Games Released in 1979

35 new games released in 1979 across 9 platforms, with Arcade being the most popular seeing 17 new titles. June was the busiest month of the year, launching 10 new releases.

Top Platform

Arcade

New Releases

35

Busiest Month

June

Galaxian

What was the most popular game of 1979?

Galaxian

Galaxian is a shooter arcade game developed by Namco in 1979. It was released by Namco in Japan and a few months later by Midway Games in North America. The game was developed to compete with Taito Corporation's Space Invaders, released a year earlier, and featured a similar space theme. The player controls a space ship in the bottom part of the screen and shoots at enemies descending from the top of the screen. The game was received very well by the public and has continued to be a game with a competitive community to this day. It was followed by a successful sequel called Galaga in 1981 and two less known sequels called Gaplus in 1984 and Galaga '88 in 1987. Galaxian was one of the most popular games in the golden age of arcade video games.

Which days had the most releases?

February 1 was the busiest single day of 1979 with 9 releases.

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9 releases

February 1

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6 releases

December 31

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6 releases

June 1

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3 releases

June 2

Which month had the most releases?

The busiest release month of 1979 was June, totaling 10 titles.

How did each season compare?

Q2 was the busiest quarter of 1979 with 12 releases.

Q1 (Jan–Mar)

9 releases
Thunderball!

Most popular release in Q1

Thunderball!

For a normal ball action game, press 1, 2, 3 or 4 on the alpha-numeric keyboard for one, two, three or four players. For a slow motion game, press 5 for one player, press 6 for two players, press 7 for three players and press 8 for four players. Players 1 and 3 take turns using the right hand control unit. Players 2 and 4 alternate using the left hand control unit. To shoot, pull the joy stick back and release. The longer you hold the joy stick back, the greater the velocity of the ball. Audio beeps will indicate holding time. Push the action button to activate the flippers. Push the joy stick to the left to shift the flipper coverage to the left. Push right to shift flipper coverage to the right. Your game score will be automatically displayed at the far left of the scoreboard. Your bonus score will be displayed at the right side of the scoreboard. The bonus will automatically be added to you score at the end of each ball. The scoreboard will automatically show each player's score during the turn. 8,9 Roving Rebounds No effect on score. 1,2,3,4 Backfield Bonus Bumpers 4000 points each, disappear when hit. 6,7,10,11,12,13 Thumper Bumpers 100 points unless red, 500 points when red. 5 Bonus Box Scores randomly between 720 and 1350 each time hit. Bonus Bonus score is added to main score at end of each ball When bonus exceeds 5000 points, it is added to main score immediately; the bonus indicator is reset to 0 and the Backfield Bumpers 1, 2, 3 & 4 are restored and play continues. The winner is the player with the highest score for five balls. The scoreboard will automatically review each player's score at the end of the game. To play again, push RESET and then press the appropriate number on the alpha-numeric keyboard.

Q2 (Apr–Jun)

12 releases
Color TV-Game Block Kuzushi

Most popular release in Q2

Color TV-Game Block Kuzushi

Color TV-Game Block Kuzushi is a Color TV Game title released in 1979 only in Japan. The first home console game to be created exclusively by Nintendo (the other Color TV Games were created with the assistance of Mitsubishi), Block Kuzushi is also known as being designed by legendary game developer Shigeru Miyamoto. Block Kuzushi is basically a home console version of Breakout. Block Kuzushi sold over 400,000 units in Japan, quite the success for Nintendo. Several things made Color TV-Game Block Kuzushi slightly unique when compared to other block-breaking games at the time. The player could choose from several different options, such as the number of balls present during a game and the speed of the ball/balls. Different game modes were present, such as Block Lighter, in which the player must destroy blinking blocks, and Block Through, which would have the ball eliminating every block in its way up to the top (without destroying a block and heading downwards). In department stores, managers would hold Block Kuzushi competitions with the winner obtaining a special medal to confirm their expertise in the game.

Q3 (Jul–Sep)

3 releases
Galaxian

Most popular release in Q3

Galaxian

Galaxian is a shooter arcade game developed by Namco in 1979. It was released by Namco in Japan and a few months later by Midway Games in North America. The game was developed to compete with Taito Corporation's Space Invaders, released a year earlier, and featured a similar space theme. The player controls a space ship in the bottom part of the screen and shoots at enemies descending from the top of the screen. The game was received very well by the public and has continued to be a game with a competitive community to this day. It was followed by a successful sequel called Galaga in 1981 and two less known sequels called Gaplus in 1984 and Galaga '88 in 1987. Galaxian was one of the most popular games in the golden age of arcade video games.

Q4 (Oct–Dec)

12 releases
Asteroids

Most popular release in Q4

Asteroids

Asteroids is an arcade space shooter released in November 1979. The player controls a spaceship in an asteroid field which is periodically traversed by flying saucers. The objective of the game is to destroy both, asteroids and saucers. The triangular ship can rotate left and right, fire shots straight forward, and thrust forward. Once the ship begins moving in a direction, it will continue in that direction for a time without player intervention unless the player applies thrust in a different direction. The ship eventually comes to a stop when not thrusting. The player can also send the ship into hyperspace, causing it to disappear and reappear in a random location on the screen, at the risk of self-destructing or appearing on top of an asteroid.

Which platforms saw the most releases?

Arcade received 17 new titles in 1979, holding the most releases. The runner up was Odyssey 2 / Videopac G7000 with 6 new titles.

Arcade17 releases
Odyssey 2 / Videopac G70006 releases
TRS-804 releases
Texas Instruments TI-993 releases
Apple II2 releases
Exidy Sorcerer1 release
Intellivision1 release
Microvision1 release
Plug & Play1 release

What genres were most popular?

Arcade was the dominant genre in 1979 with 10 titles. Shooter followed closely with 9.

Arcade10
Shooter9
Strategy8
Adventure3
Puzzle3
Racing3
Sport3
Card & Board Game2
Pinball2
Simulator2
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