Again, this is for my Game History class at Full Sail University. Enjoy!

The Prompt was: There was a time when people had thought the video game industry had died. Why do you think the industry fell into this slump?

Trying to surmise why the game industry failed in the early 80’s is very difficult because there are so many variables that I can explore. One specific reason would be the over use of video game licenses. Many of the manufacturers felt that the only games that could be made and marketed to gamers was “established” arcade hits. Since the market was flooded with the many versions of titles out there, and the lack of quality that games being produced offered, people just decided against buying. However, it may be true that the several consoles that were produced offered a better experience, many of the game buying public couldn’t “see” the difference.

Additionally, the lack of “arcade” quality games for the home also contributed to the game industry’s demise in the 80’s. Most of the game hardware couldn’t produce the same quality graphics, or substantial gameplay, which caused the buying public to hold off on purchasing the systems. A great example to look at would be Atari’s version of PacMan for the Atari 2600. The arcade version had vivid colors and well defined pixels for the main character (PacMan) and the enemies, as well as the maze and the “food” PacMan would consume in the game. The Atari 2600 version of the game had horrible graphics (instead of balls, PacMan would consume lines), two-tone colors, and the maze was more rectangular than square (The game’s maze would be stretched to all corners of a screen instead of having a black outline around it).

When companies did try to innovate (and not “upgrade” games), they did miserably at it. The first movie tie-in game, E.T., was also the first game to have many returns and bomb. The design was rushed and the game was put together in such a haphazard manner, that it became Atari’s final nail in their coffin. Had they waited for the game to be complete, and better, then they could have made more money and wouldn’t have needed to close up shop. Ultimately, the creation of shoddy games and no innovation killed the industry in the 80’s.