This age of arcade games seemed to begin in 1978 with the release of Space Invaders. While this game didn't take off immediately, by 1979 it was gaining considerable popularity in the United States. From 1980-1982, the number of video game arcades in America more than doubled, reaching 10,000 video game arcades across the nation. Video game arcades started to appear in more places such as restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations.
With the increase in the number of video game arcades, the sales increased significantly. During 1978 it was $50 million and by 1981 they were making about $900 million, with arcade machines being sold at prices as high as $3,000 alone. By 1982, video games accounted for 87% of the $8.9 billion in commercial games in the United States and the arcade video game industry's revenue was estimated at $8 billion. They were so popular that they surpassed the annual gross revenue of both pop music and Hollywood films combined that year.The impact of these video game arcades was also felt in popular culture. There were articles and stories about the emerging video game industry which were aired on television or printed in newspapers. The game Space Invaders even grew so popular that in 1980 there was a tournament for it held by Atari, which was the first video game competition and attracted more than 10,000 participants. By 1980, 86% of the 13-20 population in the United States had played arcade video games.
Arcade game were a huge thing in the 80s. The presence of these video games was felt by the general public and today they are still relevant. The fact that these 30-40 year old games still exist today shows how popular these arcade games must have been.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_age_of_arcade_video_games
Although it is clear in your post that arcades became the new social craze during the 1980s, the industry was quick to deteriorate due to flaws that had existed from the start. For example, the market had been completely saturated with games as game developers tried to get their share of the billions in revenue. However, this led to many dud games which cost arcade owners a lot of money since the machines for those dud games would go unplayed. Also, even with the popular games of the decade, people got bored of playing them since they were usually short games where, once you beat the game, there really isn't anything to do other than putting in another quarter and playing again. So, even though the industry was quick to rise, it was also quick to fall due to the instability of the industry.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theverge.com/2013/1/16/3740422/the-life-and-death-of-the-american-arcade-for-amusement-only