The ARCADE VIDEO-GAME "Encyclopedia"
The ARCADE VIDEO-GAME "Encyclopedia"
The ARCADE VIDEO-GAME "Encyclopedia"
ARCADE VIDEO-GAME
"Encyclopedia"
1977-1979
V2
copy/paste
by
DaddaRuleKonge
DaddaRuleKonge
1. Handle Assembly
2. “E”-Ring
3. Plate-Follower
4. Control SW. Brkt. & Top Plate Assy.
5. Rubber Bumper (2 Req’d.)
6. Pivot Brikt. Hub & Bearing Assy.
7. Pivot Rod
8. #10 - 32 Lock Nut
9. Brace Main Brkt.
10. #6 -32 x 1/4 Slt. Pan HD. M.S. (6 Req’d.)
12. #8 -32 x 1” Carriage Bolts (4 Req’d.)
13. #8 STL. Washer (4 Req’d.)
14. Switch Bracket (2 Req’d.)
15. Switch Assy. (2 Req’d.)
16. Switch Plate (2 Req’d.)
17. #5 - 40 x 5/8 PAN HD. M.S. (4 Req’d.)
Reference Guide
6
and Killer List of Videogames Most of the information in this book comes either from
at Museum of the Game flyers, manuals and wikipedia. If I have used another
source, a credit will be shown at the bottom of the text. The Golden Age Historian
• Used a lot, for both pictures, info, and as
These are web sites that i use alot for pictures/screen- “A blog dedicated to the history of arcade
a database from what I base this book on. video games from the bronze and golden
shots, reference and much of the information. I can
recommend all of these websites, as they are very ages (1971-1984)”
This is the main place I use for info for
informative and fun to look through. • Used for info and pictures.
this book. I use their “killer-list” as a
If you are the owner of one of these sites and feel that
base for the arcade machines release
i have done you wrong, then please send me an e-mail An extremely well made, researched and
date. Their information may be incor-
and I will make the necessary change to your wish. interesting blog on coin-op machines
rect on several things, but I found this
and the history regarding them. A very
place was the most comprehensive and
big recommendation on visiting this site.
detailed place to use information from.
https://www.arcade-museum.com/ http://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.no/
VGMRIPS
GAMING HISTORY EMULAB “Welcome to VGMRips,
“A gaming database featuring all coin-op, “The purpose of this wiki and website is The biggest and most active
arcade games, slot machines, home video to be a repository of links and information site for retro Video Game Mu-
games and more...” for all arcade games for which there are sic rips”
• Used for info. no known ROM dump, due to the lack of
original boards from which to obtain the • Used for a some info.
necessary information. ”
A database on different video games, in- A website detailing music and sound in-
cluding coin-op games. • Used for some info on the Undumped
cluded on different video games.
Wiki.
Blockbuster
Manufacturer Elcon Industries
Release 1977
Genre Breakout
Cabinet Styles Cocktail
Canyon Bomber
Manufacturer Atari
Release 1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Hardware Atari BW Raster
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Competitive
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Controls
Buttons: 1 [Bomb]
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Boot Hill
Manufacturer Midway
Release 1877
Boot Hill is a sequel to the 1975 game Gun Fight, Class Wide Release
originally released by Taito as Western Gun in Ja- Genre Shooter
pan. Hardware Midway 8080
The game is a classic one or two-player western Mode 2 Players simultaneous
gunfight game. Each player uses a small joystick Gameplay Either
to move their cowboy up and down the play area, Panel Layout Multiple Player
while a second, much larger joystick is used to Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
aim the pistol and shoot - this larger stick also has
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
a trigger button. The game’s single goal is to shoot
CRT: Black and White
the other player situated on the opposite side of The image is mirrored. The back
the game area with the allocated 6 bullets. Wag- drop is lit with a blacklight
ons move up the middle and cacti litter the play Sound Amplified Mono
area, both providing temporary cover from the (one channel)
opponent’s gunfire and disintegrate when shot. Cabinet Styles Upright
The player may play against the machine or an-
other person in two player mode.
The game was released in a dedicated cabinet, excerpt from the flyer:
which mostly came in yellow. It featured side art
Exciting Western Shootout
of two different cowboys. The monitor bezel, had
• 1 or 2 player game
the game title and also a detailed cartoon scene of
• As a 1 player game... player is chal-
a few cowboys shooting each other in a graveyard
lenged by the computer.
on top of a hill.
• Complete player control of the Cow-
It had a 23” monochrome open frame monitor boys
that was buried deep within the machine. • Changing scenes for added interest
This game, among other early video and non- • 3-dimensional interior
video arcade games, were featured briefly in • Coordinated electronic Western mu-
George Romero’s horror movie classic “Dawn of sic
the Dead” 1977. The scene, occurring about half- • Built-in RAM and ROM tester
way through the film, features four survivors of • 23” monitor
a zombie holocaust who are seeking refuge from • Double 25¢ coin chutes
hordes of the walking dead in a giant shopping • Adjustable timer
mall, which just happens to have an arcade. The
version of Boot Hill played in the movie seems to
be without the backdrop.
1977
14
Car Polo
Manufacturer Exidy
Release 1977 Car Polo is an up-to-four player full color video game that combines
Class Wide Release the skills of driving with the intense player interaction of team sports.
Genre Sports The object is to score by bumping or pushing the ball with a car into
Mode 4 Players simultaneous the team’s goal. Teamwork revolves around passing and blocking strat-
Gameplay Team egy. Play becomes fast and furious, and excitement is enhanced by car
Panel Layout Multiple Player
motor noises, crash sounds, controlled grass skids and bouncing ball
Controls
Steering: Wheel
motions.
Shifter: 2-position Car Polo was designed and programmed by Howell Ivey for Exidy, and
(forward, reverse) is one of the first games to use the combination of a microprocessor for
Pedals: 1 running the game logic plus a color display.
Monitor “mamedev.org”
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Checkmate
Manufacturer Midway
Checkmate can be played by one to four play- Release 1977
ers. A one-player game is played against three Class Wide Release
computer players. After coins have been de- Genre Skill
posited, players press the proper “number of Hardware Midway 8080
Mode 4 Players simultaneous
players” button to start the game. The object of
Gameplay Competitive
game is for a player to direct the moving arrow
Panel Layout Multiple Player
(marked “1”, “2”, “3”, or “4” respectively) and Controls
avoid crashes. A player is eliminated when the Joystick: 4-way
moving arrow crashes into another object. Play (up, down, left, right)
continues until one player is left. After a crash, Monitor
the remaining player or players score one point Orientation: Horizontal
each. When one player remains, that is the end Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
of one “round” of play. Depending on the DIP CRT: Black and White
switch settings, there can be two to five rounds with a Color Overlay
of play per game. The entire screen is covered with
a blue overlay
The cabinet has a design similar to that of Sound Amplified Mono
Sega’s Turbo with its overhanging “hooded” (one channel)
top piece. The speaker grill is integrated into Cabinet Styles Uprigh
the marquee. The control panel, while having Cocktail
joysticks for four players, is no larger or wider
than a standard cabinet (for that time).
The logic boardset and power supply are simi-
lar to other Midway 8080-type games, and
also shares the same problems associated
with them (most notably failure of RAM chips
over time). There are DIP switch settings for
English, German, French, or Spanish test (on
screen), as well as a TEST mode for trouble-
shooting.
“arcade-museum.com”
Manufacturer Sega
Release 1977
Genre Skill
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Competitive
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Monitor
Orientation: Either
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
with a Color Overlay
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cross Fire
Cross Fire is a black and white
Manufacturer Taito shooting game where players use
Release 1977 a mounted bazooka. The game is a
Class Wide Release clone of Bazooka (1977).
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player excerpt from the flyer:
Gameplay Single • Insert coin(s), military targets
Controls and penalty targets appear ran-
Gun: Positional with trigger domly on the screen and the timer
Monitor
resets to ‘100’.
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
• The military targets have four
CRT: Black and White different values. TANKS(200),
Sound Amplified Mono TRUCKS(400), JEEPS(600), and
(one channel) MOTORCYCLES(800). These tar-
Cabinet Styles Upright gets move right to left and left to
right.
• While carefully avoiding the
STRETCHER-BEARER and AM-
BULANCE penalty targets, press
the trigger button on the bazooka
handle and shoot the enemies.
1977
20
Depthcharge
Manufacturer UPL/Gremlin
Release 1977
Class Wide Release Depthcharge, which uses a at a time) to destroy the subma-
Genre Shooter black-and-white CRT display, rines and moves the ship back
Hardware Sega VIC Dual presents the player with a and forth in order to avoid the
Mode 1 Player cut-away view of a section of submarines’ mines. Up to four
Gameplay Single ocean, on the surface of which submarines may be present at
Panel Layout Single Player is a destroyer with submarines any given time, each of which
Controls passing beneath it. The player bears a score for destroying it
Buttons: Rotational (left, right) drops depth charges (up to six that increases with its depth.
Buttons: 2 [Fire Left|Fire Right]
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
Aqua-blue monitor plexiglass
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Sub Hunter
Manufacturer Taito
Release 1977
Genre Shooter
Cabinet Styles Upright
1977 Desert Gun
22
Manufacturer Midway
Release 1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Hardware Midway 8080
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating Desert Gun is a a shooting game that takes place in a
Panel Layout Single Player desert where players try to shoot roadrunners, buz-
Monitor zards and other animals. It is the same game as Mid-
Orientation: Horizontal way’s Road Runner gun game with only slightly differ-
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution ent back glass and cabinet graphics.
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Desert Patrol
Manufacturer Project Support Engineering
Release 1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Gun: Positional with trigger
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
Three-dimensional black-light In Desert Patrol, players must hit aircrafts with a heavy
interior graphics duty double barrel machine gun.
Sound Unamplified Mono
(requires one-channel amp) excerpt from the flyer:
Cabinet Styles Upright
Experience the true sights and sounds that immedi-
ately capture public patronage.
Utilizing a high speed microprocessing technique en-
gineered by PSE.
Backed by PSE’s proven reliability. Featuring
NEW improved after sale service.
1977
Destroyer 23
Manufacturer Atari
Release 1977 In Destroyer, the player attempts to sink ships
Class Wide Release and destroy submarines from the perspective
Genre Shooter of a naval destroyer. The playfield displays the
Hardware Motorola 6800 players ship moving across the surface (dis-
Mode 1 Player played as a wavy line) and submarines mov-
Gameplay Single ing across the screen. The target depth is set
Panel Layout Single Player using a dial control (displayed as a dashed
Monitor line). Depth charges are dropped by pushing
Orientation: Horizontal
the dial control. The speed of the ship is con-
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
trolled using a speed lever control. Charges
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono that miss make a low boom. Charges that hit
(one channel) make a louder boom and trigger an explosion
Cabinet Styles Upright sequence. Points are awarded for successful
hits. The game is timed, so the goal is to sink
or destroy as many submarines as possible
before the time expires.
Manufacturer Midway
Release 1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Sports
Hardware Midway 8080
Double Play is a baseball arcade game which was re- Mode 2 Players simultaneous
leased by Midway Games in 1977; it utilizes an Intel Gameplay Competitive
8080 microprocessor running at 1.9968 MHz, and is Panel Layout Multiple Player
the sequel to Tornado Baseball, which was released Controls
in the previous year. Unlike in the original, it is now Rotary: Analog [Move Outfielders]
possible to play against the CPU (which will always Joystick: 4-way (up-left, down-left,
start as the pitcher then take on the batter role af- up-right, down-right) [Pitch Control]
ter three outs have occurred) - but in the case of a Buttons: 1 [Swing]
Monitor
two-player game, both players will again play on the
Orientation: Horizontal
same $0.25. The pitching player must now use a di-
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
agonal 4-way joystick to select one of only four dif- CRT: Black and White
ferent pitches as opposed to the eight of the original, Sound Amplified Mono
while using a rotary controller to move the outfield- (one channel)
ers left and right; the batting player, however, must Cabinet Styles Upright
now again only use one button, to swing his bat. On Cocktail
the upright cabinet, both players will also again be
using the same set of controls, and will again have to
change places in front of the cabinet every time three outs oc-
cur - however, with the cocktail cabinet, they will have no need
to do this because of the dual controls. The number of innings
you will receive for one coin again depends on how the cabi-
net is set, but if it’s less than nine you’ll again have to insert
another coin to continue.
“strategywiki.org”
Drag Race
Manufacturer Kee Games
Release 1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Racing
Hardware Atari BW Raster
Board pin Drag Race Pinout
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Competitive
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Ambidextrous
Controls
Steering: Wheel
Shifter: 4-position (1/2/3/4)
Pedals: 1
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
with a Color Overlay
Multi-colored overlay: separate
colors for each track plus red,
yellow and green for the start tree
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Manufacturer Cinematronics
Embargo is a sea-battle game. It was the first original game Release 1977
from Cinematronics. It was created by Rob Shaver, a Cine- Genre Action
matronic technician who left the game industry shortly after Cabinet Styles Upright
Embargo to work for Motorola as a software engineer. His Cocktail
game was clever, simple, and most important, it made money
for Cinematronic.
“Encyclopedia of Video Games: L - Z., Volum 2”
Flying Fortress
Manufacturer Electra
Release 1976/1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player
Gameplay Single
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Buttons: 1 [Drop Bomb]
Joystick: 2-way (up, down)
with button [Fire]
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Flying Fortress II
Manufacturer Taito
Release 1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player
Gameplay Single
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Buttons: 1 [Drop Bomb]
Joystick: 2-way (up, down)
with button [Fire]
Taito Version Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Flying Fortress by Tatio is thought Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
to be a license of Electra Games CRT: Black and White
Flying Fortress. Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Flying Shark
Manufacturer Model Racing
Release 1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Scrolling Shooter
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player Flying Shark is a verti-
Controls cal scrolling air battle
Steering:
game where the player
X Yoke with two buttons [Fire]
Monitor
controls a biplane and
Orientation: Vertical battles enemy biplanes
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution in the sky.
CRT: Black and White
with a Color Overlay
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Gunman
Manufacturer Taito
Release 1977
Gunman is an arcade shooter released in 1977. The game
Class Wide Release
is a licensed version of Midways Boot Hill. The game was
Genre Shooter
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
released by Taito in Japan.
Gameplay Competitive
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Controls
Joystick: 8-way
Joystick: 8-way with button [Fire]
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
with a Color Overlay
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
1977
33
Guided Missile
Manufacturer Midway
Release 1977
Guided Missile, also known as Missile-X, Class Wide Release
is a fixed shooter arcade game released by Genre Shooter
Midway Games in 1977 and licensed to Hardware Midway 8080
Taito Corporation for Japanese manufac- Mode 2 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Joint
ture and distribution; it utilizes an Intel
Panel Layout Multiple Player Ambidextrous
8080 microprocessor (running at 1.9968
Controls
MHz), and the players must use a but- Joystick: 2-way (left, right)
ton to launch missiles at various targets Buttons: 1 [Launch]
that are moving across the screen. Once a Monitor
missile has reached the top of the screen, Orientation: Horizontal
it will start descending - and players will Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
have to push the 2-way joystick left (and CRT: Black and White
right) to aim it towards the targets. As Sound No Audio
with many other early Midway games the Cabinet Styles Upright
gameplay is time-based as opposed to
life-based; and it will also get extended if
players manage to score a certain amount
of points before the timer runs out. The
Taito Corporation version of this title also
has a different score display.
“strategywiki.org”
Game Action
Steer your arrow with four
directional buttons into the
100-to-900 points targets
that appear and disappear
at random.
M-4
Manufacturer Midway
Release 1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
M-4 is a versus shooter arcade game Mode 2 Players simultaneous
that was released by Midway Games in Gameplay Joint
1977; it utilizes an Intel 8080 micro- Panel Layout Multiple Player
Monitor
processor (running at 1.9968 MHz),
Orientation: Horizontal
and both players must use a vertical Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
2-way joystick to take up control of a CRT: Black and White
tank on their side of the screen (if only Sound Amplified Mono
one player is present, that tank on that (one channel)
left side of the screen will be control- Cabinet Styles Upright
led by the CPU) with a single button to
make it fire shots at the white barrier in
front of it and wear it away. When one
of the tanks fires a shot at the other one
and hits it it will explode, and the firing
player will receive a random amount excerpt from the flyer:
of points - and as with Gun Fight and Midway’s M-4 Combat Strategy Game
Boot Hill, the other tank will then get • 1 or 2 player game
resurrected as the players game con-
• Featuring tanks, jeeps, planes
tinues. As with several other early Mid-
way games, the gameplay’s time-based • Realistic battle sounds
(as opposed to life-based), but there’s • Target score 1 - 30 points
no extended play; it is also worth not- • Micro-processor logic system
ing that this title was developed by the • 23” solid state monitor
company “Arcade Engineering” for • Adjustable timer and extended play
Midway.
• Built-in RAM and ROM tester
“strategywiki.org” • Variable coinage
• Double 25¢ coin chuter
• Size 65-1/2” (166.2 cm) Height
26-1/2” (67.3 cm) Width
33-3/4” (85.4 cm) Depth
1977 M-79 Ambush
38
Manufacturer Ramtek
Release 1977
Class Wide Release Gameplay consists of various “targets” (tanks, The previous non Micro-Processor games were
Genre Shooter jeeps, etc.) moving left-to-right (and right-to-left) what was called “strokers” - in other words the
Mode 2 Players simultaneous across the screen. The trick is to correctly time the
Gameplay Joint CRT beam was moved (stroked) in a pattern to
fire from the M-79 grenade launcher (otherwise render the game action. M-79 had a small raster
Panel Layout Upright
Monitor
known as a “bloop gun”) to hit the targets. The memory and scanned the crt just as a TV does to-
Orientation: Horizontal shots take some time to hit the target, as they fol- day. It was all new technology for games to render
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution low a long, arcing trajectory, much like firing a real live action on the screen with a raster display.
CRT: Black and White bloop gun.
Ramtek was the first to develop raster scan Micro
Sound Amplified Mono M-79 Ambush was the first video game to use a Processor control display systems and used that
(one channel) Micro Processor (Intel 8080) to control the game. basic concept in this game.
Cabinet Styles Upright It was probably the first game to use a true memo- “arcade-museum.com”
ry-based raster scan display.
FEATURES:
• 3 Dimensional Racing Track
• Realistic Sounds
• 23” Solid State Monitor
• Switch Adjustable Extended Play
• Switch Adjustable Time Control
• Fully Responsive Steering
• Bonus Time Variable
• One Coin, Two Coin
1977
42
Pool Shark
Manufacturer Atari
Release 1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Pool
Board pin Atari BW Raster
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Controls
Joystick: Analog
Buttons: 1 [Shoot]
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Pool Shark is a billiard game from Atari. The analog joystick controls
the position of the cue ball and players move the cue ball around ram-
ming into the other balls trying to get them to drop into the pockets. It
is a timed game so the quicker players can sink those balls the better.
If they get the cue ball to close to the pockets they’ll scratch and loose
their turn.
excerpt from the flyer:
Pool Shark.™ A whole new ball game.
A totally new concept in profit making excitement, Pool Shark brings
the popular theme of pool to a highly competitive yet easy to play vid-
eo game...
Number 8 in the side...
Replay is designed into the play action. The more it’s played, the higher
the potential score. Players can’t resist coming back to improve their
skill.
Each player gets 30 seconds to sink a “rack” of 15 balls. Players
compete against each other and the clock to hit as many balls as possi-
ble into the “pockets” with the video cue ball without “scratching” and
losing time. 1 point is awarded for each ball sunk.
Durable new joystick controls (PC board adjustable) move the
cue ball continuously in any direction. Players can “chase” balls, use
cushion and deflection shots as in real game.
1977
43
Manufacturer Midway
Release 1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Mode 2 Players
Road Runner (later changed to Desert Gun) is a
Gameplay Alternating
first-person shooter arcade game. The reason for Panel Layout Single Player
the name change is not like that of Midnite Rac- Controls
er to Datsun 280 Zzzap; when Midway merged Gun: Positional with trigger
with Bally, they had also released a game called Monitor
“Road Runner” but may have been for the reason Orientation: Horizontal
to avoid legal issues with Warner Bros. who had Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
created a cartoon character called “The Road CRT: Black and White
Runner” in 1948. That character would later go Sound Amplified Mono
on to appear in an Atari arcade title, from 1985, (one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
also titled Road Runner. MAME lists this game
as Desert Gun.
Road Runner utilizes an Intel 8080 micro-
processor (running at 1.9968 MHz), and the
player must use a lightgun (made up to look
like a hunting rifle) with a trigger to shoot
various animals (including road runners),
for points. As with several other early Mid-
way games, the gameplay is time-based, as
opposed to life-based - and much like in Sea
Wolf, the game will be extended if you man-
age to reach a preset amount of points be-
fore the game timer runs out.
