Video Games Released in 1971

1971 in Review:

The video game industry was in its infancy in 1971, and there were several significant events that happened that year:

• The first arcade game, Computer Space, was released by Nutting Associates in November 1971. Designed by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, the game featured a black and white monitor and a spaceship that players could control.
• The first home video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, was released in August 1971. Developed by Ralph H. Baer, the console featured a variety of simple games that could be played on a home TV set.
• The first game for a personal computer, Spacewar!, was adapted and released for the DEC PDP-1 computer by several students at Stanford University in 1971. The game involved two spaceships battling it out in a gravity well.
• Atari, the company founded by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney after leaving Nutting Associates, was incorporated in June 1971. Atari went on to become one of the most influential and successful companies in the video game industry.

Overall, 1971 was a pivotal year for the video game industry, as it saw the birth of the arcade game, the home video game console, and the personal computer game. These developments laid the groundwork for the explosive growth of the industry in the decades that followed.

Video Games Released in 1971:

Here is our enormous collection of video games released in 1971 and detailed information on each. As always, new games are added to this collection regularly.

Click on a game listing to find out much more about it.