| 1970s | 1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 |
| 1980s | 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 |
| 1990s | 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 |
| 2000s | 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 |
| 2010s | 2010 · 2011 · 2012 · 2013 · 2014 2015 · 2016 · 2017 · 2018 · 2019 |
| 2020s | 2020 · 2021 · 2022 |
In the early history of video games, 1971 marked the beginning of the video game industry with the release of the first commercial arcade video games. The video game industry emerged from the arcade game industry, which at the time was dominated by electro-mechanical games (EM games), a type of arcade game that was popularized years earlier by Periscope (1965) from Namco and Sega.[1][2]
The first commercial arcade video game was Computer Space in 1971. The year's best-selling arcade game is Sky Fighter II, an electro-mechanical first-person shooter from Taito, while the year's best-selling video game is Computer Space.
Financial performance[]
The following table lists the annual revenue generated by the electronic games industry this year, including video games and electro‑mechanical games.
| Industry | Products | Market | Annual revenue (est.) | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominal | Inflation | ||||
| Arcade | Arcade games | United States | $135,000,000 | $1,020,000,000 | [3][4] |
| Arcade video games | United States | $1,000,000 | $7,500,000 | [5] | |
| Arcade | Electro‑mechanical games | Worldwide | $422,000,000 | $3,200,000,000 | |
| Arcade | Electro‑mechanical games | Japan | $288,000,000 | $2,200,000,000 | [6] |
| United States | $134,000,000 | $1,010,000,000 | |||
| Arcade | Arcade games | Worldwide | $423,000,000 | $3,200,000,000 | |
Highest-grossing arcade games[]
The following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1971. The list includes both video games (VG) and electro‑mechanical games (EM games).
| Rank | Title | Company | Cabinet sales | Gross revenue (est.) | Genre | Type | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | Cume | Ref | Nominal | Inflation | Ref | |||||
| 1 | Sky Fighter II | Taito | 3,000 | 3,000 | [7] | $20,000,000 | $150,000,000 | [8][2] | FPS | EM |
| 2 | Speedway | Kasco | Unknown | 9,000 | [9] | $17,000,000 | $130,000,000 | [2] | Racing | |
| 3 | Periscope | Sega | Unknown | 5,000 | [10] | $9,000,000 | $68,000,000 | [2] | FPS | |
| 4 | Indy 500 | Kasco | Unknown | 2,000 | [11] | $4,000,000 | $30,000,000 | [2] | Racing | |
| 5 | Computer Quiz | Nutting | Unknown | 4,400 | [12] | $2,000,000 | $15,000,000 | [2] | Quiz | |
| 6 | I.Q. Computer | Nutting | Unknown | 3,600 | [12] | $1,800,000 | $14,000,000 | |||
| 7 | Computer Space | Syzygy | 500 | 500 | [13] | $1,000,000 | $7,500,000 | [5] | Shooter | VG |
| 8 | Periscope | Namco | Unknown | 100+ | [14] | $200,000+ | $2,000,000+ | [2] | FPS | EM |
| 9 | Jet Rocket | Sega | Unknown | 40+ | [15] | $100,000+ | $750,000+ | |||
| 10 | Sky Fighter | Taito | Unknown | Unknown | [7] | $16,000+ | $120,000+ | [8][2] | ||
| 11 | Monte Carlo | Sega | Unknown | Unknown | [16] | $3,000+ | $23,000+ | [17][2] | Racing | |
| 12 | Dive Bomber | Sega | Unknown | Unknown | [18] | $2,500+ | $19,000+ | [17][2] | FPS | |
| 13 | Road Runner | Bally | Unknown | Unknown | [19] | $2,000+ | $15,000+ | [2] | Racing | EM |
| Galaxy Game | Stanford | 1 | 1 | [20] | $2,000 | $15,000 | [2] | Shooter | VG | |
Home market[]
| Electro‑mechanical game | Manufacturer | Year | Unit sales | Gross revenue (est.) | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominal | Inflation | |||||
| Beam Gun | Nintendo | 1970 | 1,000,000 | $34,000,000 | $260,000,000 | [21][22] |
References[]
- ↑ "EDITORIAL: Staple Games vs Novelties". Cash Box: 44. 1971-05-22. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1971/Cash-Box-1971-05-22.pdf#page=44.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 "1971 Amusement Machine Route Survey". Cash Box: MOA 10. October 16, 1971. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1971/Cash-Box-1971-10-16.pdf#page=89.
