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1978 In Video Gaming
1978 saw the release of new video games such as ''Space Invaders''. The year is considered the beginning of the golden age of arcade video games. The year's highest-grossing video game was Taito's arcade game ''Space Invaders'', while the best-selling home system was the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS). Financial performance Highest-grossing arcade games ''Space Invaders'' was the top-grossing video game worldwide in 1978. The following table lists the top-grossing arcade games of 1978 in Japan, the United Kingdom, United States, and worldwide. Japan In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1978, according to the third annual '' Game Machine'' chart, which lists both arcade video games and electro-mechanical games (EM games) on the same arcade game chart. Taito's ''Space Invaders'' was the first video game to become highest-grossing overall arcade game on the annual ''Game Machine'' charts, after the two previous charts were top ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space Invaders
is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter and set the template for the shoot 'em up genre. The goal is to defeat wave after wave of descending aliens with a horizontally moving laser to earn as many points as possible. Designer Nishikado drew inspiration from North American target shooting games like '' Breakout'' (1976) and ''Gun Fight'' (1975), as well as science fiction narratives such as the novel ''The War of the Worlds'' (1897), the anime ''Space Battleship Yamato'' (1974), and the movie ''Star Wars'' (1977). To complete development of the game, he had to design custom hardware and development tools. Upon release, ''Space Invaders'' was an immediate commercial success; by 1982, it had grossed $3.8 billion (equivalent to over adjusted for inflation ), with a net profit of $ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warner Books
Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Warner Communications acquired the Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publishing business to Hachette Livre in March 2006, the North American operations of the Time Warner Book Group were renamed Hachette Book Group, while the group's Warner Books imprint became Grand Central Publishing, named in part by the proximity of their new offices to New York's Grand Central Terminal. In addition to the Grand Central imprint itself, Grand Central Publishing has several sub-imprints including Balance, Forever/Forever Yours, Legacy Lit, and Twelve. Twelve Twelve, founded in 2006, is known for releasing only one book per month. The imprint, which is considered "boutique," has printed titles by Christopher Hitchens, Benjamin Hale, Daniel Menaker and Ben Schreckinger. Twelve is considered a "prestige publisher." References External links * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Speed Race
is a 1974 arcade racing video game developed and manufactured by Taito and released under the titles ''Racer'' and ''Wheels'' in North America by distributor Midway Manufacturing in 1975. Designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, the gameplay involves the player using the attached steering wheel to maneuver a car alongside a fast vertical scrolling road. The objective is to score points by driving past other cars without colliding with them; more points are awarded for driving faster. Players must do this under a 90-second time limit, which ends the game when it runs out. The gameplay concepts were adapted from two earlier driving electro-mechanical games: Kasco's ''Mini Drive'' (1958) and Taito's '' Super Road 7'' (1970). The original ''Speed Race'' and ''Wheels'' had an upright arcade cabinet, while Midway's ''Racer'' introduced a sit-down cabinet. Taito released an updated version of ''Speed Race'' called ''Speed Race DX'' in 1975. Two-player versions followed with Midway's ''Wheels II ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whac-A-Mole
Whac-A-Mole is an arcade game, originally known as or in Japan. A typical Whac-A-Mole machine consists of a waist-level cabinet with a play area and display screen, and a large, soft, black mallet. Five holes in the play area top are filled with small, plastic, cartoonish moles, which pop up at random. Points are scored by whacking each mole as it appears. The faster the reaction, the higher the score. Play The cabinet has a three-digit readout of the current player's score and, on later models, a "best score of the day" readout. The mallet is usually attached to the game by a rope to prevent it from being stolen. Current versions of Whac-A-Mole include three displays for Bonus Score, High Score, and the current game score. Home versions, distributed by Bob's Space Racers, have one display with the current score. If the player does not strike a mole within a certain time or with enough force, it eventually sinks back into its hole with no score. Although gameplay starts out ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinball
Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails called 'pins' and had hollows or pockets which scored points if the ball came to rest in them. Today, pinball is most commonly an arcade game in which the ball is fired into a specially designed Arcade cabinet, cabinet known as a pinball machine, hitting various lights, bumpers, ramps, and other targets depending on its design. The game's object is generally to score as many points as possible by hitting these targets and making various shots with #Flippers, flippers before the ball is lost. Most pinball machines use one ball per turn (except during special multi-ball phases), and the game ends when the ball(s) from the last turn are lost. The biggest pinball machine manufacturers historically include Bally Manufacturing, Gottlieb, Williams Ele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Block Kuzushi
