From Ghost-Gobblers to Princess-Saving Plumbers: the Birth of a Video Game Nation Happened in the Glorious 1980s

For the most part , I remember childhood birthday parties being hold at someone ’s house , a fast - food eating place or , if I was really lucky , a bowling alley . But there was one magical birthday party that this child of the ’ 80s will never forget : it was at Mr. Arcade . Not only did I get to advert out with my friends and eat pizza and bar , but everyone catch a bowl or two of quarters . Happy natal day to me .

These days , traditional colonnade may be hard to find oneself in the U.S. , but retro gamers ( like this ‘ fourscore - fuck author ) can still get their fill of control stick at modern arcades likeBarcade . So let ’s take a look at how the bright , pixelated star ofNational Geographic Channel ’s approaching three - night event The ’ 80s : The Decade that Made Ushave morphed from quarter - guzzle babysitters of yesteryear to powerful threads in the fabric of today ’s pa culture .

Going Pac in time

In the former 1980s our national appetite for escape was fed by the launching of a round , burnished sensationalistic , trace - feeder diagnose Pac - Man . The game ’s shiny colors and unproblematic intent were a pleasant variety from the usual night , more “ fierce ” place - hired gun and play game , which appeal to non - gamers . And so the audience for video games doubled .

Before you know it , the country was swept up in Pac - Man Fever . An eponymous album was released(featuring such classic Song as “ Pac - Man Fever , ” “ Do the Donkey Kong , ” and “ Ode to a Centipede ” ) . sketch likeThe Super Mario Bros. Super ShowandPac - Man : The Animated Seriessprouted up on Saturday break of the day . Arcades became the newest hangout for teens as motorcar after machine welcomed new devotees . Donkey Kong , Super Mario Bros. , Burger Time , Frogger , Centipede , Qbert : the characters from these games were no longer just animated sprites moving across a silver screen ; they now had personality . They were interesting . They were colorful . They were … family . At least to this video biz fan , they were .

Lasting appeal

There ’s just something unbelievably likable about the part birthed in the 1980s . Today , even with an increase of the average age of a gamer and the development of more fierce , hard-core , action shooters like Halo or Call of Duty , retro fare like Mario , Pokémon , and transonic , still help the telecasting game industry pull in$14.8 billionin the U.S. last yr .

And that appeal is n’t just to the nostalgic children of the ’ 80s , but also to new recruits . Nintendo’sMario gamesare among the company’smost pop titles , featuring the princess - saving pipe fitter in every type of game conceivable , let in Mario Party , Mario Super Sluggers , Super Mario Bros. Wii , Mario Kart , and even Mario / Sonic Olympic Games .

Extra life

The culture born in the ’ 80s resonate today . Barcade aside , in the U.S. , arcades have been replaced by play cabinet and , more recently , by mobile apps . Now kids ( and adults ) sit down around charge furious birds at green pigs , while Friend and family cheer them on . But if you think about it , it ’s not that different from the gang that would regularly assemble around that one nerdy kid from down the street while he made it seven levels deeply in Pac - Man all on the same quarter .

And just search at Hollywood . TheFrogger episode of Seinfeld . The starring role of the Missile Commandkill screenin an episode of Chuck . Tony Stark giving a nod to Galaga in The Avengers . And then there’sWreck - It Ralph . They ’d never have been made if Mario & Co. had n’t pave the way .

melody in to the National Geographic Channel this Sunday , April 14 at 8 premier to see the story behind Pac - Man Fever and other ‘ LXXX enquire that affect us today in the first of six instalment of their raw three - night eventThe ‘ 80s : The Decade That Made Us .

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