<s>
1970s	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
1980s	B-Application
in	I-Application
video	I-Application
games	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
1990s	B-Application
Other	O
topics	O
:	O
Anthropology	O
.	O
Comics	O
.	O
Fashion	O
.	O
Music	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
1980s	O
was	O
the	O
second	B-Device
decade	I-Device
in	I-Device
the	I-Device
industry	I-Device
's	I-Device
history	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
decade	O
began	O
amidst	O
a	O
boom	O
in	O
the	O
arcade	O
business	O
with	O
giants	O
like	O
Atari	O
still	O
dominating	O
the	O
American	O
market	O
since	O
the	O
late-1970s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
took	O
home	B-Device
consoles	I-Device
years	O
to	O
recover	O
from	O
the	O
crash	O
,	O
but	O
Nintendo	O
filled	O
in	O
the	O
void	O
with	O
its	O
Nintendo	O
Entertainment	O
System	O
(	O
NES	B-Language
,	O
Famicom	O
)	O
,	O
reviving	O
interest	O
in	O
consoles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
remaining	O
years	O
of	O
the	O
decade	O
,	O
Sega	O
ignites	O
a	O
console	B-Device
war	O
with	O
Nintendo	O
,	O
developers	O
that	O
had	O
been	O
affected	O
by	O
the	O
crash	O
experimented	O
with	O
the	O
more	O
advanced	O
graphics	O
of	O
the	O
PC	B-Device
,	O
and	O
Nintendo	O
released	O
the	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
,	O
which	O
would	O
become	O
the	O
best-selling	O
handheld	B-Application
gaming	I-Application
device	O
for	O
the	O
next	O
two-decades	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
consoles	O
releases	O
in	O
the	O
decade	O
included	O
the	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
,	O
TurboGrafx-16	B-General_Concept
(	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
)	O
and	O
Sega	B-Operating_System
Genesis	I-Operating_System
(	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Notable	O
games	O
of	O
the	O
1980s	O
included	O
Metroid	B-Device
,	O
Elite	B-Application
,	O
SimCity	B-Application
,	O
Ninja	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
,	O
Tetris	B-Application
,	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
,	O
Contra	B-Application
,	O
Donkey	B-Application
Kong	I-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
first	O
five	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
in	O
1983	B-Application
the	O
third	B-Application
generation	O
began	O
with	O
the	O
Japanese	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
Family	O
Computer	O
(	O
or	O
"	O
Famicom	O
"	O
;	O
later	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Nintendo	O
Entertainment	O
System	O
in	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
world	O
)	O
by	O
Nintendo	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
previous	O
generation	O
of	O
consoles	O
had	O
also	O
used	O
8-bit	B-Application
processors	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
this	O
generation	O
that	O
home	B-Device
consoles	I-Device
were	O
first	O
labeled	O
by	O
their	O
"	O
bits	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
also	O
came	O
into	O
fashion	O
as	O
16-bit	B-Device
systems	O
like	O
Sega	O
's	O
Genesis	B-Operating_System
were	O
marketed	O
to	O
differentiate	O
between	O
the	O
generations	O
of	O
consoles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
this	O
generation	O
in	O
gaming	O
was	O
primarily	O
dominated	O
by	O
the	O
NES/Famicom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
in	O
1987	B-Application
with	O
the	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
in	O
Japan	O
and	O
ending	O
in	O
1996	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
last	O
console	B-Device
being	O
the	O
Neo-Geo	B-Application
in	O
1991	O
,	O
the	O
fourth	B-Application
generation	I-Application
of	I-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
consoles	I-Application
consisted	O
primarily	O
of	O
games	O
and	O
systems	O
programmed	O
for	O
the	O
16-bit	B-Application
era	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
this	O
generation	O
,	O
2D	O
graphics	O
had	O
improved	O
over	O
the	O
previous	O
generation	O
and	O
experimentation	O
began	O
to	O
occur	O
with	O
3D	O
graphics	O
,	O
although	O
3D	O
games	O
were	O
more	O
prevalent	O
on	O
the	O
PC	B-Device
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
fourth	O
generation	O
also	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
compact	O
discs	O
were	O
considered	O
a	O
viable	O
port	O
for	O
video	O
game	O
retail	O
sales	O
with	O
the	O
CD-i	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
notable	O
systems	O
released	O
during	O
this	O
generation	O
were	O
the	O
Super	O
Famicom/Super	O
Nintendo	O
Entertainment	O
System	O
(	O
1990	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
Sega	B-Operating_System
Mega	I-Operating_System
Drive/Genesis	I-Operating_System
(	O
1988	B-Application
