Sega, Atari React
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Sega releases its 8-bit Sega Master System (SMS) in the US. The system features four dedicated sound channels--three for music, one for noise. Atari releases the 8-bit 7800 game console, which has built-in backward compatibility for 2600 games.
The Disk Era Begins
Nintendo releases a peripheral for the Famicom (the Japanese NES)--a $150 disk drive called the Famicom Disk System. The device never makes it to the US market, but it signals the beginning of the shift from cartridges to digital discs.
Enter the Legend of Zelda
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Sound clips: Legend of Zelda
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Shigeru Miyamoto's The Legend of Zelda comes to the NES, pioneering a key Nintendo franchise in 1987 in the US. The game's music won many fans and can still be found reproduced in MIDI and MP3 format all over the Web.
Final Fantasy Debuts
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Sound clips: Final Fantasy
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In 1987, Square releases Final Fantasy for the NES in Japan. A franchise is born, and it will generate what is considered by fans and historians to be the best video game music ever made. Composer Nobuo Uematsu breaks entirely new ground with his sweeping and cinematic musical scores and continues to work his magic in sequels to this day.
Introducing the Game Boy
Nintendo's handheld phenomenon, the Game Boy, is released, featuring four channels for sound--each of which can be mapped to the left, to the right, or to both speakers.
TurboGrafx-16
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NEC releases the TurboGrafx-16 in the US (only the graphics processor is true 16-bit.) NEC also releases a $400 portable CD player attachment, which plays games that are stored on compact discs.
Sega Genesis
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Sega responds to the TurboGrafx-16 with its 16-bit Genesis system, which features six-channel stereo sound.
Moonwalking With Michael
Sega launches a huge campaign to promote its title for the Genesis system, Michael Jackson's Moonwalk--seemingly the ultimate meeting of video games and pop music. The game, which features synthesized versions of MJ hits, such as "Billie Jean" and "Beat It," is deeply weird. Jackson contributed to the creative development of the game, which follows the superstar as he shimmies through graveyards and pool halls, looking for kidnapped children.
Sound clips:
Billie Jean
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Sound clips:
Beat It
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Super Famicom Hits Japan
Nintendo of Japan unveils its Super Famicom, a 16-bit system with better audio and 3D graphics than those of the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16.
SNK Neo-Geo Makes the Scene
SNK releases the $399 24-bit Neo-Geo in arcade and home formats. The home system's dedicated 8-bit sound processor provides 15 separate channels.
