Timeline of video games

This is a timeline of video games and computer games in reverse chronological order. See history of the video game for a more narrative overview of the subject. See also Chronology of console role-playing games.

2000s

2004

• January 12 - Ubisoft acquires Tiwak
• February - EA consolidates, rolls most of Maxis and all of Origin Systems into its Redwood Shores, California HQ
• March 4 - Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Peter Molyneux into the AIAS Hall of Fame
• March 22-26 - Game Developers Conference hosts 4th annual Game Developers Choice Awards and Gama Network's 6th annual Independent Games Festival (IGF)
• July - Square Enix restructures executive branches around the world.
• August 30 - Acclaim declares bankruptcy and closes its doors

2003

• February 27 - Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Yu Suzuki of SEGA to the AIAS Hall of Fame
• March 6-9 - Game Developers Conference hosts 3rd annual Game Developers Choice Awards and Gama Network's 5th annual Independent Games Festival (IGF)
• May 14-16 - 9th annual E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) held at Los Angeles Convention Center; 6th annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E3
• July 16 - The Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) renamed as Entertainment Software Association (ESA)
• October 1 - DreamWorks SKG and Tecmo announce a movie adaptation of the video game Fatal Frame has been fast-tracked. Details on the movie released at the 2003 Tokyo Game Show stated that it's a major priority for DreamWorks and that writer/producer John Rogers has signed onto the project as its producer and Steven Spielberg has a first-hand role with the project.
• October 20 - The families of Aaron Hamel and Kimberly Bede who were shot by teens William and Josh Buckner who stated to investigators that their actions were inspired by Grand Theft Auto 3 file a USD$246 million lawsuit against Rockstar Games, Take Two Interactive Software, retailer Wal-Mart, and marketer Sony Computer Entertainment America. Rockstar and its parent company, Take-Two request the judge to dismiss the lawsuit stating in U.S. District Court on October 29, 2003 that the "ideas and concepts as well as the 'purported psychological effects' on the Buckners are protected by the First Amendment's free-speech clause." The lawyer of the victims dismissed that and is trying to get the lawsuit moved into a state court and taken under consideration of the Tennessee's consumer protection act. The result of this lawsuit is currently pending.
• October 31 - BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) announces nominations for the 1st annual BAFTA Games Awards for video game publication and (on November 24) the 6th annual BAFTA Interactive Awards for multimedia technologies; ceremony to be held in February 2004
• November - Kazushige Nojima resigns from Square Enix

Hardware

• Early 2003 - Nintendo releases the Game Boy Advance SP, an enhanced version of its popular Game Boy Advance handheld game console
• Nokia releases the hybrid N-Gage handheld console / mobile phone

Business

• February 19 - Microsoft announces a deal to buy Connectix Corp.
• Take Two Interactive buys TDK Mediactive, Inc.
• Infogrames, Inc., a subsidiary of Infogrames Entertainment SA renames itself Atari
• Square Co. and Enix Corporation merge forming Square Enix Co., Ltd.
• reports that video games are a USD$10 billion dollar industry
• May - 3DO announces bankruptcy
• December ? Interplay closes its Black Isle Studios division
• Late 2003 - Nintendo buys shares from Japanese toy and animation conglomerate Bandai making Nintendo one of Bandai's top 10 shareholders.
• Late 2003 - reports a rebuttal regarding two statements from Nintendo and Bandai execs denying a potential Nintendo takeover of Bandai. According to the story, Nintendo is working with a Japanese banking firm that has Bandai and Nintendo as their corporate clients to try to take over Bandai.

