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Arcade video games
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Arcade video games are coin-operated entertainment machines typically installed in businesses such as restaurants, pubs, and arcades, especially video arcades. Most arcade games are video games, electro-mechanical games, pinball machines, redemption games, and merchandisers (such as claw cranes).

The golden age of arcade video games lasted from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. While arcade games were still relatively popular during the late 1990s, the entertainment medium saw a continuous decline in popularity in the Western hemisphere when home-based video game consoles made the transition from 2D graphics to 3D graphics. Despite this, arcades remain popular in many parts of Asia as late as the early 2010s.

The term "arcade game" is also, in recent times, used to refer to a video game that was designed to look like a classic arcade game (adopting an isometric view, 2D graphics, scores, lives, etc.) but instead released on platforms such as XBLA or PC.

History[ | ]

The first popular "arcade games" were early amusement park midway games such as shooting galleries, ball toss games, and the earliest coin-operated machines, such as those that claim to tell a person their fortune or played mechanical music. The old midways of 1920s-era amusement parks (such as Coney Island in New York) provided the inspiration and atmosphere of later arcade games.

In the 1930s, the first coin-operated pinball machines were made. These early amusement machines were distinct from their later electronic cousins in that they were made of wood, also they did not have plungers or lit-up bonus surfaces on the playing field, and used mechanical instead of electronic scoring readouts. By around 1977, most pinball machines in production switched to using solid state electronics for both operation and scoring.[1]

Electro-mechanical arcade games[ | ]

Electro-mechanical (EM) games were arcade games that predated and were similar to arcade video games, but relied on electro-mechanical components to produce sounds or images rather than a cathode ray tube screen.[2] These were popular during the electro-mechanical golden age of the 1960s and 1970s, but video games eventually overtook them in popularity during the golden age of arcade video games that began with Space Invaders in 1978.[3]

Electro-mechanical golden age[ | ]

The electro-mechanical golden age began with the 1959 arcade hit Mini Drive, a racing game where the player used a steering wheel to control a miniature car across a scrolling conveyor belt inside an arcade cabinet. It was manufactured by Kasco (Kansei Seiki Seisakusho) and became a hit in Japan.[3]

Periscope, released by Namco in 1965,[4][5] and then by SEGA in 1966,[6] was an early submarine simulator and light gun shooter,[7] which used lights and plastic waves to simulate sinking ships from a submarine.[8] It became an instant success in Japan, Europe, and North America,[9] where it was the first arcade game to cost a quarter per play,[6] which would remain the standard price for arcade games for many years to come.[9] Periscope revived the North American arcade industry in the late 1960s.[10] The game was cloned by Midway as Sea Raider (1969) and Sea Devil (1970). Midway later adapted it into an arcade video game, Sea Wolf (1976).[11]

In 1967, Taito's EM arcade game Crown Soccer Special was a two-player sports game that simulated association football, using various electronic components, including electronic versions of pinball flippers.[12] SEGA's 1970 multiplayer EM shooter game Gun Fight was a direct precedent to Taito's 1975 arcade video game Gun Fight, which in turn was influential on shooter video games.[13]

Video projection games[ | ]

In the late 1960s, Japanese arcade manufacturers Kasco and SEGA introduced a new type of electro-mechanical game, video projection games. They were similar to, and anticipated, arcade video games, using rear video image projection to display moving animations on a video screen.[2][3][13] Video projection games became common in arcades of the 1970s. They combined electro-mechanical and video elements, laying the foundations for arcade video games, which adapted cabinet designs and gameplay mechanics from earlier video projection games.[13]

The first video projection games were Kasco's Indy 500, released in the late 1960s,[3] and SEGA's Duck Hunt, released in January 1969.[14][15] Duck Hunt was a light gun shooter that featured animated moving targets on a screen, printed out the player's score on a ticket, and had sound effects that were volume controllable.[14]

Indy 500 was a rear-projection racing game designed by Kenzou Furukawa. It used rear image projection to display a first-person scrolling track on a video screen, along with rival cars the player needs to avoid crashing into, while the controls consisted of a steering wheel and accelerator pedal. It became a hit in Japan, selling 2,000 cabinets there, and inspired several clones in 1969, including SEGA's Grand Prix and Chicago Coin's Speedway, which became an even bigger hit in North America, selling 10,000 cabinets there and winning a prize.[3] SEGA's clone Grand Prix also had a first-person view, electronic sound, a dashboard with a racing wheel and accelerator,[16] and a similar forward-scrolling road projected on a screen.[17] Indy 500 laid the foundations for racing video games.[3]

