1975 in video games

none March 2016 1975 video games 1975 saw several critical influences in the history of video games, including the first commercial games utilizing large-scale integrated circuits and microprocessors, as well as the first role-playing video games. On the back end of the Pong boom, the coin-operated video game industry achieved new expressions of gameplay and animation in arcade games. Racing games and competitive shooting games became particularly popular. Local multiplayer games accommodating more than four players were released by Atari, featuring advanced implementations of transistor-transistor logic hardware. Several games utilizing microprocessors debuted in coin-op, including the influential Gun Fight from Midway Mfg. The console industry saw its first competitive environment in the United States with Magnavox, Atari, and smaller competitors introducing systems utilizing advanced circuit designs. Atari’s Pong home console featured a sophisticated custom chip created in-house. European dedicated consoles remained isolated to specific regions, but offered some of the first console lines from companies like Videomaster. Japan’s first native console was developed and released by toy company Epoch. Computer networks saw a mass proliferation of game variants written in the BASIC programming language which influenced the emerging field of microcomputers. Games introduced in publications like People’s Computer Company and 101 BASIC Computer Games were frequently played via teletypes on time-sharing connected terminals; some were distributed via the remote connected ARPANET. The PLATO network likewise experienced a massive uptick in titles following the popularity of Empire and Spasim. Midwestern universities connected to the PLATO system were early recipients of the spread of Dungeons & Dragons, which prompted several student groups to develop the earliest computer role-playing games. Events February 16–19Zemo Gini 1975-02-14 Toymakers Await Holidays Asbury Park Press A–15 – Atari attends the New York Toy Fair to interest retailers to stock their forthcoming Pong home console. They fail to find any interest among toy buyers.Goldberg Marty Atari Inc.: Business is Fun Vendel Curt Syzygy Press 2012 978-0985597405 March 12 – Wallace Kirschner and Lawrence Haskel file US Patent #4,026,555 for Alpex Computer Corporation relating to a bitmapped system for video game graphics.US4026555A Television display control apparatus 1977-05-31 Kirschner Haskel Wallace Lawrence Martin https://patents.google.com/patent/US4026555A/ March 17 – Sears, Roebuck & Co. signs an agreement with Atari Inc. to distribute their Pong home console in their Sears retail stores.Smith Alexander They create worlds: the story of the people and companies that shaped the video game industry 2020 CRC Press, Taylor & Francis group 978-1-138-38990-8 Boca Raton, [Florida] London New York, [New York] Sears creates the Tele-Games brand to market the game while also allowing Atari’s logo to appear on the product. Magnavox later sues Sears over infringement of their Odyssey patents.1974-09-22 Complaint For Patent Infringement https://archive.org/details/19750922TransferNotice/page/n37/ 2 November 2024 Magnavox Company v. Sears, Roebuck and Co. US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division September 16–19 – The first WESCON computer trade show is held in San Francisco, California. Premiering there is the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, which powers many future video game systems. Steve Mayer and Ron Milner of Atari's Cyan Engineering are convinced to use the 6502 in their prototype home video game system which develops into the Video Computer System. October 17–19 – The Music Operators of America show is held in Chicago, Illinois. Several microprocessor video games make their debut including Gun Fight from Midway, Shark from U.S. Billiards, PT-109 from Mirco Games, and Destruction Derby from Major Manufacturers.November 1975 V/TMG Visits the Displays at MOA Expo Vending Times 15 11 74–76 October 29 – Stephen Bristow of Atari Inc. patents the technology behind the first hardware-enabled sprites for video games, dubbed Player/Missile Graphics by Atari.US4045789A Animated video image display system and method 1977-08-30 Bristow Stephen D. https://patents.google.com/patent/US4045789A/ November 26 – A market study evaluating the Alpex Computer home video game system using ROM cartridges is drafted by Gene Landrum for Fairchild Semiconductor, which convinces the company to create the Fairchild Video Entertainment System. Financial performance United States Arcade Total unit sales: 50,000–79,000.Kerwin Robert 1976-06-06 Put Another Quarter In... The San Francisco Examiner Sunday Examiner & Chronicle 24The Coin Operated and Home Electronic Games Market Frost & Sullivan Inc. 1976 The Frost & Sullivan estimate totals 53,000 games with traditional arcade cabinets and 26,000 for those under the new cocktail table presentation. Note Total Revenue (machine sales): $68–76 million.The Frost & Sullivan estimate totals $58 million in games with traditional arcade cabinets and $18 million for those under the new cocktail table presentation. Note TitleArcade cabinet