Games of Impact - 1976

Games of Impact takes a look at the most important games in the industry’s history, with a max limit of 20 per year.

NOTE - This is a re-release of my Strachey’s List series, just renamed and reformatted. I’ve made small changes to reflect more accurate information.

Breakout

May 1976 - Atari

Key People: Steve Wozniak, Steve Bristow, Steve Jobs,

One of the most well known games, Breakout, was a hit at the arcades when it came out. The simple game involves tracking a ball that bounces off your paddle to clear a line of blocks. Most notably, it was developed by Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, who used the success of the game to help fund Apple’s first product. Today, it is among the most popular games, even among people who don’t play video games but grew up in the arcade era.

Colossal Cave Adventure

1976 - N/A

Key People: William Crowther

A text-based adventure title that heavily inspired many would-be developers, Colossal Cave Adventure was a mega hit among computer enthusiasts in the 1970s. Many new versions of the game were released over the years, as it was seen as one of the first popular and well made interactive adventure games. Players traverse a cave system looking for treasure and gold. The game’s impact was notable enough to earn it induction into the World Video Game Hall of Fame in 2019.

Death Race

April 1976 - Exidy

Key People: Howell Ivy

Death Race is one of the first “controversial” video games. The game had players hit gremlins, who would then be turned into tombstones. The New York Times and other publications attacked the game because they felt it encouraged violence. Exidy, the publisher, reported increased sales because the game was seen as an “adult game,” making it popular with teenagers. Despite its controversy and initial bad reviews, the game is now known as one of the first more “mature” video games and marked the beginning of a back-and-forth battle with the industry and its critics over violence.

Heavyweight Champ

October 1976 - Sega

An innovative game that used special boxing gloves for two players to simulate punches for the boxer they controlled. An early showcase of sports and multiplayer gaming, the game was a huge success in Japan. Sega would go on to make spiritual successors to it, and a remake would later be used on their Master System console. The game would be an inspiration for future boxing titles, which were perfect for video games in one of boxing’s best eras.

Night Driver

October 1976 - Atari

Key People: Dave Shepperd

With racing titles proving to be among the most popular games in arcades, Atari released Night Driver. Rather than the typical racing to finish, the game was more of a simulator. It used first-person graphics and focused on driving at night and staying in your lane. The arcade cabinet had a wheel to give the player more immersive control. Like most successful games of the time, it was cloned by multiple publishers. It can be argued that the more serious driving simulator genre started with Night Driver, although some would argue the next title on the list was the game Night Driver copied.

Nürburgring 1

Spring 1976 - N/A

Key People: Dr. Reiner Foerst

Before Night Driver was released, Nürburgring 1 was out. The game was developed by Dr. Reiner Foerst and first showcased in Germany. It was made specifically as a driving simulator rather than a video game. Like Night Driver, the game is more about driving at night and staying in your lane, using first-person graphics to do so. Along with Night Driver, the games are considered the first in the simulator racing genre.

Road Race / Fonz

February 1976 - Sega

Sega released Road Race, looking to capitalize on the hot racing video game genre. However, shortly after its release, they rebranded the game to focus on motorbikes and named it after the Fonz, the infamous character from Happy Days. The game used handlebars in the cabinet and feedback technology. The game went on to have many different variants and names. The Fonz variant of the game was the first time a televised character was used in a video game.

Sea Wolf

April 1976 - Midway / Taito

Key People: David Nutting

The most commercially successful game of the year was Sea Wolf. The game has players control a submarine and aim to hit passing ships. Despite its simplicity, it proved a hit and continued to succeed into 1977. It even found a strong audience in Japan. The game was another notch in Midway’s belt and its partner Dave Nutting, the lead developer.

Tornado Baseball

July 1976 - Taito / Midway

Taito’s Tornado Baseball was the biggest game of the year in Japan. It was a hardware pusher that aimed to replicate baseball as realistically as possible. Midway picked up the North American distribution and made some slight changes for the market. The game pushed the envelope in what a sports title could be by allowing two players to compete in a full nine-inning game.

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