Some of the best games of the 80’s

Ever since it’s creation in the 70’s, arcade games became an integral part of the society and one could say that the 80’s would not have been complete without it. Arcade games were coin-operated machines that became so popular that they were found almost anywhere. You could find them in video arcades, malls, movie houses, entertainment centers, and even in hotels and/or restaurants.

As mentioned earlier, it was in the early 70’s that arcade games began and soon got popular. Ted Dabney and Nolan Bushnell were the creators of Atari and soon the Pong arcade game, which was based on table tennis or ping-pong, was released and that soon became everyone's favorite. Soon there were a lot of imitations and replicas of the Pong game as it was so successful. By the 80’s arcade games were everywhere in the U.S.

Some of the games that became popular in the 80’s and have still maintained their fame are: Pac-Man – Created by Namco in 1980, this game is an all time favorite even today, thought it has taken many new shapes, forms and names. What was different about this 80’s game was that unlike other games it was not violent and this made it enjoyable by all, young and old and boys and girls.

Everybody remembers Pac-Man, the 2-D yellow circular face with a slit for a mouth. All you had to do was move Pac-Man through a maze, allowing him to eat the dots and other items on his path to gain points, while he was escaping from the ghosts named Clyde, Pinky, Inky and Blinky.

Space Invaders – This was one of the first space video games made. It was created in Japan in 1978 by Toshihiro Nishikado. The game was basically a shooting game based in space, where there is a movable cannon placed at the bottom of the screen that shoots lasers and you are supposed to use the cannon to destroy the alien invaders who would appear at the top of the screen and move downwards, simultaneously shooting lasers and bombs at you which you (the cannon) have to avoid or you die; and if you do not destroy the alien ship before it reaches the bottom of the screen then again, you die.

Donkey Kong – also famously known as ‘Jumpman’ and ‘Mario’, this game was created by Nintendo in 1981 and was another famous game of the 80’s. This game was all about maneuvering your character i.e. Mario (Jumpman) through the various stages with obstacles and enemies to save the pretty damsel from the evil Donkey Kong. All these games and many more such as Pengo, Tetris, Battlezone, the Rubik’s cube, Tron and many others were the famous games of the 80’s.

It was only in the late 80’s-90 that newer forms of entertainment like home video games were introduced and the craze for arcade games began to decline. But though the former version of the arcade games began to decline, the newer version took their place. So it can be said that arcade games still have a great influence over kids and adults alike.