“arcade-museum.com”
Scratch
Manufacturer Universal
Release 1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Breakout
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cocktail
Score
Manufacturer Exidy
Release 1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Action Score was referred to as “The Love Machine”. Oddly, the
Hardware Exidy Discrete Logic game was actually another extension of the Destruction
Mode 2 Players simultaneous Derby concept with the cars replaced by bar patrons. Set
Gameplay Competitive in a singles bar, the object of the game was to “score”
Panel Layout Multiple Player with as many members of the opposite sex as possible.
Controls When the onscreen Lothario made contact with the ob-
Joystick: 8-way ject of his (or her) affections, a heart appeared on screen.
Monitor
A cocktail version of the game came in a heart-shaped
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution cabinet. Exidy also built an optional dispenser that could
CRT: Black and White be attached to the game giving tokens in response to high
Sound Amplified Mono “score”s. Despite the innovative concept, amorous bar
(one channel) patrons understandably preferred the real thing and the
Cabinet Styles Upright game failed gain interest.
Cocktail “allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.no”
1977
48
Safari
Manufacturer Sega/Gremlin
Release 1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Hardware Sega Vic-Dual
Mode 1 Player
Gameplay Single
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Joystick: 4-way excerpt from the flyer:
(up, down, left, right) Gremlin’s newest video game
Joystick: Special [Fire] clears the path to profits!
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Ready
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution It’s a ONE-PLAYER battle against the
CRT: Black and White jungle. A hunter has 90 seconds to stalk
Sound Amplified Mono and shoot four different kinds of wild an-
(one channel) imals. The more often he hit his prey, the
Cabinet Styles Upright higher the score. And the animals are
out to get the hunter.
Aim
Safari is an arcade game released by The player operates two controls. One
Gremlin Industries (in 1977); players use moves the hunter in the field; up, down,
two four-directional joysticks to move a right and left. The other aims and fires
hunter around the screen and make him the gun.
shoot at animals with his rifle. In each Fire
round, players will have ninety seconds Hit a snake or a lion for 100 points, a
to make the hunter shoot the different 200-point boar or a 300-point vulture.
types of animals as they approach him in But be careful! If an animal strikes the
order to score points before they get him hunter, he falls. And there’s a time-lost
- snakes and lions are worth 100 points, penalty in returning the hunter to the
wild boars are worth 200 points, and vul- safety of his hut. The animals move fast-
tures are worth 300 points. If an animal er and faster until the hunt comes to a
should get the hunter, he will have to go furious finish.
to the “hut” (the white vertical line in the R-R-Real jungle sounds.
centre of the screen) in order to recov- Gremlin’s famous audio engineering has
er, and lose time for it. When the score recreated the jungle and its wild crea-
reaches 2000, 4000, 6000, and 8000, tures with sound-sensations.
animals start moving faster. It’s also
worth noting that if players have man- Other Features:
aged to amass a score of over 3000 points 19” solid state TV monitor
at the end of the game, it will result in 30 Power: AC, 110V-115V-230V, 50/60 Hz,
further seconds of extended play. 130 watts. 3-wire cord with safety inter-
“strategywiki.org” lock on game access door. Grounding re-
quired.
Weight: 187 lbs. (86 kg)
Solid state circuitry for dependable op-
eration.
1977
49
Safari
Manufacturer Taito
Release 1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Safari is a licensed version by Taito Corporation Mode 1 Player
released for Japanese manufacture and distribu- Gameplay Single
tion. As with Hustle, when this game was licensed Panel Layout Single Player
to Taito Corporation, it was released as part of Monitor
their third “Taitronics T.V.” series. Orientation: Horizontal
The Taito version has birds, lions, deer, and buf- CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
falo as the animals while the Gremlin version has
(one channel)
snakes, lions, boars, and vultures.
Cabinet Styles Upright
features were unique to this game. First, excerpt from the manual:
the game could not be played in “one Generally speaking, your Space trol panel switches and all coin and credit
player” mode; a human opponent was Wars game is designed much the same as information and to create all the digital
required. Second, the player’s ship could conventional video games. The only ma- signals used in providing the visual dis-
take a glancing hit without dying, but jor exception to this is the fact that the play. It also contains all the software (i.e.,
would suffer damage; a cloud of loose Space Wars game is provided with an al- machine language and game personality
ship fragments would break off and float ternate means of visual display: the pat- memory) needed to control the game op-
away, after which the ship would be vis- ented Vectorbeam™ monitoring system. eration and to generate the proper vec-
ibly damaged on screen and would turn The game is, however, built of the tors needed to display.
and accelerate more slowly. Third and same basic building blocks as any other In fact, the CPU logic board con-
most memorable was that the duration of video game. tains a great portion of the vector gen-
play for any contest was solely governed The Central Processing Unit, con- erating system, which also includes the
by the amount of money deposited; each tains circuitry to strobe and interpret all display unit. The CPU logic board also
quarter bought a minute and a half of input functions including the player con- controls the switching (electrically) of the
play. A dollar bought six minutes, and for audio printed circuit board.
a ten dollar roll of quarters two players
could play non-stop for an hour.
With the market matured since Bushnell’s
Computer Space failure, Space Wars is a
big hit for Cinematronics, selling 30,000
units and staying in the top 10 money
earning arcade games for three years.
It was quickly imitated by Atari
(Orbit, 1978 raster).
“thedoteaters.com”
Cinematronics/Vectorbeam
Taito Version (1978)
Version (1978)
1977
52
Space War is a 1977 clone of Cinematronics Space Wars- the first game
Space War to use vector graphics technology. The game is based on Spacewar!
which was one of the first video games created. Space War and Space
Manufacturer Vectorbeam Wars are essentially the same game in different cabinets. The designer,
Release 1977 Larry Rosenthal, of the original Space Wars and of vector-based graphic
Genre Space created Space War as well. After creating Space Wars at Cinematron-
Cabinet Styles Upright ics, Rosenthal felt that he was not getting paid enough. Rosenthal left
Cocktail Cinematronics taking the vector graphics technology with him. Under
his own video game company Vectorbeam, Rosenthal made a copy of
Space Wars and aptly named it Space War. The two-player Space War
consists of two spaceships battling in outer-space. The game was made
more complex by the introduction of the concept of damage: a ship could
be damaged without being fully-annihilated. Space War allowed players
to create the rules of their universe: the amount of gravity, the presence
of absence of a star, and an open or a closed universe. Vectorbeam and
Rosenthal’s technology were eventually bought by Cinematronics. Space
Wars was the start of a new generation for Cinematronics. The vector-
based graphics became the foundation of Cinematronics games in the
early 80s.
“museumofplay.org”
1977
Special Break 55
Double Break
Play: Two balls are served to 2 paddles. Each
bricks knocked out counts double as long as 2 balls
are in play.
Scoring: As long as the player keeps its 2
balls, the mark ed points are counted double
Progressive Break
Play: Progressive Breakout starts with 2
“walls” of 4 rows of bricks that “fall” or scroll con-
tinuously from the top of the monitor. New rows of
bricks will be entered from the top to form a pattern
of 4 rows bricks separated by 4 rows of blank. This
permits players to break through many times during
play. As game progresses, the bricks “fall” faster and
faster.
Cavity Break
Play: Two extra balls are “captured” in a cav-
ity within the wall of bricks. These captured balls do
not knock out bricks until they are freed from their
cavities. This allows up to 3 balls in play at once. Each
brick will count double when 2 balls are in play and
triple when 3 balls are in play.
Scoring: Same as Double Breakout.
1977 Springboard
56
Star Cruiser
Manufacturer Subelectro
Release 1977 Manufacturer Ramtek
Class Prototype Release 1977
Genre Breakout Class Wide Release
Mode 2 Players Genre Shooter
Gameplay Alternating Mode 2 Players simultaneous
Panel Layout Single Player Gameplay Competitive
Monitor Panel Layout Multiple Player
Orientation: Horizontal Controls
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution Buttons: Rotational (left, right)
CRT: Black and White Buttons: 3 [FireForward
with a Color Overlay ThrustFire Guided Missle]
Sound Amplified Mono Monitor
(one channel) Orientation: Horizontal
Cabinet Styles Upright Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono (one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Manufacturer Atari
Release 1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Racing
Mode 8 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Competitive
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Controls
Steering: Wheel
Shifter: 4-position (1/2/3/4)
Pedals: 1 [Accelerate]
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Stereo
(two channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Super Crash
Manufacturer Video Games Gmbh
Release 1977
Genre Breakout
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cocktail
Mini
Concept art
1977
63
Super High-Way
Manufacturer Taito
Release 1977
Class Wide Release
Genre Racing
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Steering: Wheel
Shifter: 2-position (low, high)
Super High-Way Pedals: 1
is a vertical black Monitor
and white car racing Orientation: Vertical
game from Taito. It might Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
be a clone of Midway’s CRT: Black and White
280-ZZZAP, based on the flyer. Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
1977
67
Super Knockout is a colorful ball and paddle game where the Super Knockout
player destroys bricks by bouncing the ball at them with the
Manufacturer Subelectro
paddle. The game is similar to “Breakout”.
Release 1977
Genre Breakout
excerpt from the flyer: Mode 2 Players
A BRITISH MANUFACTURED VIDEO GAME Gameplay Alternating
A micro processed game of highly successful wall game. Panel Layout Single Player
OBJECT OF GAME: Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
To eliminate as many brikcs as possible.
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
FEATURES OF GAME: CRT: Color
One or two players Sound Amplified Mono
Choice of three games at player’s option (one channel)
Game one “Twosome” Cabinet Styles Upright
Game two “Escape”
Game three “Advance”
Variable ball speed
Variable bat size
Highest score of the day for each game displayed
T.T Block
Manufacturer Taito
T.T Block is a a ball and paddle game where
Release 1977
Class Wide Release players control a paddle and tries to rebound
Genre Breakout a ball into the bricks.
Mode 2 Players The initials TT stand for T able T ype, a defi-
Gameplay Alternating nition by Taito to indicate that it is a cocktail
Panel Layout Single Player type cabinet .
Controls
Joystick: 2-way (left, right) TT Block is a very interesting
Monitor title from a technical point of
Orientation: Vertical view. Although it was made in
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution 1977 , its set of two logic cards
CRT: Black and White does not use any type of proces-
Sound Amplified Mono sor or EPROM . The only type of
(one channel) electronic component is a logi-
Cabinet Styles Cocktail cal port type. For this reason TT
Block can not be emulated.
1977
68
Tic Tac Quiz
Manufacturer Sega
Release 1977 If making money instead of service calls ap-
Class Wide Release
peals to you, ask your area distributor about the
Genre Trivia
sensational new TIC TAC QUIZ.
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Joint The more you look into TIC TAC QUIZ, the
Panel Layout Multiple Player better it looks.
Monitor • Mar-proof, drink-proof, burn-proof surface.
Orientation: Horizontal • Sealed switches with no moving parts to wear out.
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
• Both top and TV flip up for easy servicing.
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
• Reliable Motorola monitor.
(one channel) • Trouble-free tape cassette player.
Cabinet Styles Upright • Stylish formica cabinet for long life and high
Cocktail trade-in.
Coin Conditions:
excerpt from the maual: Operator may select one of three modes.
TIC TAC DOUGH. 1. one coin (25¢) one or two players
In our business, it’s not how you play the 2. two coins (50¢) one or two players
game - but how often. So SEGA has come up with 3. one coins (50¢) two players
TIC TAC QUIZ, the game nobody plays just once. Coin Conditions:
Designed to harvest quarters everywhere, Previous game (X’s and O’s) displayed on CRT.
from the cocktail lounge to the arcade, this chal- Winning combination flashing 1 sec. rate.
lenging new game combines Tic-Tac-Toe with a Last question, answer and correct answer
video quiz. displayed
Here’s the way it works. A quiz question No sound. No flashing lights.
appears on the screen demanding an AGREE or No instructions - displayed in hard copy on
DISAGREE answer. If the player answers cor- glass top.
rectly, his X or O appears in the chosen square.
If he’s wrong, his opponent’s symbol appears in-
stead. The first player who gets three X’s or O’s
in a row, or five of a kind, wins. And since TIC
TAC QUIZ stores 2,500 questions for random
call-up, the game never loses its appeal.
Both models (table and upright) can be
operated by one or two players, one or two coins,
and let you adjust time limits and free game op-
tions.
TIC TAC QUIZ is built in America by
SEGA, so it’s exceptionally rugged, reliable and
simple to service. The control switches have no
moving parts, are sealed against liquids and may
be cleaned with a sponge.
A flip-top, fold-out cabinet design reduc-
es service time to a minimum.
Twin Course T.T. 1977
69
Manufacturer Sega
Twin Course T.T., is a discrete logic arcade game released Release 1977
by Sega in 1977. It is motorbike racing game, a two player Genre Racing
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
version of Man T.T.
Gameplay Competitive
Though the cabinet has two screens and two sets of Panel Layout Multiple Player
controls, the games are not linked - it would be many Monitor
years until actual twin arcade cabinets were pro- Orientation: Either
duced, Sega’s first effort being Rad Rally in 1991. Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
This game is virtually unknown as like many Sega re-
with a Color Overlay
leases from the 70s, there is little information to be Sound Amplified Mono
found on it (one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
World Cup
Manufacturer Sega
Release 1977
Genre Sports
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Competitive
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: TV Monitor
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
2 Game Module
Manufacturer Atari
Release 1977-1978 This Atari release combines 2 games and 2 monitors into a
Class Wide Release single cabinet that didn’t take up much more space than a
Genre Compilation standard cabinet. One monitor was mounted in the bottom
Gameplay Alternating of the cabinet pointed upwards and the image was reflected
Cabinet Styles Upright
to the player with a mirror at a 45-degree angle. A unit was
on display at the 1978 IAAPA show.
“allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.no”
Manufacturer Meadows
3-D Bowling is a black-and-white bowling game from Release 1978
Meadows. Class Wide Release
Genre Sports
excerpt from the flyer: Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
All the excitement and emotion you’d feel if you were Panel Layout Single Player
really trying to bowl that 300 game. Monitor
The ball is automatically served to the next bowler Orientation: Vertical
up. It comes from the pin area, down the gutter, and Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
into the bowler-figure’s hands. The bowler immedi- CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
ately stands up. The player moves him into the lane
(one channel)
and lines him up. Hopefully for a strike!
Cabinet Styles Upright
The ball can be thrown fast or slow. The “Flim-Flam Cocktail
Hook” will make the ball move in a right or left direc-
tion as long as the hook button is depressed. Let up
on the button and the ball straightens up.
Watch the figure on the TV! Slow Flim Flam hook action,
he’ll do slow “Body English.” Fast back ‘n’ forth Flim Flam hook-
ing, he’ll dance a jig!
STRIKE! The bowler jumps up and down; the spectators cheer
with clapping, whistling, and footstomping sounds.
OPEN FRAME? Happens to the best of bowlers. The man
throws his hands to his head in exasperation.
TEETERING PIN! Watch it. Sometimes it teeters and stays up;
you’ve blown a spare.
BEER FRAME! What’s more American than mom and apple
pie? Bowling and beer frames. You never know in which frame
it’s going to appear. Adding excitement and suspense, the Beer
Frame comes up randomly anywhere from frame 1 to 9. (Opera-
tor option)
FLIP-FLOP FEATURE on 3-D cocktail table. When there are
two players, opponents sit opposite each other and the full alley
is presented to each as his turn comes up.
STRIKINGLY HANDSOME cocktail table with burnt orange
laminate top and black padded vinyl sides.
NEW PROFIT OPERATOR OPTIONS
Game time is operator adjustable to 3, 4, 5, or 120 seconds be-
fore ball is automatically bowled. (No time limit also available.)
Coin Options. 1 coin per player, 2 coins per player, or 1 or 2
players per coin.
At no extra cost and always standard: Motorola monitor
(23” Upright; 19” Cocktail Table). Meadows quality and reli-
ability.
1978
74
Acrobat
Manufacturer Taito
Acrobat and Clowns is a clone of Circus by Exidy. Players Release 1978
bounce a character around on a seesaw and break balloons. Class Wide Release
Genre Breakout
excerpt from the Clowns Flyer: Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
• A fun filled one or two player game with dual controls Panel Layout Single Player
• Players bounce clowns off “see-saw” to break rows of bal- Monitor
loons for high score and bonus jumps Orientation: Horizontal
• ‘Clowns’ features a 23” solid state monitor Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
• Electronic musical sound effects CRT: Color
• Adjustable jumps 2, 3, 4, 5 Sound Amplified Mono
• Bonus jump feature (one channel)
• Adjustable pricing Cabinet Styles Upright
• Double 25¢ coin chutes
• Micro processor logic system
• Built in ROM and RAM
testor
Manufacturer Atari
Release 1978
Class Prototype Atari Mini Golf is a black and white
Genre Sports mini golf game.
Monitor
The game never made it out of its
Orientation: Vertical
prototype state and was never re-
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White leased.
Cabinet Styles Upright
Avalanche
Manufacturer Atari
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Action
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Buttons: 1 [Serve]
Rotary: Analog
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
with a Multicolored Overlay
Sound Sound: Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Avalanche is an arcade with a six-storied platform and with extending lines meant to
game designed by Dennis the player loses one platform convey the motion of falling
Koble and released by Atari per row of rocks cleared. The rocks. The screen is black and
in 1978. The object is to catch player scores points for those white with two colored strips to
falling rocks with a controllable rocks they prevent from reach- provide colored rows of graph-
set of paddles that diminish in ing the ground. The farther ics as in Breakout.
number and size as the rocks the row of rocks, the smaller The circuit board is based on
fall faster and faster. The con- and faster they become. The the 6502 CPU, with game code
cept gained a much wider audi- ultimate goal is to get enough stored in multiple ROMs. All
ence after Activision released points so that the player can game text is selectable to 4
an unauthorized adaptation in continue the game should they different languages: English,
1981 as Kaboom! for the Atari lose their first one. French, German, or Spanish.
2600. Avalanche is housed in a cus- Avalanche also includes a built-
Avalanche is for 1 or 2 players, tom cabinet that includes 2 in self-test diagnostic program
with no simultaneous game- large lit start buttons and a ro- that displays all microproces-
play. There are six rows of rocks tary controller. The side art and sor and memory functions.
to deal with. The game starts bezel feature groupings of rocks
1978
76
Barrier
Manufacturer Vectorbeam
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Maze
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
In this very basic game, players move a small trian-Panel Layout Single Player
gle around on the grid, while attempting to avoid Controls
the diamonds that are also moving around on the Buttons: Directional
grid. Reaching the end of the grid teleports the (up, down, left, right)
player back to the front of the grid to gain points.Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
The game is played on a 3x9 grid that is displayed
Type: Vector
at angle to make it appear to be in 3-D. CRT: Black and White
Barrier ran on the Cinematronics hardware plat- Sound Amplified Mono
form, which also ran such games as “Warrior”, (one channel)
“Speed Freak”, and “Star Hawk”. It used a huge Cabinet Styles Upright
X-Y monitor that was almost entirely covered with
a monitor bezel that only allowed the small trian-
gular playfield to show through.
Around 70 percent of the monitor’s excerpt from the Flyer:
total area was hidden from the play- Avoid the forces of evading diamond
er. The monitor was too large for the shaped alien forces. Are they super-
cabinet, it actually poked out through natural or intergalactic? No time to
a notch in the back door. The control tell. A second’s hesitation means in-
panel featured a Start button and four stant destruction. Each forward move
directional buttons, even though this scores a point for the good guy!...
title would have been better with a The Features
4-Way joystick. The sideart shows a • Patented Vectorbeam™ monitor
picture of a blue wizard who has the system
playfield of the game as his body, and • Coin accumulator circuit
the same wizard is repeated on the • Low maintenance push button play-
monitor bezel that blocks out most er controls
of the screen. This game had a metal • Lasting player appeal for one or two
marquee that did not light up. The players
marquee graphics were also repeated
Shipping Weight: 275 lb.
directly below the control panel.
69 in x 25 in x 26-1/2 in
“arcade-history.com” 175 cm x 64 cm x 67 cm
1978
Blasto 77
Manufacturer UPL
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Mode 2 Players excerpt from the Flyer:
Gameplay Alternating GAME ACTION:
Panel Layout Single Player
Monitor SINGLE PLAYER CHALLENGE
Orientation: Horizontal You are in control of your spaceship as you maneu-
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution ver it through a mine field. Beat the clock to ex-
CRT: Black and White plode all the mines and win a FREE game. High
Sound Amplified Mono score indication brings them back for more.
