(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The vast majority of gamers here are far too young to remember the video game crash of '83. Hell, even I'm to young to remember it, 1983 was almost 29 years ago after all... but like with many areas of human existance, history is repeating itself.

The video game crash of '83 was an important time in the industry, one that drastically changed the way video games where made, marketted and changed who the power players where in the industry. Here's a brief history lesson for people...

Video games in the home really hit mid 1970's with a multitude of pong consoles and the Magnavox Odyssey which many claim was the first true games console. Personally I disqualify it as a games console as many of it's games where really board games played with a TV screen, they included cards, dice, and some even had boards and counters. Still most call this and the pong consoles of the time the first generation of video games.

The second generation of games consoles where in the late 1970's, with the most well know console being the Atari 2600 in 1977 in USA, and 1978 here in Europe. The Atari 2600 was by far the most popular console at the time in USA, but there where loads of other consoles released around the same time. The Odyssey 2, Intellevision and Fairchild Channel F where all released in the late 70's in USA, although none would see a worldwide release until 1982. PC gaming started up in the UK with the Acorn Atom in 1980 although the old Apple II computers from 1977 could play some games. These where later followed by the Commodore VIC-20, BBC Micro, and Sinclair ZX81 in 1981. Games such as the first Ultima game started to push gaming beyond just arcade games. In 1982 the number of consoles skyrocketted with the Vectrex, Colecovision, Atari 5200, Coleco Gemini, Balley Astrocade, Sega SG-1000 and Emerson Arcadia. There where also two new personal computers the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. Compare that to todays market, we have 5 consoles including handhelds... PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP and Nintendo DS. As well as that we have PC and Mac. In 1982 there where 11 consoles and 7 major brands of personal computer. By the end of 1983 both Intellevision and Colecovision had add-ons that would let them play Atari 2600 games, Atari tried to sue for copyright but lost. 1983 also saw the Adam PC and Aqaurius Home Computer released.

This was the first cause of the video game crash of 1983. USA especially was bogged down. It had so many different consoles and computers that it simply couldn't survive as an industry. This wasn't helped by the fact that there where literally hundreds of games being made and released every week. There wasn't enough shelf space in shops for them to store up to date libraries of games, a variety of games, and games for every system and in the end many shops lost patience with video games entirely. But the worst strike was for the Atari 2600. It was the most popular console by a far margin and as it's games where compatable with the Coleco Gemini (which was basically an Atari 2600 clone with different controllers), the Atari 5200, and the Intellevision and ColecoVision with there expansions, so the games where easily the most popular. When Pac-Man, the most popular arcade game at the time; and ET, a massive blockbuster movie at the time; where both released for the console people went nuts for them. Both games where TERRIBLE! They where genuinely bad games and they sold poorly. People even sent the games back to Atari demanding a refund. In the end Atari was so damaged that their company downsized considerably. The millions of unsold cartriages, mostly of ET, where burried in a massive landfill in Nevada.

This crash effected pretty much all consoles. Americans gave up on gaming and the early 1980's kids instead got obsessed with music as the music cassette industry grew and the cinema saw increased use. It was an ecconomic boom at the time, so home entertainment stopped being as needed, as people would go out instead. Outside of USA the console industry was growing in Japan where the Sega SG-1000 was becoming popular and the Arcade was becoming a big pastime. Nintendo released the Famicom just in time for Christmas 1983 but overheating was an issue and it was recalled and redesigned with a new motherboard, lucky for Nintendo this wasn't a big issue and the company managed to recover. In Europe little changed. Consoles never really caught on over here, with PC gaming being much prefered, as the PC companies also made business PCs they found themselves largely immune to the gaming crash, unfortunately gaming didn't seem as important to these companies anymore so they focused on making their computers into better computers over the next decade rather than better games platforms.

So that's the history lesson over. That's pretty much how the crash went down... it was confusion due to too many consoles and games, consoles/computers that where too expensive, big law suits, and games that where of very poor quality.