2002

Acquisitions

• Activision acquires Luxoflux Corporation, Gray Matter Interactive Studios, Shaba Games LLC, and Z-Axis Ltd.
• Empire Interactive PLC acquires eJay AG (renamed eJay Entertainment GmbH)
• Infogrames Entertainment SA acquires Eden Studios and Shiny Entertainment
• Microsoft acquires Rare Ltd.
• PCCW: Jaleco USA merges with its VR1 Entertainment (renamed Jaleco Entertainment) division
• Sony Corporation acquires Aiwa Corporation
• Vivendi Universal acquires Massive Entertainment
• Bankrupt/Defunct: Encore Software, Inc. (assets acquired by Navarre Corporation)

Established/Renamed

• February 19 - Sierra Entertainment, Inc. renamed from Sierra On-Line
• .400 Software Studios founded
• May 10 ? Tiwak renamed from Yeti Interactive

Events

• Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Will Wright of Maxis to the AIAS Hall of Fame
• BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) holds 5th annual BAFTA Interactive Awards for multimedia technologies; 10 of 21 awards go to video games; awards Ian Livingstone the BAFTA Interactive Special Award
• 8th annual E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo); the 5th annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E3
• Eidos Interactive selects Dutch model Jill De Jong as the new digitized Lara Croft character
• G4 Media, LLC (subsidiary of Comcast Corporation) launches the G4 cable television video game network channel
• Gama Network hosts the 4th annual Independent Games Festival (IGF)
• Game Developers Conference hosts the 2nd annual Game Developers Choice Awards
• SEGA establishes the Sega Mobile division to develop, produce, and distribute video games for mobile phones and PDAs; establishes the Sega.com Business Solutions division to service video game developers and publishers
• Rockstar Games embroiled in moral panic for its Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City video games
• March 22 - The Sims overtakes Myst as all-time best-selling computer game, having sold 6.3 million units

2001

Acquisitions

• Activision acquires Treyarch Invention LLC
• PCCW (Pacific Century CyberWorks Japan Co., Ltd.) acquires VR1 Entertainment

Established/Renamed/Merged Events/News

• Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts John Carmack of id Software to the AIAS Hall of Fame
• BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) hosts the 4th annual BAFTA Interactive Awards for multimedia technologies; 15 of 21 awards go to video games
• 7th annual E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo); the 4th annual Game Critics Awards For The Best Of E3
• Gama Network hosts the 3rd annual Independent Games Festival (IGF)
• Game Developers Conference hosts the 1st annual Game Developers Choice Awards
• Midway Games announces that it will no longer manufacture arcade games
• Reuters reports that the Sega Dreamcast console has an estimated 800,000 online users playing its various online games already by midyear
  • reports that Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and SEGA are cooperating to allow online users for the Playstation 2 and Dreamcast consoles to play each other via the 1st ever cross-console network
• Sony cooperates with AOL to incorporate Internet features with the Playstation 2 console; which include a browser, email, and instant messaging capabilities
• SEGA announces that it will no longer develop home consoles, in order to focus on game development
  • 2nd annual Sega Dreamcast Championships (featuring the Crazy Taxi 2 video game)
    • 1st place: Lindsay Gall ($15,000 & Jamaica resort trip)
    • 2nd place: Michael Pirring ($10,000)
    • 3rd place: Roger Mogle ($5,000)

Lawsuits

• Sega of America Inc. v. Kmart Corporation; Sega sues Kmart over an unpaid debt of over USD$2 million dollars
• Uri Geller v. Nintendo; Geller sues Nintendo over his resemblance to a Pokemon character. The suit is dismissed.

New hardware

• GamePark Inc.: GP32 (GamePark 32) wireless-multiplayer multimedia handheld console
• Indrema's L600 Entertainment System multimedia home console
• Microsoft's Xbox home console
• Nintendo:
  • GameCube home console
  • Game Boy Advance (GBA) backwards-compatible handheld console
• Panasonic's Q multimedia console

Significant Software

• Infogrames Entertainment SA releases Atari Anniversary Edition collection for the Dreamcast console and PC
• Nikkei News reports that the video game Phantasy Star Online (for Sega Dreamcast) has had 300,000 worldwide users login already by midyear

