Arcade game machines are commonly called “arcade cabinets” or simply “arcade machines.” These machines feature video games housed in upright, tabletop, or cocktail-style cabinets. Popular types include pinball machines, claw machines, and video arcade games. The term “cabinet” refers to the physical structure containing the screen, controls, and game hardware. During the 1980s, arcades were filled with classics like Pac-Man and Street Fighter II.
History of Arcade Game Machines
Arcade game machines have a long history starting from the early 20th century where electromechanical gaming machines were used. This time was the when true arcade video game machines were born – in late 1970s and early-mid-1980s. Space Invaders by Taito was released in 1978 and marked the start of the golden age of video arcade games. In the first year alone, Mario Bros arcade game sold more than 360,000 units and made a ton of money (over $400 million) on sales only in Japan.
In the upcoming years, a large number of classic arcade games were launched. Namco released “Pac-Man” in 1980 and went on to sell more than half a million of the arcade units worldwide, earning $1 billion during its life. Like the characters and maze design of Pac-Man, which became literal cultural icons. In 1976, Atari’s “Breakout” was a best-seller and broke the record for providing more than 300,000 units in arcades.
Namco released another arcade classic in 1981, Galaga which sold over 250,000 units of the game. Nintendo also sold more than 130,000 copies of the original “Donkey Kong” coin-operated arcade game that same year and introduced Mario into popular culture (the character would later become Nintendo’s mascot).
Street Fighter was released on 1987, it follow with the release for Street figther II in 1991 and became one of the successful arcade games ever where lead to sold more than quarter million units and create $1.5 billion dollar revenue worldwide
Composition of Arcade Game Machines
A typical arcade machine is composed of a cabinet, motherboard, display and sound equipment (usually monitor speakers), controllers such as joysticks and buttons… Early arcade cabinets were made with CRT displays, like the 19-inch tubes that powered games in the ’80s including “Pac-Man” and “Donkey Kong.” For example, the 2018 Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Arcade Future Tone features a pair of full-HD resolution near-32-inch LCD screens.
Arcade cabinet controls (joysticks and buttons, e.g. essence of an arcade machine) For example, “Street Fighter II” employed an 8-way joystick and a six-button layout that made it easier to control with subtlety.
Motherboards have much of the necessary hardware and software to play a game as well as process graphics. Custom chipsets were used by arcade machines of the 1980s era, such as Intel’s 8080 processor in Space Invaders. While the use of PlayStation 4-powered hardware can be seen as a cost-saving measure, modern arcade machines like Tekken 7 are also designed to endure constant punishment.
Audio systems give life to the game through in-game sound effects and music, increasing the overall immersion. If you were playing an arcade machine like Space Invaders, it used rudimentary synthesized sounds that are a far cry from the high-fidelity stereo systems in games like Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Arcade Future Tone.
These cabinets not only encompass the whole machine but also are aesthetically pleasing to look at. The 1981 “Donkey Kong” featured a blue cabinet decorated with game art on its front panel. In modern arcade machines, like with Project CARS 2 (2017), the enclosed cockpit design is used to provide more realistic driving experiences.
Cultural Impact of Arcade Game Machines
Arcadian DevicesThe Original Arcade game machines Arcade games were very sensationally played by teens and game lovers all over the globe in this era. The United States alone saw 10,000 people enter the national contest in 1982 for popular arcade game “Pac-Man”.
The retro-styled character and elements of the classic arcade games are so legendary that it has taken roots in popular culture. Pac-Man characters not only found their way into video games but also in a range of films, cartoons, toys and other merchandise – (as main protagonists even) including appearing at length in the 2015 movie Pixels. Popular “Street Fighter” game characters, like Ryu and Chun-Li (shown here), have been fans favorites in a number of films and comics.
The early development of e-sports was also promoted by arcade game machines. In the late 80s and early 90s, competitive game tournaments were held for games like Street Fighter II or Mortal Kombat all across the world. One such precursor was the 1992 “Street Fighter II” national championship in the United States that saw thousands turn out to compete, which paved way for e-sports.
Development of Modern Arcade Game Machines
Arcade game machines have changed over time, influenced by genres we see now on home consoles and PCs. In 2010, SEGA introduced an ARCADE VR-based game named “Virtua Planet VR” which presented the innovative REAL-TIME gaming experience. That was the AR arcade game “Orchestra VR” released by BANDAI NAMCO on March 9, 2016 that players could play a virtual concert with goggles.
Interest in many classic arcade games has experienced resurgence with the revival of the retro trend. Arcade1Up has been selling replica arcade cabinets of games like Pac-Man, Street Fighter II and Star Wars since 2018 so gamers could play the classics at home. Replica arcade machines such as these have done very well recently at market too, with Arcade1Up’s replica “Pac-Man” alone selling over 100k units worldwide in the year to September.
