Arcade video game

An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arcade cabinet, and located amusement arcades alongside other kinds of arcade games. Up until the late 1990s, arcade video games were the largest and most technologically advanced sector of the video game industry.
Early prototypical entries "Galaxy Game" and "Computer Space" in 1971 established the principle operations for arcade games, while Atari's "Pong" in 1972 is recognizes as the first successful commercial arcade video game. Improvements in computer technology and gameplay design led to a golden age of arcade video games, the exact dates of debate but ranging from the late 1970s to mid-1980s, and which included games such as "Space Invaders", "Pac-Man", and "Donkey Kong". The arcade industry had somewhat of a resurgence from the early 1990s to mid-2000s, with games such as "Street Fighter II", "Mortal Kombat", and "Dance Dance Revolution", but ultimately declined in the Western world as competing home video game consoles such as the Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox increased in their graphics and gameplay capability and decreased in cost. Nevertheless, Japan, China, and Korea retain a strong arcade industry in the present day.
History.
Games of skill had been popular amusement park midway attractions since the 19th century. With the introduction of electricity and coin-operated machines, they presented the opportunity for a viable business. When pinball machines with electric lights and displays were introduced in 1933, but without the user-controller flippers which would not be invented until 1947, these machines were seen as games of luck, as well as amoral playthings that drew the attention of rebellious young people to them, and numerous state and city bans were placed on these machines which lasted into the 1960s and 1970s.
"Spacewar!" inspired the first two arcade video games; "Galaxy Game", a single demonstration coin-operated unit run at Stanford University in November 1971, and "Computer Space", the first commercial arcade game created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney and released in the same month with Nutting Associates. Bushnell and Dabney followed their success of "Computer Space" with the help of Allan Alcorn to create a table tennis game "Pong", released in 1972. "Pong" was a commercial success, leading to numerous other coin-op manufacturers to enter the market.
The video game industry transitioned from discrete integrated circuitry to programmable microprocessors in the mid-1970s, starting with "Gun Fight" in 1975. The arcade industry entered a "Golden Age" in 1978 with the release of Taito's "Space Invaders", which introduced a number of novel gameplay features including a scoreboard, leading to its popularity. From 1978 to 1982 several other major arcade games from Namco, Atari, Williams Electronics, Stern Electronics, and Nintendo were all considered blockbusters, particularly with Namco's "Pac-Man" in 1980 which became a popular culture fixture. Across North America and Japan, dedicated video game arcades appeared and arcade game cabinets appeared in many smaller storefronts. By 1981, the arcade video game industry was worth in the US. The novelty of the arcade game waned sharply after 1982 from several factors, including an oversaturation of the market with the number of arcades and arcade games, a moral panic created over video games due to similar fears that had been raised over pinball machines in the decades prior, and the 1983 video game crash in the home console market that impacted arcades. The arcade market had recovered by 1986, with the help of software conversion kits, the arrival of popular beat 'em up games (such as "Kung-Fu Master" and "Renegade"), and advanced motion simulator games (such as Sega's "taikan" games including "Hang-On", "Space Harrier" and "Out Run"). However, the growth of home video game systems such as the Nintendo Entertainment System led to another brief arcade decline towards the end of the 1980s.
Arcade games continued to improve with technology and gameplay evolutions. In the early 1990s, the release of Capcom's "Street Fighter II" established the modern style of fighting games and led to a number of similar games such as "Mortal Kombat", "Fatal Fury", "Killer Instinct", "Virtua Fighter", and "Tekken", creating a new renaissance in the arcades. Another factor that contributed to the arcade "renaissance" was increasingly realistic games, notably the "3D Revolution" where arcade games made the transition from 2D and pseudo-3D graphics to true real-time 3D polygon graphics, largely driven by a technological arms race between Sega and Namco. 3D polygons were popularized in arcades during the early 1990s with games such as Sega's "Virtua Racing" and "Virtua Fighter", leading to more advanced arcade games, with 3D graphics later also becoming popular in console and computer games by the mid-1990s, though arcade systems such as the Sega Model 3 remained considerably more advanced than home systems in the late 1990s. Up until about 1996, arcade video games had remained the largest sector of the global video game industry, before arcades declined in the late 1990s, with the console market surpassing arcade video games for the first time around 1997-1998.
Since the 2000s, the arcade game field has taken different routes globally. In the United States, arcades have become niche markets as they compete with the home console market, and they have had to adapt other business models, such as providing other entertainment options or adding prize redemptions. On the other hand, arcades continue to flourish in Japan and China, where arcade games like "Dance Dance Revolution" and "The House of the Dead" are tailored to experiences that players cannot easily have at home.
