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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 An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Mac ...
, and located in amusement arcades alongside other kinds of
arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade vi ...
s. 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 Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc., founded in Sunnyvale, Ca ...
'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 originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
'', and '' Donkey Kong''. The arcade industry had a resurgence from the early 1990s to mid-2000s, including ''
Street Fighter II is a fighting game developed by Capcom and originally released for arcades in 1991. It is the second installment in the '' Street Fighter'' series and the sequel to 1987's '' Street Fighter''. It is Capcom's fourteenth game to use the CP S ...
'', '' Mortal Kombat'', and '' Dance Dance Revolution'', but ultimately declined in the
Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.
as competing home video game consoles such as the
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
PlayStation and
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...
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 were popular amusement-park midway attractions from the 19th century on. With the introduction of electricity and coin-operated machines, they facilitated a viable
business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...
. 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. Numerous states and cities treated them as amoral playthings for rebellious young people, and banned them into the 1960s and 1970s. Electro-mechanical games (EM games) appeared in arcades in the mid-20th century. Following
Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...
's EM game ''Periscope'' (1966), the arcade industry experienced a "technological renaissance" driven by "audio-visual" EM novelty games, establishing the arcades as a suitable environment for the introduction of commercial video games in the early 1970s. In the late 1960s, college student Nolan Bushnell had a part-time job at an arcade where he became familiar with EM games such as Chicago Coin's racing game ''Speedway'' (1969), watching customers play and helping to maintain the machinery, while learning the game business. The early mainframe game '' Spacewar!'' (1962) inspired the first commercial arcade video game, '' Computer Space'' (1971), created by Nolan Bushnell and
Ted Dabney Samuel Frederick "Ted" Dabney Jr. (May 2, 1937 – May 26, 2018) was an American electrical engineer, and the co-founder, alongside Nolan Bushnell, of Atari, Inc. He is recognized as developing the basics of video circuitry principles that ...
and released by Nutting Associates. It was demonstrated at the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) show in October 1971. Another ''Spacewar''-inspired coin-operated video game, '' Galaxy Game'', was demonstrated at
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
in November 1971. Bushnell and Dabney followed their ''Computer Space'' success to create - with the help of
Allan Alcorn Allan Alcorn (born January 1, 1948) is an American pioneering engineer and computer scientist best known for creating '' Pong'', one of the first video games. Atari and ''Pong'' Alcorn grew up in San Francisco, California, and attended th ...
- a table-tennis game, '' Pong'', released in 1972. ''Pong'' became a commercial success, leading numerous other coin-op manufacturers to enter the market. The video game industry transitioned from discrete integrated circuitry to programmable
microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circ ...
s in the mid-1970s, starting with '' Gun Fight'' in 1975. The arcade industry entered a "Golden Age" in 1978 with the release of
Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. I ...
's '' Space Invaders'', which introduced many novel gameplay features - including a
scoreboard A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used ...
. From 1978 to 1982, several other major arcade-games from Namco, Atari, Williams Electronics, Stern Electronics, and Nintendo were all considered blockbusters, particularly Namco's ''
Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
'' (1980), which became a fixture in
popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
. 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 arcade games waned sharply after 1982 due to several factors, including market saturation of arcades and arcade games, a
moral panic A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear, often an irrational one, that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", us ...
over video games (similar to fears raised over pinball machines in the decades prior), and the 1983 video game crash as the home-console market impacted arcades. The arcade market had recovered by 1986, with the help of software-conversion kits, the arrival of popular
beat 'em up The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) leve ...
games (such as ''Kung-Fu Master'' (1984) and ''Renegade'' (1986-1987)), and advanced motion simulator games (such as Sega's "taikan" games including '' Hang-On'' (1985), '' Space Harrier'' (1985), and '' Out Run'' (1986)). However, the growth of home video-game systems such as the Nintendo Entertainment System led to another brief arcade decline toward the end of the 1980s. Arcade games continued to improve with the development of technology and of gameplay. In the early 1990s, the release of Capcom's ''
Street Fighter II is a fighting game developed by Capcom and originally released for arcades in 1991. It is the second installment in the '' Street Fighter'' series and the sequel to 1987's '' Street Fighter''. It is Capcom's fourteenth game to use the CP S ...
'' 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 was realism, including the "3D Revolution" from 2D and
pseudo-3D 2.5D (two-and-a-half dimensional) perspective refers to gameplay or movement in a video game or virtual reality environment that is restricted to a two-dimensional (2D) plane with little to no access to a third dimension in a space that otherwis ...
graphics to "true"
real-time Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...
3D polygon graphics. This was largely driven by a technological arms-race between
Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...
and
Namco was a Japanese 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 Kaohsiun ...
. During the early 1990s games such as Sega's '' Virtua Racing'' and '' Virtua Fighter'' popularized 3D-polygon technology in arcades. 3D graphics later became 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. Until about 1996, arcade video-games had remained the largest segment of the global video-game industry. Arcades declined in the late 1990s, surpassed by the console market for the first time around 1997–1998. Since the 2000s, arcade games have taken different routes globally. In the United States, arcades have become niche markets as they compete with the home-console market, and they have adapted other business models, such as providing other entertainment options or adding prize redemptions. In Japan and China, where arcades continue to flourish, games like '' Dance Dance Revolution'' and '' The House of the Dead'' aim to deliver tailored experiences that players cannot easily have at home.


