Today, on Star Wars Day (because, May the 4th be with you) we look at the history of Star Wars games.
For more than 30 years, Star Wars games have allowed players to explore the nooks and crannies of the vast universe that the films never reached.
Scores of games have been released on platforms ranging from the Atari 2600 to the Commodore 64, Sega Dreamcast to smart phones.
Ever since the addictive 1983 Atari arcade game put players in the cockpit of an X-Wing fighter, thrilling them with then-cutting edge vector-based 3D graphics and audio samples from the film, Star Wars games have leveraged the latest technology and the most talented developers to recreate the peak moments of the films.
Below is a list of games that span arcade platforms, PlayStation, Xbox, DS, PC and everything in between. See a game we don’t have? Tweet @Highwaygames.
• 1980: The Empire Strikes Back Pinball (by Australian company A. Hankin & Co)
• 1982: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Atari 2600)
• 1983: Star Wars: The Arcade Game (Atari 2600)
• 1984: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (Atari)
• 1984: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi: Death Star Battle (Atari 2600)
• 1984: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi: Jedi Arena (Atari 2600)
• 1985: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Atari)
• 1987: Star Wars (Famicom)
• 1991-1992: Star Wars/Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (NES)
• 1992: Star Wars Pinball (Data East)
• 1992-1994: Super Star Wars Trilogy (SNES)
• 1993-1997: X-Wing/TIE Fighter/X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter (PC)
• 1993-1995: Star Wars: Rebel Assault/Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire (PC)
• 1994: Star Wars Arcade (Sega)
• 1995-1997: Star Wars: Dark Forces/ Dark Forces II (PC)
• 1996: Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire (N64)
• 1997: Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi (PlayStation)
• 1997: Star Wars Trilogy Pinball (Sega)
• 1998: Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (Nintendo 64)
• 1998: Star Wars Trilogy Arcade (Sega)
• 1999: Star Wars Episode I Pinball (Williams)
• 2000: Star Wars Racer Arcade (Sega)
• 2002: Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
• 2003: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC, Xbox)
• 2003: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (PC, Xbox)
• 2003: Star Wars Starfighter (Tsunami)
• 2004: Star Wars: Battlefront (widely considered one of the best Star Wars games ever created)
• 2005: Republic Commando (PC, Xbox)
• 2005: Lego Star Wars: The Video Game
• 2006: Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
• 2007: Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
• 2008: Star Wars: Force Unleashed (fastest selling Star Wars game, and the fastest selling LucasArts game)
• 2009: Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron (Nintendo DS, PSP)
• 2011: Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars
• 2012: Angry Birds: Star Wars
• 2013: Angry Birds Star Wars II
• 2014: Star Wars Battle Pod (Bandai Namco Amusements)
• 2016: Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The game is a first-person space simulator, based around Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.
Considered one of the most popular video games of all time, it was greatly successful in its day, particularly in the wake of the theatrical release of Return of the Jedi.
It was later produced as Star Wars: The Arcade Game on the Atari 2600, the Atari 5200, the Atari XE, the ColecoVision, and the Commodore 64.
In 1991, an updated version of the game was released for the NEC PC 98-01 and the Sharp X68000 systems under the title Star Wars: Attack on the Death Star.
This version featured a long introductory cut scene at the beginning of the game.
Want to know more about Star Wars gaming? Check out:
