Arcade Game History Part 1

1980's

The first remarkable success of video arcade games refers to 1980's and found its peak in the 1990's.  This began in 1980 with the release of the game Pac-Man.  This uncomplicated game quickly became extremely popular, resulting in the developers creating a sequel, Ms. Pac-Man.

Both Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man would become so huge that people of all ages and genders crowded the arcades playing the game.  These games, with some others like Space Invaders, Galaga, Defender, Missile Command, and Donkey Kong, kept the arcade scene alive in the early 1980's.

By the mid 1980's the popularity of video games in general began to drop.  This began to affect the arcade scene.  This however, soon changed in 1985 when Nintendo released their sequel to one of their mildly popular arcade games Mario Brothers.  The game was called Super Mario Brothers.  Super Mario Bros became a phenomenon and would arguably put video games on the map.  After the game made a killing on Nintendo's own console, a special arcade version named VS: Super Mario Brothers appeared in the arcades.

The arcade version had levels that were different, and more challenging than the console version.  From Super Mario Brothers onward, video game developers released innovative and fun video games in arcades that would create a lasting effect for over a decade in the United States.  Developers like Sega, Namco, Midway, Capcom, and Konami became household names because of their great games.