Amusement arcade

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GiGO, a large Sega game center in Tokyo, Japan

An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade
games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games,
redemption games, merchandisers (such as claw cranes), or coin-operated
billiards or air hockey tables. In some countries, some types of arcades are
also legally permitted to provide gambling machines such as slot machines or
pachinko machines. Games are usually housed in cabinets. The term used for
ancestors of these venues in the beginning of 20th century was penny
arcades.[1]
Video games were introduced in amusement arcades in the late 1970s and
were most popular during the golden age of arcade video games, the early
1980s. Arcades became popular with young adults and particularly
adolescents, which led parents to be concerned that video game playing
might cause children to skip school. Many video arcades began closing in the
late 1990s, as the technology of home video game consoles began to rival
that of arcade games. However, video arcades remain popular in Japan,
where they are called game centers ().
Contents

[hide]

1 History
1.1 Penny arcade
1.2 1970s and 1980s
1.3 1990s
1.4 2000s and beyond
2 Types of games
2.1 Video games
2.2 Racing games
2.3 Other games
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

History[edit]
See also: Arcade game and Timeline of arcade video game history
Penny arcade[edit]
For the webcomic, see Penny Arcade. For other uses, see Penny Arcade
(disambiguation).

Early machine at Wookey Hole Caves

A penny arcade can be any type of venue for coin-operated devices, usually for
entertainment. The term came into use about 1905-1910.[1] Similar venues in
the UK are known as penny cascades (or penny falls)[citation needed]. The name
derives from the penny, once a staple coin for the machines. The machines used
included:
bagatelles, a game with elements of billiards and non-electrical pinball,
early forms of non-electrical pinball machines,
fortune-telling machinery,
slot machines,
coin operated Amberolas
peep show machines (in the original, non-pornographic, usage of the term),
which allowed the viewer to see various objects and pictures,
love tester machines.
Penny arcades later led to the creation of video arcades in the 1970s.
1970s and 1980s[edit]
See also: Golden age of video arcade games
Arcades catering for video games began to gain momentum in the late 1970s with
games such as Space Invaders (1978) and Galaxian (1979)[citation needed] and
became widespread in 1980 with Pac-Man, Centipede and others. The central
processing unit in these games allowed for more complexity than earlier
discrete-circuitry games such as Atari's Pong (1972).
During the late 1970s video-arcade game technology had become sophisticated
enough to offer good-quality graphics and sounds, but it remained fairly basic
(realistic images and full motion video were not yet available, and only a few
games used spoken voice) and so the success of a game had to rely on simple
and fun gameplay. This emphasis on the gameplay explains why many of these
games continue to be enjoyed as of 2014, despite the progress made by modern
computing technology.
The golden age of video arcade games in the 1980s became a peak era of video

arcade game popularity, innovation, and earnings. Color arcade games became
more prevalent and video arcades themselves started appearing outside their
traditional bowling-alley and bar locales. Designers experimented with a wide
variety of game genres, while developers still had to work within strict
limits of available processor-power and memory. The era saw the rapid spread
of video arcades across North America, Western Europe and Japan. The number of
video-game arcades in North America, for example, more than doubled between
1980 and 1982,[2] reaching a peak of 13,000 video game arcades across the
region (compared to 4,000 today[when?]).[3] Beginning with Space Invaders,
video arcade games also started to appear in supermarkets, restaurants, liquor
stores, gas stations and many other retail establishments looking for extra
income.[4]
On November 30, 1982, Jerry Parker, the Mayor of Ottumwa, Iowa, declared his
city the "Video Game Capital of the World". This initiative resulted in many
firsts in video game history. Playing a central role in arcade history,
Ottumwa saw the birth of the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard and the
U.S. National Video Game Team, two organizations that still exist today. Other
firsts that happened in the Video Game Capital of the World included:
the first video-game-themed parade (Jan. 8, 1983) [5]
the first video game world championship (Jan. 8-9, 1983) [6]
the first study of the brain waves of video-game champions (July 12, 1983) [7]
the first billion-point video-game performance (Jan. 16, 1984) [8]
the first official day to honor a video-game player (Jan. 28, 1984) [9]
High game-turnover in Japanese arcades required quick game-design, leading to
the adoption of standardized systems like JAMMA, Neo-Geo and CPS-2. These
systems essentially provided arcade-only consoles where the video game ROM
could be swapped easily to replace a game. This allowed easier development and
replacement of games, but it also discouraged the hardware innovation
necessary to stay ahead of the technology curve.
Most US arcades didn't see the intended benefit of this practice since many
games weren't exported to the US, and if they were, distributors generally
refused to release them as simply a ROM, preferring to sell the entire ROM,
console, and sometimes the cabinet as a package. In fact, several arcade
systems such as Sega's NAOMI board are arcade versions of home systems.
1990s[edit]
By the 1990s, the number of video arcades in North America was decreasing.
Arcades experienced a short resurgence of popularity in the mid-1990s with the
advent of more advanced 3D games, but soon began to decline again once
consoles caught up and entered the 3D gaming circle. This decline was mainly
because the technology of home video game consoles began to rival and
eventually exceed that of arcade games. Also, the rise of the Internet offered
a recreational diversion that would keep many potential arcade customers home.
Many arcades still exist in the US, but not in nearly the large numbers of the

