1985 in video games

(Redirected from 1985 video games)

1985 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Super Mario Bros. and Kung Fu, along with new titles such as Commando, Duck Hunt, Gauntlet, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Gradius, Hang-On, Space Harrier, Tetris and The Way of the Exploding Fist. The year's highest-grossing arcade video games were Hang-On and Karate Champ in the United States, and Commando in the United Kingdom. The year's best‑selling home system was the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom) for a consecutive year, while the year's best‑selling home video game was Super Mario Bros.

List of years in video games
+...

Financial performance

edit

In the United States, annual home video game sales fell to $100 million ($280 million adjusted for inflation) in 1985.[1] Meanwhile, the arcade video game industry began recovering in 1985.[2][3][4]

Highest-grossing arcade games

edit

Japan

edit

In Japan, the following titles were the top-grossing arcade video games on the bi-weekly Game Machine charts in 1985.

Month Table arcade cabinet Upright/cockpit arcade cabinet Ref
Title Points Title Points
January Spartan X (Kung-Fu Master) 17.39 TX-1 V8 16.1 [5][6]
February 14.61 15 [7][8]
March Samurai Nipponichi 16.22 13.13 [9][10]
April Return of the Invaders 13.26 14.84 [11][12]
May I'm Sorry 14.58 14.43 [13][14]
June Senjō no Ōkami (Commando) 14.55 Wyvern F-0 16.07 [15][16]
July Ping Pong King 16.22 TX-1 V8 14.96 [17][18]
August Sandlot Baseball 16.56 Hang-On 28.28 [19][20]
September 13.91 37.96 [21][22]
October Exciting Hour 15.39 37.05 [23][24]
November Choplifter 15.59 35.58 [25][26]
December ASO: Armored Scrum Object 14.1 33.8 [27][28]

United Kingdom and United States

edit

In the United Kingdom and United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1985.

Rank United Kingdom United States
Play Meter RePlay[29] AMOA[30][31][32]
Title Type Arcade Route/Street Video
1 Commando[33] Hang-On[4] Karate Champ Dedicated Nintendo VS. System Karate Champ Spy Hunter
2 Un­known Un­known Kung-Fu Master Dedicated Kung-Fu Master,
Karate Champ,
Pac-Land,
Pole Position II
English Mark Darts,
Crowns Golf,
Yie Ar Kung-Fu,
Kung-Fu Master
Kung-Fu Master,
Pole Position,
Trivia Master,
Karate Champ
3 Un­known Un­known Commando
4 Un­known Un­known Yie Ar Kung-Fu Conversion
5 Un­known Un­known Hogan's Alley System
6 Un­known Un­known Excitebike System Un­known
7 Un­known Un­known Pole Position,
Spy Hunter
Dedicated
8

Best-selling home systems

edit
Rank System(s) Manufacturer Type Generation Sales
Japan USA UK[34] Worldwide
1 Nintendo Entertainment System / Famicom Nintendo Console Third 6,500,000[35] 90,000[36] 6,590,000
2 Commodore 64 (C64) Commodore Computer 8-bit Un­known 1,000,000[37] Un­known 2,500,000[38]
3 IBM Personal Computer (PC) / IBM PCjr IBM Computer 8-bit / 16-bit 1,400,000[39]
4 Atari 2600 Atari Console Second 1,000,000[37]
5 Apple II Apple Inc. Computer 8-bit 900,000[38]
6 Commodore 128 Commodore Computer 8-bit 500,000[37]
7 NEC PC-88 / PC-98 NEC Computer 8-bit / 16-bit 430,000[40][41] Un­known Un­known 430,000+
8 ZX Spectrum Sinclair Computer 8-bit Un­known 390,000 390,000+
9 Sega SG-1000 / Mark III (Master System) Sega Console Third 280,000[42] 280,000+
10 Amstrad CPC / Amstrad PCW Amstrad Computer 8-bit Un­known 250,000 250,000+

Best-selling home video games

edit

Japan

edit

The year's best-selling game was Super Mario Bros. for the Family Computer (Famicom), later known as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) outside Japan. The game sold 2.5 million copies and grossed more than ¥12.2 billion ($72 million at the time, or $204 million adjusted for inflation) within several months.[43] It eventually sold 3 million cartridges by the end of 1985.[44]

Game Machine magazine reported that more than ten Famicom games released between 1983 and 1985 had each sold over 1 million cartridges in Japan by the end of 1985.[45] The Magic Box lists fourteen Famicom games released between 1983 and 1985 that crossed 1 million lifetime sales in Japan.[46] At least 11 of the following 14 Famicom million-sellers released between 1983 and 1985 crossed 1 million sales in Japan by the end of 1985.