units (Estimates)ManufacturerDeveloperGenreGun Fight8,600Jarrell Timothy November 1976 Like Old Man River Midway Sales Go Rollin' Along Play Meter 2 12 50–52Midway ManufacturingDave Nutting AssociatesMulti-directional shooterWheels7,000Baer Ralph H. Ralph H. Baer https://archive.org/details/VideogamesInTheBeginningRalphH.Baer/page/n31/mode/2up Videogames: In the Beginning 2005 Rolenta Press 978-0-9643848-1-1 Ralph Baer's numbers compiled in April 1976 are mostly estimates without direct access to sales figures. Note 2,400Cognevich Valerie 1986-03-15 Video-game industry still evolving Play Meter 12 4 12, 14–16Midway ManufacturingTaito CorpRacingWheels II3,000Midway ManufacturingTaito CorpRacingPT 1091,500Mirco GamesMirco GamesActionAvenger1,200Electra GamesUniversal Research LaboratoriesFixed shooterTank II1,000Kee GamesAtari Inc.Multi-directional shooterSuper Flipper538Neven John F. 1977-07-11 Notice of Motion https://archive.org/details/19770711NoticeOfMotion/page/n9/ 22 March 2024 Magnavox Company v. Chicago Dynamic Industries, et al. US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern DivisionChicago CoinModel RacingSportsCrash 'N Score500Atari Inc.Atari Inc.RacingJet Fighter500Atari Inc.Atari Inc.Multi-directional shooterShark Jaws500Atari Inc.Atari Inc.ActionSteeplechase500Atari Inc.Atari Inc.Racing Most popular arcade games RePlay magazine published its first popularity chart for coin-operated games in the United States in March 1976, covering games of the previous year. The lists were based on polling operators regarding their opinions of games receiving the most attention in their locations.March 1976 The Nation's Top Arcade Games RePlay 1 22 26 RePlay's charts were based only on a subset of operators and are not on imperial metrics such as earnings reports, but they give a strong indication of games which were of the most value to arcades and street locations. The RePlay rankings included both video and electro-mechanical games which ran in close competition through the 1970s until video games became dominant. Outside of the top twenty ranked in order, forty-eight other games were also listed. RankArcade video games TitleGenreManufacturer 1 Tank / Tank IIMulti-directional shooterKee Games 2 Wheels / Wheels IIRacingMidway Manufacturing 3 Gun FightMulti-directional shooterMidway Manufacturing 4 Indy 800RacingKee Games 5 Gran Trak 10 / Gran Trak 20RacingAtari Inc. 6 Twin RacerRacingKee Games 7 BiPlaneMulti-directional shooterAtari Inc. 8 RacerRacingMidway Manufacturing 9 Demolition DerbyRacingChicago Coin 10 Street BurnersRacingAllied Leisure Industries Home consoles Total unit sales: 250,000-400,000 consoles.Electronic Games & Personal Computers February 1979 Predicasts Inc. Total revenue (retail): $32–40 million.The Electronic Games Market in the U.S. 1983 Frost & Sullivan Inc. TitleGame console units (1975)ManufacturerDeveloperOdyssey80,000MagnavoxSanders Associates/MagnavoxOdyssey 100 / Odyssey 200100,000MagnavoxSanders Associates/Texas InstrumentsPong85,000Atari Inc.MOS Sorcery/Atari Inc. Publications Ted Nelson publishes Computer Lib/Dream Machines. It discusses numerous games, including variants of Spacewar! and those on the PLATO network.Schultz Kaye 1975-05-28 Who's in control: Man or machine? The News The World 3 October – RePlay magazine publishes its first issue. Edited by Eddie Adlum – previously editor for the coin machine section of publication Cash Box – the monthly magazine covers all aspects of coin-operated entertainment. Notable releases Arcade games April – Indy 800 by Atari (published under the Kee Games label) begins production.May 1975 New Kee game has chills, spills, enough for eight Play Meter 1 6 55 The game features color graphics and an eight player cabinet powered by eight circuit boards. Despite its massive profile and price restricting the range of venues, the game is highly successful and proves the earning power of large, multiplayer games. Atari releases Hi-Way, a scrolling racing game featuring a sit-down cabinet and screen-warping effects.April 1975 Go out in the traffic and play! Vending Times 15 4 59 September – Western Gun is released by Taito in Japan. It features the first human-on-human combat in a video game as well as destructible environments. October – Sega’s American marketing arm, Sega of America, releases their first video game in the United States, Bullet Mark.October 1975 Bullet Mark Another First From Sega RePlay 1 1 41 Project Support Engineering releases Maneater. The game is noted for its special cabinet design which is molded in the shape of a great white shark with open jaws.October 1975 Maneater from PSE RePlay 1 1 28 It is one of several games capitalizing on the release of the movie Jaws – including Shark Jaws by Atari and Shark by U.S. Billiards. Steven Spielberg is photographed with the Maneater cabinet. Atari introduces Steeplechase – a unique, six-player game. Controls are simplified to a single button which causes a horse to leap.1975-10-18 Starshine Cash Box C7 It is the first graphical game featuring a character who can jump. Electra Games releases Avenger.1975-10-18 Electra Intro's 'Avenger' At MOA Expo; 1-Plyr. W/3 Plays For 2 Quarters Pricing Cash Box C9 It is an early