Games Released in October 1980

10 new games debuted in October 1980, with Intellivision being the most active platform. October 3 was the busiest day, with 3 releases. King & Balloon was the most popular release of the month.

Which days had the most releases?

October 3 saw the most activity with 3 releases.

SunMonTueWedThuFriSat

Wed, Oct 1

1 release

Thu, Oct 2

No releases

Fri, Oct 3

3 releases

Sat, Oct 4

1 release

Sun, Oct 5

No releases

Mon, Oct 6

No releases

Tue, Oct 7

No releases

Wed, Oct 8

No releases

Thu, Oct 9

No releases

Fri, Oct 10

No releases

Sat, Oct 11

No releases

Sun, Oct 12

No releases

Mon, Oct 13

No releases

Tue, Oct 14

No releases

Wed, Oct 15

No releases

Thu, Oct 16

2 releases

Fri, Oct 17

No releases

Sat, Oct 18

No releases

Sun, Oct 19

No releases

Mon, Oct 20

No releases

Tue, Oct 21

No releases

Wed, Oct 22

No releases

Thu, Oct 23

No releases

Fri, Oct 24

No releases

Sat, Oct 25

No releases

Sun, Oct 26

No releases

Mon, Oct 27

No releases

Tue, Oct 28

No releases

Wed, Oct 29

No releases

Thu, Oct 30

No releases

Fri, Oct 31

1 release

How did each week compare?

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

Week 3 (October 15–21)

2 releases

Week 5 (October 29–31)

1 release
King & Balloon

Most popular release in Week 5

King & Balloon

Released by Namco in the summer of 1980, King & Balloon is a shoot em up in the vein of Galaxian, but trades the outer space theme for pseudo-medieval setting. In the game, the player controls two green men who carry a cannon, as they defend the king below them from getting abducted by the balloons above, which keep invading the lower part of the screen while also shooting projectiles. Once all the balloons are shot down, the game moves on to the next level. One thing that makes King & Balloon unique is that you don't lose a life when hit. Rather, you respawn and keep on playing. The only way to lose a life is letting the king get abducted. Another interesting mechanic of note is that the balloons stop attacking and descending when one grabs ahold of the king, and they will keep still until the king is back on the ground. This creates a risk versus reward mechanic and entices you to let the balloon carry the king high enough so you can take out more balloons, then rescuing the king just in time. King & Balloon was also one of the first games to have speech, and it still holds up better than most contemporary or even later examples. The king says "Help!" when abducted, "Thank You!" when rescued, and "Bye bye!" when he leaves the screen. There are actually different voices for the game in Japan and the US version, with the Japan version having a slight Japanese accent.

Which platforms saw the most releases?

Intellivision received 5 new titles in October 1980. The runner up was Arcade with 2 new titles.

Intellivision5 releases
Arcade2 releases
Game & Watch1 release

What genres were most popular?

Arcade was the dominant genre in October 1980 with 4 titles. Shooter followed closely with 2.

Arcade4
Shooter2
Puzzle1
Racing1
Simulator1
Sport1
Strategy1