Technology

Virtually all modern arcade games (other than the very traditional fair midway) make extensive use of solid state
electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
,
integrated circuit An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...
s, and monitor screens, all installed inside an
arcade cabinet An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Mac ...
. With the exception of ''Galaxy Game'' and ''Computer Space'', which were built around small form-factor mainframe computers, the first arcade games are based on combinations of multiple discrete logic chips, such as
transistor–transistor logic Transistor–transistor logic (TTL) is a logic family built from bipolar junction transistors. Its name signifies that transistors perform both the logic function (the first "transistor") and the amplifying function (the second "transistor"), as o ...
(TTL) chips. Designing an arcade game was more about 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. The first microprocessor-based video game is Midway's '' Gun Fight'' in 1975 (a conversion of Taito's ''Western Gun''), and with the advent of ''Space Invaders'' and the golden era, microprocessor-based games became typical. Early arcade games were also designed around
raster graphics upright=1, The Smiley, smiley face in the top left corner is a raster image. When enlarged, individual pixels appear as squares. Enlarging further, each pixel can be analyzed, with their colors constructed through combination of the values for ...
displayed on a cathode-ray tube (CRT) display. Many games of the late 1970s and early 1980s use special displays that rendered
vector graphics Vector graphics is a form of computer graphics in which visual images are created directly from geometric shapes defined on a Cartesian plane, such as points, lines, curves and polygons. The associated mechanisms may include vector display ...
, 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. Coin-operated arcade video games from the 1990s to the 2000s generally use custom hardware often with multiple CPUs, highly specialized
sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...
and graphics chips, and the latest in expensive
computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...
display technology. This allows more complex graphics and sound than contemporary
video game console A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to ...
s or
personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or te ...
s. Many arcade games since the 2000s run on modified video game console hardware (such as the Sega NAOMI or Triforce) or gaming PC components (such as the Taito Type X). Many arcade games have more immersive and realistic game controls than PC or console games. This includes specialized ambiance or control accessories such as fully enclosed dynamic cabinets with force feedback controls, dedicated
lightgun A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games, typically shaped to resemble a pistol. Early history The first light guns were produced in the 1930s, following the development of light-sensin ...
s, rear-projection displays, reproductions of automobile or airplane cockpits, motorcycle or horse-shaped controllers, or highly dedicated controllers such as dancing mats and
fishing rod A fishing rod is a long, thin rod used by anglers to catch fish by manipulating a line ending in a hook (formerly known as an ''angle'', hence the term "angling"). At its most basic form, a fishing rod is a straight rigid stick/pole with ...
s. These accessories are usually too bulky, expensive, and specialized to be used with typical home PCs and consoles. Arcade makers experiment with
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), edu ...
technology. Arcades have progressed from using coins as credits to smart cards that hold the virtual currency of credits. Modern arcade cabinets use flat panel displays instead of cathode-ray tubes. Internet services such as ALL.Net, NESiCAxLive, e-Amusement and NESYS, allow the cabinets to download updates or new games, do online multiplayer gameplay, save progress, unlock content, or earn credits.