Technology.
Virtually all modern arcade games (other than the very traditional midway-type games at county fairs) make extensive use of solid state electronics, integrated circuits and cathode-ray tube screens, all installed inside an arcade cabinet.
With the exception of "Galaxy Game" and "Computer Space", which were built around small form-factor mainframe computers, the first arcade games were based on combinations of multiple discrete logic chips, such as transistor–transistor logic (TTL) chips. Designing an arcade game was more about designing the combination of these TTL chips and other electronic components to achieve the desired effect on screen. More complex gameplay required significantly more TTL components to achieve this result. By the mid-1970s, the first inexpensive programmable microprocessors had arrived on the market. Midway's "Gun Fight" in 1975, a conversion of Taito's "Western Gun", was the first arcade video game to use a microprocessor, and by the time "Space Invaders" and the onset of the golden era, microprocessor-based games had become typical. Early arcade games were also designed around raster graphics displayed on a cathode ray tube (CRT) display. A number of games in the late 1970s and early 1980s used special displays that rendered vector graphics, though these waned by the mid-1980s as display technology on CRTs improved. Prior to the availability of color CRT or vector displays, some arcade cabinets have a combination of angled monitor positioning, one-way mirrors, and clear overlays to simulate colors and other graphics onto the gameplay field.
By the 1990s and onward coin-operated arcade video games generally used custom per-game hardware often with multiple CPUs, highly specialized sound and graphics chips, and the latest in expensive computer graphics display technology. This allowed arcade system boards to produce more complex graphics and sound than what was then possible on video game consoles or personal computers, which is no longer the case in the 2010s. Arcade game hardware since the 2000s is often based on modified video game console hardware (Such as the Sega NAOMI or Triforce) or gaming PC components. (Such as the Taito Type X) Arcade games frequently have more immersive and realistic game controls than either PC or console games, including specialized ambiance or control accessories: fully enclosed dynamic cabinets with force feedback controls, dedicated lightguns, rear-projection displays, reproductions of automobile or airplane cockpits, motorcycle or horse-shaped controllers, or highly dedicated controllers such as dancing mats and fishing rods. These accessories are usually what set modern video games apart from other games, as they are usually too bulky, expensive, and specialized to be used with typical home PCs and consoles. Currently with the advent of Virtual reality, arcade makers have begun to experiment with Virtual reality technology. Arcades have also progressed from using coins as credits to operate machines to smart cards that hold the virtual currency of credits.
More modern arcade cabinets use flat panel displays instead of cathode-ray tubes. Arcade games may be connected to the internet through services such as ALL.Net, NESiCAxLive, e-Amusement and NESYS, allowing the cabinets to download updates or other games and players to play online with other players and save their progress, unlockable content and credits which are then accessed using a smart card.
Genres.
Arcade games often have short levels, simple and intuitive control schemes, and rapidly increasing difficulty. The classic formula for a successful arcade video game was to be "easy to learn, difficult to master" with many games based on "the multiple life, progressively difficult level paradigm" popularized by "Space Invaders" (1978). This is due to the environment of the arcade, where the player is essentially renting the game for as long as their in-game avatar can stay alive (or until they run out of tokens). Games on consoles or PCs can be referred to as "arcade games" if they share these qualities, or are direct ports of arcade games. Many independent developers produce games in the arcade genre that are designed specifically for use on the Internet.
Arcade racing games often have sophisticated motion simulator arcade cabinets, while at the same time having a simplified physics engine and not requiring much learning time when compared with more realistic racing simulations. Cars can turn sharply without braking or understeer, and the AI rivals are sometimes programmed so they are always near the player (rubberband effect). Other types of arcade-style games include music games (particularly rhythm games), and mobile and casual games with intuitive controls and often played in short sessions.
Action.
The term "arcade game" is also used to refer to an action video game that was designed to play similarly to an arcade game with frantic, addictive gameplay. The focus of arcade action games is on the user's reflexes, and the games usually feature very little puzzle-solving, complex thinking, or strategy skills. Games with complex thinking are called strategy video games or puzzle video games.
Popular types of arcade-style action games include fighting games often played with an arcade controller, beat 'em up games including fast-paced hack and slash games, and light gun rail shooters and "bullet hell" shooters with intuitive controls and rapidly increasing difficulty.
Arcade combat flight simulators often have sophisticated hydraulic motion simulator cabinets, while at the same time having simplified physics and handling in comparison to more realistic flight simulations. Arcade flight games are meant to have an easy learning curve, in order to preserve their action component. Increasing numbers of console flight video games, from "" to "Ace Combat" and "Secret Weapons Over Normandy" indicate the falling of manual-heavy flight sim popularity in favor of instant arcade flight action.
