Golden Age Arcade Games Like Space Invaders Were Huge In The 80's!

Who would believe that some shoot 'em up simplistic arcade game would trigger the genesis of golden age arcade games and turn an industry completely on its head? That's what happened in 1978 when Taito released their Space Invaders arcade game. This one game created so much attention that dozens of manufacturers sat up and took notice. This was a bandwagon not to be missed, their very own 'Gold Rush' of the 1980's.

Prior to this golden age arcade games were the babies of Pinball manufacturing giants such as Bally and William Electronics. Now a whole new world was emerging. Now there was a stampede of manufacturers raising the consciousness of the public and current players to whole new levels with the push of these new game machines into prominent mainstream locations. Restaurants, shopping malls, convenience stores and traditional storefronts. Life never would again be quite the same.

Creativity ruled, no large teams of gaming developers were required as in this day and age, the players demands knew nothing of the sophistication of todays modern era. Styled spacecraft and these outer space warfare games could be easily rendered on such crude and basic hardware at the time. All was required was to create a feeding frenzy for the masses.

Sales of arcade video game cabinets jumped from a 1978 high of $50 million to almost double in 1981. Revenues in terms of quarters generated for the manufacturers stood at almost a billion dollars as the 70's drew to a close with 1980 alone raking in $2.8 billion to add to their ever increasing coffers.

The arcade game machines revenue would peak in 1982 taking in $8 billion in quarters exceeding the gross revenues of the movie and music industry combined. It would eventually settle at $5 billion until the end of '85. Games such as Donkey Kong, Frogger, Pac-Man, Pitfall, Phoenix, Red Baron, Star Raiders & Space Invaders all in this arcade format, would now take a breather. It was now time to move on to new pastures in gaming & they'd certainly got the ball rolling, no matter how simplistic the games were. Every dog has its day, they certainly had theirs, wouldn't one agree?