(one channel) TWO PLAYER FRENZY
Cabinet Styles Upright
With two players, BLASTO gets even more chal-
lenging, more exciting, as each one battles for the
most mines and ultimately - for each OTHER! If
Blasto is a 1978 arcade game by Grem- there ever was a “cabinet rattler”, this is it. That’s
lin. The player controls a spaceship and why we put special care into making the controls
have a limited time to clear a board rugged.
full of mines. There is only one button, SKILL AND STRATEGY
which shoots. If a mine explodes, its ex- BLASTO plays well at all skill levels. Beginners try
plosion can take out nearby mines, but to hit more 100 point mines than the opponent.
also hit the players, sending them back Look for high chains of mines for high-scoring
to the starting position and costing time chain reactions! Advanced players use high speed
(but there are no “lives”; the only way to maneuvering and firing for the 1000 point “kill”
game over is to run out of time). Touch- shot. Challenge and fun at all player levels are de-
ing a mine will not hurt players. There signed in for a long earning history.
is no level wrap; clearing a boundary
and then going through will only keep
players where they are on screen.
The World Champion for this game ac-
cording to Twin Galaxies Official Elec-
tronic Scoreboard Bert Ankrom is the
World Champion at the Blasto arcade
game with a verified score of 8,730
points.
1978
78
Block Fever
Manufacturer Nintendo
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Breakout Block Fever is a is a blatant Breakout clone that
Mode 2 Players served as one of Nintendo’s first video game releas-
Gameplay Alternating es. In the game players control a paddle and hit a
Panel Layout Single Player ball back upwards to break the blocks above. Once
Monitor
all of the blocks have been destroyed, the players
Orientation: Vertical
win that stage. Each stage has a different block
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color formation. A version of Block Fever came with the
Sound Unamplified Mono Color TV Block Kusure video game.
(requires one-channel amp) The game is listed as “Block Fiber” on arcade-mu-
Cabinet Styles Cocktail seum.com.
Block Game
Manufacturer Konami
Release 1978
In 1978 Konami created their first Class Wide Release
arcade machines: Block Game, Genre Breakout
which was a shameless copy of Mode 2 Players
Atari’s Breakout. Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
Cartoon Gun CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
Manufacturer Sega/Gremlin (one channel)
Release 1977/1978
Genre Shooter
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal Cartoon Gun, is a discrete logic arcade game re-
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution leased by Sega in 1977. It is a cartoonish shoot-
CRT: Color ing game with a positional rifle to shoot on-
Sound Amplified Mono screen targets.
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Blue Shark 1978
79
Manufacturer Midway
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player
Gameplay Single
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Gun: Positional with trigger
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White with a Color Overlay
Sound Amplified Mono (one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cascade
Cascade is an Avalanche clone.
Manufacturer Sidam
excerpt from the Flyer: Release 1978
Class Wide Release
• 1 or 2 players Genre Action
• The meteors fall randomly Mode 2 Players
• Increasing difficulty with time Gameplay Alternating
• The display of the maximum score of the day Monitor
stimulates emulation Orientation: Horizontal
• For language option CRT: Black and White
• Extended play option with a Color Overlay
• Self test Cabinet Styles Upright
• “Cold” p.c. board for increased reliability
Computer Othello
Manufacturer Nintendo
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Puzzle
Board pin Nintendo Classic
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Competitive Computer Othello was the first video
Panel Layout Multiple Player game both published and developed
Controls Differ
by Nintendo, and the first game devel-
Controls
Buttons: 5 [Green|
oped by Nintendo R&D1. While not the
Orange|Orange|Orange|Orange] first video game Nintendo was involved
Buttons: 5 with, it still makes its mark on history
[Blue|Blue|Purple|Purple|Red] for the various reasons listed above.
Monitor Computer Othello is a table top arcade
Orientation: Vertical game that was later released for retail
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution with the release of Computer TV Game.
CRT: Black and White The game was a computerized version
with a Color Overlay of the board game Othello.
Sound Amplified Mono “nintendo.wikia.com”
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Cocktail
1978
Computer - R3 81
Manufacturer Universal
Release 1978
Computer - R3 is a strategy game of Xs and Os. game is finished, the winner is one with the most Genre Puzzle
Players tries to fence in the opponent’s pieces pieces on the board. Mode 2 Players simultaneous
with their own pieces, one at a time-vertically, HOW TO PLAY THE GAME Gameplay Competitive
horizontally or diagonally. If their opponent’s Panel Layout Multiple Player
First, insert 50¢ coin.
pieces cannot be fenced in, the player must pass. Monitor
Next, depress the select button and in- Orientation: Horizontal
If the player fences in the opponent’s pieces, they dicate whether you want to play alone or with a Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
will become the player’s pieces. The one who has friend. If you are playing alone, the computer has CRT: Color
the most pieces on the board after the game is fin- the first move (O). If you are playing with a friend, Sound Amplified Mono
ished is the winner. the first move goes to the player on the opposite (one channel)
side of where the coin is dropped in. Cabinet Styles Cocktail
excerpt from the Flyer: Depress the “right arrow” or “up arrow”
THE RULES OF THE GAME button and decide where you will put your first
The game is a battle between O and X. piece. When the set button is depressed, the piece
The object is to use your own pieces one will automatically be set in the position you have
at a time to fence in the pieces of your opponent designated.
- horizontally, vertically or diagonally. When you If you cannot fence in your opponent’s
can’t fence in your opponent’s pieces, you have to pieces, depress the pass button. The game can be If you finish
pass. played until the timer reaches ‘0’. If it reaches the game before the
When you successfully fence in your oppo- ‘0’ before the game has finished, simply timer returns to ‘0’, de-
nent’s those pieces become your own. When the drop in another coin and the game press the reset button, select
can be continued. the game, and keep playing until
the time is up.
When all of the pieces
have been set in the squares and
the game is finished, depress the
identification button.
Dawn Patrol
Manufacturer Mirco
Release 1978 excerpt from the Flyer:
Class Wide Release Out of the sun they come. If either of them line up one
Genre Action you, it’s curtain for the...
Mode 2 Players Dawn Patrol!
Gameplay Alternating
MICRO Games puts you in the cockpit with this new,
Panel Layout Single Player
excitingly different electronic “dog-fight”. The action
Controls
Upright: X/Y-directional is so real, it’s hard to resist. Players try again and
yoke with trigger again to pit their skill against the deadly enemy aces.
Monitor Sometimes they lose - but you always win. “Dawn
Orientation: Horizontal Patrol’s” high appeal makes you the winner over and
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution over again. It’s compact arcade styling attractions at-
CRT: Black and White tention, fits easily into a 60” x 28” x 24” space. Here’s
Sound Amplified Mono your chance to add new fun, new excitement, and new
(one channel) profit to your business!
Cabinet Styles Upright
Depth Bomb
Manufacturer Sega
Depth Bomb is a Sega licensed ver- Release 1978
sion of Gremlin’s Depth Charge. Genre Shooter
Mode 2 Players
As in Depth Charge, players moves a
Gameplay Alternating
ship at the top of the screen left and Panel Layout Single Player
right while dropping depthcharges Monitor
on the submarines below to destroy Orientation: Horizontal
them. Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
with a Color Overlay
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
1978
83
Double Break
Manufacturer Science Engineering
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Ball and Paddle
Gameplay Competitive
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Cocktail
Extra Inning
Manufacturer Midway
Release 1978
Extra Inning is a baseball arcade game which was
Class Wide Release
released by Midway Games in 1978; it utilizes an
Genre Sports
Intel 8080 microprocessor running at 1.9968 MHz, Hardware Midway 8080
and is the third title in the Midway Baseball series. Mode 2 Players simultaneous
It is fundamentally the same as its predecessor, Gameplay Competitive
Double Play (released in the previous year), only Panel Layout Multiple Player
the pitching player’s joystick is back to being an Controls
8-way one (although the outfielders’ control is still Joystick: 8-way [Move|Fast Ball]
rotary) - and an eponymous “extra inning” bonus Buttons: 2 [Swing|Slow Ball/Curve]
will also be awarded when the players hit safely to Monitor
all fields marked with the six letters of the manufac- Orientation: Horizontal
turer’s name (indicated by their size increase in the Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
bottom-left corner of the monitor). The number of
Sound No Audio
innings players will receive for one coin again de- Cabinet Styles Upright
pends on how the cabinet is set, but if it’s less than
nine, players will once again have to insert
another coin to continue.
“strategywiki.org”
1978
86
Fire Truck
Manufacturer Atari
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Racing
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Joint
Panel Layout Multiple Player Controls Differ
Controls
First Player: [Steering Wheel|
Track Select|Horn|Accelerator]
Second Player: [Steering Wheel|
Track Select|Bell]
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Type: TV Monitor
CRT: Black and White
23-Inch, Motorola or Tec
Sound Amplified Mono (one channel)
Cabinet Styles Environmental Cockpit
Smokey Joe
Manufacturer Atari
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Racing
Hardware Atari B&W Raster
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player Smokey Joe is a one player version of Fire Truck.
Controls
Steering: Wheel excerpt from the Flyer:
Buttons: 1 [Horn] New one-player version of the profit-proven Fire Truck™ in a
Pedals: 1 [Accelerator] versatile new compact cabinet. Exciting hook and ladder fire
Monitor chase driving action. Unpredictable tracks. Players choose to
Orientation: Vertical
drive either cab or trailer “cooperating” with the computer as
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White alternate driving partner.
23-inch, Motorola or Tec
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
1978
88
Frogs
Manufacturer UPL
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player
Gameplay Single
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Joystick: 4-way (up-left, down-left,
up-right, down-right)
Buttons: 1 [Tongue]
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Nok-Out Boxing
excerpt from the Flyer:
Manufacturer Gamex Amusements, Inc.
Introducing a New Concept to the Coin Operated Game Release 1978
Industry Genre Sports
• Two player game Mode 2 Players simultaneous
• Each player has total control of his boxer Gameplay Competitive
• Player selects left and right punches Panel Layout Multiple Player
• Able to move boxer around ring Monitor
• Boxers appear on screen in true-to-life like images, totaly Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
animated, and in full color CRT: Color
• Actual knockdowns appear on the screen Sound Amplified Mono
A knockdown will occur when either boxer is hit 15 (one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
times (in the head). On third knockdown a KNOCK-
OUT will occur (boxer will remain in a down position
1978
90 Gee Bee
Manufacturer Namco
Release 1978 Gee Bee is a ball & paddle game released in 1978 by Namco and de-
Class Wide Release signed by Toru Iwatani. It is Namco’s first video arcade game and was
Genre Pinball released in the United States by Gremlin. Gee Bee was originally meant
Mode 2 Players to be a game that women could play; however, Pac-Man would later
Gameplay Alternating use this idea as well, and the game originated from Iwatani wanting to
Panel Layout Single Player
make pinball machines, with Namco declining the idea. Gee Bee is con-
Controls
sidered one of the rarest arcade games ever made due to its poor sales
Rotary: Analog
Monitor and increasing popularity of games like Space Invaders and Asteroids.
Orientation: Vertical Gee Bee received two sequels in 1979, Bomb Bee and Cutie Q, which
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution would later go on to be included in the Japanese release of Namco Mu-
CRT: Black and White seum Volume 2 in 1995.
Sound Amplified Mono “namco.wikia.com”
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Sega Version
Namco Version
1978
91
Manufacturer Sega
Release 1978
Pyramid
Genre Racing Manufacturer Sankyo
Mode 1 Player Release 1978
Gameplay Single Genre Ball and paddle
Panel Layout Single Player Mode 2 Players
Monitor Gameplay Alternating
Orientation: Vertical Panel Layout Single Player
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution Monitor
CRT: Black and White Orientation: Vertical
with a Color Overlay Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
Sound Amplified Mono CRT: Color
(one channel) Sound Amplified Mono
Cabinet Styles Upright (one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cocktail
Pro-Racer is a discrete logic arcade racing
game released by Sega during August 1978.
Dimensions: 68 x 90 x 170 cm. Pyramid is a colorful ball and paddle game
Weight: 115 kg. with an Egyptian motif sold in Japan.
1978
94
Orbit
Manufacturer Atari
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Space
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Competitive
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Stereo
(two channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Two players. Each player controls their LEDs to indicate which options were
spaceship (shaped like the Star Trek selected, with a different type of but-
Enterprise and Klingon ships) trying to tons from the small cabinet. It was a
destroy each other’s ship. One hit will large cabinet with the touch pad over
either partially or completely destroy the monitor. The stereo sound placed
the others ship. If partially, and space the sound where the objects were on the
stations are selected you can repair and screen.
rearm your ship to go back for revenge. Rubin also changed the option
This game is timed so there is no limit buttons to always work because he hated
on the number of ships you can have. that in ‘Spacewar!’, once players picked
Orbit was designed and programmed by the game and options, they were stuck
Owen Rubin. Rubin was basically asked with them for the entire game. If play-
to knock off Steve Russell’s ‘Spacewar!’ ers bought and were playing a 15 minute
in RASTER for the European market in game, it was a long time to realize they
just 6 to 8 weeks, it was done quickly and should not have picked negative gravity!
there are small mistakes. Rubin should Also, Rubin needed to add something to
have made the shots bigger for example, the game to make it different (in addi-
and the space stations could have had tion to the switchable options), so the
better graphics. But for a raster version idea of getting new fuel, shots, and re-
of an original vector game in those days, pairs from Space Stations seemed like a
Atari hit it fairly well. good idea at the time. It did not work as
There was 2 versions, a large up- well as Rubin thought it would. That is
right cabinet (that may never have been why they are an option.
shipped) and the smaller one with the An interesting note on Orbit was
long row of buttons. Atari did a very ad- that the space stations actually DO orbit
vanced version in the larger cabinet that the sun, they are not on tracks. Rubin
had an electronic touch pad and lots of gave them an initial hit of velocity at the
1978
95
start of each wave and the gravity routines do the rest (they ig-
nore negative gravity, because the first time players selected it,
they would fly off the screen). To test the gravity routines, on the
bench Rubin put the space stations into orbit around the sun,
and just let it run for days. Several days later, they were still in
orbit, but degraded a bit and a bit more elliptical. They finally
lost orbit a few days later. Not that Rubin needed to do this, he
could have put them on tracks, but he wanted his 8 bit gravity
math to work as well as possible all the other time.
Present in the same graphics ROM as the object graphics, these
initials (L.R., O.R., L.Y., M.H., and P.M.) are those of people who
worked at Atari’s early arcade days: Lyle Rains, Owen Rubin,
(unknown who L.Y. is), Morgan Hoff, and Paul Mancuso.
According to Rubin, the initials would be displayed if a
special sequence was entered on the game’s number pad. Un-
fortunately, close examination of the game’s code reveals that
this sequence is no longer present. Given that Atari had a thing
against crediting their game programmers/designers/etc., it’s
very possible they discovered the code and removed it rather
than erase the initials, figuring that there would be absolutely
no other way consumers would be able to see these.
“arcade-history.com”
Sea Wolf II was the first game to run on Mid- Sea Wolf II
way’s then-new Astrocade hardware (a Zilog
Z80 running at 1.789773 MHz, with a Bally Manufacturer Midway
Astrocade sound chip running at that same Release 1978
speed), and, as the name suggests, it’s the se- Class Wide Release
quel to Sea Wolf which had been released two Genre Shooter
years earlier. The gameplay is fundamentally Mode 2 Players simultaneous
the same as that for its predecessor - the play- Gameplay Joint
Panel Layout Multiple Player
ers (two can play simultaneously this time),
Controls
must use two “periscopes” to take control for
Periscope with button [Fire]
two virtual submarines, with a single button Monitor
to make them fire torpedoes at the various Orientation: Horizontal
enemy ships which are passing across the Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
surface of the ocean (at the top of the screen). CRT: Color
The torpedoes are launched from the bot- Sound Amplified Mono
tom of the screen and will move upwards to (one channel)
hit the enemy ships (but may get blocked by Cabinet Styles Upright
the mines floating at different depths of the
ocean); both of those submarines can fire five
torpedoes before they automatically reload
(as in that original game cabinet, two of the
transparencies inside both of the periscopes
were a display of remaining torpedoes and a
red reload light). The game will be extended
(for both players) if either one reaches a cer-
tain point amount before the timer runs out,
depending on what the arcade owner has set
it to, and can display on-screen text in four
different languages (English, French, Ger-
man and Spanish) - and like the original it
was later ported to the Commodore 64 sys-
tem in 1983 along with the Atari 800. It’s also
described as “the ultimate video game” on the
promotional flyer given that it was released
before the advent of Pac-Man, and may also
have been the first arcade title to make ex-
tensive use of colour (after some older games
had made limited use of it, including Atari’s
Sprint 8, released in 1977 and being the first
title from that company to allow up to eight
players to play simultaneously - and upon the
same cabinet as well).
“strategywiki.org”
1978
98 Shark Treasure
Seesaw Jump Manufacturer Universal
Release 1978
Manufacturer Sega Genre xxx
Release 1978 Mode 2 Players
Genre Breakout Gameplay Alternating
Mode 2 Players Panel Layout Single Player
Gameplay Alternating Monitor
Panel Layout Single Player Orientation: Horizontal
Monitor Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
Orientation: Horizontal CRT: Color
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution Sound Amplified Mono
CRT: Color (one channel)
Sound Amplified Mono Cabinet Styles Cocktail
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cocktail
Shuffleboard
Manufacturer Midway
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Sports
Hardware Midway 8080
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Trackball: Optical
Buttons: 1 [Select Game]
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Shuffleboard runs upon an Intel him. Also, if players roll too far in
8080 microprocessor (running at Game 2 the puck will land in “10 FOR
1.9968 MHz), and the players must OPPONENT”.
use a trackball for puck control (with “strategywiki.org”
Sky Raider
Manufacturer Atari
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Hardware Atari BW Raster
Board pin Sky Raider Dipswitch Settings
Mode 1 Player
Gameplay Single
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Steering: X/Y-directional yoke with
common thumb buttons [Fire]
Buttons: 1 [Cone]
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White with a red overlay.
Sound Amplified Mono (one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Skydiver
Manufacturer Atari
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Skill
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Rip Cord Parachute Handles
Buttons: 1 [Jump]
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
with a blue Color plexiglass Overlay
Sound Amplified Mono (one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
High Risk Scoring Challenge Built-In Reliability The coin mechanism mounted on the
As long as the jumper Skydiver’s unique self-test program front part of the cabinet below the control
is in freefall, the target displays all micro-processor and memory panel initiates the play. The cash box is lo-
gets smaller in size and functions. cated behind a locked access door to the coin
increases in point value Durastress™ tested all solid state mechanism.
- the longer the fall, the higher electronics, durable construction and Insta- The object of the Skydiver game is to
the score for hitting the target. part™ turnaround mean longer maximum successfully skydive from a traveling plane
Watch out! If the chute earnings and location life. to a ground target that appears in a different
is not pulled in time, the jumper Dimensions. position after each successful jump.
crashes and a video ambulance Height: 66”, 192 cm; The player watches wind speed and
carries off the unlucky jumper. Width: 25.5”, 62 cm; direction using the blue or black wind socks.
Built-In Incentive Depth: 27”, 69 cm; He or she must also judge target position,
The new S-K-Y-D-I-V-E-R Monitor: 23” B/W plane speed, duration of freefall before pull-
Spellout double score bonus is an ex- Cash in on High Flying Profits. ing the rip cord (to increase target score). Fi-
citing incentive feature. Get all the details from your Atari dis- nally, the player must guide the man into the
If the “Jump” button is pressed tributors now. target using the rip cord control (left or right).
when an individual letter in the name One or two players can simulate the
is flashing in the attract panel, the excerpt from the Manual: action of skydiving using the authentic rip
same letter appears on the monitor Skydiver™ is a one- or two-player ac- cord control.
and flashes... tion game developed by Atari, Inc. The game The Skydiver game has three different
If jump is successful, the let- is contained in an upright cabinet illustrated modes of operation:
ter stays lit. When all letters are lit, players with brightly colored graphics to further en- ATTRACT - Power accepted or as a result of
receives double score. And a musical fanfare hance player appeal. A 23-inch TV monitor is the end of a game
that lets everybody know! mounted in the top front of the cabinet. The READY-TO-PLAY - Coin accepted
More Options for Extra Profits TV monitor viewing screen is shielded by a PLAY - 4 to 5 seconds after start button is
Extended Play. An additional game Plexiglas® panel that also displays graphics. pressed
can be awarded for achieving pre-set “hard”
Player-operated controls are mount- Your new Skydiver game is manufactured by
or “easy” score levels.
ed directly below the TV monitor viewing Atari, Inc. and is ready to play immediately
Game Time. 3, 4, 5, or 6 “missed
screen on the front of the game cabinet. The on removal from the shipping carton. Your
jumps.”
controls consist of a rip cord control, a jump cooperation is desired to supply the final
Coinage. 1 coin for 1 player, 1 coin for
button and two LED switches labeled Black touch of quality control to your game.
