Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Third-person shooter" in English language version.
Clearly this early third-person shooter [Spacewar] paved the way for the FPS proper. The rockets are drawn on the screen against a 2-D backdrop of stars.
Some of the earliest video games, such as the mainframe game Spacewar! (1962) and commercial games based on it like Galaxy Game (1971) and Computer Space (1971) also involved shooting . . . [T]hese games featured shooting from a third-person perspective.
Radar Scope owed much to the popularity of Space Invaders and Galaxian, but nevertheless felt original thanks to its 3D third-person perspective.
[Tempest] corresponds to a third-person shooter, by contemporary standards.
Even Flashback's own sequel, Fade to Black, was a fully 3D third-person shooter.