1984 in video games

List of years in video games
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1984 saw many sequels and prequels along with new titles such as 1942, Boulder Dash, Cobra Command, Jet Set Willy, Karate Champ, Kung-Fu Master, Yie Ar Kung-Fu and Punch-Out!! The year's highest-grossing arcade games were Pole Position in the United States, for the second year in a row, and Track & Field in the United Kingdom. The year's best-selling home system was Nintendo's Family Computer (Famicom), which was only sold in Japan at the time.

Financial performance

In the United States, home video game sales fall to $800 million ($2.3 billion adjusted for inflation).

Highest-grossing arcade games

Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the top-grossing arcade video games of each month on the Game Machine charts in 1984.

Month Table arcade cabinet Upright/cockpit cabinet Ref
Title Points Title Points
January Hyper Olympic (Track & Field) 14.54 TX-1 18.19
February 10-Yard Fight 15.64 16.95
March Vs. Tennis 14 16.25
April 13.23 15.56
May Gaplus 14.66 Thunder Storm (Cobra Command) 15.83
June Vs. Baseball 14.79 15.76
July Crowns Golf 15.08 15.44
August Karate Champ 15.58 14.95
September Jan Oh (Jang-Oh) 16.89 TX-1 V8 18
October Night Gal 15 15.67
November Jan Oh (Jang-Oh) 14.68 16.92
December Night Gal 14.36 Super Don Quix-ote 17

United Kingdom and United States

The following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1984 in the United Kingdom and United States.

Rank United Kingdom United States
Title Manufacturer RePlay AMOA Play Meter
Arcade Route/Street Video Title Points
1 Track & Field Konami Pole Position II Pole Position Dragon's Lair 499.8
2 Un­known Pole Position Track & Field,
Spy Hunter,
M.A.C.H. 3,
Punch-Out!!
Elevator Action,
Spy Hunter,
Pole Position II,
Punch-Out!!
Spy Hunter,
Ms. Pac-Man,
Track & Field,
Punch-Out!!
Pole Position 459
3 Un­known Un­known Track & Field 370.6
4 Un­known Un­known M.A.C.H. 3 280.6
5 Un­known Un­known Spy Hunter 256.5
6 Un­known Un­known Star Wars 205.7
7 Un­known Un­known Space Ace 192.6
8 Un­known Un­known Punch-Out!! 191.8
9 Un­known Un­known Vs. Tennis 170.8
10 Un­known Un­known Astron Belt 137.8

Best-selling home systems

Rank System(s) Manufacturer Type Generation Sales
Japan Worldwide
1 Family Computer (Famicom / NES) Nintendo Console Third 2,940,000 2,940,000
2 Commodore 64 (C64) Commodore Computer 8-bit 2,500,000
3 IBM Personal Computer (PC) IBM Computer 8-bit / 16-bit 2,000,000
4 TI-99/4A Texas Instruments Computer 16-bit 1,000,000+
5 Apple II Apple Inc. Computer 8-bit 1,000,000
6 NEC PC-88 / PC-98 NEC Computer 8-bit / 16-bit 470,000 470,000+
7 Apple Macintosh Apple Inc. Computer 16-bit 370,000
8 MSX ASCII Corporation Computer 8-bit 350,000 350,000+
9 Coleco Adam Coleco Computer 8-bit 255,000
10 Sega SG-1000 Sega Console Third 240,000 240,000+

Best-selling home video games in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home computer games of 1984, according to N.O.P. Market Research.

Rank Title Publisher Genre Platform
1 Jet Set Willy Software Projects Platformer ZX Spectrum
2 Fighter Pilot Digital Integration Combat flight sim
3 Manic Miner Bug-Byte/Software Projects Platformer
4 Atic Atac Ultimate Play the Game Action-adventure
5 Chequered Flag Psion Racing
6 Hunchback Ocean Platformer
7 Sabre Wulf Ultimate Play the Game Action-adventure
8 Night Gunner Digital Integration Shoot 'em up
9 Jetpac Ultimate Play the Game
10 Manic Miner Software Projects Platformer Commodore 64

Major awards

Business

Births

May

Notable releases

Games

Arcade
Computer
Console

Hardware

  • January 24 – Apple Inc. announces the original, 128K, floppy disc-only, Macintosh 128K.
  • March – IBM releases the IBM PCjr in an attempt to enter the home computer market. It has improved sound and graphics over the original, business-oriented IBM PC, but is a commercial failure.
  • Atari, Inc. announces the Atari 7800, a next-gen console that's compatible with Atari 2600 cartridges, but capable of greatly improved visuals. It is shelved until 1986 due to the sale of the company and legal issues.
  • Discontinued systems: Atari 5200, Magnavox Odyssey², Vectrex

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-01-05 07:09 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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