2 players, 2 coins for 1 player, free play.
Player Start and Blue Player Start. A speak- Be sure all major assemblies are
Four Languages. Operators may se-
er mounted below the control panel provides checked.
lect English, French, German or Spanish vid-
the game sound.
eo message presentation.
1978 Space Invaders
104
Manufacturer Taito/Midway
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Space
Board pin Space Invaders Pinout the same sense of achievement from
Mode 2 Players completing stages and destroying tar-
Gameplay Alternating gets, but with more complex graph-
Panel Layout Single Player ics. Nishikado used a similar layout to
Controls
that of Breakout but altered the game
Joystick: 2-way (left, right)
mechanics. Rather than bounce a ball
Buttons: 1 [Fire]
Monitor to attack static objects, players are
Orientation: Vertical given the ability to fire projectiles at
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution their own discretion to attack moving
CRT: Black and White enemies.
with a Color Overlay Early enemy designs included
Sound Amplified Mono tanks, combat planes, and battleships.
(one channel) Nishikado, however, was not satisfied
Cabinet Styles Upright with the enemy movements; tech-
Cocktail nical limitations made it difficult to
Mini
simulate flying. Humans would have
been easier to simulate, but Nishikado
considered shooting them immoral.
Space Invaders is an arcade video After the release of the anime Space
game created by Tomohiro Nishikado Battleship Yamato in Japan, and af-
and released in 1978. It was original- ter seeing a magazine feature about
ly manufactured and sold by Taito in Star Wars, he thought of using a space
Japan, and was later licensed for pro- theme. Nishikado drew inspiration
duction in the United States by the for the aliens from H. G. Wells’ The
Midway division of Bally. Space In- War of the Worlds and created initial
vaders is one of the earliest shooting bitmap images after the octopus-like
games and the aim is to defeat waves aliens. Other alien designs were mod-
of aliens with a laser cannon to earn as eled after squids and crabs. The game
many points as possible. was originally titled Space Monsters,
Space Invaders was created by Tomo- inspired by a popular song in Japan at
hiro Nishikado, who spent a year de- the time (“Monster”), but was changed
signing the game and developing the to Space Invaders by Nishikado’s su-
necessary hardware to produce it. The periors.
game’s inspiration is reported to have Space Invaders is a two-dimension-
come from varying sources, including al shooter game in which the player
an adaptation of the mechanical game controls a laser cannon by moving it
Space Monsters released by Taito in horizontally across the bottom of the
1972, and a dream about Japanese screen and firing at descending aliens.
school children who are waiting for The aim is to defeat five rows of eleven
Santa Claus and are attacked by in- aliens—some versions feature differ-
vading aliens. However, Nishikado ent numbers—that move horizontally
has cited Atari’s arcade game Brea- back and forth across the screen as
kout as his inspiration. He aimed to they advance toward the bottom of the
create a shooting game that featured screen. The player defeats an alien,
1978
105
and earns points, by shooting it with the Rather than design the game to compen-
laser cannon. As more aliens are defeated, sate for the speed increase, he decided to
the aliens’ movement and the game’s music keep it as a challenging gameplay mecha-
both speed up. Defeating the aliens brings nism.
another wave that is more difficult, a loop Space Invaders was first released
which can continue without end. in a cocktail-table format with black and
The aliens attempt to destroy the white graphics, while the Western release
cannon by firing at it while they approach by Midway was in an upright cabinet for-
the bottom of the screen. If they reach mat. The upright cabinet uses strips of or-
the bottom, the alien invasion is success- ange and green cellophane over the screen
ful and the game ends. A special “mystery to simulate color graphics. The graphics
ship” will occasionally move across the are reflected onto a painted backdrop of a
top of the screen and award bonus points moon against a starry background. Later
if destroyed. The laser cannon is partially Japanese releases used rainbow-colored
protected by several stationary defense cellophane, such as T.T. Space Invaders,
bunkers that are gradually destroyed by followed by a version with a full-color dis-
numerous blasts from the aliens or player. play. The cabinet artwork features large
A game will also end if the player’s last la- humanoid monsters not present in the
ser base is destroyed. game. Nishikado attributes this to the art-
Because microcomputers in Japan were ist basing the designs on the original title,
not powerful enough at the time to per- Space Monsters, rather than referring to
form the complex tasks involved in de- the in-game graphics.
signing and programming Space Invaders, Despite its simplicity, the music to Space
Nishikado had to design his own custom Invaders was revolutionary in the gam-
hardware and development tools for the ing industry. Videogame scholar Andrew
game. He created the arcade board us- Schartmann identifies three aspects of the
ing new microprocessors from the United music that would have a significant impact
States. The game uses an Intel 8080 cen- on the development of game music:
tral processing unit, features raster graph- • Whereas video game music prior to Space
ics on a CRT monitor and monaural sound Invaders was restricted to the extremi-
hosted by a combination of analog circuitry ties (i.e., a short introductory theme with
and a Texas Instruments SN76477 sound game-over counterpart), the alien-inspired
chip. Despite the specially developed hard- hit featured continuous music—the well-
ware, Nishikado was unable to program the known four-note loop—throughout, un-
game as he wanted—the Control Program interrupted by sound effects. “It was thus
board was not powerful enough to display the first time that sound effects and music
the graphics in color or move the enemies were superimposed to form a rich sonic
faster—and he considered the develop- landscape. Not only do players receive
ment of the hardware the most difficult feedback related directly to their actions
part of the whole process. While program- through sound effects; they also receive
ming the game, Nishikado discovered that stimulus in a more subtle, non-interactive
the processor was able to render the alien fashion through music.”
graphics faster the fewer were on screen.
1978
106
• The music interacts with on-screen animation to time it had grossed $2 billion in quarters (equiv-
influence the emotions of the player. “That seem- alent to $7.5 billion in 2018), with a net profit
ingly pedestrian four-note loop might stir us in of $450 million (equivalent to $1.69 billion in
the most primitive of ways, but that it stirs us 2018). This made it the best-selling video game
at all is worthy of note. By demonstrating that and highest-grossing entertainment product of its
game sound could be more than a simple tune to time, with comparisons made to the then highest-
fill the silence, Space Invaders moved video game grossing film Star Wars, which had grossed $486
music closer to the realm of art.” million in movie tickets (costing $2.25 each on
• The music popularized the notion of variabil- average) with a net profit of $175 million. Space
ity—the idea that music can change in accordance Invaders had earned Taito profits of over $500
with the ongoing narrative. The variable in Space million. The 1980 Atari 2600 version was the first
Invaders (tempo) is admittedly simple, but its im- official licensing of an arcade game and became
plications are not to be underestimated. “Over the the first “killer app” for video game consoles by
years, analogous strategies of variation would quadrupling the system’s sales. It sold over two
be applied to pitch, rhythm, dynamics, form, and million units in its first year on sale as a home
a host of other parameters, all with the goal of console game, making it the first title to sell a mil-
accommodating the nonlinear aspect of video lion cartridges. Other official ports of the game
games.” were made for the Atari 8-bit computer line and
At the deepest of conceptual levels, one Atari 5200 console. Taito released it for the NES
would be hard-pressed to find an arcade game Instruction Card in 1985 (Japan only). Numerous unofficial clones
as influential to the early history of video game were made as well, such as the popular compu-
music as Space Invaders. Its role as a harbinger ter games Super Invader (1979) and TI Invaders
of the fundamental techniques that would come (1981), which was the top-selling computer game
to shape the industry remains more or less un- for the TI-99/4A through at least 1982.
challenged. And its blockbuster success ensured An oft-quoted urban legend states that
the adoption of those innovations by the industry there was a shortage of 100-yen coins—and sub-
at large. sequent production increase—in Japan attrib-
— Andrew Schartmann, Maestro Mario: How uted to the game, although, in actuality, 100-yen
Nintendo Transformed Videogame Music into an coin production was lower in 1978 and 1979 than
Art, Thought Catalog (2013) in previous or subsequent years. The claim also
doesn’t hold up to logical scrutiny; arcade opera-
After the first few months following its release in Control Panel tors would have emptied out their machines and
Japan, the game became very popular. Specialty taken the money to the bank, thus keeping the
arcades opened with nothing but Space Invaders coins in circulation. Reports from those living in
cabinets, and by the end of 1978, Taito had in- Japan at the time indicate “nothing out of the or-
stalled over 100,000 machines and grossed over dinary ... during the height of the Space Invaders
$600 million in Japan alone. Within two years invasion.”
by 1980, Taito had sold over 300,000 Space In- Game designer Shigeru Miyamoto con-
vaders arcade machines in Japan, in addition to siders Space Invaders to be the game that revo-
60,000 machines in the United States, where lutionized the video game industry; he was never
prices ranged from $2000 to $3000 for each ma- interested in video games before seeing it. Hideo
chine, within one year. The arcade cabinets have Kojima also described it as the first video game
since become collector’s items with the cocktail that impressed him and got him interested in
and cabaret versions being the rarest. By mid- video games. John Romero and John Carmack
1981, more than four billion quarters, or $1 bil- cited Space Invaders as their introduction to video
lion, had been grossed from Space Invaders ma- games. Several publications ascribed the expan-
chines, and it would continue to gross an average sion of the video game industry from a novelty
of $600 million a year through to 1982, by which Bezel Image
1978
107
into a global industry to the success of the game. As one of the earliest shooting games, it set prece-
Edge magazine attributed the shift of video games dents and helped pave the way for future titles and
from bars and arcades to more mainstream loca- for the shooting genre. Space Invaders popular-
tions like restaurants and department stores to ized a more interactive style of gameplay with the
Space Invaders. Its popularity was such that it was enemies responding to the player controlled can-
the first game where an arcade machine’s owner non’s movement, and was the first video game to
could make up for the cost of the machine in under popularize the concept of achieving a high score,
one month, or in some places within one week. being the first to save the player’s score. While ear-
Technology journalist Jason Whittaker lier shooting games allowed the player to shoot at
credited the game’s success to ending the video targets, Space Invaders was the first in which tar-
game crash of 1977, which had earlier been caused gets could fire back at the player. It was also the
by Pong clones flooding the market, and beginning first game where players were given multiple lives,
the golden age of video arcade games. Accord- had to repel hordes of enemies, could take cover
ing to The Observer, the home console versions from enemy fire, and use destructible barriers, in
were popular and encouraged users to learn to addition to being the first game to use a continuous
program; many who later became industry lead- background soundtrack, with four simple diatonic
ers. 1UP.com stated that Space Invaders showed descending bass notes repeating in a loop, which
that video games could compete against the major was dynamic and changed pace during stages, like
entertainment media at the time: movies, music, a heartbeat sound that increases pace as enemies
and television. IGN attributed the launch of the approached.
arcade phenomenon in North America in part to It also moved the gaming industry away
Space Invaders. Electronic Games credited the from Pong-inspired sports games grounded in re-
game’s success as the impetus behind video gam- al-world situations towards action games involv-
ing becoming a rapidly growing hobby and as “the ing fantastical situations. Whittaker commented
single most popular coin-operated attraction that Space Invaders helped action games become
of all time.” Game Informer considered it, along the most dominant genre on both arcades and
with Pac-Man, one of the most popular arcade consoles, through to contemporary times. Space
games that tapped into popular culture and gener- Invaders set the template for the shoot ‘em up
ated excitement during the golden age of arcades. genre. Its worldwide success created a demand for
In 1996, Next Generation put it at number 97 in a wide variety of science fiction games, inspiring
their “Top 100 Games of All Time”, saying that it the development of arcade games, such as Atari’s
“provides an elegance and simplicity not found in Asteroids, Williams Electronics’ Defender, and
later games like Phoenix.” IGN listed it as one of Namco’s Galaxian and Galaga, which were mod-
the “Top 10 Most Influential Games” in 2007, cit- eled after Space Invaders’s gameplay and design.
ing the source of inspiration to video game design- This influence extends to most shooting games
ers and the impact it had on the shooting genre. released to the present day, including first-person
The Times ranked it No. 1 on its list of “The ten shooters such as Wolfenstein, Doom, Halo and
most influential video games ever” in 2007. 1UP Call of Duty. Space Invaders also had an influence
ranked it at No. 3 on its list of “The 60 Most Influ- on early computer dungeon crawl games such as
ential Games of All Time,” stating that, in contrast Dungeons of Daggorath, which used similar heart-
to earlier arcade games which “were attempts to beat sounds to indicate player health.
simulate already-existing things,” Space Invad- Space Invaders, along with Pac-Man and Pong,
ers was “the first video game as a video game, in- shares the notorious distinction of being one of
stead of merely a playable electronic representa- the most duplicated, bootleged and/or hacked ar-
tion of something else.” In 2008, Guinness World cade games.
Records listed it as the top-rated arcade game in
technical, creative, and cultural impact.
1978
108 excerpt from the UAI Cocktail flyer:
This is the original Invaders, one of the “hot-
test” games on the market today.
Available in a table top format with a 14”
monitor and sound effects. Comes complete
excerpt from the Taito flyer: with decorative formica top, which elimi-
nates the worry about glass tops, and a color-
Tatio America introduces
ed plastic overlay.
THE NEW SPACE INVADERS
TRIMLINE • One or two players
• U.S. quarter coin chute
... the world’s most popular game
• All instructions in English
in the most compact cabinet!
• Adjustable leg height
‘Reach new profit heights!
‘Enter a galaxy of new locations!
It’s maximum fun and profit per
square foot! It’s the go-anywhere,
played-everywhere video from
Tatio.
Height: 138c/m (54”)
Width: 51 c/m (20”)
Depth: 61 c/m (24”)
Floor Space Required:
.31 sq.m (3.3 sq ft.)
Space King
Manufacturer Konami
excerpt from the Instruction Card: Release 1978
INVADER GAME Class Wide Release
a real thriller to play - how high can you score? Genre Space
Mode 2 Players
HOW TO PLAY: Gameplay Alternating
Either 1 or 2 people can play. For 2 players - sit Panel Layout Single Player
on opposite sides. Controls
25c - one player Joystick: 2-way (left, right)
50c - two players Buttons: 1 [Fire]
1. Insert coin(s) Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
2. Select either 1 player or 2 player yellow button.
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
3. For 2 players, when one cannon is destroyed
CRT: Color
it becomes the other players turn. Sound Amplified Mono
Alien Invasion Part II 4. Red button fires rocket from cannon.
5. Black handled lever moves cannon left and
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Cocktail
Manufacturer (unknown) right for avoiding invaders fire and aiming the
Release 1978 cannons rocket fire.
Class Bootleg 6. Hitting the UFO that appears across the top
Genre Space of screen from time to time scores a “Mystery”
Hardware Midway 8080 amount of points.
Mode 2 Players 7. A score of more that points gives you one ad-
Gameplay Alternating ditional cannon.
Panel Layout Single Player 8. Game ends when all of your cannons have
Controls
been destroyed or the invaders have taken over
Joystick: 2-way (left, right)
your territory.
Buttons: 1 [Fire]
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Star Rub
Manufacturer Universal
Star Rub is a ball and pad- Release 1978
dle game where points are Genre Ball and paddle
scored for erasing stars on Mode 2 Players
the screen. Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
excerpt from the flyer: Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Vanishing Stars Lure You To A Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
Space Adventure CRT: Black and White
“Star-Rub” is a new, competitive game Sound Amplified Mono
in which points are scored by erasing (one channel)
the 196 stars on the screen Cabinet Styles Cocktail
Space Walk
Manufacturer Midway
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Space
Hardware Midway 8080
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Competitive
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Controls
Rotary: Analog
Space Walk is an arcade game that was re- Buttons: 1 [Thrust]
leased by Midway Games in 1978; it utilizes Monitor
an Intel 8080 microprocessor (running at: Orientation: Horizontal
1.9968 MHz), and both players must use two Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
rotary controllers to direct a hovering plat- CRT: Black and White
forms across the screen (on the left side of Sound Amplified Mono
the screen, 1P’s is higher than 2P’s, and vice (one channel)
versa on that right side). At the start of the Cabinet Styles Upright
game a spaceman will walk into view from the
side of the screen, and then jump down onto
a platform - and, if there are not any other
spacemen upon the platform when he lands,
he will get into a rocket, then fly up to the top
of the screen, but players will have three sec-
onds to position it, before it launches (and
they can use this to hit the topmost targets).
Once he reaches the top of the screen, the
spaceman will get back out of the rocket; if
there is a spaceman on one side of the plat-
form, the game will continue (in a manner
like that of Midway’s own Clowns), until the
other player (or the CPU if only one person
is playing) catches the jumping spaceman,
which will trigger another rocket launch), or
both players miss him (and he falls off the
bottom of the screen).
“strategywiki.org”
Speed Freak
Manufacturer Vectorbeam
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player
Gameplay Single
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Steering: Wheel
Shifter: 4-position (1/2/3/4)
Pedals: 1
Monitor Space Wars). Speed Freak was Larry’s first
Orientation: Horizontal game for Vectorbeam, which he later sold to
Type: Vector Cinematronics.
CRT: Black and White The sideart consists of one sticker on each
Sound Amplified Mono side, displaying the name of the game on one
(one channel) side of a road and a speeding red car, from a
Cabinet Styles Upright topdown perspective, on the other side. The
marquee is metal and opaque, displaying the
name in the same lettering as the side with
Speed Freak is a monochrome vector arcade no bulb fixture or lighting of any kind behind
game created by Vectorbeam in 1979. Along it. The monitor bezel does not contain any
with Atari’s Night Driver, it is one of the ear- artwork. The control panel is black except
liest first-person driving games and the first for a yellow and red stripe curving around
such game known to use vector graphics. the wheel and shifter.
“arcade-museum.com”
The game is a behind-the-wheel driving
simulation where the driver speeds down a excerpt from the flyer:
winding computer generated road past other
Challenge the ever turning road with your
cars, hitchikers, trees, cows and cacti. Occa-
greatest speed. But be careful, you’re not
sionally a plane will fly overhead towards the
alone on the road. A true three-dimensional
screen. One must avoid crashing into these
car is constantly coming at you. Crashing
objects and complete the race in the allot-
into this car causes a spectacular three-di-
ted time. The player can crash as many times
mensional crash in which you see true actual
as he wants before the time runs out and
parts of the car exploding and spinning off
players were treated to two different crash
into the distance. Stay on the road or you
animations. The first was a simple cracked
can also crash, which brings up a cracked
windshield effect, the second was a crash
windshield. All crashes stop game play with
where the car explodes into car parts that fly
no loss of time, although the driver must get
through the air.
back up to speed by shifting through the four
This driving game is very intense. The per- gears.
spective is somewhat overhead and behind All this plus a four-speed gear shift,
the hood of the car. In fourth gear players are realistic scenery, hitchhikers and various
moving extremely fast and control is difficult, other objects enhance the game. Add to that,
making for exciting and hectic manuevers. extended play feature, selectable coinage
The oncoming traffic is always the same car and the ever popular Vector Monitor you
composed of 3-dimensional “wireframe” have the greatest single player upright driv-
vector graphics. ing game ever built.
Speed Freak was done by Larry Rosenthal, Available now through your nearest
(who had designed the original board and Vector Beam distributor.
1978
119
Sprint One
Manufacturer Kee Games
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Racing
Board pin Sprint One Pinout
Mode 1 Players
Gameplay Single
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Steering: Wheel
Shifter: 4-position (1/2/3/4)
Pedals: 1 [Accelerate]
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright The sleek wood grain adds even
more to the location versatility of this
popular attraction.
Sprint 1 is a racing arcade game, devel- 12 games in one.
oped by Kee Games for Atari in 1978; it The player sprints the clock around as
utilizes a Motorola M6502 (running at many tracks as possible with 2 computer
756 KHz), and, as the name suggests, it “drone” cars as constant traffic compan-
is the fourth title in their Sprint series. ions adding to the skill required. Hitting
The gameplay is identical to that of the “drone” cars causes temporary loss of
first title in the series, Sprint 2, which control and game time.
was released two years earlier, only with There are 12 different tracks that
the removal of the second-player capa- change automatically. Operators can
bility - and the tracks shall also advance program the game to change tracks after
automatically once the player has com- one lap or after every 2 laps.
pleted a full lap of the current one. Eve- Realistic acceleration, quick re-
rything else is the same. sponse steering, 4 speed shifting, “drift-
The game is housed in a black cabinet ing” on corners and optional oil slicks
with no art on the sides or front. Mini- add to the fast-paced driving action.
mal artwork surrounds the steering More realistic sound - the roar of
wheel and shifter. engines, the screeching of tires around
“strategywiki.org” turns and over oil slicks put the player in
the action,
excerpt from the flyer:
Exclusive operator options.