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
(	O
1991	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nintendo	O
's	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
was	O
also	O
released	O
during	O
the	O
fourth	O
generation	O
,	O
which	O
would	O
later	O
become	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
series	O
of	O
handheld	B-Application
gaming	I-Application
systems	I-Application
during	O
the	O
1990s	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
rivalry	O
between	O
Sega	O
and	O
Nintendo	O
occurred	O
during	O
this	O
generation	O
,	O
starting	O
the	O
first	O
ever	O
console	B-Device
war	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
arcade	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
industry	O
in	O
the	O
US	O
alone	O
was	O
generating	O
$5billion	O
of	O
revenue	O
annually	O
in	O
1981	B-Application
and	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
arcades	O
doubled	O
between	O
1980	B-Application
and	O
1982	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1982	B-Application
,	O
"	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
Fever	O
"	O
charted	O
on	O
the	O
Billboard	O
Hot	O
100	O
charts	O
and	O
Tron	B-Language
became	O
a	O
cult	O
classic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
a	O
dispute	O
over	O
recognition	O
and	O
royalties	O
,	O
several	O
of	O
Atari	O
's	O
key	O
programmers	O
split	O
and	O
founded	O
their	O
own	O
company	O
Activision	O
in	O
late	O
1979	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Activision	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
third-party	O
developer	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
sued	O
Activision	O
for	O
copyright	O
infringement	O
and	O
theft	O
of	O
trade	O
secrets	O
in	O
1980	B-Application
,	O
but	O
the	O
two	O
parties	O
settled	O
on	O
fixed	O
royalty	O
rates	O
and	O
a	O
legitimizing	O
process	O
for	O
third	B-Application
parties	O
to	O
develop	O
games	O
on	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
market	O
was	O
also	O
flooded	O
with	O
too	O
many	O
consoles	O
and	O
too	O
many	O
poor	O
quality	O
games	O
,	O
elements	O
that	O
would	O
contribute	O
to	O
the	O
collapse	O
of	O
the	O
entire	O
video	O
game	O
industry	O
in	O
1983	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1983	B-Application
,	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
bubble	O
created	O
during	O
the	O
golden	O
age	O
had	O
burst	O
and	O
several	O
major	O
companies	O
that	O
produced	O
computers	O
and	O
consoles	O
had	O
gone	O
into	O
bankruptcy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
reported	O
a	O
$536	O
million	O
loss	O
in	O
1983	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
game	O
often	O
given	O
poster	O
child	O
status	O
to	O
this	O
era	O
,	O
E.T.	B-Application
</s>
<s>
the	O
Extra-Terrestrial	O
had	O
such	O
bad	O
sale	O
figures	O
that	O
the	O
remaining	O
unsold	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
were	O
buried	O
in	O
the	O
deserts	O
of	O
New	O
Mexico	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
brunt	O
of	O
the	O
crash	O
was	O
felt	O
mainly	O
across	O
the	O
home	B-Device
console	I-Device
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Home	O
computer	O
gaming	O
continued	O
to	O
thrive	O
in	O
this	O
time	O
period	O
,	O
especially	O
with	O
lower-cost	O
machines	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
and	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Home	O
computers	O
also	O
allowed	O
motivated	O
users	O
to	O
develop	O
their	O
own	O
games	O
,	O
and	O
many	O
notable	O
titles	O
were	O
created	O
this	O
way	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Jordan	O
Mechner	O
's	O
Karateka	B-Application
,	O
which	O
he	O
wrote	O
on	O
an	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
while	O
in	O
college	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
late	O
1980s	O
,	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
compatibles	O
became	O
popular	O
as	O
gaming	O
devices	O
,	O
with	O
more	O
memory	O
and	O
higher	O
resolutions	O
than	O
consoles	O
,	O
but	O
lacking	O
in	O
the	O
custom	O
hardware	O
that	O
allowed	O
the	O
slower	O
console	B-Device
systems	O
to	O
create	O
smooth	O
visuals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1985	B-Application
,	O
the	O
home	O
market	O
console	B-Device
in	O
North	O
America	O
had	O
been	O
dormant	O
for	O
nearly	O
two	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
seeing	O
impressive	O
numbers	O
from	O
its	O
Famicom	O
system	O
in	O
Japan	O
,	O
Nintendo	O
decided	O
to	O
jump	O
into	O
the	O
North	O
American	O
market	O
by	O
releasing	O
the	O
Nintendo	O
Entertainment	O
System	O
,	O
or	O
NES	B-Language
for	O
short	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nintendo	O
is	O
credited	O
with	O
reviving	O
the	O
home	B-Device
console	I-Device