early 1980s. However, video arcades remained popular in Japan, where they are
called game centers ()
2000s and beyond[edit]

A 2000s arcade machine which involves stopping a light to receive tickets for
redemption.
In the mid-2000s, Madrid businessman Enrique Martnez updated the video arcade
for the new generation by creating a "hybrid movie theater with...fog, black
light, flashing green lasers, high-definition digital projectors, vibrating
seats, game pads and dozens of 17-inch screens attached to individual chairs."
At the Yelmo Cineplex in Spain, $390,000 was spent refitting a theater into a
"high-tech video gaming hall seating about 50 people." In Germany, the
CinemaxX movie theater company is also considering this approach. It conducted
a four-month trial with video games to test the level of demand for video
gaming in a theater setting.[10]

A Wizard of Oz pushing game that can be found at many arcades today.

Manufacturers started adding innovative features to games in the 2000s. Konami
used motion and position sensing of the player in Police 911 in 2000 and Mocap
Boxing in 2001.[11][12] Sega started using "Tuning cards" in games such as the
Initial D series of games allowing the customer to save game data on a card
vended from the game; Namco copied the idea with the Maximum Tune series.
Arcade games continued to use a variety of games with enhanced features to
attract clients, such as motorized seating areas, interconnected games, and
surround sound systems. Redemption and merchandiser games are also a staple of
arcades in the 2000s. One of the most popular redemption games, Deal or No
Deal by ICE, simulates the popular television game show. Merchandiser games
such as Stacker by LAI Games gives the player the chance to win high end
prizes like iPods and cell phones.
At the same time as these innovations, a small resurgence in the interest of
classic video games and arcades grew with the opening of Barcade in Brooklyn,
New York in 2004. The simple idea of Barcade is the combination of a video
arcade and a full bar, with a strict focus on classic machines from the 1970s
and 1980s, known as the Golden age of video games.[13] The idea proved popular
and Barcade received great recognition as one of the best places to play
classic video game cabinets.[14][15] By 2011, Barcade had opened other
locations in New Jersey and Philadelphia,[13] and was recognized as "one of
the few places where classic arcade games can still be found in public, and in
good working order.".[16] Barcade's success had also influenced many other
similarly themed businesses to open across the country,[17][18] including The
1UP Arcade and Bar in Denver,[19] Insert Coin(s) in Las Vegas,[20] Arcadium in
Lexington, Kentucky,[21] Headquarters Beercade in Chicago[22] and Emporium,
also in Chicago, which was founded by a former manager of Barcade.[23] Other
arcades like Ground Kontrol in Portland, Oregon began to adapt, adding beer

and wine in 2005 and then a full bar to its arcade following a renovation in
2011.[24] Even regular types of bars began adding classic arcade games in an
attempt to cash in on this trend.[25]
As the trend grew, the industry and press looked for ways to classify these
arcade bar hybrids, with the DNA Association branding them "social-tainment"
and also referring to them as "game bars".[26] Many of these newer game bars
proved to be extremely popular and expansion continued.[27] Headquarters
expanded considerably after being open only a year, adding a large pinball
collection,[22] The 1UP Arcade and Bar opened a second location, called The
2UP,[28] and Insert Coin(s) attempted to go big by opening a huge location in
Minneapolis,[29] before shuttering almost a year later.[30]
In the UK, classic arcades such as Casino and Trocadero, both located in
London, closed, with some of the games from Trocadero finding their way to a
new arcade, Heart of Gaming in North Acton.[31] The newer Loading Soho Gaming
Cafe provides arcade machines manufactured by Bespoke Arcades for its
customers to use.[32]
Types of games[edit]

