Arcade History
1979 was a turning point for video gaming. The arcade business was no longer just a novelty corner in a few amusement spots. It was becoming a major entertainment market with hit-driven momentum, bigger audiences, and clear signs of an industry ready to explode.
One game stood above everything else: Space Invaders. For the second year in a row, Taito’s blockbuster led the market, proving that a single arcade hit could shape the entire business. At the same time, a new wave of releases showed that the medium was widening fast, with fresh ideas in shooters, racing games, sports, and early computer software.
Space Invaders Still Sets the Pace
By 1979, Space Invaders was more than a popular arcade game. It had become a cultural and commercial benchmark. The game remained the year’s top-grossing arcade title worldwide and was already the industry’s all-time sales leader at that point.
That mattered because it showed operators what the market wanted: simple controls, immediate action, and repeat play. It also showed developers and manufacturers that arcade design could support huge-scale success, not just local popularity.
In Japan, the game also stayed on top for another year. In the United States, however, the market began to diversify as new releases started pulling attention away from the alien-defense formula that had defined the early boom.
New Arcade Hits Signal the Next Phase
1979 produced a lineup that feels like a bridge between the early arcade era and the golden age to come. Atari’s Asteroids arrived in November and quickly became one of the company’s defining titles. Its vector graphics and crisp handling helped it stand out in crowded arcades and made it a major commercial force in the US.
Namco’s Galaxian also made its debut in 1979, bringing full-color fixed shooting to the market and building on the popularity of space combat games. Sega’s Head On offered a different kind of hook with its dot-eating driving concept, an idea that would be widely copied later.
Other notable arcade releases from the year included Lunar Lander, Tail Gunner, Monaco GP, Radar Scope, Warrior, Football, Heiankyo Alien, and Super Speed Race. Together, they show how quickly the medium was branching out. Space-shooter ideas, racing formats, and competitive action games were all becoming part of the arcade’s core vocabulary.
One important business detail from the year was how flexible arcade hardware had to be. Nintendo’s Radar Scope would later be repurposed in large numbers for Donkey Kong, a reminder that cabinet life cycles could change quickly when a new hit arrived.
Business Growth and the Rising Stakes
Arcades were no longer a niche. In the United States, the arcade game market generated about $1.5 billion in revenue during 1979, while the home video game market brought in roughly $330 million. Those numbers show a fast-growing entertainment category with real economic weight.
The year also saw the formation of several important companies, including Activision, Capcom, Edu-Ware, Infocom, Quicksilva, and Strategic Simulations. Some of these names would go on to shape home software, console publishing, and computer gaming for years to come.
On the home side, the Atari Video Computer System remained the best-selling system for the second year in a row. That success helped establish a basic pattern that would define the early 1980s: arcade hits feeding home demand, and home success increasing interest in games as a mainstream hobby.
Beyond the Arcade: Early Computer Gaming Steps Forward
1979 was not only important for coin-op cabinets. Home computers were becoming a serious platform for game design. Temple of Apshai arrived as one of the earliest graphical role-playing games for home computers and became a long-running best seller in the category.
Richard Garriott’s Akalabeth also emerged this year on the Apple II, setting the stage for the Ultima series and helping define computer role-playing games. Flight Simulator for the Apple II added another landmark, showing that home computers could support ambitious simulation design.
Another major milestone was the creation of what is widely recognized as the first playable MUD, an early step toward online multiplayer worlds. Atari’s Star Raiders cartridge also demonstrated how a strong game could help sell an entire hardware platform.
Hardware releases mattered too. The Atari 400 and 800, the TI-99/4, the NEC PC-8001, and the Microvision handheld all appeared in 1979 or late in the year’s timeline, making it clear that game hardware was spreading across multiple forms.
Practical Notes for Collectors, Buyers, and Preservation Readers
If you collect or restore arcade cabinets, 1979 is a useful year to study because it marks the shift from early black-and-white and simple discrete-era designs toward more varied hardware and presentation. Games like Asteroids and Galaxian help illustrate the difference between vector and raster displays, while Monaco GP and Radar Scope show how quickly design ideas were diversifying.
For buyers, 1979 titles are often a good starting point for understanding cabinet rarity, monitor type, board repair complexity, and how much operator conversion history can affect value. A machine’s original hardware, artwork, control panel, and monitor condition all matter more when a game has been heavily repaired or repurposed over time.
For preservation work, this is also a year where documentation is especially valuable. Knowing whether a cabinet used discrete logic, vector hardware, or early color raster components can make troubleshooting much easier. Original manuals, wiring diagrams, and board photos are especially useful when restoring late-1970s games.
Related RetroArcade resources
Arcade Machine Buyers Guide 2026
Arcade Repair & Build Resources
Sources and further reading
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_in_video_gaming was consulted for factual background.
Arcade Machine Buyer's Guide
Repair & Build Resources
Arcade Near Me Directory
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