Another 1969 SEGA release, Missile, a shooter and vehicle-combat simulation, featured electronic sound and a moving film strip to represent the targets on a projection screen. It was the earliest known arcade game to feature a joystick with a fire button, which formed part of an early dual-control scheme, where two directional buttons are used to move the player's tank and a two-way joystick is used to shoot and steer the missile onto oncoming planes displayed on the screen; when a plane is hit, an animated explosion appears on screen, accompanied by the sound of an explosion.[18] Midway released the game in North America as S.A.M.I. in 1970.[18][19]

In the late 1960s, SEGA developed Jet Rocket, which eventually released in 1970, and was cloned shortly after by three Chicago manufacturers.[10] Jet Rocket was a combat flight simulator featuring cockpit controls that could move the player aircraft around a landscape displayed on a screen and shoot missiles onto targets that explode when hit.[20] It featured shooting and flight movement in a 3D environment from a first-person perspective, a precursor to first-person vehicle combat video games such as Battlezone (1980) and Hovertank 3D (1991), and the first-person shooter video game genre.[21]

In 1972, SEGA released an electro-mechanical game called Killer Shark, a first-person light-gun shooter known for appearing in the 1975 film Jaws.[2] In 1974, Nintendo released Wild Gunman, a light-gun shooter that used full motion video projection from 16 mm film to display live-action cowboy opponents on the screen.[22] It was the first interactive movie game, and the first game to use full motion video (FMV).[21] The quick time event (QTE) mechanic also has origins in Wild Gunman. Alternate film footage was played depending on the player's quick draw reaction. It paved the way for later QTE laserdisc video games.[13] In the 1970s, Kasco released a hit electro-mechanical arcade game with live-action FMV, projecting car footage filmed by Toei.[3]

In 1975, Kasco released the first holographic 3-D game, Gun Smoke, a light gun shooter. It was a hit in Japan, selling 6,000 cabinets there, but only 750 cabinets were sold in the US.[23] It was followed by two more holographic Kasco gun games, Samurai and Bank Robber, released between 1975 and 1977, as well as a 1976 Midway clone, Top Gun. They predated the first holographic video games, SEGA's Time Traveler (1991) and Holosseum (1992).[24]

One of the last successful electro-mechanical arcade games was F-1, a racing game developed by Namco and distributed by Atari in 1976.[25] This game appeared in the films Dawn of the Dead (1978)[26] and Midnight Madness (1980), as did SEGA's Jet Rocket in the latter film.

In the course of the 1970s, following the release of Pong in 1972, arcade video games began competing with electro-mechanical games in the arcades.[27][3] The gradual shift was not abrupt, as early arcade video games were largely modelled after earlier video projection games,[13] which continued to thrive up until the 1978 video game Space Invaders,[3] which dealt a powerful blow to the popularity of electro-mechanical games.[28] Kasco, one of the biggest electro-mechanical arcade manufacturers at the time, declined due to its reluctance to make the transition to arcade video games. The 1978 release of Space Invaders marked the end of the electro-mechanical golden age, and the beginning of the golden age of arcade video games.[3]

Arcade video games[ | ]

In 1971, students at Stanford University set up the Galaxy Game, a coin-operated version of the Spacewar video game. This is the earliest known instance of a coin-operated video game. Later in the same year, Nolan Bushnell created the first mass-manufactured such game, Computer Space, for Nutting Associates.

In 1972, Atari was formed by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari essentially created the coin-operated video game industry with the game Pong, the first successful electronic ping pong video game. Pong proved to be popular, but imitators helped keep Atari from dominating the fledgling coin-operated video game market.

Golden age[ | ]

Taito's Space Invaders, in 1978, proved to be the first blockbuster arcade video game.[29] Its success marked the beginning of the golden age of arcade video games. Video game arcades sprang up in shopping malls, and small "corner arcades" appeared in restaurants, grocery stores, bars and movie theaters all over the United States, Japan and other countries during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Space Invaders (1978), Galaxian (1979), Pac-Man (1980), Battlezone (1980), Defender (1980), and Bosconian (1981) were especially popular. By 1981, the arcade video game industry was worth $8 billion[30] ($20.8 billion in 2024).