The Donkey Kong video game was popular in video arcades during the 1980s
Video games[edit]
See also: Arcade game, Video game, History of video games and Golden age of
arcade video games
The video games are typically in arcade cabinets. The most common kind are
uprights, tall boxes with a monitor and controls in front. Customers insert
coins or tokens into the machines (or use magnetic cards) and stand in front
of them to play the game. These traditionally were the most popular arcade
format, although presently American arcades make much more money from deluxe
driving games and ticket redemption games. However, Japanese arcades, while
also heavily featuring deluxe games, continue to do well with traditional
JAMMA arcade video games.
Some machines, such as Ms. Pac-Man and Joust, are occasionally in smaller
boxes with a flat, clear glass or acrylic glass top; the player sits at the
machine playing it, looking down. This style of arcade game is known as a
cocktail-style arcade game table or tabletop arcade machine, since they were
first popularized in bars and pubs. For two player games on this type of
machine, the players sit on opposite sides with the screen flipped upside down
for each player. A few cocktail-style games had players sitting next to rather
than across from one another. Both Joust and Gun Fight had these type of
tables.
Racing games[edit]
Some arcade games, such as racing games, are designed to be sat in or on.
These types of games are sometimes referred to as sit-down games. Sega and

Namco are two of the largest manufacturers of these types of arcade games.
Other games[edit]

A cocktail cabinet or tabletop arcade machine

Other games include pinball machines, redemption games and merchandiser games.
Pinball machines have a tilted, glass-covered play area in which the player
uses mechanical flippers to direct a heavy metal ball towards lighted targets.
Redemption games reward winners with tickets that can be redeemed for prizes
such as toys or novelty items. The prizes are usually displayed behind a
counter or in a glass showcase, and an arcade employee gives the items to
players after counting their tickets. Merchandiser games reward winners with
prizes such as stuffed toys, CDs, DVDs, or candy which are dispensed directly
from the machine.
In some countries, some types of video arcades are legally allowed to provide
gambling machines such as slot machines and pachinko machines. Large arcades
may also have small coin-operated ride-on toys for small children. Some
businesses, such as Dave & Buster's, combine a bar and restaurant with a video
arcade.
Arcades typically have change machines to dispense tokens or quarters when
bills are inserted, although larger chain arcades, such as Dave and Busters
and Chuck E. Cheese are deviating towards a refillable card system.[33]
Arcades may also have vending machines which sell soft drinks, candy, and
chips. Arcades may play recorded music or a radio station over a public
address system. Video arcades typically have subdued lighting to inhibit glare
on the screen and enhance the viewing of the games' video displays, as well as
of any decorative lighting on the cabinets.
See also[edit]
Adult video arcade
European Gaming & Amusement Federation
Joypolis
List of arcade games
Muse Mcanique
Pinball
Shopping arcade
Timeline of video arcade game history
Video game arcade cabinet
References[edit]

^ Jump up to: a b Going out: the rise and fall of public amusements. p. 154.
Retrieved 2013-05-30. First use of the term [...] between 1905 and 1910
Jump up ^ Mark J. P. Wolf, The video game explosion: a history from PONG to
Playstation and beyond, ABC-CLIO, p. 105, ISBN 0-313-33868-X, retrieved 201104-19
Jump up ^ Mark Stephen Price (Atari Games Corporation) (1998), "Coin-Op: The
Life (Arcade Videogames)", Digital illusion: entertaining the future with high
technology (ACM Press): 444, ISBN 0-201-84780-9, archived from the original on
2011-07-23, retrieved 2014-10-02 |chapter= ignored (help)
Jump up ^ Edge Staff (2007-08-13). "The 30 Defining Moments in Gaming". Edge.
Future plc. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
Jump up ^ Des Moines Register, January 9, 1983
Jump up ^ Dallas Times-Herald, Dallas, TX, January 26, 1983
Jump up ^ News Release, July 12, 1983
Jump up ^ Computer Games magazine, July 1, 1984
Jump up ^ Tim McVey Day Poster, January 28, 1984
Jump up ^ Carvajal, Doreen (2007-02-26). "The New Video Arcade in Spain Might
Be the Movie Theater". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
Jump up ^ "Police 911 Videogame by Konami (2000) - The International Arcade
Museum and the KLOV". Arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
Jump up ^ "MoCap Boxing Videogame by Konami (2001) - The International Arcade
Museum and the KLOV". Arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
^ Jump up to: a b Weiss, Jennifer (2011-04-22). "For Arcades, Survival now
Hinges on Alcohol". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
Jump up ^ Solomon, Dan (2010-04-30). "The Best Video Game Bars in America".
asylum.com. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
Jump up ^ Allen, Ted. "Best Bars: Barcade". Esquire. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
Jump up ^ June, Laura (2013-01-16). "For Amusement Only: The Life and Death of
the American Arcade". theverge.com. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
Jump up ^ Ward, Getahn (2013-11-15). "New Nashville Restaurant Two Bits to
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Jump up ^ Levitt, Alice (2014-07-23). "Fun and Farm-to-Table Food at Tilt
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