2000

Acquisitions

• Electronic Arts Inc. acquires DreamWorks Interactive, LLC (games division of DreamWorks SKG)
• Infogrames, Inc. acquires Hasbro Interactive, Inc. (including the Game.com division and the rights to the Atari label); Infogrames also acquires Paradigm Entertainment, Inc.
• Microsoft Corporation acquires Bungie Software Products Corp.
• nVidia Corporation acquires 3Dfx Interactive, Inc.
• Sony Corporation acquires Verant Interactive, Inc.
• THQ Inc. acquires Volition
• Ubi Soft Entertainment, Inc. acquires Red Storm Entertainment, Inc.

Bankrupt/Defunct

• SNK

Established/Renamed

• Summer - 21-6 Productions founded
• Sega Rosso renamed (formerly SEGA's AM5 team)
• Smilebit founded (formerly SEGA's AM6 R&D division)
• Yeti Interactive founded

Events

• June 26 - International Game Developers Association renamed from Computer Game Developers Association
• Reuters reports that the Sony Playstation 2 console will export controls by Trade Ministry of Japan since the PS2 is sophisticated enough for military application
• NPD Group, Inc. reports that Electronic Arts ranks 1st in third-party video game publishing in the USA, ahead of Infogrames Entertainment SA
• Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards inducts Hironobu Sakaguchi of Square Enix to the AIAS Hall of Fame
• BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 4th annual BAFTA Interactive Awards for multimedia technologies; 7 of 20 awards go to video games; awards David Bowie in part for his contributions to the video game PC)
• 6th annual E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo); the 3rd annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E3
• Gama Network hosts the 2nd annual Independent Games Festival (IGF)
• Mattel, Inc. sells Learning Co. to Gores Technology Group
• Nintendo sells its 100,000,000th Game Boy handheld console
  • spends over USD$80 million issuing gloves to over a 1,000,000 children after numerous reports of serious hand injuries from the controllers while playing certain stages of Mario Party (for N64)
• Midway / Williams announces to cease the Atari Games label
• Sega.com launches SegaNet, their online console gaming network
  • 1st annual Sega Dreamcast Championships (featuring the Sonic Adventure video game)
• All of SEGA's the internal consumer research & development divisions become individual developer companies
• Maxis publishes Will Wright's The Sims, which goes on to be the best-selling computer game of its time

New Hardware

• Bandai's Wonderswan Color handheld in Japan
• SEGA's Naomi 2 arcade console
• Sony's Playstation 2 (PS2) home console
• Toymax's Activision TV Games controller/console

Lawsuits

• Nintendo of America, Sega America, Electronic Arts, Inc v. Yahoo!, Inc.; The lawsuit is over piracy negligence and profiting from counterfeit video game products sold on Yahoo Auctions. The lawsuit is fully dropped in 2001 in order to cooperate against piracy.

Significant Software

• Electronic Arts's Ultima Online video game has over 150,000 online users by the end of February
• SEGA's ChuChu Rocket video game released as the 1st online console game; NFL 2K1 video game, the 1st online console sports game; Phantasy Star Online video game, the 1st online console RPG

1990s

1999

Acquisitions

• Activision acquires Elsinore Multimedia, Expert Software, and Neversoft Entertainment
• Infogrames Entertainment SA acquires Accolade, Gremlin Interactive (renamed Infogrames Sheffield House), GT Interactive Software (GTIS), and Ozisoft
• Take Two Interactive acquires TalonSoft

Established/Renamed

• 3d6 Games, Inc. founded (closes November 1, 2002)
• October ? 7FX founded as subsidiary of a Czech company
• 7 Studios founded
• BAM! Entertainment, Inc. founded
• Bohemia Interactive Studio founded
• April - Liquid Entertainment founded

