The 1980s are fondly remembered as the golden age of video games. While the quality of graphics found then pales in comparison to anything seen today, the 80s were a rich era of innovation and trends that helped shape the future of the industry.
Some of the best characters from that gaming period, like Mario and Pac-Man, are still idolised today, and thanks to remakes and crossovers in movies and TV shows, they continue to thrive in pop culture.
But what specifically made the 1980s such a powerful, fondly remembered era for gaming? Here, we’ll explore the platforms and leading titles from the decade that helped propel and, in some cases, revive an entire industry.
Arcade Foundations
When thinking back to the 80s, the first thing that comes to mind for many people is arcade games. There was something special about heading to those halls of gaming delights, where games like Donkey Kong, Galaga, and Pac-Man drew so much attention. Tetris is another example—it was released in 1984 and sparked a whole genre of single player puzzle games.
Even though arcade games have now pretty much fallen to the wayside, traces of their heritage can be seen in slot machines at casinos. The two sort of influenced each other, with mechanical slots coming first. It was, however, the wave of colourful graphics and gameplay developed for arcade games that inspired much of the modern casino slots in terms of the complexity levels and bonus rounds seen today.
Despite having first appeared in the previous decade, it was during the 80s that arcades dominated the gaming scene. The popularity of arcade machines caused a cultural phenomenon to emerge around the world, and a lot of that was driven by competition. Players hurrying to the arcade to compete for high scores caused a boom in the industry and, in turn, game developers and arcades saw the money roll in.
Home View
The gaming scene started shifting to home consoles around the mid-80s, with Atari leading the way in this new trend of video gaming. They launched both the 5200 and 7800 in the 80s as they tried to take hold of the burgeoning market. The 5200 was based on the 8-bit family computers and ran titles like Dig Dug, Centipede, Galaxian, Q*bert, Pac-Man, and Ms. Pac-Man.
The later 7800 incorporated graphics boards like those found in arcade games, and while it wasn’t backwards compatible with the 5200, it offered the likes of Asteroids, Donkey Kong, Mario Bros, and Double Dragon. It was a better machine, but still, for many, not quite the ideal perfect operation it could have been.
Beating the Atari systems for sales during the 1980s was the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was released in 1983 and, to this day, is recognised as being one of the most influential consoles of all time. With add-ons and a selection of groundbreaking games like Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Super Mario Bros., the NES was an instant hit.
While it sounds like an ideal era to travel back in time to revisit for gaming, it wasn’t all plain sailing in the 1980s for the home console market. Despite the market remaining strong in Japan and solid in Europe, the big video game crash of 1983 in the US saw a glut of poor-quality games saturating the market and causing a recession. It was the NES that helped the industry break out of that slump as it completely changed the face of console gaming.
The Changing Face of Games
To put the impact of the NES into context, the sales in 1988 were reported as being at seven million, nearly the number of Commodore 64s that had sold within its first five years. Computer gaming was around at the time, but much of it was notoriously slow and unreliable. Thanks to dedicated game systems like the NES, where games could easily and quickly be switched out by changing a cartridge, people trended towards the consoles to get their gaming fix.
It wasn’t just that the NES machine was innovative, the add-ons and games developed for it gave rise to a whole new way of innovative play, notably with platform-style titles. There is no better example of this than Super Mario Bros and Metroid (of which there were many sequels), with Mario, of course, being one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises.
Alongside platformers, role-playing games such as Final Fantasy and The Legend of Zelda offered more in-depth interactive games, putting the user in control of decisions. These pioneering titles were more complex than anything seen before on console systems, placed against the backdrop of wonderfully immersive storylines.
The Most Iconic Titles
Some titles have, of course, stood the test of time since their 80s origins. There is perhaps none bigger than Pac-Man, a game that everyone wanted to be the world’s best at. The protagonist, along with the ghosts and earworm music and playability, made it appealing to everyone. The addictiveness came from the simplicity of the game, and it helped to make Pac-Man a towering cultural figure of gaming.
Donkey Kong was the great early platform game that sparked a big gaming trend, and it was the title in which the iconic Mario character showed up for the first time. Donkey Kong found its way into many different consoles, and the pioneering game paved the way for future platform titles.
Another defining game due to its simplicity was the arcade hit Space Invaders, which found its way onto consoles after causing a massive arcade trend. Space Invaders had a lasting impact on the industry, with many replicas inspired by its simple yet challenging gameplay, and there are many such games based on the game’s mechanics available today on mobile phones and tablets.
In Summary
Some consoles have become collector items, and modern-day players yearn to revisit and revive classics. It’s worth reminding ourselves when we sit down today to play in LAN events or online MMORPG titles that they all have their roots back in the gaming innovations of the 1980s. Even older consoles like the Spectrum are being remastered and given use to nostalgia gamers today!
Whether it’s fond memories of trying to top the score on Space Invaders or attempting to beat the original Pac-Man game, the love for this golden era remains strong. Titles like The Legend of Zelda still appear on people’s lists of the greatest video games, which proves that it’s not graphics, it’s experience.
The 1980s was a simpler time for gaming, but one that was amazing, rewarding, exciting, and innovative. It is an era stacked with wonderful nostalgia and some of the greatest gaming trends and iconic characters ever.