Games Released in March 1980

12 new games debuted in March 1980, with Fairchild Channel F being the most active platform. March 1 was the busiest day, with 5 releases.

Top Platform

Fairchild Channel F

New Releases

12

Busiest Day

March 1

Space Invaders

What was the most popular game of March 1980?

Space Invaders

Space Invaders is a game in which the player controls a laser cannon by moving it horizontally across the bottom of the screen and firing at descending aliens. The aim is to defeat five rows of eleven aliens—some versions feature different numbers—that move horizontally back and forth across the screen as they advance towards the bottom of the screen. The player defeats an alien, and earns points, by shooting it with the laser cannon. As more aliens are defeated, the aliens' movement and the game's music both speed up.

Which days had the most releases?

March 1 saw the most activity with 5 releases.

Game cover
Game cover

5 releases

March 1

Game cover

1 release

March 19

Game cover

1 release

March 10

SunMonTueWedThuFriSat

Sat, Mar 1

5 releases

Sun, Mar 2

No releases

Mon, Mar 3

No releases

Tue, Mar 4

No releases

Wed, Mar 5

No releases

Thu, Mar 6

No releases

Fri, Mar 7

No releases

Sat, Mar 8

No releases

Sun, Mar 9

No releases

Mon, Mar 10

1 release

Tue, Mar 11

No releases

Wed, Mar 12

No releases

Thu, Mar 13

No releases

Fri, Mar 14

No releases

Sat, Mar 15

No releases

Sun, Mar 16

No releases

Mon, Mar 17

No releases

Tue, Mar 18

No releases

Wed, Mar 19

1 release

Thu, Mar 20

No releases

Fri, Mar 21

No releases

Sat, Mar 22

No releases

Sun, Mar 23

No releases

Mon, Mar 24

No releases

Tue, Mar 25

No releases

Wed, Mar 26

No releases

Thu, Mar 27

No releases

Fri, Mar 28

No releases

Sat, Mar 29

No releases

Sun, Mar 30

No releases

Mon, Mar 31

No releases

How did each week compare?

The first week of March was the busiest with 5 releases.

Week 1 (March 1–7)

5 releases
Star Raiders

Most popular release in Week 1

Star Raiders

Star Raiders is a first-person space combat simulator for the Atari 8-bit family of computers. It was written by Doug Neubauer, an Atari employee, and released as a cartridge by Atari in 1979. The game is considered the platform's killer app. It was later ported to the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, and Atari ST. The game simulates 3D space combat between the player's ship and an invading fleet of alien "Zylon" vessels. Star Raiders was distinctive for its graphics, which, in addition to various map and long range scan views, provided forward and aft first-person views, with movement conveyed by a streaming 3D starfield as the player engaged enemy spacecraft. While there had already been target-shooting games using the first person perspective (including 1978's Cosmic Conflict), Star Raiders had considerably higher quality visuals and more complex gameplay. It inspired imitators throughout the 1980s as well as later-generation space combat simulation games including Elite, Wing Commander, and Star Wars: X-Wing. In 2007, Star Raiders was included in a list of the 10 most important video games of all time, as compiled by Stanford University's History of Science and Technology Collections.

Week 3 (March 15–21)

1 release

Which platforms saw the most releases?

Fairchild Channel F received 3 new titles in March 1980. The runner up was Arcade with 2 new titles.

Fairchild Channel F3 releases
Arcade2 releases
Atari 26002 releases

What genres were most popular?

Shooter was the dominant genre in March 1980 with 3 titles. Arcade followed closely with 1.

Shooter3
Arcade1
Platform1
Puzzle1
Sport1
Strategy1
1980 Review
FebApr