Genres

Many arcade games have short levels, simple and intuitive control schemes, and rapidly increasing difficulty. The classic formula for a successful arcade video game is "easy to learn, difficult to master" along with a "multiple
life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...
, progressively difficult
level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights *Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical * Canal pound or level *Reg ...
" paradigm. 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. Arcade racing games often have sophisticated motion simulator
arcade cabinet An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Mac ...
s, a simplified physics engine, and short learning time when compared with more realistic
racing simulation Simulated racing or racing simulation, commonly known as simply sim racing, are the collective terms for racing game software that attempts to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire ...
s. Cars can turn sharply without braking or understeer, and the AI rivals are sometimes programmed so they are always near the player with a rubberband effect. Other types of arcade-style games include music games (particularly rhythm games), and mobile and casual games with intuitive controls and short sessions.


Action

The term "arcade game" can refer to an action video game 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 many feature very little puzzle-solving, complex thinking, or strategy skills. These include fighting games often played with an
arcade controller An arcade controller is a collective set of input devices designed primarily for use in an arcade cabinet. A typical control set consists of a joystick and a number of push-buttons. Less common setups include devices such as trackballs or steering ...
,
beat 'em up The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) leve ...
games including fast-paced hack and slash games, and light gun
rail shooters Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charact ...
and "
bullet hell Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charact ...
" shooters with intuitive controls and rapidly increasing difficulty. Many arcade combat flight simulators have sophisticated hydraulic motion simulator cabinets, and simplified physics and handling. Arcade flight games are meant to have an easy
learning curve A learning curve is a graphical representation of the relationship between how proficient people are at a task and the amount of experience they have. Proficiency (measured on the vertical axis) usually increases with increased experience (the ...
, in order to preserve their action component. Increasing numbers of console flight video games, such as '' Crimson Skies'', ''
Ace Combat is an arcade-style combat flight simulation video game franchise published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Namco. Debuting in 1995 with '' Air Combat'' for the PlayStation, the series includes eight mainline installments, multiple spi ...
'', 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 is a series of action-adventure games created by Hideki Kamiya. It is primarily developed and published by Capcom. The series centers on the demon hunter Dante (Devil May Cry), Dante and his efforts to thwart various demon invasions of Earth. ...
'' and ''
Bayonetta is a series of action-adventure games created by Hideki Kamiya and developed by PlatinumGames. The franchise was introduced in 2009 with '' Bayonetta''. Two sequels were released, '' Bayonetta 2'' (2014) and '' Bayonetta 3'' (2022), as well a ...
'' franchises.


Industry

Arcade games are found in restaurants, bowling alleys, college campuses, video rental shops, dormitories, laundromats, movie theaters, supermarkets, shopping malls, airports, and other retail environments. They are popular in public places where people are likely to have free time. Their profitability is expanded by the popularity of conversions of arcade games for home-based platforms. In 1997,
WMS Industries WMS Industries, Inc. was an American electronic gaming and amusement manufacturer in Enterprise, Nevada. It was merged into Scientific Games in 2016. WMS's predecessor was the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded in 1943 by Harry E. Williams ...
(parent company of Midway Games) reported that if more than 5,000 arcade units are sold, at least 100,000 home version units will be sold. The American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) is a
trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...
established in 1981 that represents the American coin-operated amusement machine industry, including 120 arcade game distributors and manufacturers. The
Japan Amusement Machine and Marketing Association The (formerly the , abbreviated JAMMA) is a Japanese trade association headquartered in Tokyo. JAMMA is run by representatives from various arcade video game manufacturers, including Bandai Namco, Sega, Taito, Koei Tecmo, Capcom, and Konam ...
(JAMMA) represents the Japanese arcade industry.