A modern subgenre of action games called "hack and slash" or "character action games" represent an evolution of traditional arcade action games, and are sometimes considered a subgenre of beat 'em up brawlers. This subgenre of games was largely defined by Hideki Kamiya, creator of the "Devil May Cry" and "Bayonetta" franchises.
Industry.
In addition to restaurants and video arcades, arcade games are also found in bowling alleys, college campuses, video rental shops, dormitories, laundromats, movie theaters, supermarkets, shopping malls, airports, ice rinks, corner shops, truck stops, bars/pubs, hotels, and even bakeries. In short, arcade games are popular in places open to the public where people are likely to have free time.
The profitability of arcade games is expanded by the popularity of conversions of arcade games for home-based platforms. In 1997, WMS Industries (parent company of Midway Games, then the most successful arcade game manufacturer) reported that if an arcade game sells 5,000 units or more, a home version of the game will almost always sell at least 100,000 units.
The American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) is a trade association established in 1981 that represents the coin-operated amusement machine industry, including 120 arcade game distributors and manufacturers.
Conversions, emulators, recreations.
Prior to the 2000s, popular and successful video games were often converted to a home video game console or home computer. Many of the initial Atari VCS games, for example, were conversions of Atari's success arcade games. Arcade game manufacturers that were not in the home console or computer business found licensing of their games to console manufacturers to be a successful business model, as console manufacturer competitors would vie for rights to more popular titles. Coleco famously won out over Atari to secure the rights to convert Nintendo's "Donkey Kong", which they subsequently included as a pack-in game for the ColecoVision to challenge the VCS. 
Arcade conversions typically had to make concessions for the lower computational power and capabilities of the home console, such as limited graphics or alterations in gameplay. Such conversions had mixed results. The Atari VCS conversion of "Space Invaders" was considered the VCS's killer application, helping to quadruple the VCS sales in 1980. In contrast, the VCS conversion of "Pac-Man" in 1982 was highly criticized for technical flaws due to VCS limitations such as flickering ghosts and simplified gameplay. Though "Pac-Man" was the best-selling game on the VCS, it eroded consumer confidence in Atari's games and partially contributed to the 1983 crash.
The need for arcade conversions began to wane as arcade game manufacturers like Nintendo, Sega, and SNK entered the home console market and used similar technology within their home consoles as found at the arcade, negating the need to simplify the game. Concessions still may be made for a home release; notably, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System conversion of "Mortal Kombat" removed much of the gore from the arcade version to meet Nintendo's quality control standards.
More recently, exact copies of arcade video games can be run through emulators such as MAME on modern computers and other devices. Emulators enable game enthusiasts to play old video games using the actual code from the 1970s or 1980s, which is translated by a modern software system. Legitimate emulated titles started to appear on the Macintosh (1994) with Williams floppy disks, Sony PlayStation (1996) and Sega Saturn (1997), with CD-ROM compilations such as "Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits" and ', and on the PlayStation 2 and GameCube with DVD-ROM compilations such as "Midway Arcade Treasures". Arcade games are downloaded and emulated through the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console service starting in 2009 with "Gaplus", "Mappy", "Space Harrier", "Star Force", "The Tower of Druaga", "Tecmo Bowl", "Altered Beast" and many more. Other classic arcade games such as "Asteroids", "Tron", "Discs of Tron", "Yie Ar Kung-Fu", "Pac-Man", "Joust", "Battlezone", "Dig Dug", ', and "Missile Command" are emulated on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade. The emulators have evolved to be used in mobile phones (apps) or websites that function as an online emulator.
Using emulator technology, companies like Arcade1Up have produced at-scale or reduced-scale recreations of arcade cabinets using modern technology, such as flat LCD displays and lightweight construction. These cabinets are typically designed to resemble the original arcade game cabinets, but may also support multiple related games. In addition, these cabinets can be offered in other styles since they do not require the same hardware space that original arcade games had, such as table-mounted and wall-mounted versions.
Highest-grossing.
For arcade games, success was usually judged by either the number of arcade hardware units sold to operators, or the amount of revenue generated, from the number of coins (such as quarters, dollars or 100 yen coins) inserted into machines, or the hardware sales (with arcade hardware prices often ranging from $1000 to $4000 or more). This list only includes arcade games that have either sold more than 10,000 hardware units or generated a revenue of more than . Most of the games in this list date back to the golden age of arcade video games, though some are also from before and after the golden age.
Franchises.
These are the combined hardware sales of at least two or more arcade games that are part of the same franchise. This list only includes franchises that have sold at least 5,000 hardware units or grossed at least $10 million revenues.