1984

46 games in archive from 1984

After the Crash: Tetris, Elite and the Home Computer Year

With the American console market still collapsing — US home video game sales fell to about $800 million — 1984 belonged to home computers and to Japan. Alexey Pajitnov developed Tetris, Elite and Knight Lore redefined what 8-bit computers could do, the Famicom became the world's best-selling home system, and Warner sold Atari's home business.

Tetris

Alexey Pajitnov developed Tetris at the Dorodnitsyn Computing Centre of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, on an Elektronika 60, a Soviet clone of the PDP-11. It circulated in the USSR from 1985 and reached the rest of the world later in the decade.

Elite (September)

Acornsoft published Elite on 20 September, a wireframe 3D space-trading game with an open-ended universe that the player was free to explore.

Atari Is Sold

Warner Communications sold Atari's home console and computer business to Jack Tramiel's Tramel Technology, which became Atari Corporation; the arcade division stayed with Warner as Atari Games.

The Famicom Pulls Ahead

The Famicom was the world's best-selling home system in 1984, with about 2.94 million units, ahead of the Commodore 64 at 2.5 million.

Computers Fill the Gap

As the American console business shrank, the most important games of 1984 appeared on home computers. Ultimate Play the Game's Knight Lore introduced its isometric Filmation engine on the ZX Spectrum in December; Boulder Dash inspired enough imitators to found the rocks-and-diamonds genre; Epyx released Impossible Mission on the Commodore 64; Broderbund released Jordan Mechner's Karateka; and Sierra released King's Quest for the IBM PCjr. In Britain, Jet Set Willy was the top-selling home computer game of the year.

The Industry Reorganises

1984 was a year of consolidation. Atari was split in two, Mattel sold its video game business, including the Intellivision, to the group that became INTV Corporation, and Hasbro bought Milton Bradley. In Japan, Sega merged with CSK to form Sega Enterprises. The arcade was quieter but still inventive: Nintendo released Punch-Out!!, Data East released Karate Champ, which laid groundwork for one-on-one fighting games, and Atari Games ended the year with Marble Madness.