For those who were lucky enough to grow up in the 1980s, you were treated to some truly iconic video games. It was the decade that some of the most iconic series of all-time started - including a certain Italian plumber fond of saying ‘yahoo’ and rescuing princesses.
I can only imagine what it must have been like to be there when Tetris and Pac-Man arrived at the arcades (or even what an arcade that wasn’t at a Hollywood Bowl would have been like). Let alone how cool it must have been to wake up on Christmas morning to a NES under the tree.
As your humble technology writer, I’ve been diving back in time to look at the history of tech recently and decided to see what video games I missed out on by not being around in the 1980s. Make sure to click through all the pages - and if you get a hankering to play some of these retro games you can pick up copies of Tetris and other classic arcade games here, for those with a Nintendo Switch the online pass gives access to classic titles from NES.
If you have any further suggestions for retro tech ideas you’d love to see, please email me at [email protected]. Should we jump back to the 1970s next or move to the 1990s, let me know!
As your humble technology writer, I’ve been diving back in time to look at the history of tech recently and decided to see what video games I missed out on by not being around in the 1980s. Make sure to click through all the pages - and if you get a hankering to play some of these retro games you can pick up copies of Tetris and other classic arcade games here, for those with a Nintendo Switch the online pass gives access to classic titles from NES.
9. Street Fighter - 1987
Ryu, Ken and the gang came out fists-a-blazing in the back half of the 1980s. Street Fighter, the long running franchise (the acclaimed Street Fighter 6 came out in 2023), started here - albeit it wasn’t until 1991’s Street Fighter II that it became a true cultural juggernaut. Photo: Thibaut Durand / Hans Lucas/ AFP via Getty Images | Thibaut Durand / Hans Lucas/ AFP via Getty Images Photo: Thibaut Durand / Hans Lucas/ AFP via Getty Images
10. SimCity - 1989
The decade ended incredibly strong with the launch of SimCity, the granddaddy of the Sims. Its addictive blend of city building, time-limits and the looming threat of disasters, proved to be a huge hit. Its launch was rather long awaited because it lacked features that could have seen it run in arcades. Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images | EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images