During the late 1970s and 1980s, chains such as Chuck E. Cheese's, Ground Round, Dave and Busters, and Gatti's Pizza combined the traditional restaurant and/or bar environment with arcades.[31] By the late-1980s, the arcade video game craze was beginning to fade due to advances in home video game console technology. By 1991, US arcade video game revenues had fallen to $2.1 billion.[32]

SEGA AM2's Hang-On, designed by Yu Suzuki and running on the SEGA Space Harrier hardware, was the first of SEGA's "Super Scaler" arcade system boards that allowed pseudo-3D sprite-scaling at high frame rates.[33] The pseudo-3D sprite/tile scaling was handled in a similar manner to textures in later texture-mapped polygonal 3D games of the 1990s.[34] Designed by SEGA AM2's Yu Suzuki, he stated that his "designs were always 3D from the beginning. All the calculations in the system were 3D, even from Hang-On. I calculated the position, scale, and zoom rate in 3D and converted it backwards to 2D. So I was always thinking in 3D."[35] It was controlled using a video game arcade cabinet resembling a motorbike, which the player moves with their body. This began the "Taikan" trend, the use of motion-controlled hydraulic arcade cabinets in many arcade games of the late 1980's, two decades before motion controls became popular on video game consoles.[36]

Renaissance[ | ]

In the early 1990s, the arcades experienced a major resurgence with the 1991 release of Capcom's Street Fighter II,[37] which popularized competitive fighting games and revived the arcade industry to a level of popularity not seen since the days of Pac-Man,[38] setting off a renaissance for the arcade game industry in the early 1990s.[39] Its success led to a wave of other popular games which mostly were in the fighting genre, such as Pit-Fighter (1990) by Atari, Mortal Kombat by Midway Games,[40] Fatal Fury: King of Fighters (1992) by SNK, Virtua Fighter (1993) by SEGA, Killer Instinct (1994) by Rare, and The King of Fighters (1994–2005) by SNK.

3D polygon graphics were popularized by the SEGA Model 1 games Virtua Racing (1992) and Virtua Fighter (1993),[41] followed by racing games[38] like the Namco System 22 title Ridge Racer (1993) and SEGA Model 2 title Daytona USA, and light gun shooters like SEGA's Virtua Cop (1994)[42] and Mesa Logic's Area 51 (1995), gaining considerable popularity in the arcades.[38] By 1994, arcade games in the United States were generating revenues of $7 billion[43] in quarters (equivalent to $11.2 billion in 2024),[44] in comparison to home console game sales of $6 billion,[43] with many of the best-selling home video games in the early 1990s often being arcade ports.[45] Combined, total US arcade and console game revenues of $13 billion in 1994 ($20.8 billion in 2024) was nearly two and a half times the $5 billion revenue grossed by movies in the United States at the time.[43]

Around the mid-1990s, the fifth-generation home consoles, SEGA Saturn, PlayStation, and Nintendo 64, began offering true 3D graphics. By 1995, personal computers followed, with 3D accelerator cards. While arcade systems such as the SEGA Model 3 remained more advanced than home systems,[46] consoles and computers began approaching technological parity with arcade equipment. The technological advantage that arcade games had, in their ability to customize and use the latest graphics and sound chips, narrowed, and the convenience of home games caused a rapid decline in arcade gaming. By 1998, SEGA's 128-bit console, the Dreamcast, could produce 3D graphics on-par with the SEGA Naomi arcade machine. After producing the more powerful SEGA Hikaru in 1999 and SEGA Naomi 2 in 2000, SEGA eventually stopped manufacturing custom arcade system boards, with their subsequent arcade boards being based on either consoles or commercial PC components.

Decline[ | ]

Arcade video games had declined in popularity so much by the late 1990s, that revenues in the United States dropped to $1.33 billion in 1999,[47] and reached a low of $866 million in 2004.[48] Furthermore, by the early 2000s, networked gaming via computers and then consoles across the Internet had also appeared,[49] replacing the venue of head-to-head competition and social atmosphere once provided solely by arcades.[50]

The arcades also lost their status as the forefront of new game releases. Given the choice between playing a game at an arcade three or four times (perhaps 15 minutes of play for a typical arcade game), and renting, at about the same price, exactly the same game—for a video game console—the console became the preferred choice. Fighting games were the most attractive feature for arcades, since they offered the prospect of face-to-face competition and tournaments, which correspondingly led players to practice more (and spend more money in the arcade), but they could not support the business all by themselves.