Events

• Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Sid Meier of Firaxis to the AIAS Hall of Fame
• BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) hosts the 2nd annual BAFTA Interactive Awards
• Billy Mitchell scores a perfect 3,333,360 points on the Pac-Man arcade game
• 5th annual E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo); the 2nd annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E3
• Gama Network hosts the 1st annual Independent Games Festival (IGF)
• March 15-19 - Game Developers Conference (formerly Computer Game Developers Conference); moves to San Jose, California where it stays for six consecutive years; hosts the 1st annual Independent Games Festival
• June 18 - Minh Le and Jess Cliffe release the Counter-Strike mod for Half-Life

New hardware

• Nintendo's Game Boy Light (GBL) handheld console in Japan only
• SEGA Dreamcast, an Internet-ready 128-bit home console
• SNK's Neo Geo Pocket Color handheld
• Tiger Electronics Game.com Pocket Pro handheld

Lawsuits

• Nintendo v. Bung Enterprises Ltd.; Nintendo sues Bung over patent infringement
• Sony Corporation v. Bleem LLC

Significant Software

• Bleem releases the Bleem! emulator for Playstation for an IBM-compatible PC
• Connectix Corporation releases the Virtual Game Station emulator for Playstation for a Macintosh

1998

Acquisitions

• Activision acquires CD Contact Data and Head Game Publishing
• Eidos Interactive acquires Crystal Dynamics
• Electronic Arts Inc. acquires Virgin Studio and Westwood Studios, Inc.
• Hasbro, Inc. acquires Atari Corporation (from JTS Corp.), Microprose, and Tiger Electronics

Bankrupt/Defunct

• JTS Corp. (Atari Corporation)

Established/Renamed

• BreakAway Games, Ltd. founded
• Elixir Studios Ltd. formed
• Lego Media established by Lego Group
• Metro3D, Inc. founded
• Rockstar Games founded
• WildTangent, Inc. founded

Events

• Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 1st Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo to the AIAS Hall of Fame
• BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) hosts the 1st annual BAFTA Interactive Awards
• 4th annual E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo); the 1st annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E3
• Game One channel (subsidiary of Canalplus); Infogrames Entertainment SA and Canal+ launch the Game One television channel

New Hardware

• Bandai's Wonderswan handheld in Japan
• Majesco Sales Inc.'s Genesis 3 home console
• Nintendo:
  • Game Boy Color (GBC) handheld console
  • Camera & Printer accessories for the Game Boy handheld console
• SEGA's Naomi arcade console and Dreamcast home console
• SNK's Neo Geo Pocket (NGP) handheld

Significant Software

• Nintendo releases Pokemon video game for Game Boy
• Sierra On-Line publishes Valve Software's Half-Life

1997

Acquisitions

• Activision acquires CentreSoft Ltd. and Raven Software
• Electronic Arts Inc. acquires Maxis

Bankrupt/Defunct

• Gametek

Established/Renamed/Merged

• 2015 Inc. founded
• 4D Rulers Software, Inc. founded
• September - 4HEAD Studios created
• Bungie Studios West formed by Bungie Software Products Corp.
• Conspiracy Entertainment Corporation founded
• Crave Entertainment, Inc. formed
• August - Human Head Studios, Inc. formed
• Illusion Softworks, a.s. founded
• April 15 - Irem Software Engineering Inc. founded
• Irrational Games LLC founded
• Mythic Entertainment renames itself from Interworld Productions after name dispute with another "Interworld" company
• THQ renamed from Toy Head-Quarters, Inc.
• Warthog PLC founded

Events

• 3rd annual E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo)
• Gunpei Yokoi (1941-1997) dies after a double car accident
• ZSNES, a Super Nintendo emulator, first released

Hardware

• Nintendo releases NES 2 compact home console and SNES 2 compact home console
• Sony releases Playstation development software for PC
• Tiger Electronics releases Game.com

