''Capcom Bowling'' is a top down
bowling
Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thou ...
sports simulation game developed by
Incredible Technologies (under the brand name Strata) and released by
Capcom to
arcades in 1988.
Up to 4 four players could play a single game playing alternately. The controls feature a
trackball
A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down ball mouse with an exposed protruding ball. Users roll the ball to position the o ...
which is used to control both direction and power, and two buttons which control left and right spin or hook. Comedic animations play for making certain shots.
The game was released in both an upright cabinet and a cocktail version. Most of the upright cabinets are conversion kits for existing cabinets although a limited number of dedicated cabinets were produced. These cabinets featured a birch plywood finish to mimic a bowling lane, a larger marbled trackball and painted side art.
The Japanese version featured a different cabinet.
An alternate version, ''Coors Light Bowling'', was released the following year.
This version features endorsement from the
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
drink
Coors Light
Coors Light is a 4.2% (US) ABV light beer brewed in Golden, Colorado; Albany, Georgia; Elkton, Virginia; Fort Worth, Texas; Irwindale, California; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was first produced in 1978 by the Coors Brewing Company. The Ca ...
. The title screen is completely different on this version and some of the animations were changed to add Coors Light references.
Reception
In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Capcom Bowling'' on their October 1, 1988 issue as being the most-successful upright/cockpit arcade unit of the month. In North America, it was a commercial success, selling about 12,000 arcade units by early 1991.
''
Your Sinclair
''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993.
History
T ...
'' called the game "quite fun" but "a little quick and easy".
''Bowlingo''
In 1990,
Capcom entered the
bowling
Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thou ...
industry with ''Bowlingo''. It was a
coin-operated
A currency detector or currency validator is a device that determines whether notes or coins are genuine or counterfeit. These devices are used in a wide range of automated machines, such as retail kiosks, supermarket self checkout machines, ...
,
electro-mechanical
In engineering, electromechanics combines processes and procedures drawn from electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Electromechanics focuses on the interaction of electrical and mechanical systems as a whole and how the two systems ...
, fully automated mini
ten-pin bowling
Ten-pin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The objective is to knock down all ten pins on the first rol ...
installation. It was smaller than a standard
bowling alley
A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...
, designed to be smaller and cheaper for
amusement arcades. ''Bowlingo'' drew significant earnings in North America upon release in 1990.
See also
*
List of trackball arcade games
This is a list of arcade games that have used a trackball to interact with the game.
*''World Cup'' (Sega, March 1978)
*''Atari Football'' (Atari, October 1978)
*''Shuffleboard'' (Midway Manufacturing, October 1978)
* Atari Soccer (1979)
* Atari B ...
*''
Silver Strike Bowling''
References
External links
*
1988 video games
Advergames
Arcade-only video games
Arcade video games
Bowling video games
Capcom games
Trackball video games
Video games about food and drink
Video games developed in the United States
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