To remain viable, arcades added other elements to complement the video games such as redemption games, merchandisers, and food service. Referred to as "fun centers" or "family fun centers",[51] some of the longstanding chains such as Chuck E. Cheese's and Gatti's Pizza ("GattiTowns")[52] also changed to this format. Many old video game arcades have long since closed, and classic coin-operated games have become largely the province of dedicated hobbyists.

Today[ | ]

Today's arcades have found a niche in games that use special controllers largely inaccessible to home users. An alternative interpretation (one that includes fighting games, which continue to thrive and require no special controller) is that the arcade game is now a more socially-oriented hangout, with games that focus on an individual's performance, rather than the game's content, as the primary form of novelty. Examples of today's popular genres are rhythm games such as Dance Dance Revolution (1998) and DrumMania (1999), and rail shooters such as Virtua Cop (1994), Time Crisis and House of the Dead (1996).

In the Western world, the arcade video game industry still exists today but in a greatly reduced form. Video arcade game hardware is often based on home game consoles to facilitate porting a video arcade game to a home system; there are video arcade versions of Dreamcast (NAOMI, Atomiswave), PlayStation 2 (System 246), Nintendo GameCube (Triforce), and Microsoft Xbox (Chihiro) home consoles. Some arcades have survived by expanding into ticket-based prize redemption and more physical games with no home console equivalent, such as skee ball and whack-a-mole. Some genres, particularly dancing and rhythm games (such as Konami's Dance Dance Revolution), continue to be popular in arcades.

In the Japanese gaming industry, on the other hand, arcades have remained popular through to the present day. As of 2009, out of Japan's $20 billion gaming market, $6 billion of that amount is generated from arcades, which represent the largest sector of the Japanese video game market, followed by home console games and mobile games at $3.5 billion and $2 billion, respectively.[53] In 2005, arcade ownership and operation accounted for a majority of Namco's revenues, for example.[54] However, due to the country's economic recession, the Japanese arcade industry has also been steadily declining, from ¥702.9 billion (US$8.7 billion) in 2007 to ¥504.3 billion ($6.2 billion) in 2010.[55]

Worldwide, arcade game revenues gradually increased from $1.8 billion in 1998 to $3.2 billion in 2002, rivalling PC game sales of $3.2 billion that same year.[56] In particular, arcade video games are a thriving industry in China, where arcades are widespread across the country.[57] The US market has also experienced a slight resurgence, with the number of video game arcades across the nation increasing from 2,500 in 2003 to 3,500 in 2008, though this is significantly less than the 10,000 arcades in the early 1980s. As of 2009, a successful arcade game usually sells around 4000 to 6000 units worldwide.[58] In the early 2000's, consumers in the United Kingdom spent £58 million on arcade games each year, [39] equivalent to $120 million then (or $160 million in 2014 dollars).

The relative simplicity yet solid gameplay of many of these early games has inspired a new generation of fans who can play them on mobile phones or with emulators such as MAME. Some classic arcade games are reappearing in commercial settings, such as Namco's Ms. Pac-Man 20 Year Reunion / Galaga Class of 1981 two-in-one game,[59] or integrated directly into controller hardware (joysticks) with replaceable flash drives storing game ROMs. Arcade classics have also been reappearing as mobile games, with Pac-Man in particular selling over 30 million downloads in the United States by 2010.[60]

Technology[ | ]

Virtually all modern arcade games (other than the very traditional midway-type games at county fairs) make extensive use of solid state electronics and integrated circuits. Coin-operated arcade video games generally use multiple CPUs, additional sound and graphics chips and/or boards, and the latest in computer graphics display technology.

Throughout the latter 20th century, the arcade platform was known for featuring the most advanced graphics and cutting-edge technology in the video game industry, up until it was overtaken by the PC platform in the 21st century; recent arcade game hardware is often based on modified video game console hardware or high-end PC components.

The newest arcade video games tend to also have interactivity as part of the game design, making the game player feel like they are more kinesthetically connected to the game itself. One form of interactive technology, virtual reality, has failed to truly become popular in arcade games, but this is due to the technical limitations of truly being able to achieve real virtual reality by any means.

