80's Arcade Games

Video games have now been around for well over thirty years. From the moment kids picked up the game pong, you knew there was no turning back. Something as simple as two sticks hitting a ball back and forth on a monitor just never seemed so captivating.

The first real arcade game that touched a nerve with people was Space Invaders back in 1978. It was even the first game that would allow the player who had the highest scores to record their initials so everyone can see who was the best.

But when the 1980s hit, arcades would become immensely popular. Video game creators from companies such as Nintendo, Sega, Konami, Activision, and many others would be showcasing their innovations for all the world to see.

80's arcade games showed much more polish than the decade prior. Many games involved more than just one button. They had protagonists as well as villains. They had stories to follow.

Kids quickly became hooked. Arcade games would be commonplace in restaurants, malls, supermarkets, and pool halls.

The video game consoles started to perk up during this time as well. In the early 80s, Atari, and to a lesser extent Intellivision were popular ways to to get your video game fix if you couldn't go to the local arcade. But when Nintendo came out with its 8-bit NES console, thats when video games were implanted as part of our popular culture.

But even with the immense popularity of the NES, there would be no comparison as to why people still went to the arcade. No matter how great the NES might have been, it just could not compete with the high glossy graphics and bone-crunching sounds that their arcade counterparts had to offer.