''Breakout'' is an arcade video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. and released on May 13, 1976. It was designed by Steve Wozniak, based on conceptualization from Nolan Bushnell and Steve Bristow who were influenced by the seminal 1972 Atari arcade game ''Pong''. In ''Breakout'', a layer of bricks lines the top third of the screen and the goal is to destroy them all by repeatedly bouncing a ball off a paddle into them. The arcade game was released in Japan by Namco. ''Breakout'' was a worldwide commercial success, among the top five highest-grossing arcade video games of 1976 in both the United States and Japan and then among the top three highest-grossing arcade video games of 1977 in the US and Japan. The 1978 Atari VCS port uses color graphics instead of a monochrome screen with colored overlay. While the concept was predated by Ramtek's ''Clean Sweep'' (1974), ''Breakout'' spawned an entire genre of clones. It was the inspiration for aspects of the Apple II compute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shoot Away
is a 1977 electro-mechanical (EM) light gun shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco. Players use the rifle-shaped light guns to fire at clay pigeons, represented as flying white dots on a projector screen. There are two that must be shot down in each round, and players only get two bullets to hit them. Bonus points are awarded for shooting the pigeons as soon as they appear, or by destroying both of them with a single bullet. The game was a critical and commercial success, maintaining a presence in arcades into the 1980s. Gameplay ''Shoot Away'' is a lightgun shooter arcade game that simulates the sport of skeet shooting. It uses a projector system that projects monochrome images against a panoramic backdrop, designed to resemble a forest clearing. Using the attached lightguns, players have two attempts to shoot at both white targets — representing clay pigeons — that arch across the screen. Both players' scores are shown on an LCD display attached to the gun hol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Super Speed Race
is a 1974 arcade racing video game developed and manufactured by Taito and released under the titles ''Racer'' and ''Wheels'' in North America by distributor Midway Manufacturing in 1975. Designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, the gameplay involves the player using the attached steering wheel to maneuver a car alongside a fast vertical scrolling road. The objective is to score points by driving past other cars without colliding with them; more points are awarded for driving faster. Players must do this under a 90-second time limit, which ends the game when it runs out. The gameplay concepts were adapted from two earlier driving electro-mechanical games: Kasco's ''Mini Drive'' (1958) and Taito's '' Super Road 7'' (1970). The original ''Speed Race'' and ''Wheels'' had an upright arcade cabinet, while Midway's ''Racer'' introduced a sit-down cabinet. Taito released an updated version of ''Speed Race'' called ''Speed Race DX'' in 1975. Two-player versions followed with Midway's ''Wheels ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 in amusement arcades alongside other kinds of arcade games. Until the late 1990s, arcade video games were the largest and most technologically advanced segment of the video game industry. Early prototypical entries ''Galaxy Game'' and ''Computer Space'' in 1971 established the principle operations for arcade games, and Atari, Inc., Atari's ''Pong'' in 1972 is recognized 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 which are debated but range from the late 1970s to mid-1980s. This golden age includes ''Space Invaders'', ''Pac-Man'', and ''Donkey Kong (video game), Donkey Kong''. The arcade in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Namco
was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiung, and Shanghai Namco in mainland China. Namco was founded by Masaya Nakamura (businessman), Masaya Nakamura on June 1, 1955, as beginning as an operator of coin-operated amusement rides. After reorganizing to Nakamura Seisakusho Co., Ltd. in 1959, a partnership with Walt Disney Productions provided the company with the resources to expand its operations. In the 1960s, it manufactured Electro-mechanical game, electro-mechanical arcade games such as the 1965 hit ''Periscope (arcade game), Periscope''. It entered the video game industry after acquiring the struggling Japanese division of Atari, Inc., Atari in 1974, distributing games such as ''Breakout (video game), Breakout'' in Japan. The company renamed itself Namco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
F-1 (arcade Game)
''F-1'' is a 1976 electro-mechanical arcade racing game developed and published by Nakamura Manufacturing Company (Namco), and distributed in North America by Atari, Inc. The player uses a steering wheel to control a Formula One racer, which must avoid collision with other vehicles. The game uses a miniature diorama with small, plastic cars to represent the player's car and opponents on a physical, rotating track, while also featuring a projector system and lighting tricks to create the illusion of racing. The game was designed by company engineer Sho Osugi, who worked on many of the company's earlier driving-themed electro-mechanical games, and was made to be a smaller version of his earlier game ''Formula-X'' that could easily be placed into smaller stores and entertainment centers. The 1968 electro-mechanical driving game ''Indy 500'' by Kansai Seiki Seisakusho (Kasco) is also believed to be a source of inspiration for the game, likely due to Namco's strong business relationsh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