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
innovation	O
that	O
led	O
to	O
Nintendo	O
's	O
success	O
was	O
its	O
ability	O
to	O
tell	O
stories	O
on	O
an	O
inexpensive	O
home	B-Device
console	I-Device
;	O
something	O
that	O
was	O
more	O
common	O
for	O
home	O
computer	O
games	O
,	O
but	O
had	O
only	O
been	O
seen	O
on	O
consoles	O
in	O
a	O
limited	O
fashion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nintendo	O
also	O
took	O
measures	O
to	O
prevent	O
another	O
crash	O
by	O
requiring	O
third-party	O
developers	O
to	O
adhere	O
to	O
regulations	O
and	O
standards	O
,	O
something	O
that	O
has	O
existed	O
on	O
major	O
consoles	O
since	O
then	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
forced	O
third	B-Application
parties	O
to	O
pay	O
in	O
full	O
for	O
their	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
before	O
release	O
,	O
so	O
that	O
in	O
case	O
of	O
a	O
flop	O
,	O
the	O
liability	O
will	O
be	O
on	O
the	O
developer	O
and	O
not	O
the	O
provider	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
titles	O
were	O
the	O
highest-grossing	O
arcade	B-Application
video	I-Application
games	I-Application
of	O
each	O
year	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
coin	O
drop	O
earnings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
+	O
Best-selling	O
home	O
video	O
games	O
of	O
the	O
1980s	O
(	O
as	O
of	O
2015	O
)	O
Title	O
Units	O
sold	O
Initial	O
release	O
date	O
Platform(s )	O
Genre	O
Developer	O
Publisher(s )	O
1	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
Bros	I-Application
.	I-Application
40.24	O
million	O
NES	B-Language
Platformer	O
Nintendo	O
R&D4	O
Nintendo	O
2	O
Tetris	B-Application
(	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
)	O
35	O
million	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Puzzle	O
Nintendo	O
R&D1	O
Nintendo	O
3	O
Duck	B-Application
Hunt	I-Application
28.31	O
million	O
NES	B-Language
Light	O
gun	O
shooter	O
Nintendo	O
R&D1	O
Nintendo	O
4	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
Land	I-Application
18.14	O
million	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Platformer	O
Nintendo	O
R&D1	O
Nintendo	O
5	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
Bros	I-Application
.	I-Application
3	I-Application
17.28	O
million	O
NES	B-Language
Platformer	O
Nintendo	O
EAD	O
Nintendo	O
6	O
Donkey	B-Application
Kong	I-Application
15.05	O
million	O
G&W	B-Device
,	O
Coleco	B-Device
,	O
Atari	O
,	O
NES	B-Language
Platformer	O
Nintendo	O
R&D1	O
Coleco	B-Device
,	O
Atari	O
Corporation	O
7	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
11.15	O
million	O
VCS	B-Application
,	O
Coleco	B-Device
,	O
NES	B-Language
,	O
PC	B-Device
Maze	B-Application
Namco	O
Atari	O
,	O
Coleco	B-Device
,	O
Namco	O
,	O
Thunder	O
Mountain	O
8	O
Tetris	B-Application
(	O
NES	B-Language
)	O
8	O
million	O
NES	B-Language
Puzzle	O
Nintendo	O
R&D1	O
Nintendo	O
9	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
Bros	I-Application
.	I-Application
2	I-Application
7.46	O
million	O
NES	B-Language
Platformer	O
Nintendo	O
EAD	O
Nintendo	O
10	O
The	B-Application
Legend	I-Application
of	I-Application
Zelda	I-Application
6.51	O
million	O
NES	B-Language
Action-adventure	O
Nintendo	O
EAD	O
Nintendo	O
11	O
Space	B-Application
Invaders	I-Application
6.09	O
million	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
Shoot	O
'	O
em	O
up	O
Taito	O
Atari	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
12	O
The	B-Application
Last	I-Application
Ninja	I-Application
2	I-Application
5.5	O
million	O
Computers	O
Action-adventure	O
System	O
3	O
Activision	O
13	O
Pitfall	B-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
5	O
million	O
Multi-platform	B-Operating_System
Platformer	O
Activision	O
Activision	O
14	O
Zelda	B-Application
II	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Adventure	I-Application
of	I-Application
Link	I-Application
4.38	O
million	O
NES	B-Language
Action	B-Application
role-playing	I-Application
Nintendo	O
EAD	O
Nintendo	O
15	O
Excitebike	B-Application
4.16	O
million	O
NES	B-Language
Racing	O
Nintendo	O
R&D1	O
Nintendo	O
16	O
Frogger	B-Application
4.1	O
million	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
,	O
Computers	O
Action	B-Application
Konami	O
Parker	O
Brothers	O
,	O
Sierra	O
On-Line	O
17	O
Where	B-Device
in	I-Device
the	I-Device
World	I-Device
Is	I-Device
Carmen	I-Device
Sandiego	I-Device
?	I-Device
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
table	O
lists	O
the	O
top	O
20	O
best-selling	O
home	O
systems	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
including	O
home	B-Device
video	I-Device
game	I-Device
consoles	I-Device
,	O
handheld	B-Application
game	I-Application
consoles	I-Application
,	O
handheld	B-Application
electronic	I-Application
games	I-Application
,	O
and	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
