Games Released in February 1984

64 new games released in February 1984, with Arcade being the most active platform. February 1 was the busiest day, with 52 new releases.

Which days had the most releases?

February 1 saw the most activity with 52 releases.

SunMonTueWedThuFriSat

Wed, Feb 1

52 releases

Thu, Feb 2

1 release

Fri, Feb 3

No releases

Sat, Feb 4

1 release

Sun, Feb 5

1 release

Mon, Feb 6

2 releases

Tue, Feb 7

1 release

Wed, Feb 8

No releases

Thu, Feb 9

No releases

Fri, Feb 10

No releases

Sat, Feb 11

No releases

Sun, Feb 12

No releases

Mon, Feb 13

No releases

Tue, Feb 14

No releases

Wed, Feb 15

No releases

Thu, Feb 16

No releases

Fri, Feb 17

2 releases

Sat, Feb 18

1 release

Sun, Feb 19

No releases

Mon, Feb 20

No releases

Tue, Feb 21

1 release

Wed, Feb 22

No releases

Thu, Feb 23

No releases

Fri, Feb 24

No releases

Sat, Feb 25

No releases

Sun, Feb 26

No releases

Mon, Feb 27

No releases

Tue, Feb 28

2 releases

Wed, Feb 29

No releases

How did each week compare?

The first week of February was the busiest with 58 releases.

Week 1 (February 1–7)

58 releases
Pinball

Most popular release in Week 1

Pinball

Pinball is a game where the player controls the paddles of a virtual pinball machine. The game has two screens to represent the traditional pinball table and one for a bonus mode. Play begins when the player launches a ball with the plunger from first screen through the top of the screen to the second screen. Play will move to the first screen if the ball falls through the bottom of the top screen and will return to the top screen if the ball is hit back through the space at the top of the first screen. If the ball falls through the hole to the right bottom at the top level, the player will enter a mini-game featuring Mario and Lady. The player controls the paddles on either screen to deflect the ball to keep it from falling off the bottom of the lower screen.

Week 4 (February 22–28)

2 releases
King & Balloon

Most popular release in Week 4

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?

Arcade received 15 new titles in February 1984. The runner up was MSX with 11 new titles.

Arcade15 releases
MSX11 releases
SG-10007 releases
Commodore C64/128/MAX5 releases
Texas Instruments TI-994 releases
ColecoVision3 releases
Atari 26003 releases
ZX Spectrum3 releases
Game & Watch3 releases
Apple II2 releases

What genres were most popular?

Arcade was the dominant genre in February 1984 with 22 titles. Shooter followed closely with 18.

Arcade22
Shooter18
Sport11
Puzzle9
Platform8
Simulator6
Adventure3
Strategy2
Fighting1
Music1