Video games - 1981 in video gaming

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	Video games - 1981 in video gaming

Events

November -
* - The British video game magazine Computer and Video Games (C&VG) starts.
* - Game & Watch - released in Sweden.

Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel found Electronic Games, the first magazine on video games and generally recognized as the beginning of video game journalism.

Notable releases

Midway releases the Gorf
arcade game
Sega releases the Frogger
video game, which was developed by Konami
Namco releases New Rally-X
, Warp and Warp
, Galaga
, Ms. Pac-Man
and Bosconian
, which is the first game to have a continue feature.
Nelsonic releases the Space Attacker watch LCD game
Nintendo releases Shigeru Miyamoto's Donkey Kong
arcade game
Williams Electronics releases Eugene Jarvis's Stargate
arcade game
IBM and Microsoft include the game DONKEY.BAS
with the IBM PC, arguably the first IBM PC compatible game.
Ultima
and Wizardry
are released, starting two of the most successful lines of CRPGs

Hardware

Astrovision Inc. distributes the Bally Computer System after buying the rights from Bally/Midway
Acorn Computers Ltd releases the BBC Micro home computer, which brought the game Elite
to prominence
Coleco Industries releases the Total Control 4 home console
Commodore Business Machines releases the Commodore VIC-20 home computer
SEGA test markets the SG-1000 home console in Japan
Sinclair Research releases the ZX81 home computer, the first widely available 'domestic' computer to play games in the UK. Shortly, J.K. Greye Software publishes 3D Monster Maze
written by Malcolm Evans – the first computer game featuring real-time 3D graphics without using specialized vector graphics hardware

Business

APF Electronics Inc. goes defunct

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