Arcade games frequently have more immersive and realistic game controls than either PC or console games, including specialized ambiance or control accessories: Fully enclosed dynamic cabinets with force feedback controls, dedicated lightguns, rear-projection displays, reproductions of automobile or airplane cockpits, motorcycle or horse-shaped controllers, or highly dedicated controllers such as dancing mats and fishing rods. These accessories are usually what set modern video games apart from other games, as they are usually too bulky, expensive, and specialized to be used with typical home PCs and consoles.

Emulation[ | ]

Many older arcade games are enjoying a revival among fans, thanks to emulators such as MAME, which can be run on modern computers and a number of other devices.

Locations[ | ]

In addition to restaurants and video arcades, arcade games are also found in bowling alleys, college campuses, dormitories, laundromats, movie theatres, supermarkets, shopping malls, airports, bars/pubs and even bakeries. In short, arcade games are popular in places open to the public where people are likely to be waiting on something.

List of highest-grossing arcade video games[ | ]

For arcade games, success was usually judged by either the number of arcade hardware units sold to operators, or the amount of revenue generated, from the number of coins (such as quarters or 100 yen coins) inserted into machines,[61] and/or the hardware sales (with arcade hardware prices often ranging from $1000 to $4000). This list only includes arcade games that have either sold more than 500 hardware units or generated a revenue of more than US$1 million. Most of the games in this list date back to the golden age of arcade video games, though many are also from before and after the golden age.

