Auto battler
* MOBA
* Real-time strategy
* Time management
* Real-time tactics
* Tactical role-playing
* Tower defense
* Turn-based strategy
* Turn-based tactics
* Artillery
* Wargame
* Grand strategy

Other genres|

* Cozy
* Fitness
* Horror
* Survival horror
* Incremental
* Music
* Rhythm
* Non-game
* Party
* Photography
* Programming
* Typing

Related concepts|

| Themes|

* Advergame
* Bishōjo
* Christian
* Comedy
* Educational
* Girls
* Licensed
* Otome
* Sexual
* Eroge
* Nonviolent
* Personalized
* Sci-fi
* Serious
* Art
* Climate change
* News

|

Player modes|

* Multiplayer
* Co-op
* PVP
* Single-player

Production|

* AAA
* Indie
* Doujin soft
* Fan game

Design|

* Casual
* Hypercasual
* Emergent gameplay
* FMV
* Gacha
* Kaizo
* Masocore
* Nonlinear gameplay
* Open world
* Sandbox
* Side-scrolling
* Twitch gameplay
* Vertically scrolling

Other|

* Minigame
* Toys-to-life
* Video game clone
* Video game modding
* Video game remake

* v
* t
* e

Video games by country

Africa|

* Ghana
* Kenya
* Nigeria
* South Africa

Americas|

* Latin America
* Brazil
* Colombia
* Canada
* United States

Asia|

* Bangladesh
* China
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Japan
* North Korea
* South Korea
* Malaysia
* Philippines
* Russia
* Taiwan
* Thailand
* Turkey

Europe|

* Belgium
* Czech Republic
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Ireland
* Italy
* Lithuania
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Russia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom

Oceania|

* Australia
* New Zealand

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