Week3 History of Video Games (1980s - 1990s)

In the 1980’s, sales from interactive entertainment rivaled those of the film industry (although most likely never exceeded them, see The 4 Myths of Computer Gaming). However, it has never been surrounded by the same prestige and general cultural interest. Around 1980 a range of alternative genres began to appear. This happened primarily as a consequence of an increased focus on gaming consoles (like the Playstation 2 and GameCube of our days).

Later in the 1980’s the strategy games became very popular following in the wake of successes such as Pirates (Microprose, 1987) and SimCity (Maxis, 1987).

The 1990’s were characterised by an explosion of proportions. While the consol market in the last half of the decade was dominated by Nintendo and Sony’s machines, the CD-Rom-format made it possible to develop audiovisual elements without the constrictions of highly limited storage media. The games have become bigger and more ‘photo realistic’. For a while game producers drew huge inspiration from movies but this tendency seems to have faded away by itself (to the relief of many).

Computer games are now very often played on networks. This can be seen as a return to the social element of the arcades. In Internet cafe players can meet and play against other human opponents - making the gaming experience more unpredictable and exciting.