Conversions, emulators, and recreations

Prior to the 2000s, successful video games were often
converted Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...
to a home video game console or home computer. Many of the initial
Atari VCS The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocesso ...
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 games.
Coleco Coleco Industries, Inc. was an American company founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg as The Connecticut Leather Company. It was a successful toy company in the 1980s, mass-producing versions of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and its video game consol ...
famously bested Atari to secure the rights to convert Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'', which it 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 The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eu ...
conversion of '' Mortal Kombat'' removed much of the gore from the arcade version to meet Nintendo's quality control standards. Exact copies of arcade video games can be run through emulators such as MAME on modern devices. An emulator is an application that translates foreign software onto a modern system, in real-time. Emulated games appeared legally and commercially on the
Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
in 1994 with Williams floppy disks, Sony PlayStation in 1996, and Sega Saturn in 1997 with CD-ROM compilations such as ''
Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits ''Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits'' is a video game anthology for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation, Sega Genesis, Saturn, Game.com, Dreamcast, MS-DOS, and Microsoft Windows. The IBM PC compatible and game.com versions are title ...
'' and '' Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1'', and on the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on ...
and
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the ...
with DVD-ROM compilations such as ''
Midway Arcade Treasures ''Midway Arcade Treasures'' is a video-game compilation of 24 arcade games, emulated from the original PCBs. The overall release was developed by Digital Eclipse and issued by Midway Games for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and Microsoft Wind ...
''. Arcade games are downloaded and emulated through the Nintendo Wii
Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, U ...
service starting in 2009. Using emulation, companies like
Arcade1Up Arcade1Up is a computer hardware production company that specializes in the production of working 3/4 scale arcade video games using modern components and emulation. History Arcade1Up was established as a subsidiary of Tastemakers, Inc. in 2018 by ...
have produced at-scale or reduced-scale recreations of arcade cabinets using modern technology, such as LCD monitors and lightweight construction. These cabinets are typically designed to resemble the original arcade game cabinets, but may also support multiple related games. These cabinets can be offered in diverse and miniaturized styles, such as table-mounted and wall-mounted versions.


Highest-grossing

For arcade games, success is usually judged by either the number of
arcade hardware Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...
units sold to operators, or the amount of revenue generated. The revenue can include the coin drop earnings from coins (such as quarters, dollars, or
100 yen coin The is a denomination of Japanese yen. The current design was first minted in silver in 1959 and saw a change of metal in 1967. It is the second-highest denomination coin in Japan after the 500 yen coin. The current 100 yen coin is one of two d ...
s) inserted into machines, and/or the earnings from hardware sales with each unit costing thousands of dollars. Most of the revenue figures listed below are incomplete as they only include hardware sales revenue, due to a lack of available data for coin drop earnings which typically account for the majority of a hit arcade game's gross revenue. This list only includes arcade games that either sold more than 10,000 hardware units or generated a revenue of more than . Most of the games listed were released between the golden age of arcade video games (1978–1984) and the 1990s.


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.


See also

*
Claw crane A claw crane, claw machine, toy crane, or skill crane is a type of arcade game known as a merchandiser, commonly found in video arcades, supermarkets, restaurants, movie theaters, shopping malls, and bowling alleys. Machine components A cla ...
* JAMMA * List of arcade video games * Medal game *
Money booth A money booth, also known as cash booth, money machine, and cash cube, is an arcade game and merchandiser in the form of a phone booth in which paper money (or, alternatively, coupons, tickets, or gift certificates) are blown through the air. A ...
* Neo Geo *
Winners Don't Use Drugs "Winners Don't Use Drugs" is an anti-drug slogan that was included in arcade games imported by the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) into North America from 1989 to 2000. The slogan appeared during an arcade game's attract mode. The ...


Notes


References


External links


The Video Arcade Preservation Society

Online collection of ''Automatic Age'' trade journals, 1925–1945

System 16 – The Arcade Museum

Arcade History (Coin-Op Database)

The Museum of Soviet Arcade Games
(blog article) {{DEFAULTSORT:Arcade Game Video game platforms Video game terminology Children's entertainment