Sprint 1™ is the exciting new 1 player Extended play. An extra ride can be
version of the top earning Sprint 2™ awarded after a pre-selected score is
with new features and options added for reached by the driver. “Extended Play”
extra challenge, and extra replay. also flashes on the screen with a numeric
A new compact design along with count-down in seconds.
the same spectacular action play fea-
tures means Sprint 1 can now generate Oil slicks. You can have Sprint 1 with or
the same high collections as Sprint 2 in without oil slicks to add more challenge.
locations with less available floor space.
1978
120
Super Breakout
Manufacturer Atari
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Breakout
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Rotary: Analog
Buttons: 1 [Launch Ball]
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
with a Color Overlay
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Super Breakout is
three games in one.
Super Breakout features
three new “break-
out” games. Each is
player-selectable and
each requires even more
skill. New variety and
skill challenges repre-
sent unlimited replay at-
traction.
Double Breakout™
Play: Two balls are served to 2 paddles. Each
bricks knocked out counts double as long as 2
balls are in play.
Progressive Break-
out™
Play: Progressive
Breakout starts with
2 “walls” of 4 rows of
bricks that “fall” or
scroll continuously
from the top of the
monitor. New rows of
bricks will be entered
from the top to form a
pattern of 4 rows of blanks. This permits players
to break through may times during play. As game
progresses, the bricks “fall” faster and faster.
Cavity Breakout™
P l a y : Two extra balls
are “captured” in a cav-
ity within the wall of
bricks. These captured
balls do not knock out
bricks untill they are
freed from their cavities.
This allows up to 3 balls
at once. Each bricks will
count double when 2
balls are in play and tri-
ple when 3 balls are in
play.
1978 Super Break
122
Super Block Manufacturer Nihon Bussan/AV Japan
Release 1978
Manufacturer Taito Class Wide Release
Release 1978 Genre Breakout
Class Wide Release Mode 2 Players
Genre Breakout Gameplay Alternating
Mode 2 Players Panel Layout Single Player
Gameplay Alternating Monitor
Panel Layout Single Player Orientation: Vertical
Monitor Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
Orientation: Vertical CRT: Color
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution Sound Amplified Mono
CRT: xxx (one channel)
Sound Amplified Mono Cabinet Styles Cocktail
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Manufacturer Taito
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Sports
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cocktail
Manufacturer US Billiards
Manufacturer Sega
Release 1978
Release 1978
Genre Breakout
Genre Shooter
Cabinet Styles Cocktail
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Monitor excerpt from the flyer:
Orientation: Horizontal
• 1, 2, 3 or 4 Players
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
• Free Game
CRT: Black and White
with a Color Overlay • 19” Motorolla Monitor
Sound Amplified Mono • Electrical Counter
(one channel) • Isolated Cash Box
Cabinet Styles Upright • Slip-Clutch Potentiometers
• Attractive All Mica Cabinet
• Durable Construction
• Hinged, Locked Top Opens for Service
Wall Block
Manufacturer Taito
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Ball and Paddle
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Monitor Wolf Pack
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution Manufacturer Atari
CRT: Color Release 1978
Sound Amplified Mono Class Prototype
(one channel) Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
Seen described as “tabletop form- CRT: Black and White
factor block game machine”. Cabinet Styles Upright
1978 Ultra Tank
130
Manufacturer Kee Games
Release 1978
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Board pin Ultra Tank Pinout
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Competitive
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Controls
Joystick: 2-way (up, down)
Joystick: 2-way (up, down)
with button [Fire]
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
19-inch Wells-Gardner
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Video Pinball
Manufacturer Atari
Release 1978 Atari Video Pinball was the first simulation
Class Wide Release of pinball on a video screen. Video Pinball
Genre Pinball uses the 6502 CPU and the program is stored
Board pin Video Pinball Pinout
on proms rather than eproms. The game
Mode 4 Players
Gameplay Alternating
consists of a miniature raised foam playfield
Panel Layout Single Player mounted to the roof of the cabinet complete
Controls with a few dozen flashing red LED lamps.
Buttons: 2 [Left FlipperRight Flipper] The bottom half of the cabinet features a
Pinball Plunger 23” monitor with the tube pointed upward.
Other : [Pushing down on the control Sandwiched in between is a smoked two-way
panel simulates a nudge effect on mirror. Behind that, a black light to illumi-
screen] nate the playfield. The image from the play-
Monitor field is then reflected into the mirror while
Orientation: Vertical the monitor’s image of a moving ball and
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
drop targets shine through, creating the illu-
CRT: Black and White
Image is reflected into a mirror
sion of playing a live action pinball machine.
Sound Amplified Mono The control panel consists of a plunger with
(one channel) an optic board attached, flipper buttons
Cabinet Styles Upright on each side and a spring loaded pressure
switch for a nudge effect. It really does come
about as close to pinball as you can get with-
out actually using parts like coils, solenoids
or even a ball for that matter. Being from
1978, it has the standard sounds, pop bump-
ers, drop targets, rollovers, special lanes and
so on, all with a disco style theme. The play-
field even features disco dancers.
Since the arcade version of Video Pinball,
there have been tens, if not hundreds, of
translations of pinball to the video realm.
Some version of pinball has been released
for just about every home system since the
1970s.
Atari released an “official”home ver-
sion of Video Pinball for the Atari 2600 in
1980. It lacks just about everything that
makes the arcade version fun. The horizon-
tal aspect ratio of the screen and the anti-
gravity movement of the ball makes this a
boring and unrealistic pinball game.
“outerworldarcade.com”
“keithsarcade.com”
1978
133
4 Player Bowling Alley The game features an overhead view of a bowling lane. Play-
ers can select either flash or regulation bowling and also
Manufacturer Midway choose between either straight or hook shots. The game dis-
Release 1979 plays “Beer Frame” on the fifth and tenth frames. Players use
Class Wide Release a trackball to roll a bowling ball towards 10 pins in the hopes
Genre Sports of knocking over as many as they can.
Mode 4 Players
The cocktail version is oval shaped to accomodate a vertical-
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
ly oriented monitor and the long bowling alley. It is labeled
Monitor simply “Bowling Alley” and has a copyright date of 1979.
Orientation: Vertical Trackballs are mounted on boths ends of the machine.
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution “arcade-museum.com”
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cocktail
Amusement Keno
Manufacturer Sircoma/A-1 Supply
Class Wide Release
Genre Casino
Cabinet Styles Upright
Bike, which was never released due to an gave it to Delman, who finished the design
unsuccessful field test. He developed Super and first used it for Lunar Lander. Logg re-
Breakout after hearing that Nolan Bushnell ceived Delman’s modified board with five
wanted Breakout updated. Paul Mancuso buttons, 13 sound effects, and additional
joined the development team as Aster- RAM, and used it to develop Asteroids. The
oids’ technician and engineer Howard Del- size of the board was 4 by 4 inches, and it
man contributed to the hardware. During was “linked up” to a monitor.
a meeting in April 1979, Rains discussed Logg modeled the player’s ship,
Planet Grab, a multiplayer arcade game lat- the five-button control scheme, and the
er renamed to Cosmos. Logg did not know game physics after Spacewar!, which he
the name of the game, thinking Computer had played as a student at the University
Space as “the inspiration for the two-di- of California, Berkeley, but made several
mensional approach”. Rains conceived of changes to improve playability. The ship
Asteroids as a mixture of Computer Space was programmed into the hardware and
and Space Invaders, combining the two- rendered by the monitor, and was config-
dimensional approach of Computer Space ured to move with thrust and inertia. The
with Space Invaders’ addictive gameplay of hyperspace button was not placed near
“completion” and “eliminate all threats”. Logg’s right thumb, which he was dissatis-
The unfinished game featured a giant, in- fied with, as he had a problem “taking his
destructible asteroid, so Rains asked Logg: hand off the thrust button”. Drawings of
“Well, why don’t we have a game where asteroids in various shapes were incorpo-
you shoot the rocks and blow them up?” In rated into the game. Logg copied the idea
response, Logg described a similar concept of a high score table with initials from Exi-
where the player selectively shoots at rocks dy’s Star Fire.
that break into smaller pieces. Both agreed The two saucers were formulated to
on the concept. be different from each other. A steadily de-
Asteroids was implemented on creasing timer that shortens intervals be-
hardware developed by Delman and is a tween saucer attacks was employed to keep
vector game. Rains initially wanted the the player from not shooting asteroids and
game done in raster graphics, but Logg, saucers. The minimalist soundtrack fea-
experienced in vector graphics, suggested tures a “heartbeat” sound effect, which
an XY monitor because the high image quickens as the game progresses. The game
quality would permit precise aiming. The did not have a sound chip, so Delman cre-
hardware is chiefly a MOS 6502 execut- ated a hardware circuit for 13 sound effects
ing the game program, and QuadraScan, a by hand which was wired onto the board.
high-resolution vector graphics processor A prototype of Asteroids was well
developed by Atari and referred to as an received by several Atari staff and engi-
“XY display system” and the “Digital Vec- neers, who would “wander between labs,
tor Generator (DVG)”. passing comment and stopping to play
The original design concepts for as they went”. Logg was often asked when
QuadraScan came out of Cyan Engineer- he would be leaving by employees eager
ing, Atari’s off-campus research lab in to play the prototype, so he created a sec-
Grass Valley, California, in 1978. Cyan ond prototype specifically for staff to play.
1979
138
Atari went to Sacramento, California for test- shoot directly at the player’s position on the that “If imitation is the sincerest form of flat-
ing, setting up prototypes of the game in local screen, the player could “hide” at the oppo- tery, then [Atari’s Asteroids has] a lot to be
arcades to measure its potential success. The site end of the screen and shoot across the proud of ... Its popularity has inspired nu-
company also observed veteran players and screen boundary, while remaining relatively merous imitations”, including eight for per-
younger players during focus group sessions safe. Complaints from operators losing rev- sonal computers. The Mattel Intellivision ti-
at Atari itself. A group of old players familiar enue due to lurking led to the creation of an tle Astrosmash was conceived as Avalanche!
with Spacewar! struggled to maintain grip EPROM restricting such chances. Usage of after Meteor! did not take up the cartridge’s
on the thrust button and requested a joy- the names of Saturday Night Live characters entire ROM space. Meteor!, an Asteroids
stick, whereas younger players accustomed “Mr. Bill” and “Sluggo” to refer to the saucers clone, was cancelled to avoid a lawsuit and
to Space Invaders noted they get no break in an Esquire article about the game led to Avalanche! was released as Astrosmash. The
in the game. Logg and other Atari engineers Logg receiving a cease and desist letter from resultant game borrows elements from As-
observed proceedings and documented com- a lawyer with the “Mr. Bill Trademark.” teroids and Space Invaders, both which also
ments in four pages. Asteroids received positive reviews influenced Defender and Gravitar, two popu-
The first Asteroids cabinets used a different from video game critics and has been regard- lar and often cloned arcade games. Quality
coin-door. The quarters were placed through ed as Logg’s magnum opus. Brett Alan Weiss, Software’s Asteroids in Space (1980), anoth-
one of two round openings large enough for writing for Allgame, likened the monochrome er Asteroids clone, was one of the best selling
the quarter to fit through. The quarter is vector graphics to minimalism and viewed its games for the Apple II and was voted one of
placed flat against a wall just inside the open- sound effects as memorable. Weiss found its the most popular software titles of 1978-80
ing and released. The quarter drops down for overall design to be near-perfect and cites by Softalk magazine.
a credit. The display showing the cost of a the intensity and controls as elements that Others clones include Acornsoft’s Me-
credit is labeled between the two coin open- make the game addicting. He admitted the teors, Moons of Jupiter for the VIC-20, Min-
ings. The lettering describing the game play game is easily understandable and “holds up eStorm for the Vectrex. Apple-Oids is a 1980
is also in yellow instead of white on the moni- extremely well over time”. William Cassidy, clone for the Apple II, with asteroids in the
tor overlay. writing for GameSpy’s “Classic Gaming”, no- shape of apples.
ticed its innovations, including being one of Asteroids has been ported to multiple platforms,
Asteroids was immediately successful upon
the first video games to track initials and al- including much of Atari’s hardware (Atari 2600
release. It displaced Space Invaders by popu-
low players to enter their initials for appear- and 8-bit computers in 1981, Atari 7800 in 1987,
larity in the United States and became Atari’s
ing in the top 10 high scores, and commented, Atari Lynx in 1994) and many other platforms.
best selling arcade game of all time, with over
“the vector graphics fit the futuristic outer Released in 1981, the 2600 port was the first game
70,000 units sold. Atari earned an estimated
space theme very well.” In 1996, Next Gen- to use bank switching, a technique developed by
$150 million in sales from the game, and ar-
eration listed it as number 39 on their “Top Carl Nielsen’s group of engineers that increased
cade operators earned a further $500 million
100 Games of All Time”, particularly laud- available ROM space from 4 KB to 8 KB.
from coin drops. Atari had been in the proc-
ing the control dynamics which require “the
ess of manufacturing another vector game, On November 13, 1982, 15-year-old Scott Safran
constant juggling of speed, positioning, and
Lunar Lander, but demand for Asteroids of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, set a world record of
direction.” Asteroids was ranked fourth on
was so high “that several hundred Asteroids 41,336,440 points on the arcade game Asteroids,
Retro Gamer’s list of “Top 25 Arcade Games”;
games were shipped in Lunar Lander cabi- beating the 40,101,910 point score set by Leo
the Retro Gamer staff cited its simplicity and
nets”. Asteroids was so popular that some Daniels of Carolina Beach on February 6, 1982.
the lack of a proper ending as allowances of
video arcade operators had to install large In 1998, to congratulate Safran on his accomplish-
revisiting the game. In 2012, Asteroids was
boxes to hold the number of coins spent by ment, the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard
listed on Time’s All-TIME 100 greatest video
players. searched for him for four years until 2002, when
games list. Entertainment Weekly named As-
The saucer in the original game de- it was discovered that he had died in an accident
teroids one of the top ten games for the Atari
sign was supposed to take a shot as soon as in 1989. In a ceremony in Philadelphia on April
2600 in 2013. It was added to the Museum
it appeared. This action was altered so there 27, 2002, Walter Day of Twin Galaxies presented
of Modern Art’s collection of video games. By
would be a delay before the saucer shoots, an award to the surviving members of Safran’s
contrast, in March 1983 the Atari 8-bit port
leading to “lurking” from players. Lurking is family, commemorating the Asteroid Champi-
won sixth place in Softline’s Dog of the Year
a strategy in which the player uses thrust to on’s achievement. On April 6, 2010, John McAl-
awards “for badness in computer games”,
keep the ship in motion, leaves 1 or 2 asteroids lister broke Safran’s record with a high score of
Atari division, based on reader submissions.
undamaged, and hunts for saucers, allowing 41,338,740 in a 58-hour Internet livestream.
the player to pick off as many 1,000-point The gameplay in Asteroids was imitated by
UFOs as possible and play indefinitely on many games that followed, mostly “Asteroid
a single credit. Since the saucer could only clones”. By December 1981 BYTE observed
1979
excerpt from the Cocktail manual: 139
TABLE TOP
SUPPORT ARM
START
SWITCHES
TV MONITOR
Taito version
1979
142
Hyperspace
Manufacturer Rumiano
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Space
Mode 2 Players Hyperspace is an Asteroids Clone in an Upright Cab. The
Gameplay Alternating game has been found in the Netherlands.
Panel Layout Single Player The three game ROMs are identical to Asteroids Rev.01,
Monitor
only the Vector ROM at position NP3 is different. The
Orientation: Horizontal
Main PCB is largely identical to the original from Atari.
Type: Vector
CRT: Black and White The PCB is labeled with “Hyperspace”. The Monitor is
Cabinet Styles Upright a Hantarex b/w XY Monitor which is very common for
european B/W Vector clones at this time.
“andysarcade.de”
Planet
Manufacturer Alpha Denshi/Alca
Release 1979
Class Bootleg
Genre Space
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Buttons: Rotational (left, right)
Buttons: 3 [Fire|Thrust|Hyperspace]
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Vector
CRT: Black and White
Sound Unamplified Mono
(requires one-channel amp)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cocktail
Planet is a European Asteroids clone - notable for rather unremarkable in appearance, and it was a
bright artwork and a Hantarex vector monitor. It Japanese style cocktail and not an American style
is also noteworthy to mention that all “Planet” ma- one. Japanese style cocktails have metal legs,
chines contain the earliest revision of the Aster- American style ones do not.
oids software, while almost all actual “Asteroids” This game uses a black and white Hantarex
machines contain a later revision designed to dis- X/Y monitor. This is unusual because it is a moni-
courage lurking. tor that doesn’t exist according to Hantarex. It ap-
Most bootleg games were circuit boards purchased pears they produced the monitor under the table,
from mail order houses located overseas, but Alca as they didn’t want to officially custom produce a
actually shipped entire machines. monitor for a bootleg game.
The cocktail version was a little uncommon, it was “[email protected]”
Meteor 1979
143
Manufacturer Hoei International
Release 1980
Class Bootleg
Genre Space
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Buttons: Rotational (left, right)
Buttons: 3 [Fire|Thrust|Hyperspace]
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Vector
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cocktail
Asteroide
Manufacturer Maxenti
Release 1980
Genre Space
Cabinet Styles Upright
Atari Soccer
Atari Soccer is a top-view, two- or four-player soc-
Manufacturer Atari cer game. The game was programmed by Dave
Release 1979 Theurer, who created the classics Missile Com-
Class Wide Release mand and Tempest as well as I, Robot and APB.
Genre Sports
Mode 4 Players simultaneous excerpt from the flyer:
Gameplay Either
New from Atari Sports™.
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Monitor New Atari Soccer continues the winning tradition
Orientation: Horizontal of the Atari Sports group. With dynamic play-
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution again realism that simulates all the action and ex-
CRT: Black and White citement of an actual match.
Sound Amplified Mono 2 or 4-Player Action.
(one channel) 4-Player Game
Cabinet Styles Cocktail
In a 4 player contest, each two man team can expe-
rience the extra challenge of playing cooperatively
against an opposing 2-man squad. Each team plays
with 2 controllable players, 1 computer-controlled
player and a computer-controlled goalie.
The right Trak-Ball controls players marked
with X, the left Trak-Ball controls players marked
with O.
2-Player Game
In a two-player contest, each opposing player con-
trols one man assisted by a computer-controlled
player and computer-controlled goalie.
Only the right Trak-Ball is active in this
mode.
Exciting Play Option Features Challenge
Players to Test Their Skills.
Kick/Pass Option. When the player with the
ball activates the “Kick” button, the ball is released
in the direction that player is facing.
When a teammate has the ball, activation
of the “Kick” button will force the ball to be passed
to the player pressing the “Kick” button.
Offside Option. Playing with the “Offsides Rule”
in effect limits an offensive player from receiving
a pass from a teammate unless there are at least
two defensive players between him and the goal in
the opponents’ half of the field. Penalty: Defend-
ing team receives a free kick.
Add-A-Coin™. Each additional coin adds time-
play. Players may buy extra time for longer unin-
terrupted action.
Scoring:
1 point is awarded per goal.
Shoot for Bigger Profits.
1979
146 Atari Baseball
Manufacturer Atari Atari Baseball utilizes a Motorola M6502
Release 1979
(running up at 750 KHz), and both play-
Class Wide Release
ers must use a trackball to control their
Genre Sports
Board pin Atari B&W Raster
respective stick-figure team, with two
Mode 2 Players simultaneous buttons (one to scroll through the pitch-
Gameplay Competitive ing/hitting choices, or swing the pitch-
Panel Layout Multiple Player er’s bat, and another to make the pitcher
Controls throw the ball, or confirm a pitching/
Trackball: Optical hitting choice). One credit buys a cer-
Buttons: 2 [Scroll/Swing/Pitch|Select] tain number of innings, depending on
Monitor how the cabinet is set. Just like with real
Orientation: Horizontal baseball, whoever has scored the most
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution runs by the end of that ninth inning (or
CRT: Black and White
in this game, if neither player has anoth-
Sound Unamplified Mono
(requires one-channel amp)
er coin to continue at the end of the last
Cabinet Styles Cocktail paid-for inning) wins the game; if both
players’ scores are tied by the end of the
ninth inning, the game will go to a tenth
inning, but if they’re still tied by the end
of the tenth inning the game will end.