Game Release year Hardware units sold Gross revenue
(US$ without inflation)
Gross revenue
(US$ with 2014 inflation)[44]
Space Invaders 1978 500,000 (up to 1990)[62] $3.702 billion (up to 1982)[n 1] $13.4 billion
Pac-Man 1980 400,000 (up to 1982)[65] $4.09 billion (up to 1990s)[n 2] $11.7 billion
Street Fighter II 1991 200,000 (up to 1992)
(The World Warrior: 60,000
Champion Edition: 140,000)
[n 3]
$4.245 billion (up to 1994)[n 5] $7.38 billion
Donkey Kong 1981 152,000 (up to 1982)[n 6] $1.496 billion (up to 1982)[75] $3.89 billion
Galaxian 1979 40,000 (in the US up to 1982)[76][77]
Donkey Kong Jr. 1982 30,000 (in the US up to 1982)[n 6]
Mr. Do! 1982 30,000 (in the US up to 1982)[78]
Popeye 1982 20,000 (in the US up to 1982)[74]
Jungle Hunt 1982 18,000 (in the US up to 1983)[79]
Mahjong Fight Club 3 2004 13,000 (up to 2004)[80]
Scramble 1981 10,000 (in the US up to 1981)[81]
The House of the Dead 2 1998 9,000 (up to 1999) [40]
Gun Fight 1975 8,000[82] (in the US up to 1976)[83][84]
SEGA Network Mahjong MJ3 2005 7,608 (up to 2006)[85]
Hang-On 1985 7,500 (up to 1985)[86]
Dinosaur King 2005 7,000 (up to 2006)[87]
Speed Race / Wheels 1974 7,000[88] (in the US up to 1976)[84]
Baby Pac-Man 1982 7,000 (up to 1983)[89]
SEGA Network Mahjong MJ2 2003 5,486 (up to 2005)[n 7]
Donkey Kong 3 1983 5,000 (in the US up to 1982)[n 6]
Mario Bros. 1983 3,800 (in the US up to 1983)[92]
Dissidia Final Fantasy 2015 3,000 (2015-2016)[93]
Initial D Arcade Stage 2001 2,534 (up to 2004)[94]
World Club Champion Football 2002 2,479 (2006-2009)[n 9] $2.507 billion (up to 2013)[n 11] $3.3 billion
Street Fighter II': Champion Edition 1992 140,000 (in Japan as of 1992)[71] $1.882 billion (in 1990s)[n 5] $3.17 billion
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior 1991 60,000+[72] (up to 1992) $1.563 billion (up to 1992)[n 4] $2.72 billion
Pole Position 1982 21,000 (in the US up to 1983)[92] $579.6 million (in the US up to 1983)[n 13] $1.42 billion (US)
Ms. Pac-Man 1981 125,000 (up to 1987)[107][108] $350 million[n 14]
(US hardware sales)
$911 million
(US hardware sales)
Asteroids 1979 100,000 (up to 1991)[108][110] $800 million (up to 1991)[111][112] $1.39 billion
Defender 1981 60,000 (up to 2002)[113][114] $1 billion (up to 2002)[115][116] $1.32 billion
NBA Jam 1993 20,000 (up to 2010) $1 billion (up to 2010)[117] $1.09 billion
OutRun 1986 30,000 (up to 1993)[118] $393.06 million (up to 1993)[119]
(hardware sales)
$849 million
(hardware sales)
Mushiking: King of the Beetles 2003 13,500 (up to 2005)[120] $631.0232 million (up to 2007)[n 15] $812 million
Mortal Kombat 1992 24,000 (up to 2002)[40] $570 million (up to 2002)[40] $750 million
Dance Dance Revolution 1998 20,000+ (up to 2003)[n 16] $516 million+ (up to 2005)
(hardware sales)[126]
$749 million
(hardware sales)
Sangokushi Taisen 2005 1,942 (up to 2006)[n 17] $399.3404 million (up to 2006)[127] $484 million
Beatmania 1997 25,000 (up to 2000)[123] $310 million (up to 2000)
(Japan hardware sales)[n 18]
$457 million
(Japan hardware sales)
Oshare Majo: Love and Berry 2004 10,300 (up to 2006)[129][130] $317 million (up to 2005)[n 19] $397 million
Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road 2007 3,500 (up to 2007)[131] $327.2 million (up to 2008)[n 20] $373 million
Pump It Up 1999 20,000 (up to 2005)[124] $222 million (up to 2005)[124][134] $315 million
Centipede 1981 55,988 (up to 1991)[135] $115.65 million (up to 1991)[135] $201 million
Dragon's Lair 1983 16,000 (up to 1983)[136][137] $68.8 million (up to 1983)[n 21] $163 million
Tempest 1981 29,000 (up to 1983)[92] $62.408 million (up to 1983)[135] $162 million
StarHorse3 Season I: A New Legend Begins 2011 $152.4 million (up to 2013)[n 22] $160 million
Mortal Kombat II 1993 27,000 (up to 2002)[40] $100 million (up to 1994)[140] $160 million
Border Break 2009 2,998 (up to 2009)[97] $141 million (up to 2013)[n 23] $156 million
Sangokushi Taisen 2010 $121.44 million (up to 2013)[n 24] $132 million
Dig Dug 1982 22,228[135] (in the US up to 1983)[79] $46.3 million (up to 1983)[135]
(US hardware sales)
$114 million
(US hardware sales)
Shining Force Cross 2009 2,389 (up to 2009)[97]
Pengo 1982 2,000 (in the US up to 1983)[79]
The House of the Dead 4 2005 1,008 (up to 2005)[142]
TRON 1982 800 (in the US up to 1982)[143] $45 million (up to 1983)[144] $107 million
StarHorse2 2005 38,614 (up to 2009)[n 25] $59.321 million (up to 2011)
(Fifth Expansion)[n 26]
$71.9 million
Q*bert 1982 25,000 (up to 2001)[148]
Robotron: 2084 1982 23,000 (up to 1983)[92]
Asteroids Deluxe 1981 22,399 (up to 1999)[149] $46.1 million (up to 1999)[149] $65.5 million
Samba de Amigo 1999 3,000 (up to 2000)[150] $47.11 million (up to 2000)[n 27] $64.7 million
Missile Command 1980 19,999 (up to 2010)[151] $36.8 million (up to 1991)[149] $63.9 million
Sangokushi Taisen 3 2007 $54.4 million (up to 2011)[n 28] $62.1 million
Pong 1972 8,500-19,000[152][153] $11 million (up to 1973)[154] $58.6 million
Paddle Battle 1973 17,000 (up to 1997)[84] $13.51 million (up to 1976)[155] $56.2 million
Lord of Vermilion 2008 $50.443 million (up to 2008)[n 29] $55.4 million
SEGA Network Mahjong MJ4 2008 12,892 (up to 2009)[n 30] $47 million (up to 2010)[n 31] $51.7 million
Kangaroo 1982 9,803[135] (up to 1983)[79] $20.58 million (up to 1983)
(US hardware sales)[135]
$50.5 million
(US hardware sales)
Battlezone 1980 15,122 (up to 1999)[149] $31.2 million (up to 1999)[149] $44.3 million
Stargate 1983 15,000 (up to 1983)[92]
Space Duel 1982 12,038 (up to 1991)[135]
