1981 in Video Games — 19 Classic Releases

Donkey Kong, Defender and the Peak of the Arcade Boom

American arcades took an estimated $4.8 billion in 1981, the high point of the golden age. Nintendo's Donkey Kong introduced Mario and set the template for platform games, Williams released Defender, Namco followed Galaxian with Galaga, and on home computers Ultima, Wizardry and Castle Wolfenstein appeared.

Donkey Kong (July)

Nintendo released Donkey Kong on 9 July. It introduced both Donkey Kong and the character who became Mario, and established the platform game.

Electronic Games Magazine

Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel founded Electronic Games, regarded as the first video game magazine and the start of video game journalism. In Britain, Computer and Video Games launched in November.

The IBM PC (August)

IBM launched its Personal Computer on 12 August at US$1,565. The VIC-20, ZX81 and BBC Micro also reached the market in 1981.

Pac-Man's Peak

Pac-Man was the year's highest-grossing arcade game, earning an estimated $1.2 billion.

The Arcade at Full Height

1981 was the busiest year of the arcade golden age. Williams opened it with Defender in February and followed it with Stargate in October; Konami released Scramble, an early scrolling shooter with distinct stages, and then Frogger; Namco released Galaga in September as the sequel to Galaxian; and Atari released the vector shooter Tempest. The most influential of them all was Nintendo's Donkey Kong, whose jumping carpenter would become Mario.

Role-Playing and Stealth on the Apple II

Home computers were becoming a platform in their own right. On the Apple II, Ultima I arrived in June and Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord in September — the two series that would define computer role-playing through the decade. Muse Software's Castle Wolfenstein, an early stealth game, would be reimagined eleven years later as Wolfenstein 3D. In the United States, home video game sales passed $1 billion, with Atari the clear market leader.