1974 in video games

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1974 had new titles such as Speed Race, Gran Trak 10, Tank and TV Basketball. The year's best-selling arcade game was Tank by Kee Games.

Best-selling arcade video games in the United States[edit]

The following titles were the best-selling arcade video games of 1974 in the United States, according to annual arcade cabinet sales estimates provided by Ralph H. Baer.^[1]

Rank	Title	Arcade cabinet sales	Developer	Manufacturer	Genre
1	Tank	10,000	Kee Games	Kee Games	Maze
2	Formula K (Gran Trak 10)	5,000	Atari, Inc.	Kee Games	Racing
3	Clean Sweep	3,500	Ramtek	Ramtek	Block breaker
4	Flim-Flam	1,500	Meadows Games	Meadows Games	Pong
5	Leader	1,000	Midway Manufacturing	Midway Manufacturing	Pong
5	TV Flipper	1,000	Midway Manufacturing	Midway Manufacturing	Pinball
7	Gran Trak 20	500	Atari, Inc.	Atari, Inc.	Racing
	Robot	500	Allied Leisure	Allied Leisure	Pong
	TV Basketball	500	Taito	Midway Manufacturing	Sports
	TV Pinball	500	Chicago Coin	Chicago Coin	Pinball

Events[edit]

Namco acquires the Japanese division of Atari, Inc. and formally enters the video arcade game market.^[2]
Atari acquires Kee Games. Atari will continue to use the "Kee Games" title as a brand name until 1978.^[2]

Notable releases[edit]

Magazines[edit]

Play Meter, the first magazine devoted to coin-operated amusements (including arcade games), publishes its first issue.^[2]

Arcade games[edit]

February – Taito releases Basketball,^[3] an early example of sprite graphics, used to represent baskets and player characters,^[4] making it the first video game with human figures.^[3] The same month, Midway licenses the game for a North American release under the title TV Basketball, making it the first Japanese game licensed for North American release.^[3]
July 24 – Atari releases Gran Trak 10, the first car-racing video game, to video arcades.^[5]
November – Taito releases Tomohiro Nishikado's Speed Race,^[6] the second car-racing video game. It introduces scrolling sprite graphics with collision detection,^[7] and uses a racing wheel controller.^[8] Midway releases it as Wheels and Racer in the United States.^[7]
November 5^[9] – Prior to their acquisition by Atari, Kee Games releases Tank to video arcades.^[2]
Date Unknown - Nintendo releases Wild Gunman and Shooting Trainer in Japan. Outside of trade show demonstrations, the two games remain exclusive to the region until Sega releases them internationally in April 1976.^[10]

Computer games[edit]

Jim Bowery develops Spasim for the PLATO system. Two versions are released, the first in March and the second in July.^[11] It is also recognized as an ancestor of the first-person shooter genre.
Gary Whisenhunt and Ray Wood develop dnd, the first game with a boss, and arguably the first role-playing video game, for the PLATO system.^[12] Development continued into 1975; it is unclear at what point the game became playable.

Video game consoles[edit]

Magnavox reissues the Odyssey and releases it in Australia, Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, West Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Switzerland, and Venezuela.^[13]

References[edit]

^ Baer, Ralph H. (2005). Videogames: In the Beginning. Rolenta Press. pp. 10–3. ISBN 978-0-9643848-1-1.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Thomas, Donald A. Jr. (2005). "–1974–". ICWhen.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2006. Retrieved February 16, 2006.
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Golden Age Arcade Historian: Video Game Firsts??". November 22, 2013. Archived from the original on November 5, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
^ Basketball at the Killer List of Videogames
^ Cassidy, William (2003). "Hall of Fame / Gran Trak 10 and Sprint 2". GameSpy. Archived from the original on February 3, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2006.
^ "Speed Race, Arcade Video game by Taito (1974)". Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
^ ^a ^b Bill Loguidice & Matt Barton (2009), Vintage games: an insider look at the history of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the most influential games of all time, p. 197, Focal Press, ISBN 0-240-81146-1
^ Speed Race at the Killer List of Videogames
^ "Tank, Arcade Video game by Kee Games (1974)". Archived from the original on November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
^ "SEGA Introduces Two New Games" (PDF). Cashbox. April 24, 1976. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
^ Bowery, Jim (2010). "Spasim (1978) The First First-Person-Shooter 3D Multiplayer Networked Game". Archived from the original on October 18, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2006.
^ Koster, Raph (February 17, 2002). "Online World Timeline". Raph Koster's Website. Archived from the original on January 17, 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
^ Gegan, Shaun and David Winter (2003). "Magnavox Odyssey FAQ version 2.9.1" (text). Archived from the original on February 13, 2006. Retrieved February 16, 2006.

[1] Baer, Ralph H. (2005). Videogames: In the Beginning. Rolenta Press. pp. 10–3. ISBN 978-0-9643848-1-1.

[icwhen-2] Thomas, Donald A. Jr. (2005). "–1974–". ICWhen.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2006. Retrieved February 16, 2006.

[basketball-3] "The Golden Age Arcade Historian: Video Game Firsts??". November 22, 2013. Archived from the original on November 5, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2014.

[4] Basketball at the Killer List of Videogames

[grantrak-5] Cassidy, William (2003). "Hall of Fame / Gran Trak 10 and Sprint 2". GameSpy. Archived from the original on February 3, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2006.

[6] "Speed Race, Arcade Video game by Taito (1974)". Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2014.

[barton197-7] Bill Loguidice & Matt Barton (2009), Vintage games: an insider look at the history of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the most influential games of all time, p. 197, Focal Press, ISBN 0-240-81146-1

[8] Speed Race at the Killer List of Videogames

[9] "Tank, Arcade Video game by Kee Games (1974)". Archived from the original on November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.

[10] "SEGA Introduces Two New Games" (PDF). Cashbox. April 24, 1976. Retrieved February 21, 2023.

[spasim-11] Bowery, Jim (2010). "Spasim (1978) The First First-Person-Shooter 3D Multiplayer Networked Game". Archived from the original on October 18, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2006.

[dnd-12] Koster, Raph (February 17, 2002). "Online World Timeline". Raph Koster's Website. Archived from the original on January 17, 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2016.

[odyssey-13] Gegan, Shaun and David Winter (2003). "Magnavox Odyssey FAQ version 2.9.1" (text). Archived from the original on February 13, 2006. Retrieved February 16, 2006.

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