This was originally meant to be the first title from
Atari to showcase digitized speech; Dan Pliskin
had designed a speech board that featured the
calls of an umpire, but the company rejected the
idea.
“strategywiki.org”
Atari Basketball
Basketball, released in May 1979, was notable
as the first basketball video game to make use of Manufacturer Atari
a trackball for player movement and the first to Release 1979
use the angled side view which became a com- Class Wide Release
monly used perspective in the basketball video Genre Sports
games that followed. Board pin Atari B&W Raster
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
A year earlier Atari had released Basketball for Gameplay Competitive
the Atari VCS (2600) and the arcade’s game play Panel Layout Multiple Player
is very similar to the console. The main differ- Monitor
ence between the two is the use of a Trak-Ball Orientation: Horizontal
instead of a joystick and as one would expect the Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
graphics and sound effects found in the arcade CRT: Black and White
game are a lot better. Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Basketball supports one and two player modes
Cabinet Styles Upright
and uses a trackball to control each player’s
movement. At the start of each game, the song
“Sweet Georgia Brown” is played. Players must
first gain possession of the ball and move to-
wards their opponent’s goal. When in position
for a shot, the pushbutton is held until the play-
er’s arm is at a suitable height and the button is
released. Shots can be blocked by an opponent,
and, when dribbling, an opponent can steal the
ball. The winner is the player with the highest
score when the clock runs out.
The game is known for having one of
the first clearly African-American vid-
eo game characters.
Michael Jackson used to own this
game. It was sold at the official Michael
Jackson Auction on Apr. 24th, 2009.
Atari Football
Manufacturer Atari
Release 1978/1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Sports
Mode 4 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Either Control Panel In this game, the sport of American football is
Panel Layout Multiple Player emulated, with players represented by Xs and
Monitor Os. The game was one of the most popular arcade
Orientation: Vertical games in its day. Later, Atari released a more
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution challenging four-player version programmed by
CRT: Black and White Dave Theurer, the creator of Missile Command
Sound Amplified Mono
and Tempest.
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Cocktail (2 Player) Although not the first trackball game
Cocktail (4 Player) (the first was Soccer by Taito in 1973),
Atari Football was the game that is
credited with popularizing the track-
ball. Considered physically exhausting
to play, Atari Football involves spin-
ning the trackball as fast as possible to
win the game. Just 90 seconds of play
could result in sore palms, and longer
could cause blisters. Nevertheless,
Atari Football was as popular as Space
Invaders during the 1978 football sea-
son, but its popularity waned later on.
Atari Football is sometimes credited
as one of the first games to accurately
emulate sports.
On the 4-player table, the trackballs on the right side
of the two control panels are for the quarterbacks, and the
ones on the left side of them are for the receivers - and both types
of table also have “Play Select” buttons upon their control panels,
which can be used to select plays (and, in the case of the offensive
team, to pass the ball to the receiver). The players must roll their
trackballs in the direction they want their letters to go; they can also
pass the ball by pressing the Play Select button, and tackles can be
made by touching another letter, with the ball. The 4-player table
also added another play for the offensive team: Punt/ Field Goal,
for which the Play Select button could be used to kick the ball - and,
just like in real U.S. football, a touchdown is worth 6 points while a
field goal is worth 3 points, a safety and a conversion are both worth
2 points and a kicked conversion is worth 1 point. Whichever team’s
scored the most points when the timer runs out wins the game.
1979
149
Ball Park
Manufacturer Taito
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Sports
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Joint
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Monitor excerpt from the flyer:
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution • Solid State T.V. Monitor
CRT: Color • Ball and Strike Feature
Sound Amplified Mono • Pitch Control
(one channel) • Outfielder Control
Cabinet Styles Upright • Double Plays
Cocktail • 1 or 2 Player Game
• Double Coin Chutes
• Cabinet Dimensions
64 1/2 x 26 1/2 x 23 7/8
Ball Park II
Manufacturer Taito
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Sports
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Joint
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Cocktail
1979
Bomb Bee 151
Manufacturer Namco
Release 1979
Bomb Bee is a mix of video pinball Class Wide Release
and break-out game. It is played with Genre Pinball
paddle controls. The purpose of the Bomb Bee N was designed to run on
Mode 2 Players
game is to rack up as much points as Nintendo arcade cabinets. The ‘N’ in Gameplay Alternating
possible, through elaborate scoring this name indicated it was the Nin- Panel Layout Single Player
mechanisms, simliar to Nintendo’s tendo version. Controls
Monkey Magic from the same year. Bomb Bee-N remains the single co- Rotary: Analog
Occasionally the ball will get operation on arcade hardware be- Monitor
stuck in a very long loop (this usu- tween Nintendo and Namco, until Orientation: Vertical
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
ally happens with the pop bumpers). 2002 (when the companies joined
CRT: Color
Players can sit back and relax while forces, together with Sega, to create
Sound Amplified Mono
the points rack up, but eventually the a shared arcade hardware platform, (one channel)
game will figure out the ball is stuck called Triforce.) Cabinet Styles Upright
and shoot it out in some other direc- Bomb Bee is a historical game for Cocktail
tion. several reasons. It is only the second
Clearing out the side sections video game produced by Namco, fol-
of bricks will turn the same side pop- lowing the 1978 game Gee Bee, to
bumper into 100 points instead of 10. which it was a sequel.
Clearing the top section of bricks will
Both these games were designed by
then show a 1000 point pop bumper.
Touru Iwatani, creator of Pac Man.
Hitting the 1000 point pop bumper
Originally he wanted to make pinball
several times will cause it to explode
machines for Namco, but Namco did
and a new set of bricks will show.
not want to do pinball so this series of
Get the ball to light up “N A M
games is the resulting compromise.
C O” on the screen to increase the bo-
“beforemario.com”
nus multiplier.
“arcade-museum.com”
Bomb Bee-N
1979
152
Clay Shoot
Manufacturer Allied Leisure Industries
Release 1979
Genre Shooter
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cocktail
Cosmic Attackers
Manufacturer Elcon Industries
Release 1979
Genre Shooter
Cosmic Attackers is a Space Invaders
Cabinet Styles Upright
clone by Elcon Industries. The game Cocktail
feature two horizontal control but-
tons (left, right) and a fire button.
Cosmic Guerilla
Manufacturer Universal
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Board pin Cosmic Guerilla Dipswitch
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical Cosmic Guerilla is a 1979 fixed shooter
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution arcade game developed by Universal,
CRT: Black and White the company that would later create
with a Color Overlay Mr. Do!. A ZX Spectrum port was pub-
Sound Amplified Mono lished by Crystal Computing in 1983.
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright The player takes control of a laser can-
Cocktail non at the bottom of the screen whose
movement is limited to left and right,
and must fire at the aliens above. In
contrast to Space Invaders the aliens
are arranged in a single vertical line
on each side of the screen, with their
movement being towards the centre,
one or more at a time, in an attempt
to capture and remove the player’s
shields. The aliens cannot be hit by
the player’s shots until they begin to
move, and the player may only fire
one projectile at a time.Once a row of
shields has been removed, one of the
player’s “lives”, is exposed and able to
be captured. Occasionally a very fast
“mothership” will appear and traverse
the screen just above the player drop-
ping bombs.
There are six levels of difficulty
along with four game modes allowing
combinations of the regular game, bo-
nus enemies, and faster aliens. There
is also a two player mode where play-
ers take alternative turns.
1979
155
Cosmic Monsters II
Manufacturer Universal
Release 1979
Class Concept, One-Off, or Hoax
Genre Space
Gameplay Single
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Monitor
This appears to be a fol-
Orientation: Horizontal
low up to Cosmic Mon-
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
sters. CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cocktail
1979
158
Crash
Manufacturer Exidy
Release 1979
Class Wide Release Crash is a two-dimensional maze rac-
Genre Racing ing game designed and programmed the same maze in the opposite direc-
Mode 2 Players by Edward Valeau of Exidy in 1979. tion with the intention of ramming you.
Gameplay Alternating The player “control” a car with no At each of four junctions in the maze,
Panel Layout Single Player brakes which moves at either slow or the player have the option of changing
Controls fast speed through a maze containing lanes to avoid the oncoming cars. The
Joystick: 4-way dots. At the same time, one or more objective is to pick up all the dots be-
(up, down, left, right) computer controlled cars run through fore the computer takes the player out.
Buttons: 1 [Fast]
Monitor “mamedev.org”
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
with a yellow overlay
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cocktail
1979
159
Cutie Q
Manufacturer Namco
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Pinball
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Rotary: Analog
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
ner of the screen (to show a player how his The game was ported to the Atari 2600 in
score measures against those of the 99 pre- 1983 under the title of Sub Scan (known as
vious players). It also features red (“bonus”) Subterfuge during development), and was
submarines, and if players manage to drop included as a minigame in the Sega Saturn
a bomb on them, they will receive bonus port of Die Hard Arcade. This version re-
points for doing so; also, if a mine launched tains the original graphics but includes up-
by an enemy submarine hits their boat, it dated sound, and every 200 points earned
will sink it instead of reducing the amount will give the player an extra credit for use in
of points they will receive for all the subse- the main game.
quent submarines by half, given that this “segaretro.org”
Destination Earth
Manufacturer “Unknown”
Release 1979
Exodus Class Bootleg
Genre Shooter
Manufacturer Subelectro
Mode 2 Players
Release 1979 The game is a bootleg Gameplay Alternating
Class Bootleg of Lunar Rescue. The Panel Layout Single Player
Genre Shooter graphics are essential- Controls
Mode 2 Players Joystick: 2-way (left, right)
ly monochrome with
Gameplay Alternating Buttons: 2 [Thrust/Fire]
a separate circuit that
Panel Layout Single Player Monitor
Controls gives color to rectangu-
lar sections of the dis- Orientation: Vertical
Joystick: 2-way (left, right) Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
Buttons: 1 [Fire] play.
CRT: Color
Monitor Sound Amplified Mono
Orientation: Vertical (one channel)
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Manufacturer Zaccaria
Release 1979 Dodgem is a 2-D maze racing game. Players control
Genre Racing their boat through the maze to pick up the dots while
Mode 2 Players at the same time avoiding the boat, or boats, that are
Gameplay Alternating constantly trying to ram them.
Panel Layout Single Player
The player’s boat can travel at two speeds, a
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal normal speed which is the same speed as computer-
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution controlled cars, or if the player presses the controller
CRT: Color button, his or her car travels at a fast speed—double its
Sound Amplified Mono normal speed. The computer-controlled cars have only
(one channel) one speed. Players change lanes by pushing the control-
Cabinet Styles Upright ler in the appropriate direction when their car is near
one of the gaps in the roadway.
Double Block T3
Manufacturer Sega
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Ball and Paddle
Gameplay Competitive
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Cocktail
Field Goal
Manufacturer Taito
Release 1979 excerpt from the manual:
Class Wide Release Field Goal is a clone of the • 1 or 2 player game.
Genre Sports game Breakout, where the • 1 coin; 1 game (1 player)...
Mode 2 Players player must use the rotary 3 balls (adjustable to 5 balls)
Gameplay Alternating knob to control a paddle and • 2 coins; 2 games (1 player)
Panel Layout Single Player or 1 game (2 players)
hit the ball into the red, yel-
Controls
low and blue helmets on the • After inserting Coin(s), press
Rotary: Analog
Buttons: 1 [Serve] screen. Each time a row of either one two player button
Monitor helmets is cleared out, a new to start game.
Orientation: Vertical row will appear in its place. • After finish game-start mu-
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution If the player hits the orange sic, helmets (blue, yellow, and
CRT: Color area towards the top of the red ones), the paddle and
Sound Amplified Mono screen, it will decrease the the ball will appear on the
(one channel) size of the player’s paddle. screen.
Cabinet Styles Upright Sometimes a football player • Turn the control knob to
Cocktail will appear, and if the ball move the paddle right or left
hits him, the player will earn and strike the ball.
bonus points. • Two players alternative play.
The game was ported to the • Scoring:
PlayStation 2 in 2007 as part A goal 300 pts.
of Taito Memories II Gekan. A blue helmet 40 pts.
A yellow helmet 30 pts.
A red helmet 20 pts.
1979
167
Galaxian
Manufacturer Namco
Release 1979
Class Wide Release and right at the bottom of the wrapa-
Genre Space round screen. The Galaxip can only
Board pin Galaxian Pinout have one shot on screen at a time.
Mode 2 Players The player defeats one swarm, only to
Gameplay Alternating have it replaced by another more ag-
Panel Layout Single Player gressive and challenging swarm in the
Controls next stage. A plain and repetitive star-
Joystick: 2-way (left, right) field scrolls in the background.
Buttons: 1 [Fire]
Monitor
The game was designed to build and
Orientation: Vertical improve upon the formula of Taito’s
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution game Space Invaders, which revolu-
CRT: Color tionized the gaming industry upon
Sound Amplified Mono its release a year earlier. Galaxian in-
(one channel) corporated new technology into its
Cabinet Styles Upright dedicated arcade system board, the
Cocktail Namco Galaxian board. Unlike Space
Mini Invaders, which was black and white
and featured enemies that could only
move vertically and horizontally as
they descended, Galaxian had a color
Galaxian was developed by Namco
screen and enemies that descended in
and released in October 1979. It was
patterns and came from various direc-
published by Namco in Japan and im-
tions. The result was more complex
ported to North America by Midway
and difficult game play.
that December.
Soon after the Japanese release,
Galaxian expanded on the formula Namco partnered with the American
pioneered by Space Invaders. As in company Midway to release the game
the earlier game, Galaxian features in North America. Midway had previ-
a horde of attacking aliens that ex- ously published Space Invaders in the
changed shots with the player. In market, but had to seek new foreign
contrast to Space Invaders, Galaxian partners when Taito decided to mar-
added an element of drama by having ket their games themselves.
the aliens periodically make kamika-
Galaxian was very successful for Nam-
ze-like dives at the player’s ship, the
co and introduced several “firsts”. Al-
Galaxip. This made it the first game to
though not the first color video game,
feature enemies with individual per-
Galaxian took RGB color graphics a
sonalities. The game’s plot consists of
step further with multi-colored ani-
a title screen that displayed the mes-
mated sprites and explosions, differ-
sage “WE ARE THE GALAXIANS /
ent colored fonts for the score and
MISSION: DESTROY ALIENS”.
high score, the scrolling starfield, and
The gameplay is relatively simple. graphic icons that show the number
Swarm after swarm of alien armies at- of lives left and how many stages the
tack the player’s ship that moves left
1979
171
player had completed. It also features a within the same universe and on the same
crude theme song and more prominent timeline. As of January 2018, Galaxian is
background “music.” These elements com- the purported seventh entry in this time-
bine to create a look and feel that would set line and takes place between the events of
the standard for arcade games in the 1980s Galaxian³ and Galaga.
such as Pac-Man. Galaxian was one of the most widely pi-
Galaxian has spawned several follow-up rated motherboards during the early ‘80s.
games. The most popular of these was its Numerous hacks were made of the game
immediate successor, Galaga, which large- and featured slightly redesigned enemy
ly eclipsed its predecessor in popularity, in- characters and special bonus stages. The
troducing aliens attacking in intricate for- scrolling starfield and death explosion
mations, multiple shots, and bonus stages. were still familiar as those from Galaxian,
A third game in the series, Gaplus, was re- however. These hacks include: Galaxian
leased in 1984. As with Galaga, this was a Part 4, Galaxian Part X, Galaxian Turbo,
fixed shooter, with limited vertical move- and Super Galaxians.
ment (like Centipede). However, by 1984 The Galaxian world record has been the
the novelty of the Space Invaders formula focus of many competitive gamers since
had faded, and it was no longer successful. its release. The most famous Galaxian ri-
A fourth game, Galaga ‘88, was released in valry has been between British player Gary
1987, and imported to North America by Whelan and American Perry Rodgers, who
Atari Games; and a fifth and final game, faced off at Apollo Amusements in Pom-
Galaga Arrangement, was released as part pano Beach, Florida, USA, on April 6–9,
of the Namco Classic Collection Vol. 1, in 2006. Whelan held the world record with
1995. 1,114,550 points, until beaten by newcom-
The Galaxian flagship (also known as the er Aart van Vliet, of the Netherlands, who
“Galboss”) has made numerous cameo scored 1,653,270 points on May 27, 2009
appearances in other Namco games (like at the Funspot Family Fun Center in Weirs
Namco’s signature character Pac-Man and Beach, New Hampshire, USA.
the Special Flag from Rally-X, which also The original cabinet is white with a painted
went on to become recurring items in other picture of the player ship about to shoot a
Namco games). green dragonfly alien from the fleet. The
Galaxian is the oldest game retconned by painting is three color: Blue, Green same as
Namco to be included in the “United Gov- the T-molding and Black, and uses the en-
ernment Space Force” (UGSF) continuity, tire side area similar to original Pac-Man.
a meta-fictional organization Namco has
employed to suggest that a selection of their
games throughout the years have occurred
1979
172
Midway version
1979
173
BONUS POINTS:
Double Points:
For lone green alien
attacking at random.
150 Points:
For hitting lone attacking
ship.
200 Points:
For hitting attacking flag-
ship with single escort.
300 Points:
For hitting attacking flagship
with two escorts.
Dimensions
33’ Deep
67’ High
25’ Wide
Dimensions
Height: 29” (73.63 cm)
Depth: 32” (81.25 cm)
Width: 22” (55.86 cm)
Midway Cocktail
1979
175
Galaxian Part 4
Manufacturer G.G.I.
Release 1979 Galaxian Turbo
Class Hack/ROM Swap
Genre Shooter Manufacturer “Unknown”
Hardware Namco Galaxian Release 1979
Mode 2 Players Class Hack/ROM Swap
Gameplay Alternating Genre Shooter
Panel Layout Single Player This game is the same as Gal- Hardware Namco Galaxian
Controls axian except the graphics have Mode 2 Players
Joystick: 2-way (left, right) been altered and the game has Gameplay Alternating
Buttons: 1 [Fire] been made more difficult. Panel Layout Single Player
Monitor Controls
Orientation: Vertical Joystick: 2-way (left, right)
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution Buttons: 1 [Fire]
CRT: Color Monitor
Sound Amplified Mono Orientation: Vertical
(one channel) Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Galaxian Part X
Manufacturer Nichibutsu
Release 1979
Class Hack/ROM Swap
Genre Shooter
Hardware Namco Galaxian This game is like Galaxian only
Mode 2 Players much faster and the aliens
Gameplay Alternating move in a different pattern.
Panel Layout Single Player This game is just like Galax-
Controls ian but the rate of fire is much
Joystick: 2-way (left, right) faster and the alien’s move-
Buttons: 1 [Fire] ments are more random.
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
1979
177
Space Invaders Galactica
Class Hack/ROM Swap
Genre Shooter
GT Roadster Hardware Namco Galaxian
Mode 2 Players
Manufacturer Ramtek Gameplay Alternating
Release 1979 Panel Layout Single Player
Class Wide Release Controls
Genre Racing Joystick: 2-way (left, right)
Mode 2 Players Buttons: 1 [Fire]
Gameplay Alternating Monitor
Panel Layout Single Player Orientation: Vertical
Controls Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
Steering: Wheel CRT: Color
Shifter: 4-position (1/2/3/4) Sound Amplified Mono
Monitor (one channel)
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
The game is a hack of Galaxian. The
with a Color Overlay
Sound Amplified Mono
only difference seems to be a name
(one channel) change.
Cabinet Styles Upright
Galaxy Wars
Manufacturer Taito
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Hardware Taito Classic
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
sile collides with an alien ship, both are destroyed
Panel Layout Single Player
and the remaining aliens all move slightly faster.
Controls
Joystick: 2-way (left, right) If the player’s missile is destroyed before reach-
Buttons: 1 [Launch/Thrust] ing the aliens, they lose a life.
Monitor Points are awarded for blowing up vari-
Orientation: Vertical ous ships and range from 50-550 depending on
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution the ship. There is a bonus chance of 600 points
CRT: Color for one pattern. After clearing a level or “pat-
Sound Amplified Mono tern” as the back of the flyer calls it, the player
(one channel) was rewarded with messages like “Good!!” after
Cabinet Styles Upright 3 screens cleared, “Very Good!!” after 7 screens
Cocktail
cleared, “Wonderful!!” after 10 screens cleared,
and “Fantastic!!” after 15 screens cleared. Play-
ers who failed to score any points were told to
Galaxy Wars is a vertically-oriented Ar- “Give Up!!” A launcher appears every 3,000 ad-
cade game first released in 1979 by Uni- ditional points (5,000 if the adjustment is made
versal Co. for the Japanese market. It is in the controlling dip switches in the arcade cabi-
loosely inspired by Taito’s Space Invad- net).
ers - Taito would produce the cabinets The game has a 1up and 2up player score
for Galaxy Wars. and High Score tallied at the top of the screen.
