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1981 in video gaming

Notable events of 1981 in video gaming. See also history of computer and video games.

Events

• November -
  • The British video game magazine Computer and Video Games (C&VG) starts.
  • Game & Watch - released in Sweden.

• Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel found Electronic Games, the first magazine on video games and generally recognized as the beginning of video game journalism.

Notable releases

• Midway releases Gorf and Ms. Pac-Man arcade games
• Sega releases the Frogger video game, which was developed by Konami
• Namco releases New Rally-X, Warp and Warp, Galaga, and Bosconian, which is the first game to have a continue feature.
• Nelsonic releases the Space Attacker watch LCD game
• Nintendo releases Shigeru Miyamoto's Donkey Kong arcade game
• Williams Electronics releases Eugene Jarvis's Stargate arcade game
• IBM and Microsoft include the game DONKEY.BAS with the IBM PC, arguably the first IBM PC compatible game.
• Ultima and Wizardry are released, starting two of the most successful lines of CRPGs

Hardware

• Astrovision Inc. distributes the Bally Computer System after buying the rights from Bally/Midway
• Acorn Computers Ltd releases the BBC Micro home computer, which brought the game Elite to prominence
• Coleco Industries releases the Total Control 4 home console
• Commodore Business Machines releases the Commodore VIC-20 home computer
• SEGA test markets the SG-1000 home console in Japan
• Sinclair Research releases the ZX81 home computer, the first widely available 'domestic' computer to play games in the UK. Shortly, J. K. Greye Software publishes 3D Monster Maze written by Malcolm Evans – the first computer game featuring real-time 3D graphics without using specialized vector graphics hardware

Business

• APF Electronics, Inc. goes defunct