Lawsuits

• Nintendo v. Games City; Nintendo sues Games City for selling the Game Doctor and Doctor V64 backup devices for the SNES and N64 consoles. Nintendo wins the suit.
• Nintendo v. Prima Publishing; Nintendo sues Prima over copyrights to map of the N64 video game GoldenEye 007. Nintendo loses the suit

1996

Acquisitions

• February - Blizzard Entertainment acquires development group known as Condor, renames it Blizzard North
• Eidos acquires Core Design
• Infogrames Entertainment SA acquires Ocean Software Ltd.
• Midway Games, Inc. (subsidiary of WMS Industries, formerly known as Williams Electronics) acquires Atari Games Corp from Warner Communications Inc. (AOL Time Warner in 2000)

Bankrupt/Defunct

• Technos Japan Corporation, originator of the Nekketsu Kouha Kunio Kun series and Double Dragon series (assets acquired by Atlus Corporation)

Established/Renamed/Merged

• John Romero and Tom Hall leave id Software and form Ion Storm in Dallas, Texas
• Atari Corporation merges with JTS Corp.
• Black Isle Studios forms as a division by Interplay; doesn't use Black Isle name until 1998
• Game Park Inc. founded in Korea
• The company formed by Microprose and Spectrum Holobyte in 1993 starts branding using only the Microprose name
• Overworks, Ltd. formed
• November - Red Storm Entertainment, Inc.
• Zed Two Limited formed

Events

• DigiPen Institute of Technology receives accreditation, first school in the world to offer college degrees in video game development.
• 2nd annual E3
• Gunpei Yokoi resigns from Nintendo
• First console emulators appear

Hardware

• Bandai's Tamagotchi virtual pet handheld
• Nintendo:
  • Nintendo 64 (N64) 64-bit console
  • Game Boy Pocket (GBP) handheld console (30% smaller version of the previous Game Boy handheld console)
• SEGA's Net Link modem for the Sega Saturn home console
• SNK's Neo Geo CDZ in Japan only
• Namco's Alpine Racer arcade game, including a new type of user interface

Lawsuits

• Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Computer & Entertainment, Inc.

Significant Software

• Sony releases Crash Bandicoot video game
• Tomb Raider video game released for the Sega Saturn console

1995

Established/Renamed/Merged

• Frog City Software, Inc. established
• Interworld Productions established (renamed Mythic Entertainment in 1997)
• Talonsoft established
• BioWare founded

Events

• The 1st annual E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) held

Hardware

• Nintendo releases:
  • Game Boy Play-It-Loud (GBPIL) color/clear versions of Game Boy
  • Virtual Boy (by Gunpei Yokoi) 32-bit console
  • Satellaview BS-X accessory for the Famicom console in Japan only
• SEGA releases:
  • Sega Saturn home console in North America
  • Sega 32X add-on for the Sega Megadrive in Europe
• September 9 - Sony releases the PlayStation console United States

Lawsuits

• Nintendo v. Samsung Electronics; Nintendo sues Samsung for promoting software piracy. The suit is settled.
• Nintendo of America, Inc. v. NTDEC

1994

• Aiwa releases the CSD-GLM Mega Drive multimedia home console in Japan only
• Apogee establishes the 3D Realms Entertainment division
• Bandai releases the Playdia multimedia home console
• Blizzard Entertainment is renamed from Silicon & Synapse
• NEC releases the PC-FX multimedia home console
• Nintendo releases the Super Game Boy adapter for the SNES home console; releases the Donkey Kong Country video game
  • Alpex sues Nintendo over patent infringements. Nintendo loses the case.
  • Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Dragon Pacific Intern
• SEGA:
  • introduces the cable TV Sega Channel in cooperation with Time Warner (AOL Time Warner); the subscription service provides Sega Genesis games via cable box to customers
  • releases the 32X adapter for the Sega Genesis in North America and the Sega Megadrive in Japan
  • releases the Nomad handheld console in North America
  • releases the Sega Saturn home console in Japan
  • releases the Daytona USA arcade game
• SNK releases the Neo Geo CD home console
• April - Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) founded (name changed to the Entertainment Software Association in 2003); IDSA founds Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)
• November 10 - William Higinbotham, inventor of the video game, dies at 84
• December 3 - Sony releases the PlayStation console in Japan
• Defunct companies: Commodore

