Events

Notable releases

• Konami Corporation releases Castlevania, the first in a long series of video games.
• Taito Corporation releases the Double Dragon arcade game, the first in a long series of games.
• Squaresoft's Hironobu Sakaguchi introduces the Final Fantasy video game series to Japan.
• LucasArts releases Maniac Mansion, the first game to use the SCUMM engine, innovating the point-and-click interface for the adventure game genre.
• Sega releases Phantasy Star for the Sega Master System, the first in the company's most successful series of RPGs.

Hardware

• Atari releases the XE Game System (XEGS ) home console
• NEC releases the PC Engine console in Japan
• Sega Master System released in Japan
• The VGA standard developed for IBM's new PS/2 line gave the PC the potential for 256-color graphics.
• AdLib set an early defacto standard for sound cards with its card based on the Yamaha YM3812 sound chip. (This would last until the introduction of Creative Labs' Sound Blaster in 1989.)

Business

• New companies: Acclaim Entertainment, Inc., Maxis, Gametek Inc., Apogee Software, Ltd., Empire Interactive PLC
• Activision acquires Infocom
• Electronic Arts acquires Batteries Included
• Warner Communications' Atari Games Corp establishes the Tengen division
• Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Blockbuster Entertainment lawsuit: Nintendo sues Blockbuster for photocopying complete NES manuals for its rental games. Nintendo wins the suit, and Blockbuster includes original manuals with its rentals.