Games Released in 1983

378 new games released in 1983 across 10 platforms, with Atari 2600 being the most popular seeing 91 new titles. February was the busiest month of the year, launching 129 new releases.

Top Platform

Atari 2600

New Releases

378

Busiest Month

February

Spy Hunter

What was the most popular game of 1983?

Spy Hunter

Originating in the arcades, Spy Hunter is a driving action game played from an overhead point of view. Your car is equipped with machine guns to help you get past the numerous enemies out on the road (be careful not to shoot any civilians, though!) Occasionally you will come across a weapons van, and if you drive into the back of the van your car becomes equipped with a second weapon (such as smoke screen, oil slick, or missiles). At several points the road splits and you can enter a boathouse which transforms your car into a boat temporarily. If you drive far enough the seasons change as well (watch out for icy conditions during winter!). The enemy cars will do anything to stop you, including running you off the road, firing guns from the back of a limo, or dropping bombs from a helicopter.

Which days had the most releases?

February 1 was the busiest single day of 1983 with 121 releases.

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121 releases

February 1

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39 releases

December 31

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20 releases

January 1

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18 releases

December 1

Which month had the most releases?

The busiest release month of 1983 was February, totaling 129 titles.

How did each season compare?

Q1 was the busiest quarter of 1983 with 166 releases.

Q2 (Apr–Jun)

72 releases
Elevator Action

Most popular release in Q2

Elevator Action

Elevator Action is a 1983 arcade game by Taito. It debuted during the "Golden Age of Arcade Games". Innovative in gameplay, the game was very popular for many years. In the game, the player assumes the role of a spy who infiltrates a building filled with elevators. He must collect secret documents from the building and traverse the 30 floors of the building using an increasingly complex series of elevators. The player is pursued by enemy agents who appear from behind closed doors. These agents must be dealt with via force or evasion. Successful completion of a level involves collecting all the secret documents and traversing the building from top to bottom. In the lower floors of the building, the elevator systems are so complex that some puzzle-solving skills are needed. The game was available as a standard upright cabinet The controls consist of a 4-way joystick and two buttons, one for "shoot" and the other for jumping and kicking. The maximum number of players is two, alternating turns. The graphics are extremely simple, 2D color graphics and in-game music was composed by musician Yoshio Imamura. The game was followed by a sequel, Elevator Action II (also known as Elevator Action Returns).

Q4 (Oct–Dec)

97 releases
Spy Hunter

Most popular release in Q4

Spy Hunter

Originating in the arcades, Spy Hunter is a driving action game played from an overhead point of view. Your car is equipped with machine guns to help you get past the numerous enemies out on the road (be careful not to shoot any civilians, though!) Occasionally you will come across a weapons van, and if you drive into the back of the van your car becomes equipped with a second weapon (such as smoke screen, oil slick, or missiles). At several points the road splits and you can enter a boathouse which transforms your car into a boat temporarily. If you drive far enough the seasons change as well (watch out for icy conditions during winter!). The enemy cars will do anything to stop you, including running you off the road, firing guns from the back of a limo, or dropping bombs from a helicopter.

Which platforms saw the most releases?

Atari 2600 received 91 new titles in 1983, holding the most releases. The runner up was Arcade with 70 new titles.

Atari 260091 releases
Arcade70 releases
Commodore C64/128/MAX34 releases
Texas Instruments TI-9926 releases
Atari 8-bit17 releases
ZX Spectrum15 releases
ColecoVision15 releases
Game & Watch15 releases
PC-8800 Series14 releases
Apple II14 releases

What genres were most popular?

Arcade was the dominant genre in 1983 with 143 titles. Shooter followed closely with 96.

Arcade143
Shooter96
Platform50
Adventure37
Puzzle34
Sport24
Strategy21
Racing20
Simulator17
Role-playing9
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