Editorial archive online

RETROPAUSEARCHIVE / 1970—2009
VERIFIED ARCHIVE / WORLD INDEX

Timeline

Cultural dates, releases and technologies with reviewable evidence and editorial oversight.

1982
VIDEO GAMES / UNITED STATES

Consoles and game releases pile up in the market

In 1982, the North American market was saturated with numerous consoles, heavily promoted releases, and games of uneven quality, a context associated with the subsequent crisis.

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1 source
  1. Videoconsolas de segunda generaciónes.wikipedia.org · accessed 09/24/2026
1982
FILM / MEXICO

A fire destroys the Cineteca Nacional’s first venue

The fire destroyed the Cineteca’s facilities in Mexico City. The source says the exact number of victims and the extent of the collection losses remain unknown.

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1 source
  1. Cineteca Nacionales.wikipedia.org · accessed 10/10/2026
1982
CONSOLES / UNITED STATES

Atari 5200 is released

The Atari 5200 reached the market in 1982, according to the source. The available evidence does not specify the month or day.

2 sources
  1. El nacimiento de Atari - Retro Computing MXretrocomputingmx.com · accessed 10/19/2026
  2. Atari 5200es.wikipedia.org · accessed 10/09/2026
12 August 1981
COMPUTERS / UNITED STATES

IBM introduces the 5150 personal computer

IBM introduced its 5150 model on August 12, 1981, in a personal-computer market that was already developing.

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10 sources
  1. La máquina que nos cambió la vida | Domingo | EL PAÍSelpais.com · accessed 09/23/2026
  2. La Evolución de la Contabilidad en Costa Ricawww.facturele.com · accessed 10/23/2026
  3. UN VIAJE A LA HISTORIA DE LA INFORMÁTICAmuseo.inf.upv.es · accessed 10/17/2026
  4. Cómo el IBM PC ganó y luego perdió el mercado de las ...translate.google.com · accessed 10/27/2026
  5. ¿Tuvo IBM en el pasado el monopolio del hardware y ...translate.google.com · accessed 10/22/2026
  6. Barclays instala una temprana máquina de efectivo (1967 ...swingpuzzles.com · accessed 10/18/2026
  7. #tuaeméx #UAEMexwww.instagram.com · accessed 10/23/2026
  8. 12 DE AGOSTO, Lanzamiento de la IBM PC (Modelo 5150) El 12 ...www.instagram.com · accessed 10/23/2026
  9. IBM PC - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia librees.wikipedia.org · accessed 10/17/2026
  10. Los 20 ordenadores personales más importantes de la historia de la tecnologíawww.xataka.com · accessed 09/25/2026
1981
SOFTWARE / UNITED STATES

Simonyi and Brodie join Microsoft from Xerox

Charles Simonyi and Richard Brodie, Xerox programmers, joined Microsoft with the goal of adapting Xerox lab's graphical interface ideas to the emerging IBM PC platform.

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4 sources
  1. La evolución e historia de Microsoft Wordtranslate.google.com · accessed 10/19/2026
  2. Historia y origen de los procesadores texto (docx)www.cliffsnotes.com · accessed 10/19/2026
  3. (PDF) "la historia de Microsoft Word" by Gerardo Garciawww.academia.edu · accessed 10/19/2026
  4. Historia de Microsoft Word | PDFes.scribd.com · accessed 10/19/2026
1981
COMICS AND MAGAZINES / SPAIN

The first Barcelona International Comics Convention takes place

The first edition of the Barcelona International Comics Convention took place in 1981. The article places this milestone alongside the strong presence of adult comics magazines at Spanish newsstands at the time.

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2 sources
  1. Del quiosco al museo: el viaje del cómic en los últimos 40 añoswww.epe.es · accessed 09/19/2026
  2. Historieta - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia librees.wikipedia.org · accessed 09/23/2026
1980
TOYS / HONG KONG

Playmates Dolls at the Colombian Pedagogical Museum Bear the 1980 Mark

The Colombian Pedagogical Museum identifies the inscription “Playmates, Hong Kong, 1980” on the back of a doll’s head in its collection and notes a year mark on the nape. The object’s movable joints and eyes offer evidence of its functions and a basis for studying the imitation and caregiving play associated with its design.

1 source
  1. Patrimonio Cultural - MUSEO PEDAGÓGICO COLOMBIANOmuseopedagogico.pedagogica.edu.co · accessed 10/26/2026
1980
INTERNET / UNITED STATES

Usenet is established between Duke and the University of North Carolina

After Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis proposed the idea in 1979, Usenet was established in 1980 between Duke University and the University of North Carolina. Based on UUCP, the system distributed topic-group messages among servers and anticipated features of later forums, without relying on the World Wide Web.

3 sources
  1. Usenettranslate.google.com · accessed 10/28/2026
  2. Historia de Internet: cronología, usos y característicashumanidades.com · accessed 10/28/2026
  3. Historia de Internetes.wikipedia.org · accessed 10/28/2026
1980
RESTORATION / SPAIN

The Prado creates its Bulletin and systematizes restoration documentation

The Museo del Prado created the Boletín del Museo del Prado under the direction of José Manuel Pita Andrade. At the same time, it began systematically preparing reports for every treated work and organized these materials in a dedicated archive overseen by Felícitas Martínez.

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1 source
  1. Restauración en el Museo del Prado. - Museo Nacional del Pradowww.museodelprado.es · accessed 09/23/2026
1980
TELEVISION / GLOBAL

UNESCO recognizes audiovisual archives as cultural heritage

In 1980, UNESCO recognized audiovisual archives as part of the cultural heritage of humanity and recommended their safeguarding.

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3 sources
  1. Preservación del patrimonio audiovisual de televisión El ...produccioncientifica.ucm.es · accessed 09/29/2026
  2. Preservación del patrimonio audiovisual de televisión El archivo de Televisión Española (TVE): de los orígenes a la digitalización - Dialnetdialnet.unirioja.es · accessed 09/25/2026
  3. Preservación del patrimonio audiovisual de televisión El ...eprints.ucm.es · accessed 10/13/2026
July 1979
MUSIC / GLOBAL

Sony introduces the Walkman

AARP dates the Walkman’s introduction to July 1979, describing it as a portable stereo player that let people listen privately in public spaces. Another reference in the article gives a different, imprecise date.

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1 source
  1. Los sucesos más importante en la década de 1970www.aarp.org · accessed 09/27/2026
1979
INTERNET / GLOBAL

News software distributes messages on UUCPnet

Developed by Steve Daniels and Tom Truscott in 1979, News software was used to distribute messages on UUCPnet. This practice evolved into discussion groups covering a wide range of subjects, a collective form of communication that predated the Web.

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1 source
  1. Historia de Internet - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia librees.wikipedia.org · accessed 09/24/2026
1978
CONSOLES / JAPAN

Manufacturing of the Sharp XG-115 (CTG-15V) variant in Japan

According to the evidence, the Sharp-licensed variant of the Color TV-Game 15, model CTG-15V, was manufactured only in Japan in 1978.

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1 source
  1. 20th Century Video Gameswww.20thcenturyvideogames.com · accessed 10/20/2026
1977
CONSOLES / UNITED STATES

The Atari 2600 launches in the United States

The Atari 2600 originally launched in the United States in 1977; the source reports sales of more than 350,000 units in its first year.

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3 sources
  1. Timeline: Historia de las videoconsolas - Un repaso cronológico a la historia de las consolas de videojuegos, destacando la fecha en que se pusieron a la venta las diferentes máquinas y sus principales características técnicas. | Timetoast Timeline Makerwww.timetoast.com · accessed 09/24/2026
  2. Video Juegos Por Computador : La prehistoria de las consolas en España - prehistoricgamingprehistoricgaming.com · accessed 09/23/2026
  3. Videoconsolas de segunda generaciónes.wikipedia.org · accessed 10/21/2026
1977
COMPUTERS / GLOBAL

The “1977 Trinity” signals the consolidation of the personal computer market

The UPV Computer Museum identifies 1977 as the start of a period of consolidation in the personal computer market and records the label “The 1977 Trinity” for Apple, Commodore and Tandy.

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2 sources
  1. 10 hitos clave en la historia de la informática - Tu ventana al mundo digitalinfodigital.ciberlinea.net · accessed 09/17/2026
  2. Historia del Ordenador Personal - Web del Museo de Informática 2.0museo.inf.upv.es · accessed 09/17/2026
1977
CONSOLES / JAPAN

Nintendo distributes the Color TV-Game 15 in Japan

Nintendo distributed its first video game console, the Color TV-Game 15, in Japan.

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5 sources
  1. 20th Century Video Gameswww.20thcenturyvideogames.com · accessed 10/23/2026
  2. Historia de Nintendotranslate.google.com · accessed 10/16/2026
  3. Juego de TV a colortranslate.google.com · accessed 10/22/2026
  4. Color TV-Game 6 y Color TV-Game 15 | 100% RETROinfoconsolas.com · accessed 10/23/2026
  5. Nintendoes.wikipedia.org · accessed 10/20/2026
November 1976
CONSOLES / UNITED STATES

The Fairchild Channel F debuts, beginning the second generation

The second console generation began in November 1976 with the launch of the Fairchild Channel F, one of the systems that helped establish the use of interchangeable cartridges.

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1 source
  1. Videoconsolas de segunda generaciónes.wikipedia.org · accessed 10/21/2026
August 1976
VIDEO GAMES / NORTHERN AMERICA

Fairchild Channel F, an interchangeable-cartridge console, appears

Fairchild launched its Video Entertainment System, later renamed Channel F. The evidence identifies it as the first console to use cartridges to load new games, while another source dates the Channel F’s appearance to August 1976.

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2 sources
  1. Historia de los Videojuegos: Un viaje por la segunda mitad del siglo XX - culturainformatica.esculturainformatica.es · accessed 09/21/2026
  2. Historia de los videojuegos - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia librees.wikipedia.org · accessed 09/21/2026
1976
CONSOLES / NORTHERN AMERICA

Fairchild introduces its cartridge-based home console

Cultura Informática dates the release of Fairchild’s Video Entertainment System, later called Channel F, to 1976 and identifies it as the first console to use cartridges to load games.

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2 sources
  1. Historia de los Videojuegos: Un viaje por la segunda mitad del siglo XX - culturainformatica.esculturainformatica.es · accessed 09/28/2026
  2. Historia de los videojuegos - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia librees.wikipedia.org · accessed 09/24/2026
January 1976
ARCADE / UNITED STATES

Release of Death Race

Exidy releases Death Race in January 1976, a title that would mark a milestone in arcade history due to its controversy.

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3 sources
  1. video game ultra violento de la epoca: . Death Race fue ...www.facebook.com · accessed 10/16/2026
  2. Miniserie High Score en Netflix; ¿la historia de los ...www.retromaniacmagazine.com · accessed 10/19/2026
  3. Historia de los videojuegos - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia librees.wikipedia.org · accessed 10/19/2026