Title(s) Publisher Sales Ref
Super Mario Bros. Nintendo 3,000,000 [44]
4 Nin Uchi Mahjong Baseball Nintendo Un­known [46][45]
Excitebike F1 Race
Golf Kung Fu
Mahjong Mario Bros.
Soccer Tennis
Kinnikuman: Muscle Tag Match Bandai
Xevious Namco
Lode Runner Hudson Soft

United Kingdom

edit

In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1985, according to the annual Gallup software sales chart. The top ten titles were all home computer games.[47]

Rank Title Developer Publisher Genre Sales
1 The Way of the Exploding Fist Beam Software Melbourne House Fighting 500,000 (Europe)[48]
2 Soft Aid Various Quicksilva Compilation Un­known
3 Elite Acornsoft Acornsoft Space trading
4 Ghostbusters Activision Activision Action
5 Finders Keepers Mastertronic Mastertronic Platformer
6 Frank Bruno's Boxing Elite Systems Elite Systems Fighting (boxing)
7 Commando Capcom Elite Systems Run-and-gun shooter
8 Formula 1 Simulator Spirit Software Mastertronic Racing
9 Daley Thompson's Decathlon Ocean Software Ocean Software Sports (Olympics)
10 Impossible Mission Epyx U.S. Gold Platformer

Fighting games topped the UK software sales charts for two years in a row in the mid-1980s, with The Way of the Exploding Fist in 1985 and then the home computer conversions of Yie Ar Kung-Fu in 1986.[49]

United States

edit

In the United States, the Software Publishers Association (SPA) began tracking home computer game sales in 1985. The following fourteen computer games received Gold Awards from the SPA for sales above 100,000 units in 1985 (but below the 250,000 units required for a Platinum Award).

Titles Ref
Alphabet Zoo Choplifter [50]
Deadline F-15 Strike Eagle
Fraction Fever Frogger
Ghostbusters Kids on Keys
Lode Runner Math Blaster!
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy [51]
Zork I Zork II
Zork III

Events

edit

Major awards

edit
Publication Game of the Year Developer Genre Platform Reference
Golden Joystick Awards The Way of the Exploding Fist Beam Software Fighting Commodore 64 [52]
Saturday Superstore Awards The Way of the Exploding Fist Beam Software Fighting Commodore 64 [53]
Computer Gamer Magazine Elite (Video Game) Acornsoft Space Flight BBC Micro [54]
Nintendojo Super Mario Bros Nintendo Platformer NES [55]
GameRadar Tetris Alexey Pajitnov Puzzle Electronika 60 [56]
The Guardian Tetris Alexey Pajitnov Puzzle Electronika 60 [57]
PasteMagazine Super Mario Bros Nintendo Platformer NES [58]
GameRant Super Mario Bros Nintendo Platformer NES [59]
WhatCulture Tetris Alexey Pajitnov Puzzle Electronika 60 [60]
TheGamer Super Mario Bros Nintendo Platformer NES [61]
PopularMechanics Super Mario Bros Nintendo Platformer NES [62]

Business

edit

Notable releases

edit

Games

edit
Arcade

Computer

edit

Console

edit
NES Nintendo Entertainment System SMS Sega Master System Int Intellivision
PC Personal Computer G&W Game and Watch Arc Arcade
SG SG-1000 2600 Atari 2600
Notable releases of the year 1985
Release Title [68] Consoles
NES

JP: February 4

NA: October 18

Arcade: 1985

PC: October

Ice Climber NES, Arc, PC
March Excitebike (NA Release) Arc
Arcade:

JP: March 1

NA: April

EU: August

NES NA:

October 18

Hogan's Alley NES, Arc
Arcade:

EU: Q1 1985

NES:

JP: June 21

NA: October 18

PC:

December

Kung Fu NES, Arc, PC
PC:

April

NES:

December 19

Thexder PC, Famicom (Japan only)
NES:

JP: April 9

NA: October 18

Soccer NES
April 23 Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? PC
NES:

JP: June 18

NA: October 18

Arcade:

1985

Wrecking Crew NES, Arc
September 9 Battle City Famicom (Japan only)
NES:

JP: September 13

NA: October 18

Super Mario Bros. NES
September 16 Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar PC
October 18 Wild Gunman NES (US release)
October 18 Tennis NES (NA release)
October 18 Stack-Up NES
October 18 Pinball NES (NA release)
October 18 Gyromite NES
October 18 Golf NES (NA release), Arc (EU release)
October 18 Excitebike (NA Release) NES
October 18 Duck Hunt (NA release) NES
October 18 Clu Clu Land NES, Arc
October 18 Baseball NES
October 18 10-Yard Fight NES
October 27 Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu PC
November Hydlide II: Shine of Darkness PC
1985 Racing Destruction Set PC
1985 Roller Coaster PC
1985 Starquake PC
1985 Tau Ceti PC
1985 The Oregon Trail PC
1985 Mercenary PC
1985 Clues'o' PC

Hardware

edit
 
North American release of the Nintendo Entertainment System
Arcade
Computer
Console

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Lindner, Richard (1990). Video Games: Past, Present and Future; An Industry Overview. United States: Nintendo of America.
  2. ^ "Coin-Op history – 1975 to 1997 – from the pages of RePlay". RePlay. 1998. Archived from the original on April 28, 1998. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "Special Report: Tom Petit (Sega Enterprises)". RePlay. Vol. 16, no. 4. January 1991. pp. 80, 82.
  4. ^ a b "1985". Play Meter. Vol. 20, no. 13. December 1994. p. 74.
  5. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 252. Amusement Press, Inc. January 15, 1985. p. 27.
  6. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 253. Amusement Press, Inc. February 1, 1985. p. 25.
  7. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 254. Amusement Press, Inc. February 15, 1985. p. 23.
  8. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 255. Amusement Press, Inc. March 1, 1985. p. 21.
  9. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 256. Amusement Press, Inc. March 15, 1985. p. 21.
  10. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 257. Amusement Press, Inc. April 1, 1985. p. 25.
  11. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 258. Amusement Press, Inc. April 15, 1985. p. 19.
  12. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 259. Amusement Press, Inc. May 1, 1985. p. 21.
  13. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 260. Amusement Press, Inc. May 15, 1985. p. 21.
  14. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 261. Amusement Press, Inc. June 1, 1985. p. 23.
  15. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 262. Amusement Press, Inc. June 15, 1985. p. 25.
  16. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 263. Amusement Press, Inc. July 1, 1985. p. 25.
  17. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 264. Amusement Press, Inc. July 15, 1985. p. 29.
  18. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 265. Amusement Press, Inc. August 1, 1985. p. 25.
  19. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 266. Amusement Press, Inc. August 15, 1985. p. 21.
  20. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 267. Amusement Press, Inc. September 1, 1985. p. 25.
  21. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 267. Amusement Press, Inc. September 15, 1985. p. 21.
  22. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 268. Amusement Press, Inc. October 1, 1985. p. 31.
  23. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 269. Amusement Press, Inc. October 15, 1985. p. 25.
  24. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 270. Amusement Press, Inc. November 1, 1985. p. 23.
  25. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 271. Amusement Press, Inc. November 15, 1985. p. 21.
  26. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 272. Amusement Press, Inc. December 1, 1985. p. 23.
  27. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 273. Amusement Press, Inc. December 15, 1985. p. 25.
  28. ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 274. Amusement Press, Inc. January 1, 1986. p. 34.
  29. ^ "1985 Operator Survey: This Poll Says Go Gettum!". RePlay. Vol. 11, no. 2. November 1985. pp. 91-102 (93-4).
  30. ^ "AMOA Expo '85: 1985 AMOA Award Nominees". RePlay. Vol. 11, no. 2. November 1985. pp. 62, 64, 66.
  31. ^ "AMOA Expo '85: Award Winners". RePlay. Vol. 11, no. 3. December 1985. p. 44.
  32. ^ "Springsteen Sweeps JB Awards" (PDF). Cash Box. November 23, 1985. p. 39.
  33. ^ "Commando: Soldier of Fortune". Your Sinclair. No. 1. January 1986. p. 54.
  34. ^ "Sinclair retains clear market lead in 1985". Popular Computing Weekly. Vol. 5, no. 6. February 6, 1986.
  35. ^ Morrison, Mike (1994). The Magic of Interactive Entertainment. Sams Publishing. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-672-30456-9. Despite the bleak picture in the home video game industry, Nintendo's Famicom system sold more than 6.5 million units in Japan in 1985.
  36. ^ Pollack, Andrew (September 27, 1986). "Video Games, Once Zapped, In Comeback". The New York Times. A1. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  37. ^ a b c Halfhill, Tom R. (April 1986). "A Turning Point For Atari?". Compute!. No. 71. pp. 30-41 (30-4).
  38. ^ a b Reimer, Jeremy (December 15, 2005). "Total share: 30 years of personal computer market share figures". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on June 7, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  39. ^ Dixon, Bradford N. (May 1986). "Pulse Train: Fine Times in Fort Worth" (PDF). 80 Micro. No. 76. pp. 21–2.
  40. ^ Methe, David; Mitchell, Will; Miyabe, Junichiro; Toyama, Ryoko (January 1998). "Overcoming a Standard Bearer: Challenges to NEC's Personal Computer in Japan". Research Papers in Economics (RePEc): 35 – via ResearchGate.
  41. ^ Juliussen, Egil; Juliussen, Karen (1990). The Computer Industry Almanac 1991. Pearson P T R. pp. 10–47, 10–48. ISBN 978-0-13-155748-2.
  42. ^ Tanaka, Tatsuo (August 2001). Network Externality and Necessary Software Statistics (PDF). Statistics Bureau of Japan. p. 2.
  43. ^ "Japan Quarterly". Japan Quarterly. Asahi Shinbun: 296. 1986. Nevertheless, Nintendo can claim among its successes Japan's current game best seller, Super Mario Brothers. Introduced in September 1985, sales of the ¥4,900 game soared to 2.5 million copies in just four months, generating revenues of more than ¥12.2 billion (about $72 million).
  44. ^ a b "The Yoke". The Yoke (9–25). Yokohama Association for International Communications and Exchanges. 1985.  "Super Mario Brothers" is one of the family computer games which is enjoying huge popularity among the children of Japan. More than three million of these games have been sold.
  45. ^ a b "Overseas Readers Column: "Super Mario Bros." Boom Bringing Best Selling Book" (PDF). Game Machine. No. 275. Amusement Press, Inc. January 15, 1986. p. 24.
  46. ^ a b "Japan Platinum Chart Games". The Magic Box. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  47. ^ "News Desk: Exploding Fist tops Gallup 1985 charts". Popular Computing Weekly. March 20, 1986. p. 4.
  48. ^ "NG Alphas: Melbourne House". Next Generation. No. 33. Imagine Media. September 1997. p. 116.
  49. ^ "Yie Ar tops charts for 1986". Popular Computing Weekly. February 12, 1987. p. 6.
  50. ^ Petska-Juliussen, Karen; Juliussen, Egil (1990). The Computer Industry Almanac 1990. New York: Brady. pp. 3.10–11. ISBN 978-0-13-154122-1.
  51. ^ Petska-Juliussen, Karen; Juliussen, Egil (1990). The Computer Industry Almanac 1990. New York: Brady. pp. 3.12–13. ISBN 978-0-13-154122-1.
  52. ^ a b "Golden Joystick Awards". Computer and Video Games (55). EMAP: 90. May 1986.
  53. ^ a b "Thank you from The Home of the Hits!". Popular Computing Weekly. January 30, 1986. p. 7.
  54. ^ a b "Game of the Year Awards". Computer Gamer. No. 11. February 1986. pp. 13–5.
  55. ^ Staff, Nintendojo (April 30, 2012). "The Top 20 Games of 1985-1990 - Page 3 of 5". Nintendojo. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  56. ^ Edge StaffContributions from Josh West (January 12, 2024). "The 50 best games of the '80s, ranked". gamesradar. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  57. ^ Stuart, Keith (May 27, 2021). "The 15 greatest video games of the 80s – ranked!". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  58. ^ "The 25 Best Nintendo Games of the 1980s - Paste". September 19, 2020. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  59. ^ Heath, David (March 16, 2024). "Best Nintendo Game From Every Year In The 80s". Game Rant. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  60. ^ Butler, Tom (November 10, 2014). "20 Greatest Video Games Of The 80s". WhatCulture.com. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  61. ^ Grudge, Chris (August 13, 2024). "10 Best '80s Games, Ranked". TheGamer. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  62. ^ "The Best Video Game the Year You Were Born". Popular Mechanics. November 30, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  63. ^ GameCenter CX - 1st Season, Episode 09. Retrieved on September 19, 2009
  64. ^ "Lou's Pseudo 3d Page".
  65. ^ "The Disappearance of Yu Suzuki: Part 1 from 1UP.com". www.1up.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  66. ^ "The Disappearance of Yu Suzuki: Part 1 from 1UP.com". www.1up.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  67. ^ "Tehkan World Cup - Videogame by Tehkan". Arcade-museum.com. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  68. ^ "NES Games" (PDF). Nintendo. June 11, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  69. ^ IGN Presents the History of SEGA: World War, IGN
  70. ^ "Commodore User Magazine Issue 72". September 1989.