History MediaNotes / TheGoldenAgeOfVideoGames

* ''Music/{{Journey}}'', a 1983 Bally arcade game and ''[[VideoGame/JourneyEscape Journey: Escape]]'', a 1982 Atari 2600 game.

Your mileage may vary about considering this era as a true "golden age", considering the fondness for games from later periods. Still, it was the first time video games hit the big time, and in terms of industry revenues, this period was one of the highest peaks the North American video game industry has ever reached to this day (and the highest overall when adjusted for inflation), so it qualifies to ''some'' extent. However, while the 1980's was the golden age for arcade games, some consider the 1990's to be the Golden Age for home video games (i.e. consoles and computers).

* ''Franchise/StarTrek: Strategic Operations Simulator''

Back then, the titans of the arcade were longtime {{Pinball}} manufacturing veterans such as Creator/{{Bally}}, Creator/WilliamsElectronics, and Creator/{{Gottlieb}}; Creator/{{Sega}} was known for making UsefulNotes/{{Arcade Game}}s (including {{Vector Game}}s) rather than consoles; and Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s [[SuperMarioBros Mario]] had never stomped on a Goomba. Creativity reigned, and a single visionary designer could still see an entire game through from concept to finished product, unlike the enormous Hollywood-style teams needed for today's high-end game franchises.[[note]]However, recent advances in digital distribution and the like have spurred an "indie" renaissance, once again allowing for very small teams to make games for profit by filling niches missed by bigger developers.[[/note]] {{Shoot Em Up}}s were especially popular, as outer space and stylized spacecraft were easy to render on the crude hardware of the day.

* ''VideoGame/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'': Unlike others, this one ''did'' suck.

The period from the appearance of ''VideoGame/SpaceInvaders'' in 1978 through UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 is often known as the Golden Age of Arcade Games, [[note]]In Japan, this time period, give or take a few years, was known as the ''Invader Boom,''[[/note]] when 8-bit {{Arcade}} VideoGames emerged to rule popular culture, coin-operated {{Video Arcade}}s appeared in every shopping mall, and soon the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}} and its competitors popularized home video gaming by capitalizing on arcade ports.

Back then, the titans of the arcade were longtime {{Pinball}} manufacturing veterans such as Creator/{{Bally}}, Creator/WilliamsElectronics, and Creator/{{Gottlieb}}; Creator/{{Sega}} was known for making {{Arcade}} games (including {{Vector Game}}s) rather than consoles; and Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s [[SuperMarioBros Mario]] had never stomped on a Goomba. Creativity reigned, and a single visionary designer could still see an entire game through from concept to finished product, unlike the enormous Hollywood-style teams needed for today's high-end game franchises.[[note]]However, recent advances in digital distribution and the like have spurred an "indie" renaissance, once again allowing for very small teams to make games for profit by filling niches missed by bigger developers.[[/note]] {{Shoot Em Up}}s were especially popular, as outer space and stylized spacecraft were easy to render on the crude hardware of the day.

* ''VideoGame/FrogsAndFlies''