1993

• Atari releases the Jaguar home console
• Broderbund releases the Myst video game, which goes on to become one of the bestselling games of all time
• Commodore releases the Amiga CD32 multimedia home console
• id Software releases the DOOM computer game
• Magnavox is acquired by the Carlyle Group
• Microprose Inc. is acquired by the Spectrum Holobyte
• Midway embroiled in moral panic for its game Mortal Kombat.
• Nintendo releases the Star Fox video game (the 1st game to use the Super FX Chip)
• Panasonic releases 3DO, the first 32-bit home console
• Pioneer releases the Laseractive multimedia home console
• SEGA's Mega-CD released in Europe and Australia; releases the Virtua Fighter (by AM2) arcade game, which is later displayed at the Smithsonian Institution; releases the Night Trap video game for the Sega CD console
• Tandy releases the Video Information System (VIS) multimedia Internet home console
• New companies: nVidia Corporation, 3DO Company, Take Two Interactive Software Inc., Croteam Ltd.

1992

• Atari Games Corp. v. Nintendo of America, Inc.
• JVC releases the Wondermega console
• Midway Home Entertainment releases the Mortal Kombat arcade game
• Philips releases the CD-I multimedia home console
• Super Nintendo released in Europe
  • Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc.
• SEGA releases the Sega CD home console in North America; releases the Virtua Racing arcade game
• Taito Corporation creates the Wowow home console (unreleased)
• TTI (Turbo Technologies Inc.) releases the Wow Entertainment Inc. (AM1)

1991

• Fujitsu releases the FM Towns Marty home console
• Super Nintendo released in North America
  • New York State v. Nintendo lawsuit: the state attorney general sues Nintendo over the monopoly of the video game industry. Nintendo loses the suit and offers customers a $5 rebate on Nintendo games
• SEGA releases
  • Sega Mega CD in Japan
  • Sonic the Hedgehog in (by AM8, later Sonic Team) video game for the Sega Genesis in North America, and for the Sega Megadrive in Europe and Japan
• September - S3 launches with the 86C911, often regarded as the first significant graphics accelerator chip
• New companies: Vicarious Visions, Inc, id Software, Bungie Software, Silicon & Synapse

1990

• Camerica releases the Game Genie adapter in Canada (1991 in the USA)
• NEC releases the TurboExpress handheld console
• Nintendo releases the Super Mario Bros. 3 video game; releases the Super Famicom 16-bit console in Japan
  • Nintendo v. Nintendo of America introduces Squaresoft's Final Fantasy video game series to North America
• SNK releases the Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System (AES) home console
• SEGA's Megadrive released in Europe; releases the R-360 arcade game, the first 3D - 360° gameplay
• October 6 - Sega Game Gear released in Japan, launched in North America in 1991 and Europe and Australia in 1992
• THQ Inc.: Toy Head-Quarters merges with Trinity Acquisition Corporation
• New companies: Eidos Interactive, Team17 Software Limited, Natsume Inc.
• Nintendo releases the King of the Zoo video game

1980s

1989

Acquisitions

• Hasbro, Inc. acquires Coleco Industries, Inc.