The goal of the game is to guide a mis- The arcade cabinet has one joystick to move the
sile directly upwards where the alien launcher left to right and guide the missiles.
invaders are scrolling horizontally. The
player must avoid the floating asteroids
between them and the
alien ships, as well as
evade the alien’s laser
projectiles. If the mis-
1979
179
excerpt from the flyer:
KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE GAME
Get A Way Set your vehicles in low gear and rev up the
The car will not break up from the front as long
as the front bumper avoids a head-on collision. If
engine. Then, whoosh, you’re off. Keep a firm you mishandle the steering wheel or hit another
Manufacturer Universal
hand on the steering wheel and roar around the car at an oblique angle, you’ll lose half your front
Release 1979
circuit. (You’ll find you get better acceleration bumper - but you can still keep going.
Genre Driving game
Mode 1 Player when you start in low. And you get more points,
However, if you get hit in the same spot a second
Gameplay Single too!)
time, that’s the end. You go into a spin and burn
Panel Layout Single Player You’re on a slip zone. You can’t turn the steer- up. If your car crashes into the green stones at
Monitor ing wheel. The car slips and veers to the side. the side of the road, it catches fire and explodes.
Orientation: Vertical To get out of this zone, you have to be able to Also, depending on how you bump into the oth-
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution handle the steering wheel expertly and master
CRT: Color er cars, your car may flip off the course and burn
the technique of axle operation. up.
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel) If this were our only feature, you’d soon get As your points pile up, the number of rival cars
Cabinet Styles Upright tired of it. That’s why GET-AWAY features increases. To control the axle, steering wheel
Deluxe strong, resilient car bodies that can survive col- and gears at the same time, you need to have su-
lisions and keep racing around the track. perior skills to win. This game is so exciting that
The rear bumper of the player’s car is super- you won’t be able to stop.
tough. If other cars bump you from behind, they
suffer the damage - not you! Also, the sides of
the car are sturdily built so that other cars can be
shoved aside and keep you on the track.
1979 Head On
180
Manufacturer Sega/Gremlin
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Maze
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Joystick: 4-way
(up, down, left, right)
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cocktail
Mini
1979
181
Invasion
Manufacturer Sidam
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Invasion is a clone of Space Monitor
Invaders. Atari and it’s Italian Orientation: Vertical
arm Bertolino succesfully sued Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
Sidam for copyright violation. CRT: Black and White
with a Color Overlay
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
1979
185
Invader’s Revenge
Manufacturer Zenitone Microtech
Release 1979
Invader’s Revenge put several new spins on Class Wide Release
the Space Invaders formula. Rather than fac- Genre Shooter
ing a formation of 55 invaders, there are few- Mode 2 Players
er than a dozen per any given screen. Even Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
though the invaders look exactly like the
Monitor
forces players faced from the original arcade Orientation: Vertical
game, for the most part, they do not adhere to Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
the regular Invaders rule of moving to the side CRT: Black and White
and dropping down a notch when they reach Sound Amplified Mono (one chan-
a screen edge, as the invaders mostly move di- nel)
agonally. They also not only fire vertically, but Cabinet Styles Upright
diagonally as well, at times catching the play-
ers ship in a crossfire (which is what increases
the difficulty level with this game, as it is
much higher than most Invaders games at the top of the screen (which the ships
in general). Sometimes when an invader switch areas then, with the player’s ship
is shot, its body will quickly fall to the bot- appearing at the top while the refueling
tom of the screen and is deadly to a play- ship appears at the bottom) to be refu-
er’s ship upon contact. The small invad- eled. The player must first avoid several
ers will also, after several rounds, shrink squares in the middle of the screen, then
to half their width with every other move, dock with the center of the refueling ship
making them harder to hit. to refuel and earn a bonus, then the game
Players also have a fuel level to will start over at the beginning wave once
maintain, which occasionally an invader more.
will drop down vertically to pick up a fuel And unlike most other official
cell at the bottom of the screen. If they Space Invaders games or clones, there is
make it back up to the top of the screen no UFO that appears overhead, as the re-
with the fuel cell, a notch of fuel will be fueling ship cannot be shot.
deducted from the player’s total. There Being hit by any invader, bomb,
are also big bombs (bigger than the ones docking square, falling fuel cell, or not
the invaders fire) that drop from the top landing directly in the center of the refu-
of the screen during levels, which will also eling ship will destroy the player’s ship.
deduct fuel if they make contact with the The game will end when there are no more
bottom of the screen/player’s fuel supply. remaining ships or the player runs out
After several rounds, the player of fuel. An extra ship is awarded at 1500
must dock with the ship normally seen points.
This is a Space Invaders conversion that
was fairly common in the UK around
1980. It runs on Midway’s hardware
(EPROM swap), but it has a seperate
daughter board on the top of the three
board sandwich, to provide the unique
Invader’s Revenge music and sound ef-
fects.
“spaceinvaders.wikia.com”
1979
186
Invinco!
Manufacturer Sega/Gremlin
Invinco is a 1979 Space Invaders clone Release 1979
made by Sega. Though it is essentially the Class Wide Release
same game as Taito’s, the aliens don’t just Genre Shooter
move left and right - one row blinks in and Mode 2 Players
out of view, one row rolls about making it Gameplay Alternating
difficult to hit and another has aliens that Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
turn into exploding bombs when hit, taking
Buttons: Rotational (left, right)
out everything around them. Buttons: 1 [Fire]
The game was manufactured in four cabi- Monitor
net styles: upright arcade, cocktail, stand Orientation: Vertical
around and mini. Besides being a stand- Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
alone game, Invinco! was also released CRT: Color
with Deep Scan or Head On 2 in dual Sound Amplified Mono
game cabinets. The marquee was divided (one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
in half with one name on the left and the
Cabinet
other on the right. There were also two Mini
sets of controls; one for each game.
Manufacturer Irem
Release 1979 IPM Invader was developed by IPM (which would later be-
Class Wide Release
come known as Irem) in 1979. It is a clone of the original Space
Genre Shooter
Invaders. It uses a color monitor instead of a black and white
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating monitor with a color overlay.
Panel Layout Single Player It has the addition of the famous ‘coffee break’, whereas after
Controls every 3rd wave or pattern of invaders, the ‘coffee break’ ap-
Rotary: Rotational (left, right) pears. Another unique feature in IPM Invader is the ‘capsules’.
Rotary: 1 [Fire] When dip switch settings are changed to advanced settings, the
Monitor game becomes more difficult with the introduction of the UFO
Orientation: Vertical (mystery score ship) dropping ‘capsules’ that hatch into new
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
invaders. The ‘capsules’ cannot be destroyed until they hatch,
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono and are dropped across the screen to defeat the players ‘narrow
(one channel) column’ strategy.
Cabinet Styles Upright It is also possible that the game was released as Capsule In-
Cocktail vader, also by Irem.
“spaceinvaders.wikia.com”
Long Beach
Manufacturer Olympia
Release 1979
Genre Racing
Cabinet Styles Upright
Kreepy Krawlers
Manufacturer Exidy
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Action
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Joystick: 8-way with button [Fire] The player controls a character that fights a variety of
Buttons: 2 [Roate Up|Rotate Down] bugs using a number of weapons.
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution excerpt from the flyer:
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono • 1 or 2 player H 66.75 (169.545 cm)
(one channel) • Black and white 19” monitor W 25.25 (64.135 cm)
Cabinet Styles Upright • High score table D 32.00 (81.28 cm)
• Self test mode Operator selectable options
• Coinage
• Bonus score
• Number of weapons
1979
189
Kamikaze
Manufacturer Leijac
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls The game is a Astro Invader clone. Using
Buttons: 2 [Left|Right] buttons to move left, right and fire, play-
Buttons: 1 [Fire] ers attempt to ward off invading aliens and
Monitor their flying saucers. The aliens are dropped
Orientation: Vertical off from a saucer and stored in multiple col-
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution umns until a column is full, then the aliens in
CRT: Color that column descend, one by one, and attack.
Sound Amplified Mono
Although all the screen colors are gener-
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
ated by the game’s hardware as opposed to
Cocktail a screen overlay, there are varying bands of
color dependent upon where the aliens are
displayed vertically. At different heights, the
aliens and their saucers are displayed in vari-
ous colors. When a player’s ship is destroyed,
the entire display is drawn in red.
“arcade-museum.com”
1979
190
Limbo
Manufacturer Universal
Release 1979
Class Prototype
Genre Ball and Paddle
Mode 1 Player
Gameplay Single
Panel Layout Single Player
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Development began with Moore based games, and most later versions of
drawing out the game’s graphics on the concept are implicitly or explicitly
graph paper, after which the pair wrote based on the Atari version.
out the game’s code on paper for typ- In 1977, Atari produced Star
ists to transcribe. Delman and Moore Ship for the Atari 2600, which con-
worked closely together, bouncing tained several space-related games;
ideas off each other as Moore pro- one of these was titled Lunar Lander,
posed programming designs and Del- though despite the name its gameplay
man iterated the hardware design. One involved landing on a surface while
point of contention in the development avoiding enemy spaceships instead of
process was the difficulty of the game; the gameplay of the arcade game. While
Delman initially wanted the module to Atari did not produce any true sequels
move as realisticly as possible, but they or ports of the game, in 1981 Adventure
determined that the result was almost International produced a version of the
impossible to actually play. As Delman concept under the title Lunar Lander as
noted in an interview in 2010, “even the part of a series of arcade game clones
real lunar landers had computer as- for the TRS-80 and Atari 8-bit comput-
sist!” Eventually, they settled on includ- ers, which, though featuring differences
ing four difficulty levels, as compared from the Atari version, was advertised
to Moonlander’s three, though Delman hardware could not draw enough lines fast enough to as “an arcade game simulation”. At
has referred to the hardest level as “one handle the detail. He also wanted to add in a McDonald’s least one other arcade game based on
of the most painful difficulty spikes in location easter egg, as was present in Moonlander. Over the Lunar Lander concept was devel-
gaming”. a year after development started, Lunar Lander was re- oped around the same time, the non-
Delman chose the large han- leased in August 1979, just after the tenth anniversary of vector graphics game Lunar Rescue by
dle used to control the thruster: Atari the first manned Moon landing, though Atari did not link Taito.
initially planned to use a standard joy- this connection in its marketing of the game. In 1980, Asteroids and Lunar
stick, but he wanted a control with more Lunar Lander proved moderately commercially suc- Lander became the first two games
physicality, including adding a rubber cessful, selling 4,830 cabinets. Cash Box noted in Sep- to be registered in the United States
pad at the bottom to give players the im- tember 1979 that the machines were very popular with Copyright Office, though Burness has
pression that they could pull harder for customers. It was Atari’s first vector graphics game and claimed that Atari also attempted to
a little more thrust. The thrust control the first multiple-perspective video game with the inclu- patent the game design, which was re-
has ten levels of thrust, as compared sion of the up-close view of the lander. Atari developed a jected due to his prior Moonlander.
to the single on or off level of thrust in two-player version of the game, but only two prototypes In 2012, for the 40th anniversary of
previous Lunar Landers, though Moore were ever made as it did not enter production. The two- Atari’s founding, it released a set of its
has noted that this gives players more player version was cancelled as Lunar Lander’s popular- early games as browser-based games as
incorrect options to choose from. The ity was soon overtaken by Atari’s Asteroids (November the “Atari Arcade”; Lunar Lander was
game’s font was designed by Ed Logg 1979), which used the same vector graphics engine and one of the initial set of eight games.
and used for several other Atari vector which had initially been based on Lunar Lander’s code. That same year, Lumen Prize-winner
graphics games. Several planned ideas Atari ceased production early on Lunar Lander in favor Seb Lee-Delisle presented his “Lunar
had to be cut from the game during of shipping Asteroids games in Lunar Lander cabinets; Trails” art installation at the Science
development. Delman has stated that the first 300 Asteroids games were released with Lunar Gallery in Dublin, in which a machine
chief among these was retaining a cra- Lander artwork on the side. The Atari Lunar Lander was draws out the cumulative paths taken
ter where the player’s previous space- the most popular version to date of the “Lunar Lander” by players of a Lunar Lander arcade
ships had crashed; it was cut as the new concept, surpassing the prior Moonlander and text- game.
1979
194
Another Atari FIRST! Various points are awarded for differ- Abort! A chance to try for the bet-
From Atari advanced computer technology, a ent types of landings: “good”, “hard”, even for ter score. If the spacecraft is hopelessly out
unique new concept... a crash. There’s plenty of scoring opportuni- of position or in danger of crashing, activation
Lunar Lander™ is the first one play- ties because a new mission begins after each of the “Abort” button will generate maximum
er game to authentically simulate an actual landing. The competition for higher scores is escape thrust and reset the display for a new
moon landing mission. irresistible! approach.
Lunar Lander™ provides the thrills, Add-a-Coin™ Feature encourages con-
4 player-selectable “Missions”.
the realistic “feel”, of controlled space flight! tinues play.
The game begins with the selection of one of
Players are challenged to control thrust and Players set their own game time. Each addi-
four different “missions” rated according to
rotation of a lunar landing craft to counteract tional coin adds extra Fuel Units of time-play.
degree of difficulty. Players can progress from
simulated gravitation pull, momentum and
“Training” to “Cadet” to “Prime” to “Com- Exclusive Operator Profit-Options.
friction.
mand”. Game Time: Game time is operator-
As skill increases, a more difficult mis- adjustable to 450, 600, 750, or 900 “Fuel
sion can be player-programmed to keep Lu- Units” per credit. Fuel Units are spent when-
nar Lander a constant challenge. ever the Thruster is used, when a mission is
Spectacular visual effects. aborted, or when there is a crash.
Crash! If the spacecraft is not land- A warning signal alerts players when
ed precisely level, the spacecraft will crash Fuel Unit level is down to 100. (It also re-
and explode, sending debris flying into outer minds players to buy extra Fuel Units.)
space. Four Languages: Operator may se-
Readouts: “Score”, “Time” (for cur- lect English, French, German or Spanish vid-
rent landing), “Fuel” (game time), “Altitude”, eo message presentation.
“Horizontal Speed” and “Vertical Speed” are Coinage: Left coin mech registers 1
digitally displayed. credit per coin. Right coin mech is adjustable
Humorous messages also appear after to 1, 4, 5, 6 credits per coin.
each mission to delight the player and add to Built-in Self-Test System.
the fun. Lunar Lander’s self-test diagnostic
Closeup landing action. system offers light-speed trouble-shooting
As the spacecraft nears the target landing site, wherever you moonbase.
Atari’s unique vector monitor automatically Dimensions.
displays a 2X magnification of the terrain and Height: 71.87”, 182.54 cm; Width: 25.25”,
spacecraft. 64.14 cm; Depth: 32”, 81.28 cm; Monitor: 19”
Players and spectators get a larger, B/W
clearer view of the final landing maneuver. Land in the Crater of Remuneration.
Scoring. More incentive! More cashbox Put Lunar Lander to work now. Get all
action. A crash awards 5 points, a “hard” the details on this year’s space action block-
landing 15. A “good” landing awards 50 buster! Contact the mission controllers at
points... plus 50 Fuel Units of game time! your local Atari distributor, today!
“Score Multiplier” Landing Sites.
Bonus Points! At the start of each new pass,
various landing sites are randomly designat-
ed by blinking numbers. A landing on one of
these sites multiplies the basic “landing” score
1979
195
Lunar Rescue
Lunar Rescue, also known as Galaxy Res-
Manufacturer Taito cue, is an arcade game released by Taito
Release 1979 in November 1979. The gameplay has
Class Wide Release some resemblance to both Taito’s own
Genre Space 1978 hit Space Invaders (and is some-
Hardware Taito 8080 times listed as a Space Invaders spin-off)
Board pin Lunar Rescue Pinout
and Atari’s Lunar Lander (released just
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
several months earlier).
Panel Layout Single Player The game starts with the player’s space-
Controls craft docked inside the mothership at
Buttons: 1 [Fire/Thrust] the top of the screen. Below the mother-
Joystick: 2-way (left, right) ship is an asteroid field and below that,
Monitor the surface of the moon. There are three
Orientation: Vertical platforms which can be landed on and six
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
stranded astronauts that need rescuing.
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono
Players control a small spacecraft. They
(one channel) must press the button to release their
Cabinet Styles Upright spacecraft from the mothership and ma-
noeuvre through the asteroid field. The
craft can only move left or right or use up
a finite amount of fuel by engaging the
thrust (the same button again) to slow its
descent. If the craft is landed successful-
ly on one of the available platforms, one
of the astronauts will run towards and
board the craft.
The asteroid belt now changes into
a swarm of flying saucers, some of which
drop bombs. Players must now guide the
spacecraft back up to the mothership
(the craft ascends without using up fuel),
avoiding the flying saucers. The thrust
button is now a fire button which can
be used to shoot at enemies above (as in
Space Invaders). Finally, the craft must
be docked with the mothership using the
bay opening. If the side of the mother-
ship or any part of the ship outside of the
opening is hit, the rescued astronaut falls
to the surface and dies. If the mothership
is missed altogether, the craft explodes.
After all six people have been rescued (or
killed providing the player still has lives
remaining), the game starts again at a
higher level.
1979
197
Play Instructions for Lunar Rescue • Landing six (6) times in a frame-astro-
• Select game for one or two players. naut-rescue points and remaining fuel
• Push red button to descend from points are added to your score.
mother ship to rescue astronauts. • Flying saucers destroyed score 30 or
• Find a landing are as you avoid crash- 50 points.
ing into shooting stars. • Rescue all six (6) astronauts in a frame
• Pushing red button will control the for bonus points.
landing speed of the rescue ship. Pushing red button produces different
• After landing, return to mother ship. effects at different stages of play. At be-
• Push red button to shoot at flying sau- ginning of game push red button to leave
cers. Control rescue ship to dock with mother shop. Enroute to landing, push
mother ship. red button to slow your descent and avoid
• When docking is accomplished and as- meteorites. Enroute to docking push red
tronauts saved, the following points are button to:
scored: A. Fire missiles
1st frame 50 points each astronaut B. Accelerate vessel speed
2nd frame 100 points each astronaut On your way to deck into the mother
3rd frame 150 points each astronaut ship, shoot down as many enemy vessels
4th frame 300 points each astronaut as you can. This will enable you to score
5th frame 300 points each astronaut points for docking and points for enemy
• One rescue ship will be awarded when vessels.
score reaches 3,000 points.
Meteor Part II
Manufacturer Hoei (?)
Release 1979 (?)
Genre Shooter
Meteoroid
Manufacturer Subelectro
Release 1979
Class Bootleg
Rip Cord was designed and programmed by Genre Shooter
Arlan Granger. The goal of the game is to jump Gameplay Alternating
out of the plane and land safely on one of the Panel Layout Single Player
many targets down below. The challenge is to Monitor
avoid the numerous enemy helicopters that Orientation: Horizontal
occupy the sky in between the plane and the Type: Vector
CRT: Black and White
ground.
Sound Amplified Mono
Players control the timing of their jump (one channel)
with the Jump button, at which point they par- Cabinet Styles Upright
achutist begins hurtling toward the ground out Cocktail
of control. Pressing the D-Ring button shortly
afterwards releases the chute and slows the de-
scent. More importantly, it allows players at Meteoroid is a bootleg of Asteroids. The
this point to control their left/right position via arcade machine has laminated glass
the paddle control to help them avoid the en- bezel and marquee. Game PCB is clone
emies. of Asteroids Rev. 2.
“mamedev.org”
1979
200
Monkey Magic
Manufacturer Nintendo
Release 1979
Genre Breakout
Mode 2 Players
Magic Monkey has a wide variety of
Gameplay Alternating special score elements to make it fresh
Panel Layout Single Player and interesting. Some include;
Monitor • Hitting one of the monkey’s eyes will
Orientation: Vertical close it, scoring extra points. After some
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution time the eye will open again. If players
CRT: Color manage to get both closed at he same
Sound Amplified Mono time, they will score extra points
(one channel) • Players can move the arrows labbled
Cabinet Styles Upright ‘1’, ‘2’ and ‘3’ up, to open the monkey’s
Cocktail
mouth. Now they can start hitting his
teeth.