Hard Drivin' 1989 3,318 (up to 1991)[135] $22.9 million (up to 1991)[135] $39.8 million
Gauntlet 1985 7,848 (up to 1991)[135] $18.01 million (up to 1991)[135] $31.3 million
Zoo Keeper 1982 3,000 (in the US up to 1983)[79]
Virtua Fighter 5 2006 696 (up to 2007)[145] 31.32 million (up to 2007)[156] $36.8 million
SEGA Network Mahjong MJ5 2011 $34.87 million (up to 2012)[n 32] $36.7 million
Millipede 1982 9,990 (up to 1991)[135] $20.669 million (up to 1991)[135] $35.9 million
Race Drivin' 1990 3,525 (up to 1991)[135] $20.03 million (up to 1991)[135] $34.8 million
Time Traveler 1991 $18 million (up to 1991)[138] $31.3 million
Space Ace 1984 $13 million (up to 1984)[138] $29.6 million
Code of Joker 2013 $27 million (up to 2013)[157] $27.4 million
Xevious 1982 5,295 (in the US up to 1983)[135] $11.1 million (up to 1983)[135]
(US hardware sales)
$27.2 million
(US hardware sales)
Atari Football 1978 11,306 (up to 1999)[149] $17.266 million (up to 1999)[149] $24.5 million
Winner 1973 7,000 (up to 1976)[84] $5.56 million (up to 1976)[158] $23.1 million
Final Lap 1987 1,150 (in the US up to 1988)[135] $9.5 million (up to 1988)[135]
(US hardware sales)
$19.8 million
(US hardware sales)
Initial D Arcade Stage 4 2007 3,904 (up to 2007)[n 33] $17 million (up to 2007)[159] $19.4 million
Pole Position II 1983 2,400 (in the US up to 1983)[135] $7.43 million (up to 1983)[135]
(US hardware sales)
$17.7 million
(US hardware sales)
Star Wars 1983 12,695 (up to 1991)[135] $7.595 million (up to 1991)[135] $13.2 million
Sprint 2 1976 8,200 (up to 1999)[149] $12.669 million (up to 1999)[149] $18 million
Guitar Hero Arcade 2009 2,000 (up to 2009)[160] 16.058 million (up to 2009) [41][42] $17.7 million
Paperboy 1985 3,442 (up to 1991)[135] $8.6 million (up to 1991)[135] $14.9 million
Breakout 1976 11,000 (up to 1999)[149] $12.045 million (up to 1999)[149] $17.1 million
Championship Sprint 1986 3,595 (up to 1991)[135] $8.26 million (up to 1991)[135] $14.4 million
Maimai 2012 $13.4 million (up to 2013)[161] $13.8 million
Sea Wolf 1976 10,000 (up to 2000)[162]
Big Buck Hunter Pro 2006 10,000 (up to 2009)[163][164]
Snake Pit 1983 9,000 (up to 1983)[165]
Amigyo 2006 640 (up to 2007)[145] $10 million (up to 2007)[166] $11.7 million
Lunar Lander 1979 4,830 (up to 1999)[149] $8.19 million (up to 1999)[149] $11.6 million
Super Sprint 1986 2,232 (up to 1999)[149] $7.8 million (up to 1999)[149] $11.1 million
Marble Madness 1984 4,000 (up to 1985)[167] $6.3 million (up to 1991)[135] $10.9 million
Rolling Thunder 1986 2,406 (in the US up to 1987)[135] $4.8 million (up to 1987)[135]
(US hardware sales)
$10.4 million
(US hardware sales)
Tetris 1989 5,771 (in the US up to 1991)[135] $5.2 million (up to 1991)[135]
(US hardware sales)
$9.03 million
(US hardware sales)
Big Buck Safari 2008 5,500 (up to 2009)[163]
Bagman 1983 5,000 (in the US up to 1983)[79]
Arabian 1983 1,950 (in the US up to 1983)[79] $3.9 million (up to 1983)[135]
(US hardware sales)
$9.27 million
(US hardware sales)
Terminator Salvation 2010 1,000 (up to 2010)[168] $8 million (up to 2010)[168] $8.68 million
Sangokushi Taisen 2 2006 4,041 (up to 2007)[n 34] $7 million (up to 2007)[n 35] $8.22 million
Sea Wolf II 1978 4,000 (up to 2000)[169]
Blasteroids 1987 2,000 (up to 1991)[135] $4.69 million (up to 1991)[135] $8.15 million
Super Breakout 1978 4,805 (up to 1999)[149] $5.7 million (up to 1999)[149] $8.1 million
The Pit 1982 1,806 (up to 1982)[170] $3.07 million (up to 1982)[170] $7.53 million
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 1985 2,825 (up to 1991)[135] $3.2 million (up to 1991)[135] $5.56 million
Pac-Mania 1987 1,412 (in the US up to 1987)[135] $2.82 million (up to 1987)[135]
(US hardware sales)
$5.87 million
(US hardware sales)
Radar Scope 1980 1,000 (in the US up to 1980)[171]
Bega's Battle 1983 700 (in the US up to 1983) [43]
Four Trax 1989 205 (in the US & EU as of 1989)[135] $2.9 million (up to 1989)[135]
(US & EU hardware sales)
$5.54 million
(US & EU hardware sales)
Assault 1988 1,079 (in the US up to 1988)[135] $2.5 million (up to 1988)[135]
(US hardware sales)
$5 million
(US hardware sales)
Gauntlet II 1986 3,520 (up to 1991)[135] $2.4 million (up to 1991)[135] $4.17 million
Drag Race 1977 1,900 (up to 1999)[149] $2.8 million (up to 1999)[149] $3.98 million
Round-Up 1981 860 (up to 1982)[170] $1.46 million (up to 1982)[170] $3.58 million
Night Driver 1976 2,100 (up to 1999)[149] $2.4675 million (up to 1999)[149] $3.51 million
Dunk Shot 1986 556 (in the US up to 1987)[135] $1.4 million (up to 1987)[135]
(US hardware sales)
$3.02 million
(US hardware sales)
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi 1984 800 (up to 1991)[135] $1.68 million (up to 1991)[135] $2.92 million
Swimmer 1982 670 (up to 1982)[170] $1.15 million (up to 1982)[170] $2.82 million
R.B.I. Baseball 1987 3,945 (in the US up to 1991)[135] $1.6 million (up to 1991)[135]
(US hardware sales)
$2.78 million
(US hardware sales)
Big Buck Hunter Pro: Open Season 2009 3,000 (up to 2010)[172]
Silver Strike Live 2010 3,000 (up to 2010)[173]
H2Overdrive 2009 2,000 (up to 2010)[174]
Computer Space 1971 1,500 (up to 1984)[175][176]
Basketball / TV Basketball 1974 1,400 (in the US up to 1975) [44]
Death Race 1976 1,000 (up to 1976)[83]
I, Robot 1984 750-1,000[135][177] $1.5 million (up to 1991)[135] $2.61 million
Dragon Spirit 1987 600 (in the US up to 1987)[135] $1.2 million (up to 1987)[135]
(US hardware sales)
$2.5 million
(US hardware sales)
Triple Hunt 1977 865 (up to 1999)[149] $1.2 million (up to 1999)[149] $1.7 million