Look at today. We have confusion with the consoles. Everything seems unfocused with both the PS3 and Xbox 360 trying desperately to push their failed motion control crap on people. The Wii being the only really successful console financially has more shovel-ware than ever and even experienced gamers dismiss it due to not knowing about it's more hardcore titles (yes, it does actually have some), it's almost as though Nintendo are embarrassed about them. The few innovative games on the Wii like 'The Last Story', 'Pandora's Tower' and 'Fatal Frame IV' took literal protests to get a release outside of Japan and even then they're still refusing to release them in USA, and the English releases are simply "planned 2012" despite them being 2009 games... When it comes to handhelds both the PS Vita and the Nintendo 3DS have been commercial bombs selling far less than anyone could have imagined. The PSP is currently outselling them, yes I'm dead serious. Movie tie-in games and quick cash cow games seem to be the only games produced and games are routinely being made shorter, often as short as 4 hours long for a full price AAA game. Online passcodes and day one DLC try to gouge yet more money out of the consumers, and incomplete games with micro-payments for additional levels, weapons, characters etc. ofter work out to over $100. Games are frequently released incomplete and then newer versions are released only months later (Mavel vs. Capcom anyone?), and DRM measures are forcing PC gamers to install invasive monitoring programs just to play their games. At the same time that this is happening, all major games companies where in SUPPORT of bills like SOPA, PIPA and ACTA to try and weed out their competition and control the media. Does anyone else see another impending crash.

Everyone I know now spends more time playing small indie games, mobile phone games, retro gaming or facebook games than they do the AAA titles currently out. Games like Super Meat Boy, Minecraft, Dungeons Of Dredmor, Angry Birds and World Of Goo seem to be the norm now, with only one or two games jumping out of the crowd. In all honesty, with the exception of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, I can't think of a single high profile game that people where really excited about. I was quite looking forward to Deus Ex: Human Revolution myself but the internet as a whole barely gave it a second thought, and that's Deus Ex, it's pretty much the PC gamers cocaine... well that and Half-Life.

I personally think we're going to see a big change over the next few years. A retro-revival is coming as cheap games similar to the 16-bit and 32-bit games of the SNES, Mega Drive and original PSOne become the norm, released on Xbox Live Arcade, Steam, iOS/Android App Store, WiiWare Virtual Console, The Playstation Network and even though Facebook. AAA titles will loose funding unless it's an obvious money cow like Gears Of War, Call Of Duty etc. because a cavalcade of stupid kids will all pay rediculous amounts to play yet another game of cyber-paintball with a few new maps. The RPG, Strategy and Adventure genres will die off... but don't panic, they will be back. Like a phoenix raising from the ashes, gaming will make a comeback. Gaming will live on through indie developers and pioneers who will reform it into something new... I hope... because if it doesn't, gaming goes the way of the comic book, an obscure niché hobby aimed largely at children. Oh and yes, I mean Call Of Duty in that. Call Of Duty is a kids game, as much as it's players don't want it to be. It's just a more sophisticated way for 12 year olds to pretend to shoot eachother than running around the park with bits of tree branch shouting "BANG" at eachother.

So. What do people think. Do they agree? Disagree?
Do you think, I'm on to something and that gaming is due for a major upheaval or do you think I'm just being paranoid? I'd love to hear other peoples take on this.

If you hadn't made a comparison in the OP I so hugely disagreed with the Wii wouldn't have been brought up at all. It's not fanboyism to point out a single fecking disagreement.

I also see this happening soon. Not quite yet though, just in a few years when the CoD fanbase starts to catch on (because they're the biggest group of victims) and this all spreads. I really want to see new original games to be created again. That was my favorite part of owning a PS2. Now it just seems like everything is the same. In fact, just today I bought the Jak and Daxter collection. One of the best games from PS2. Still better than most ps3 games. It's completely original and is nothing like any other game.