Established/Renamed/Merged

• Trinity Acquisition Corporation founded (renamed THQ in 1990)

Hardware

• Atari Inc. releases Lynx handheld console
• Mattel, Inc. releases Power Glove controller for the NES home console
• Nintendo releases Game Boy (GB) (by Gunpei Yokoi) handheld console
• NEC's Turbografx 16 released in Japan
• Sega Genesis released in North America

Lawsuits

• Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Tengen
  • Nintendo sues Tengen over the Tetris video game copyrights. Tengen loses and recalls all its Tetris games.
  • November - Nintendo sues Tengen over production of unlicensed Nintendo games. Tengen loses. (Tengen originally sued Nintendo on December 12, 1988 for antitrust violations.)
• Nintendo v. Camerica Ltd. Nintendo sues Camerica over patent violations of the Game Genie for the NES console. Camerica wins the suit.

Significant Software

• Maxis releases SimCity
• Tengen releases an unlicensed version of the Tetris video game
• Wes Cherry writes Solitaire for Microsoft Windows
• Brøderbund releases the Prince of Persia game
• Nintendo of America introduces Enix's Dragon Warrior franchise to North America.

1988

• Activision renamed to Mediagenic
• Nintendo releases the Nintendo Power magazine
  • Nintendo v. Camerica over the clone production of an Advantage joystick controller for the NES console
• Sega Megadrive released in Japan
• Warner Communications' Atari Games Corp establishes the Tengen division
• Electronic Arts releases John Madden Football for the Apple II, starting its highly successful line of American football games

Business

• New companies: KOEI Co., Ltd., Visual Concepts
• Defunct companies: Coleco Industries Inc.

1987

• Activision acquires Infocom
• Atari releases the XE Game System (XEGS) home console
• Electronic Arts acquires Batteries Included
• Konami Corporation releases the Castlevania video game
• NEC releases the PC Engine console in Japan
• Taito Corporation releases the Double Dragon arcade game
• Squaresoft's Hironobu Sakaguchi introduces the Final Fantasy video game series to Japan
• Sega Master System released in Japan
• Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Blockbuster Entertainment lawsuit: Nintendo sues Blockbuster for photocopying complete NES manuals for its rental games. Nintendo wins the suit, and Blockbuster includes original manuals with its rentals.

Business

• New companies: Acclaim Entertainment, Inc., Maxis, Gametek Inc., Apogee Software, Ltd., Empire Interactive PLC

1986

• Activision acquires Gamestar Software
• Atari releases the Atari 7800 backwards-compatible home console
• Nintendo releases the Metroid video game; releases the Famicom Disk Drive System home console in Japan only; releases the Legend of Zelda (by Shigeru Miyamoto) video game
• SEGA releases the Sega Master System home console in the United States; releases the Out Run arcade game
• Sharp releases the Twin Famicom home console
• Sinclair Research Ltd. is acquired by the British government
• Taito Corporation releases the Bubble Bobble arcade game; releases the Arkanoid arcade game

Business

• New companies: Majesco Sales Inc., Ubi Soft Entertainment, Inc., Bethesda Softworks Inc.

1985

• Alex Pajitnov creates the Tetris video game
• Atari releases the Gauntlet arcade game (by Ed Logg)
• Commodore releases the Amiga 1000 home computer
• INTV Corp. releases the INTV III home console
• Namco creates the Xevious arcade game
• Nintendo releases the NES video game console in the United States; releases the Super Mario Bros. video game; releases the Robotic Operating Buddy (ROB) robot and video game for the NES home console
• Sears (Tele-Games) releases the Dina home console

Business

• New companies: Titus Interactive, Westwood Studios, Inc., Square Co. Ltd.
• Defunct companies: RDI Systems

1984

• Activision releases the Pitfall video game (by David Crane)
• Hasbro, Inc. acquires Milton Bradley Company
• Milton Bradley Company distributes the Vectrex home console
• RDI Systems releases the Halcyon laserdisc home console; releases the Thayer's Quest arcade game
• Sega Enterprises and CSK merge to form Sega Enterprises Ltd.; SG-1000 Mark III released in Japan
• Warner Communications Inc. sells Atari, Inc.; creates an entirely new division Atari Games Corp

Business

• New companies: Kemco, Accolade
• Defunct companies: Astrocade Inc.