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Games Released In... | |
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1970s |
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1980s |
1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 |
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1990s |
1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 |
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2000s |
2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 |
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2010s |
2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2019 |
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2020s |
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Besides a giant wave of Pong clones, including those from Atari and Epoch, and two new versions of the Magnavox Odyssey, the first interactive fiction game is made. Several technological advancements are also made in games such as Gun Fight and Western Gun.
While we cover video games, it's worth noting that several arcade games (and toys, too) of this era did not use ROM chips, or even a monitor. At the time, the most popular type of arcade game was of the analog electromechanical variety (otherwise known as elemecha in Japan). These used moving, physical elements instead of digital representations on a screen. Typically, if possible video games and electromechanical games were differentiated with terms such as "video".
Initially a mutually exclusive affair, as the nascent technology began to improve the two would gradually merge together as the 70s trudged on, thanks to the likes of Sega, Taito, Midway, and Namco (then Nakamura Manufacturing). Some electromechanical games of this era used a matrix of several lights to provide visuals, but these wouldn't be video games in the traditional sense.