''Shark Jaws'' is a single-player

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 arca ...

Atari, Inc. Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry. Based primarily around the Sunny ...

under the name of Horror Games, originally released in 1975. An unlicensed tie-in to the movie ''

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

'', and believed to be the first commercially released movie tie-in, it was created to be a game about sharks eating people. Atari head

Nolan Bushnell Nolan Kay Bushnell (born February 5, 1943) is an American businessman and electrical engineer. He established Atari, Inc. and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre chain. He has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consume ...

originally tried to license the ''Jaws'' name, but was unable to secure a license from

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

. Deciding to go ahead with the game anyway, it was retitled ''Shark JAWS'', with the word ''Shark'' in tiny print and ''JAWS'' in large all caps print to create greater prominence. Bushnell created a second hidden subsidiary corporation, Horror Games—the previous being

Kee Games Kee Games was an American arcade game manufacturer that released arcade and video games from 1973 to 1978. History Kee was formed by Joe Keenan, a friend and neighbor of Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, in September 1973. In reality, Bushnell h ...

—to help isolate Atari from a possible lawsuit. According to Bushnell, the game was successful enough to sell approximately two thousand units. The player controls a deep-sea diver trying to catch small fish while avoiding a

great white shark The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. It is nota ...

that is trying to eat him. Points are scored by running over the fish to catch them. The unrelated 1972 electromechanical arcade game ''Killer Shark'' from

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, 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, r ...

was briefly featured in the movie ''Jaws''.

Technology

The game is housed in a custom cabinet that includes a single joystick and start button. The cabinet bezel uses blue and green colors, and portrays sharks swimming around along with a solitary swimmer. The game

PCB PCB may refer to: Science and technology * Polychlorinated biphenyl, an organic chlorine compound, now recognized as an environmental toxin and classified as a persistent organic pollutant * Printed circuit board, a board used in electronics * ...

is composed of discrete technology, and although the game was released under the name Horror Games, the PCB clearly states Atari.

References

;Additional sources * *

External links

Restored arcade cabinet

The Horror of IP Infringement
The Dot Eaters.com (2014) Arcade video games Arcade-only video games Action video games Jaws (franchise) video games 1975 video games Atari arcade games Video games developed in the United States Video games with underwater settings {{arcade-stub