Games · 1971
Dawn of the Commercial Arcade Era
In 1971, video games stepped out of university research labs and into public spaces with the birth of the very first coin-operated arcade machines. Mainframes also nurtured legendary educational and text-based simulation games that laid the groundwork for entire genres.
- Nov 1971 | Arcade | Nutting Assoc.
Computer Space
Created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, this space combat title became the world's first commercially sold coin-operated video game.
- Sept 1971 | Arcade | Stanford Univ.
Galaxy Game
Built by Bill Pitts and Hugh Tuck using a PDP-11 computer, this coin-operated adaptation of Spacewar! debuted at Stanford's Tresidder Union.
- Nov 1971 | Mainframe | HP 2000
The Oregon Trail
Developed by Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger, this iconic text simulation taught Minnesota students about 19th-century pioneer life.
- 1971 | Mainframe | HP 2000 BASIC
Star Trek
Mike Mayfield programmed a popular text-based tactical simulation where players command the USS Enterprise to eliminate Klingon warships.
- 1971 | Mainframe | PDP-10
Baseball
Created by Don Daglow at Pomona College, this early text-based sports simulation allowed players to manage baseball games using real play data.
- 1971 | Mainframe | Strategy
Empire
Peter Langston created a groundbreaking turn-based tactical game on a mainframe computer, influencing decades of turn-based strategy design.
- 1971 | Hardware | Magnavox / Sanders
Magnavox Odyssey License
Ralph Baer's team officially licensed their prototype 'Brown Box' system to Magnavox, setting up the release of the first home video game console.
- 1971 | Mainframe | HP 2000
Civil War
Developed for the Huntington Computer Project, this text-based strategy game challenged students to manage resources during historic Civil War battles.
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