List of years in video games

This is a chronological list of years in video games that indexes the years in video games pages. Years are annotated with significant events in the history of video games.

1970s

1970
1971 – Computer Space, the first public arcade game, is released.^[1]
1972 – The Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game console, is released;^[2] The first Pong arcade is made available.^[1]
1973
1974 – Maze War and Spasim are released as the first first-person shooter games.^[3]
1975
1976
1977 – The Atari Video Computer System (later the Atari 2600) is released as the first widely popular home video game console.^[4]
1978 – Space Invaders is released, popularizing video games among the general public, beginning the golden age of arcade video games.^[5]
1979

1980s

1980 – Pac-Man
1981 – Donkey Kong
1982 – Q*bert
1983 – The Famicom, the first console by Nintendo, is released in Japan.^[6]; the video game crash of 1983, the most prominent video game crash, takes place.^[7]
1984 – Duck Hunt
1985 – Super Mario, Tetris; The Nintendo Entertainment System is released as an international version of the Famicom.^[8]
1986 –
1987 – Mega Man, Final Fantasy
1988 –
1989 – The TurboGrafx-16 and the Sega Genesis released as the first home video game consoles in the United States with 16-bit graphics.^[9]

1990s

1990 – Nintendo releases the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan, preceding a worldwide release over the following years.^[10]
1991 – Sonic the Hedgehog
1992 – Mortal Kombat, Mario Kart
1993 – Star Fox
1994 – Sony releases its first video game console during the month of December, the PlayStation.^[11]
1995 – Chrono Trigger, Time Crisis
1996 – Pokémon, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil; Nintendo releases the Nintendo 64.^[12]
1997 –
1998 –
1999 – Super Smash Bros.

2000s

2000 –
2001 – Pikmin, Halo: Combat Evolved, Animal Crossing, Max Payne, Ico; Microsoft releases its first video game console, the Xbox.^[13]
2002 –
2003 –
2004 –
2005 – Xbox 360 is released
2006 – PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii are released
2007 –
2008 –
2009 – Angry Birds, Borderlands

2010s

2010 –
2011 –
2012 –
2013 –
2014 –
2015 –
2016 –
2017 –
2018 –
2019 –

2020s

2020 –
2021 –
2022 –
2023 –
2024 –

References

^ ^a ^b Lowood, Henry (2009). "Videogames in Computer Space: The Complex History of Pong". IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. 31 (3): 5–19. doi:10.1109/MAHC.2009.53. ISSN 1058-6180. S2CID 7653073.
^ "Magnavox Odyssey Video Game Unit, 1972". National Museum of American History. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
^ Wolf, Mark J. P. (2012). "BattleZone and the Origins of First-Person Shooting Games". In Voorhees, Gerald A.; Whitlock, Katie; Call, Joshua (eds.). Guns, Grenades, and Grunts: First-Person Shooter Games. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 32–33. ISBN 9781441146267.
^ Wolf, Mark J. P. (2012). Encyclopedia of Video Games: M-Z. Greenwood. pp. 52–53.
^ Northfield, R. (2018-08-01). "Gaming's golden age". Engineering & Technology. 13 (7): 30–33. doi:10.1049/et.2018.0702. ISSN 1750-9637. S2CID 117377706.
^ Wolf, Mark J. P. (1 May 2015). Video Games Around the World. MIT Press. p. 322. ISBN 978-0-262-52716-3.
^ Ernkvist, Mirko (2008). Down Many Times, but Still Playing the Game: Creative Destruction and Industry Crashes in the Early Video Game Industry 1971-1986 (Report). Retrieved 2022-11-23.
^ Kohler, Chris. "Oct. 18, 1985: Nintendo Entertainment System Launches". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
^ Schilling, Melissa A. (2003). "Technological Leapfrogging: Lessons from the U.S. Video Game Console Industry". California Management Review. 45 (3): 6–32. doi:10.2307/41166174. ISSN 0008-1256. JSTOR 41166174. S2CID 114838931.
^ Byrne, Brian (2017). History of the Super Nintendo (SNES): Ultimate Guide to the SNES Games & Hardware. Console Gamer Magazine. p. 4. ISBN 978-1549899560.
^ "The First Sony PlayStation Changed Everything About Gaming". Time. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
^ Kohler, Chris. "Nintendo 64 Came Out 20 Years Ago—Here's How I Felt About It Then". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
^ Ackerman, Dan. "Microsoft Xbox at 20: Looking back at the original 2001 review". CNET. Retrieved 2022-12-28.

[:0-1] Lowood, Henry (2009). "Videogames in Computer Space: The Complex History of Pong". IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. 31 (3): 5–19. doi:10.1109/MAHC.2009.53. ISSN 1058-6180. S2CID 7653073.

[2] "Magnavox Odyssey Video Game Unit, 1972". National Museum of American History. Retrieved 2022-11-23.

[3] Wolf, Mark J. P. (2012). "BattleZone and the Origins of First-Person Shooting Games". In Voorhees, Gerald A.; Whitlock, Katie; Call, Joshua (eds.). Guns, Grenades, and Grunts: First-Person Shooter Games. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 32–33. ISBN 9781441146267.

[4] Wolf, Mark J. P. (2012). Encyclopedia of Video Games: M-Z. Greenwood. pp. 52–53.

[5] Northfield, R. (2018-08-01). "Gaming's golden age". Engineering & Technology. 13 (7): 30–33. doi:10.1049/et.2018.0702. ISSN 1750-9637. S2CID 117377706.

[6] Wolf, Mark J. P. (1 May 2015). Video Games Around the World. MIT Press. p. 322. ISBN 978-0-262-52716-3.

[7] Ernkvist, Mirko (2008). Down Many Times, but Still Playing the Game: Creative Destruction and Industry Crashes in the Early Video Game Industry 1971-1986 (Report). Retrieved 2022-11-23.

[8] Kohler, Chris. "Oct. 18, 1985: Nintendo Entertainment System Launches". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-12-28.

[9] Schilling, Melissa A. (2003). "Technological Leapfrogging: Lessons from the U.S. Video Game Console Industry". California Management Review. 45 (3): 6–32. doi:10.2307/41166174. ISSN 0008-1256. JSTOR 41166174. S2CID 114838931.

[:02-10] Byrne, Brian (2017). History of the Super Nintendo (SNES): Ultimate Guide to the SNES Games & Hardware. Console Gamer Magazine. p. 4. ISBN 978-1549899560.

[11] "The First Sony PlayStation Changed Everything About Gaming". Time. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 2022-12-28.

[12] Kohler, Chris. "Nintendo 64 Came Out 20 Years Ago—Here's How I Felt About It Then". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-12-28.

[13] Ackerman, Dan. "Microsoft Xbox at 20: Looking back at the original 2001 review". CNET. Retrieved 2022-12-28.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

See also

References