| 1970s . 1980s in video gaming . 1990s |
| Other events: 1980s . Games timeline |
The 1980s in video gaming were a decade of some notable events and releases such as the crash of 1983. The decade was dominated by both Nintendo and Sega and their consoles.
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Starting in 1983 the third generation began with the Japanese release of the Family Computer (later known as the Nintendo Entertainment System in the rest of the world). Although the previous generation of consoles had also used 8-bit processors, it was at the end of this generation that home consoles were first labeled by their "bits". This also came into fashion as 16-bit systems like the Mega Drive/Genesis were marketed to differentiate between the generations of consoles. In the United States, this generation in gaming was primarily dominated by the NES/Famicom.
Starting in 1987 and ending in 1996, the fourth generation of video game consoles consisted primarily of games and systems programmed for the 16-bit era. During this generation, 2D graphics had improved over the previous generation and experimentation began to occur with 3D graphics, although 3D games were more prevalent on the PC at the time. The fourth generation also was the first time Compact Discs were considered a viable port for video game retail sales with the CD-i. Some of the most notable systems released during this generation were the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (1990), the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis (1988), and the Neo Geo (1990).[1] Nintendo's Game Boy was also released during the fourth generation, which would later become the most popular series of handheld gaming systems during the 1990s.[2] A rivalry between Sega and Nintendo occurred during this generation, starting the first ever console war.
The North American video game crash of 1983 brought an abrupt end to what is considered the second generation of console video gaming in the English-speaking world. It almost destroyed the then-fledgling industry and led to the bankruptcy of several companies producing home computers and video game consoles in North America. It lasted about two years, and many business analysts of the time expressed doubts about the long-term viability of video game consoles. The video-game industry was revitalized a few years later.
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