Games Released in January 1980

7 new games released in January 1980, with Odyssey 2 / Videopac G7000 being the most active platform. January 1 was the busiest day, with 6 new releases.

Which days had the most releases?

January 1 saw the most activity with 6 releases.

SunMonTueWedThuFriSat

Tue, Jan 1

6 releases

Wed, Jan 2

No releases

Thu, Jan 3

No releases

Fri, Jan 4

No releases

Sat, Jan 5

No releases

Sun, Jan 6

No releases

Mon, Jan 7

No releases

Tue, Jan 8

No releases

Wed, Jan 9

No releases

Thu, Jan 10

1 release

Fri, Jan 11

No releases

Sat, Jan 12

No releases

Sun, Jan 13

No releases

Mon, Jan 14

No releases

Tue, Jan 15

No releases

Wed, Jan 16

No releases

Thu, Jan 17

No releases

Fri, Jan 18

No releases

Sat, Jan 19

No releases

Sun, Jan 20

No releases

Mon, Jan 21

No releases

Tue, Jan 22

No releases

Wed, Jan 23

No releases

Thu, Jan 24

No releases

Fri, Jan 25

No releases

Sat, Jan 26

No releases

Sun, Jan 27

No releases

Mon, Jan 28

No releases

Tue, Jan 29

No releases

Wed, Jan 30

No releases

Thu, Jan 31

No releases

How did each week compare?

The first week of January was the busiest with 6 releases.

Week 1 (January 1–7)

6 releases
Catch the Ball / Noughts and Crosses

Most popular release in Week 1

Catch the Ball / Noughts and Crosses

Two titles are available in this cart: - Catch the Ball puts one or two players in the role of a circus clown who has to catch a while ball which comes rolling down a maze of obstacles. The clown has to try to follow the ball as it falls its unpredictable path. A time limit of three "game minutes" is counted down and the player with more balls caught by the end of the time wins. The joystick is used to move the clown left or right and the "action" button accelerates his movements. There are 6 possible variations, with the players taking turns after each ball caught, taking turns after each miss or in a single player mode, with the time limit on or off for each mode. - Noughts and Crosses is also known as tic-tac-toe. Players move a "+" cursor over the 9 square matrix and place either blue noughts or red squares. The first to get three symbols in a straight line wins. If all six symbols have been placed and there's no winner, they can be removed by placing the cursor over and pressing the action button and then be replaced.

Week 2 (January 8–14)

1 release
Circus Atari

Most popular release in Week 2

Circus Atari

3 rows of triangular balloons move along the top part of the screen, each overlaid with blue, green, and yellow (colors used in the original version), counting from the top row. A clown appears from the edge of the screen where there is a jumping board, and the player must move the seesaw located at the bottom of the screen so that the clown can bounce back off the seesaw once he jumps off from his starting position. If the player successfully gets the clown onto the seesaw, the clown on the other side shoots off into the air towards the 3 rows of balloons on the top of the screen. The clown may not have enough speed to reach the balloons if the first clown does not land squarely on the seesaw. Clowns bounce off of balloons, walls, and jumping boards, but will pass directly through multiple balloons if they are moving quickly enough. They will only bounce off the jumping boards when they are heading downwards, and will pass straight through the boards while moving upwards.

Which platforms saw the most releases?

Odyssey 2 / Videopac G7000 received 5 new titles in January 1980. The runner up was Atari 2600 with 2 new titles.

Odyssey 2 / Videopac G70005 releases
Atari 26002 releases
Apple II1 release

What genres were most popular?

Arcade was the dominant genre in January 1980 with 4 titles. Simulator followed closely with 2.

Arcade4
Simulator2
Sport2
Shooter2
Puzzle1