• If players touch his nose, the ball
Monkey Magic is a Nintendo arcade speeds up.
game similar to Breakout. Although • Players should avoid the little mon-
clearly based on it, enough new ideas are key heads dropping down, as they will
added to call it a game in its own right, bounce the ball back before it can hit
not a clone. The goal is to use the pad- any of the blocks.
dle and a bouncing ball to destroy a giant Monkey Magic does not have
monkey face at the top of the screen. Hit- multiple screens or stages. Blocks that
ting it in different places awards different have disappeared reappear again after
scores. Sometimes a block will drop, and some time. It is all about racking up the
if players catch it, they get extra points. highest score. The game becomes grad-
If the ball falls past the paddle, they lose ually more difficult, as the ball speeds
a life. up and the number of small monkey
“mobygames.com” heads dropping down increases.
“beforemario.com”
1979
201
Ozma Wars
Manufacturer SNK Ozma Wars is a 1979 fixed shooter ar-
Release 1979 cade game, and the very first game
Class Wide Release developed and published by SNK,
Genre Shooter who were still known as “Shin Nihon
Mode 2 Players Kikaku” at the time. The game is also
Gameplay Alternating known as the second ever vertical shoot
Panel Layout Single Player ‘em up game, after Taito’s Space In-
Controls vaders (which ran on the same arcade
Joystick: 2-way (left, right) hardware), but is also additionally
Buttons: 1 [Fire] known as the first game with disparate
Monitor “levels”. The game is also notable for
Orientation: Vertical
being the first action game to feature a
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White supply of energy, resembling a life bar,
Sound Amplified Mono a mechanic that has now become com-
(one channel) mon in the majority of modern action
Cabinet Styles Upright games. The game allowed the player to
Cocktail refuel energy between each level, and
it featured a large variety of alien en-
emies.
The player controls a space craft which
must fend off UFOs, meteors, and com-
ets. Instead of lives, the player is given
an energy reserve that is constantly
diminishing; getting hit by the enemy
causes gameplay to stop momentar-
ily and a large amount of energy is de-
pleted. Every so often, a mothership
will appear and dock with the player’s
spacecraft, allowing the energy to be re-
filled. There are 3-4 recognizable stages
as the game progresses and new en-
emies begin to appear. After these, the
mothership will appear, and the cycle
starts over; this continues indefinitely
until the energy reaches zero.
There are two known bootleg versions
of this game called Space Phantoms
and Solar Flight. In Space Phantoms
the player’s ship looks like an angel,
and the enemies appear as different
types of insects. Due to the game be-
ing monochrome and a conversion kit
for Space Invaders, many Ozma Wars
monitors still utilized the Space Invad-
ers color overlay.
1979
202
Moon Base
Manufacturer Nichibutsu
Release 1979
Genre Shooter
Cabinet Styles Upright excerpt from the manual:
Cocktail • The game may be played by one or two
people.
• Insert coins.
Nihon Bussan had to settle with Tai- • Select one or two player button.
to by paying a license fee to launch a • MONSTERS appear on the screen with
copy of Space Invaders titled Moon their sound of attack. Also moon bases
Base.The same year, the company which avoid the bombs from monsters and
issued brochures that listed both laser gun which attacks the monster appear
Moon Base as original works of Ni- below the screen.
hon Bussan. • Shooting down UFO and monster by
pushing firing button, sliding laser gun to
3 versions were made, Moon Base,
the right or left by moving the control lever
clone of Space Invaders (black and
to avoid bombs from monster.
white), Moon Base Spector, clone of
• When the laser gun is destroyed by mon-
Space Invaders (color), and Moon
ster, the other player can play. (In case of
Base Zeta, clone of Space Invaders
double game)
Part II, which is in MAME.
1979
203
Rolling Crash
excerpt from the manual:
The player control a small car When playing rolling Crash a red car (mi- Manufacturer Nichibutsu
that attempts to collect the dots cro-computer-controlled) is driven on a Release 1979
while trying to avoid crashing course and the player tries to avoid a colli- Class Wide Release
into the other car. sion with his yellow car by changing lanes Genre Racing
Mode 2 Players
with a lever. A point is scored when targets
Gameplay Alternating
are wiped out on a lane. The yellow car’s
Panel Layout Single Player
speed is controlled by a button. The racing Monitor
course is figure-eight-shaped. In 2, 4, 6 or Orientation: Vertical
8 patterns, other lanes are opened, which Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
causes the cars to reverse. It is an extremly CRT: Color
thirlling game. Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cocktail
2 in 1 Versions
Rolling Crash/Moon Base
1979
204
Phantom II
Manufacturer Midway
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Hardware Midway 8080
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Joystick: 8-way with button [Fire]
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Solar Fight
Manufacturer “unknown”
Release 1979
Class Bootleg
Genre Shooter
Mode 2 Players Shuttle Invader is a Space Invaders clone that
Gameplay Alternating was released only in Japan by Omori Electron-
Panel Layout Single Player ics Corp. It features a tank rolling back and forth
Controls between bunkers while shooting shuttle invad-
Joystick: 2-way (left, right) ers. The game has a black and white monitor
Buttons: 1 [Fire] but the screen is painted with multicolored lines
Monitor
to simulate color play. Very little information is
Orientation: Vertical
available on the game as the Omori company
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White now makes automobile gauges and other auto
Sound Amplified Mono electronics.
(one channel) “arcade-museum.com”
Safari Rally
Manufacturer SNK Safari Rally is a maze game where the player
Release 1979
guides a car through a maze-like forest collect-
Class Wide Release
ing coins while avoiding an enemy cars and
Genre Maze
Mode 2 Players
snakes.
Gameplay Alternating Each coin that is collected has a dif-
Panel Layout Single Player ferent point value. Small coins are worth ten
Controls points, medium coins are worth 20 points and
Joystick: 4-way large coin are worth 30 points.
(up, down, left, right) This was the second SNK game, the first was
Monitor “Ozma Wars”.
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution In the the original Japanese arcade flyer ‘SNK
CRT: Black and White Original Games’, it shows a poor translation of
Sound Amplified Mono the name of the game as ‘Safari Rary’.
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cocktail
1979
207
Side Trak
Manufacturer Exidy excerpt from the flyer:
Release 1979 • Intrigue, palm-sweating excitement of an
Class Wide Release Orient Express
Genre Action • If you liked CRASH, you’ll LOVE Side Trak
Mode 2 Players • Score points as you pick up passangers along
Gameplay Alternating the track
Panel Layout Single Player • Computer-controlled “drone” train opposes
Controls
players
Buttons: 1 [Accelerate]
Joystick: 4-way • Authentic “whistle-stop” sound
(up, down, left, right) • Daily high score display
Monitor • Accelerated-speed control button
Orientation: Horizontal • Switch onto “Side Trak” to avoid collision
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution • Optional BEAT THIS SCORE feature
CRT: Black and White • Operator-adjustable coinage
Sound Unamplified Mono • Operator-adjustable plays
(requires one-channel amp)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Side Trak is a black & white man-versus- points. Passengers picked up from each
machine game where the goal is to pick up successive inner track are worth an addi-
all of the waiting passengers with the train tional 10 points. On top of that, passengers
while avoiding the computer-driver “killer picked up when players have additional
engine” which aims to take players out in a cars in tow add another 10 points to car.
head-on collision. Players can control their Side Trak is the first of several games that
train via the “fast” button which allows were developed on a common Exidy plat-
them to temporarily increase the speed on form which would eventually become host
the tracks. Players can also use the joystick to their most popular games. Early revi-
to switch between several tracks at various sions of the platform — Side Trak included
junction points. — had custom sound generators tailored
Each time players make a complete for each game, along with a primitive tone
circuit around the track and pass the start generator that could play one of two very
marker on the outside track, another car short preprogrammed sequences of notes.
is added to their train. Passengers picked (Later games eventually included a com-
up from the outermost track are worth 10 mon sound system.)
“mamedev.org”
1979
209
Space Combat
Manufacturer “unknown” Solar War
Release 1979
Class Bootleg Manufacturer Atari
Genre Shooter Release 1979
Gameplay Alternating Class Prototype
Panel Layout Multiple Player Genre Pinball
Monitor Mode 2 Players
Orientation: Vertical Gameplay Alternating
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution Panel Layout Single Player
CRT: Black and White Monitor
with a Color Overlay Orientation: Vertical
Sound Amplified Mono Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
(one channel) CRT: Black and White
with a Color Overlay
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Space Combat is a clone of Taito Space Invaders, Cabinet Styles Upright
with a slight difference where the Mother Ship has
a level of intelligence. It appears to have three dif-
ferent characteristics patterns; comes out and travels
across the screen, comes out, travels half way across
then turns back to its entry point side of the screen,
comes out and then turns back straight away. The In-
vaders have their regular pattern and attributes.
“arcade-museum.com”
Space Fighter
Manufacturer Sega
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter Space Phantoms
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating Manufacturer Zilec
Panel Layout Single Player Release 1979
Monitor Class Wide Release
Orientation: Vertical Genre Shooter
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution Mode 2 Players
CRT: Color Gameplay Alternating
Sound Amplified Mono Panel Layout Single Player
(one channel) Controls
Joystick: 2-way (left, right)
Buttons: 1 [Fire]
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
An alien invader shooter from Sega. Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
No information or pictures where CRT: Black and White
found other than a mention on Sound Amplified Mono
arcade-museum-com (one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
SOS
Manufacturer Namco
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Hardware NAMCO 8080
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color
One of the reasons this game is infamous, is
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel) because of the “coffee breaks” it takes after
every 2000 points, depicting a young wom-
an above the text of “X000 TEN, COFFEE
BREAK” (X being any even number and ten,
SOS was the last of the three monochromatic ar- written in Kanji as “points” in Japanese); on
cade games released by Namco, in early 1980; the first two times, she will be wearing a bi-
the first two were Navalone and Kaitei Takara Sa- kini, but if the arcade owner has set the “nu-
gashi (and the latter was originally created by K. K. dity” dip switch to “on”, she will be topless
Tokki as a prototype). It’s a fixed shooter in which after 6000 points, and completely naked af-
players must use a 2-way joystick to direct a fighter ter 10000 points. As a result, this could be
plane known as a “Shinryaku” across the bottom of considered the first game from Namco that
the screen while enemy planes fly down towards it is not suitable for all ages, eight years before
from the top of the screen - and they can press the their Japan-exclusive beat ‘em up of Splat-
Firing Button to make the Shinryaku fire bullets terhouse was released - and they would not
from its nose at the enemy planes to destroy them feature nudity in any of their subsequent
for 10 points apiece. Players can only fire one bullet games, at least not until another of their
at a time, and if they miss, they have to wait for the Japan-exclusive titles, Dancing Eyes, was
bullet to go off the top of the screen before they can released in 1996.
“strategywiki.org”
try again - and occasionally, a flashing arrow will
appear and point to either side of the screen, while
an “SOS” signal is being heard in Morse Code. If
players can manage to make it to that side of the
screen before it disappears, they’ll receive 30 extra
points, and the number of enemy planes that have
bypassed their Shinryaku will decrease by 9 (but if
it is under 9, it will have no effect); if the number
of enemy planes that have bypassed the Shinryaku
amounts to 100, the game will immediately end re-
gardless of how many lives players have remaining,
which can be annoying for all players who have not
lost a single life. It’s also worth noting that when
players fire a shot at an enemy plane to kill it, the
resulting explosion can kill the Shinryaku as well -
and this may also be annoying for the players who
can’t get away in time.
1979
212
Used Alt
An alternate version of the player ship is
stored just before the final graphic.
Space Launcher
Manufacturer Nintendo Space Launcher is an arcade video game
Release 1979 by Nintendo that was surprisingly original
Class Wide Release (many of the games Nintendo made during
Genre Shooter the late 70’s were clones of popular titles like
Mode 2 Players Pong, Space Invaders and Breakout).
Gameplay Alternating The game is similar to Frogger, though is
Panel Layout Single Player not a clone since it predates it by at least
Controls
two years. The objective of the game is to fly
Joystick: 2-way (left, right)
Buttons: 1 [Fire]
the rocket up to any of the four ports to pick
Monitor up treasures (points), fly back down to the
Orientation: Horizontal starting point and repeat while avoiding en-
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution emies and projectiles. When the rocket flies
CRT: Color near the enemies on top of the screen, the
Sound Amplified Mono damaging shield on the tip of the rocket’s
(one channel) nose turns on, allowing players to destroy
Cabinet Styles Upright enemies with it. Point values increase as
Cocktail players become more successful in destroy-
ing more than one enemy. Players have a
limited amount of rockets to fly, and when
all of them are destroyed, the game is over.
“giantbomb.com”
1979
215
Star Fire II
Manufacturer Exidy
Release 1979 (?)
Class Prototype
Genre Shooter
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Star Wars Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Manufacturer “unknown” Type: TV Monitor
Release 1979 CRT: Color
Class Bootleg Sound Amplified Mono
Genre Shooter (one channel)
Hardware Taito Classic
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating Star Wars is a bootleg of Galaxy Wars.
Panel Layout Single Player Star Fire II is an unreleased se-
Controls quel to Star Fire with very simular
Joystick: 2-way (left, right) gameplay and changes that mainly
Buttons: 1 [Launch/Thrust] involved high score enhancements
Monitor and sharpening of graphics. Pre-
Orientation: Vertical sumably just suppossed to be a
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
ROM upgrade.
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono (one channel)
1979
217
Straight Flush
Manufacturer Taito
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Breakout
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Cocktail
Splash
Manufacturer Atari
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Racing
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Sundance
Manufacturer Cinematronics
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Puzzle
Hardware Cinematronics BW Vector
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Either
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Controls
Buttons: 9 [123456789 3x3 matrix]
Buttons: 1 [Nova]
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Vector
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono excerpt from the flyer:
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright The one- or two-player video which fea-
tures unparalleled action. Players open
“space hatches” which catch bouncing
suns upon the screen. Player options in-
clude the use of two, three, or four suns,
Sundance is a puzzle arcade game using and the expert players can not only fire a
vector graphics. The game consists of “nova” out of the hatches, thus destroying
two grids floating in a pseudo-3D space the suns, he can also remove the optional
with small suns bouncing between them. grids for increased competition and ex-
The player score points by capturing the citement. All options can be manipulated
suns as they make contact with the grids. by the player during play, thus increasing
The player also has a limited-use “smart the action as well as operator collections.
bomb” button which will eliminate all of Cinemationics’ SUNDANCE introduces
the suns currently bouncing between the a new feature of the Vectorbeam moni-
grids. As the suns bounce, the grids will tor. 16 different levels of line intensity
move closer and closer, making gameplay have been introduced into the system,
more difficult. The game end when the thus creating a magnificent display. A 23”
grids fully converged. monitor has also been introduced, lead-
The game itself had only a small produc- ing to an even greater display of a great
tion run and was plagued with hardware new concept.
failures due to its unconventional de- SUNDANCE includes six great sounds to
sign. According to Tim Skelly, the game’s mystify the players and attract even more
designer, Sundance used an additional action. Explosions, whooshes, vacuum
daughterboard that controlled the inten- operated hatches, pings and bongs sur-
sity of certain vectors. This board and its round the player or players.
connections were rather fragile and prone SUNDANCE includes Cinematronics’
to failure. Also, the monitor used a defec- coin accumulator for added playtime,
tive carbon coating spray which tended to which means added collections to the
cause the monitor’s tube to arc if it was operator. It is operated by a one coin per
left in a certain position, destroying the player minimum, which allows for double
monitor. profits in two-player action.
1979
220 Super Galaxians
Manufacturer Midway
Release 1979
Class Hack/ROM Swap
Genre Shooter
Hardware Namco Galaxian
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Controls
Joystick: 2-way (left, right)
Buttons: 1 [Fire]
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Super Shot
Manufacturer Model Racing
Release 1979
Genre Shooter
Type: TV Monitor
CRT: Black and White
Super Shot is a black and white shooting Cabinet Styles Upright
game where the player uses an optical gun
to shoot various on-screen targets includ-
ing balloons, glasses and bottles.
1979
221
Triple Attack
Manufacturer Sega
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating
Panel Layout Single Player
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
with a Color Overlay
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
(?) Cocktail
Triple Attack is a Japanese upright arcade cabi-
net containing three Space Invaders derivatives.
It is an extremely rare arcade machine, and thus
very little is known about it.
1979
223
Yosaku to Donbei
Manufacturer Worldwing
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating In Yosaku players shoot the birds
Panel Layout Single Player in the trees, avoid the things they
Controls drop, and try to shoot the flying
Joystick: 2-way (left, right) crow for mystery score.
Buttons: 1 [Fire]
The game run on Space Invaders
Monitor
hardware.
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Black and White
with a Color Overlay
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Cocktail
1979
224
Tail Gunner
Manufacturer Cinematronics
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Space
Hardware Cinematronics B&W Vector
Mode 1 Player
Gameplay Single
Panel Layout Single Player Ambidextrous
Controls
Joystick: Analog
Buttons: 2 [Fire|Shield]
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Vector
CRT: Black and White
with a Color Overlay
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Warrior
Manufacturer Vectorbeam
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Fighting
Mode 2 Players simultaneous
Gameplay Competitive
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Vector
CRT: Black and White
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Manufacturer Taito
Release 1979
Class Wide Release
Genre Breakout ZunZun Block runs on Taito Discrete Logic
Mode 2 Players hardware and is a clone of Breakout that uses
Gameplay Alternating cellophane strips on the monitor to act as color.
Panel Layout Single Player Not much is known about the game since it is
Monitor unavailable in MAME even though there are
Orientation: Vertical users claiming to own original boards. Using
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution the rotary knob, the player must hit the ball
CRT: Black and White with the paddle to break all of the bricks on the
with a Color Overlay screen. A small green propeller-like object will
Sound Amplified Mono
sometimes appear at the centre of the screen,
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
and the formation of bricks will move down if
Cocktail hit.
1970s
230
4 Square
Manufacturer JRW Electronics
Release 1970s (?)
Class Wide Release
Genre Ball and Paddle
Cabinet Styles Cocktail
5 Games
Manufacturer Elcon Industries
Release 1975 (?)
Class Wide Release
Genre Ball and Paddle
5 games, feature the games; Tournament Ten- Hardware Discrete Logic
nis (2 or 4 Players), Super Soccer (2 Players), Monitor
Gravity Ball (2 or 4 Players), Elimination I (1 Orientation: Horizontal
Player), Elimination II (2 or 4 Players). Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
Novice or Pro skill level selection for CRT: Black and White
shorter paddle and slam ball buttons to change with a Color Overlay
Cabinet Styles Cocktail
ball movement when the players opponent tries
to hit the ball. Black and white TV screen with
orange overlay to give it color.
The game is probably a clone of Take Five. “
mamedev.emulab.it”
Collision
Manufacturer Video Games Gmbh
Release 1970s
Class Wide Release
Genre Maze
Mode 2 Players
Gameplay Alternating Collison, a copy of Head On, is a
Panel Layout Single Player
driving maze game from Video
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Games GmbH. It was only re-
CRT: Color leased in Germany.
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright
Mini
1970s
232
Dogfight
excerpt from the flyer:
Manufacturer Bo Mak Electronics Inc
FEATURES:
Release 1970s
1. Two airplanes battle across a video sky
Genre Shooter
Gameplay Competitive 2. Realistic sound of whining motor and machine gun
Monitor for each plane.
Orientation: Horizontal 3. Cloud drift across sky for special effects and strategy.
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution 4. Exclusive joy stick control made by Bo Mak Elec-
CRT: Black and White tronics. (no parts touch - no wear)
Cabinet Styles Upright 5. Quarter or fifty cent play switch. (you select)
6. Motorola 19” monitor.
7. Smartly styled cabinet blends with any decor.
Danger Track
Manufacturer Recel SA
Release (?)
Class Wide Release
Genre Racing
F-114
Manufacturer Allied Amusement
Release 1975 (?)
Class Wide Release
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player
Gameplay Single
Panel Layout Single Player
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Deluxe
Dimensions:
63” high
46” wide
28” deep
(chair) 20” deep
Weight: 470 lbs.
1970s
234
Four Court
Manufacturer Hal Computers
Release 1970s
Class Wide Release
Genre Ball and Paddle
Gameplay Competitive
Panel Layout Multiple Player
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: TV Monitor
CRT: Black and White
Cabinet Styles Upright
TV Davis Cup
Inca Boss Manufacturer Kasco Distributing Co.
Release 1970 - 1980s
Manufacturer PMC Genre Ball and Pddle
Release 1970s Cabinet Styles Upright
Genre Ball and Paddle
Twenty one
Manufacturer Omega Products
Release 1975 - 1985
Genre Card
Monitor
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color
Sound Amplified Mono
(one channel)
Cabinet Styles Upright