example of a scrolling shoot 'em-up. November – Gun Fight is released by Midway Manufacturing, based on Western Gun by Taito.1975-11-08 New Midway's 'Gun Fight' – 'Old West' Thrills Cash Box 39 It is the preeminent video game to use a microprocessor as well as the first twin-stick shooter. The game is among the most successful of 1975 and its hardware is used for subsequent Midway-released games. December – Exidy’s Destruction Derby is released; Chicago Coin releases it as Demolition Derby.1975-12-20 It's Chicago Coin's Game with a Brain RePlay 1 10 7 The game is later modified to become Death Race (1976). Fairchild employee Jerry Lawson creates the game Destruction DerbyUnrelated to the Destruction Derby released by Exidy. Note which he offers to Major Manufacturers.October 1975 Major Manufacturing's Kinsel Hails Fascination Vending Times 15 10 951975-10-18 Illogical. Microelectronics News with Manager's Casebook 2 Though the game is never officially released, its creation leads to Lawson’s engineering leadership of the Fairchild Video Entertainment System console.Donovan Tristan Replay: the history of video games 2010 Yellow Ant 978-0-9565072-0-4 East Sussex, England Computer games August – The Dungeon (also known as pedit5) is developed by Reginald “Rusty” Rutherford for the PLATO IV system at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. It is an early computer role-playing game, adapting Dungeons & Dragons mechanics as a graphical dungeon crawl with randomly generated encounters. The game is also the first known video game to feature a high score table.Peterson Jon Playing at the world: a history of simulating wars, people and fantastic adventures, from chess to role-playing games 2012 Unreason Press 978-0-615-64204-8 San Diego, CA In response to the deletion of The Dungeon from PLATO, Paul Resch, Larry Kemp, and Eric Hagstrom of the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana create the game Orthanc.Bollingbroke Chester 2013-11-11 The CRPG Addict: Game 123: Orthanc (1975) https://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2013/11/game-123-orthanc-1977.html 2024-11-02 The CRPG Addict Don Daglow develops the role-playing game Dungeon for the PDP-10 at Claremont University Center.Daglow Don L. August 1988 The Changing Role of Computer Game Designers https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_50.pdf 23 April 2016 Computer Gaming World 18 50Lucas Raphaël 2015-04-02 L’histoire du RPG: Don Daglow – Dungeon (1975) https://geekomatick.com/2015/04/02/lhistoire-du-rpg-don-daglow-dungeon-1975/ 2024-11-02 Geek -O- Matick en Hardware Console thumb|TV Tennis Electrotennis April – The company Jolieb distributes the Odyssey console in Japan, the first home video game to be sold in the country.Herman Leonard 2020-04-29 THE NINTENDO ODYSSEY https://thegamescholar.com/2020/04/28/the-nintendo-odyssey/ 2024-11-02 The Game Scholar en May – Control Sales offers the Video Action II console for sale for $299.1975-05-23 Plays on Your Home TV The Los Angeles Times Part IV 34 The console runs into difficulties with Federal Communications Commission restrictions, forcing the company to pull it from sale. September – Toy company Epoch releases TV Tennis Electrotennis in Japan.February 1977 Electronic Video Games Focus Japan 22 It is the first Japanese-developed home video game console, with the unusual feature of a wireless connection to the television via a UHF antenna. October – The Tele-Games home version of Pong (sometimes called Home Pong) is made available for purchase in Sears retail stores. November – Magnavox releases two new models consoles based on the Odyssey using chips developed by Texas Instruments, the Odyssey 100 and Odyssey 200. These consoles are pared down to play variants of the Ping Pong game from the original Odyssey – which is discontinued – and are much more successful. Videomaster releases its Olympic Home T.V. Game model in the United Kingdom which plays six games.1975-11-20 Bridgers Evening Post 141975-12-01 apollo Lincolnshire Echo 8 Television Tennis is released by Executive Games in the United States.1975-11-24 Video Games Playing to Home Market Weekly Television Digest with Consumer Electronics 15 47 8 December – Philips releases the ES 2201 Tele-Spiel console in the Netherlands, an early console featuring interchangeable games similar to the original Odyssey.December 1975 Philips tele-spel elektuur 147 1206December 1975 Philips Tele-Spel Radio Bulletin A18 Business April 1 – San Diego Chargers football players Dennis Partee and Gary Garrison plus businessman Jim Pierce found the company Cinematronics Inc. April 4 – Micro-Soft is founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico, by Bill Gates and Paul Allen to focus on software for microprocessors. September 22 – Yasuhiro Fukushima founds the Eidansha Boshu Service Center in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. The advertising business is later renamed Enix Corporation when they enter computer games. November 1 – Sammy Industry is established in Japan by Hajime Satomi, a split of the coin-operated amusement assets from his company Satomi Corporation. See also 1974 in games Notes References 30em Category:Video games by year