- ↑ Annual Survey of Manufactures: 1970-1971. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. September 1973. pp. 83. https://books.google.com/books?id=kdhu6fbVqeYC&pg=PA83.
- ↑ U.S. Commodity Exports and Imports as Related to Output: 1971 and 1970. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1974. p. 140. https://books.google.com/books?id=Osh0ve7nKc0C&pg=PA140.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Donovan, Tristan (April 20, 2010). Replay: The History of Video Games. Yellow Ant. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-9565072-0-4. https://archive.org/details/replayhistoryofv0000dono/page/21.
- ↑ 情報メディア白書 [Information Media White Paper]. Dentsu Institute. 2010. p. 293. https://books.google.com/books?id=fSFNAQAAIAAJ. "産業興行収入市場規模営業収入営業収入全体ビデオゲームアーケードゲーム中短波 FM (Box office revenue, Market size, Operating revenue, Total operating revenue, Video games, Arcade games, Medium and shortwave FM) ... 1965 755 152 713 1,090 4,843 1966 758 174 752 1,266 5,760 1967 789 214 788 1,530 6,793 1968 820 254 792 1,736 7,843 1969 838 323 0 848 2,206 9,305 1970 825 398 13 921 2,691 10,802 1971 793 430 17 1,010 2,893 12,649 1972 770 482 1,100 3,333 14,828 1973 927 580 235 24 1,187 4,018 17,344 1974 1,171 628 46 1,258 4,442 19,171 1975 1,308 683 52 1,314 4,856 21,555 1976 1,457 790 65 1,915 5,809 25,714 1977 1,524 892 83 2,091 6,512 34,784 1978 1,605 1,006 97 2,141 7,362 37,058 1979 1,582 1,164 115 2,191 8,326 39,255 1980 1,659 1,263 131 2,714 8,687 41,008 1981 1,633 1,347 143 2,816 9,284 42,625 1982 1,695 2,780 4,500 1,391 180 2,877 9,967 44,611 1983 1,863 3,860 4,570 1,450 237 2,926 10,713 46,915"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Smith, Alexander (19 November 2019). They Create Worlds: The Story of the People and Companies That Shaped the Video Game Industry, Vol. I: 1971-1982. CRC Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-429-75261-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=Cxy_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT193.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 https://shmuplations.com/nishikado/
- ↑ https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1971/Cash-Box-1971-12-25.pdf#page=164
- ↑ https://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com/2015/06/08/historical-interlude-the-history-of-coin-op-part-6-a-technological-revolution/
- ↑ Kasco and the Electro-Mechanical Golden Age: Former Kansai Seisakusho Staff Interview. Classic Videogame Station Odyssey (2001). Archived from the original on 2016.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Donovan, Tristan (April 20, 2010). Replay: The History of Video Games. Yellow Ant. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-9565072-0-4. https://archive.org/details/replayhistoryofv0000dono/page/19.
- ↑ https://technologizer.com/2011/12/11/computer-space-and-the-dawn-of-the-arcade-video-game/3/
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/play-meter-volume-3-number-1-january-1977/Play%20Meter%20-%20Volume%203%2C%20Number%201%20-%20January%201977/page/n10
- ↑ "SEGA Announces Delivery of Jet Rocket' Right Simulator". Cash Box: 51. August 29, 1970. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1970/CB-1970-08-29.pdf#page=51.
- ↑ https://segaretro.org/Monte_Carlo
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Price List. Sega. 1977. p. 7. https://segaretro.org/images/4/45/1977SegaPriceList_JP.pdf#page=7.
- ↑ https://segaretro.org/Dive_Bomber
- ↑ https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9340
- ↑ Pitts, Bill (October 29, 1997). The Galaxy Game. Stanford University.
- ↑ Kohler, Chris (2004). Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life. Indianapolis, IN: BradyGames. pp. 30-1. ISBN 978-0-7440-0424-3. https://archive.org/details/poweruphowjapane0000kohl/page/30/mode/2up.
- ↑ https://darkzero.co.uk/game-articles/the-history-of-nintendo/
External links[]
- "Coin Machines Equipment Inventory". Cash Box: 8 (Part III). December 25, 1971. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1971/Cash-Box-1971-12-25.pdf#page=168.