In what year did the North American Video Game Crash occur?

The story behind the answer

1983 is correct because the North American video game market collapsed that year after massive oversaturation of consoles and a flood of low-quality games—most notoriously Atari’s rushed E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and a poor Pac-Man port. Retailers lost confidence, sales cratered by over 90% in the following years, and many companies shut down, marking the industry’s most severe downturn.

The crash reshaped the business: Nintendo revived the market in 1985 with the NES, strict licensing, and the “Seal of Quality,” restoring trust. Memory tip: think “Crash of ’83” and “E.T.-three”—E.T.’s flop points to ’83.