You know, I should really update this post in light of my research for the book. As it turns out, Elite wasn't the first of these games by any means, but actually the heir of a tradition that began in the early 1980s with a game called Space (and its spiritual sequel, Empire). These games introduced most of the concepts. Then there was Universe, which further refined the formula. Then of course there's Starflight, but that was released 2 years later--but it's worth keeping mind that it was supposedly in development for 7 years. I'd be curious to know how far along that game was in 1984, when Elite debuted. In short, Elite wasn't as original or groundbreaking as I thought.

Now that I've got more research on this topic, does that mean I've changed my mind about Elite? Not really. Very few people have heard of Space, Empire, or Universe, mostly because they were very complex games with intimidating interfaces and little action (the later Star Control tried a similar feat, though with much different gameplay). I think Elite's claim to fame was simplifying the formula and grafting it on to a well-tuned space flight simulator. I've played several Elite derivatives over the years (I call them "space sims"), but while they may have better graphics or what-not, I don't consider them better.

I've heard routinely about a game called Privateer that I will get around to playing one day. :)