Best-selling arcade video game franchises[ | ]

These are the combined hardware sales of at least two or more arcade games that are part of the same franchise. This list only includes franchises that have sold at least 5,000 hardware units or grossed at least $10 million revenues.

Franchise Original release year Total hardware units sold Gross revenue
(US$ without inflation)
Gross revenue
(US$ with 2014 inflation)[44]
Japan Pac-Man 1980 533,412 (up to 1988)[n 36] $4.443 billion (up to 1990s)[n 37] $12.8 billion
Japan Space Invaders 1978 500,000 (up to 1990)[62] $3.702 billion (up to 1982)[n 1] $13.4 billion
Japan Street Fighter 1987 500,000 (up to 2002)[178][179] $3.582 billion (up to 1994)
(Street Fighter II)[n 5]
$7.46 billion
(Street Fighter II)
Japan Pac-Man Clones 1980 300,000 (up to 2002)[180]
Japan SEGA Model 1992 200,000 (up to 2000)
(Model 2 & 3)[181]
$3.5 billion (up to 2000)
(Model 2 & 3 hardware sales)[182]
$5.9 billion
(Model 2 & 3 hardware sales)
Japan Mario 1981 190,800 (up to 1983)[n 38] $1.496 billion (up to 1982)
(US hardware sales)[75]
$3.89 billion
(US hardware sales)
Japan Donkey Kong 1981 187,000 (up to 1983)[n 6] $1.496 billion (up to 1982)
(hardware sales)[75]
$3.89 billion
(hardware sales)
Japan World Club Champion Football 2002 2,479 (2006-2009)[n 9] $2.507 billion (up to 2013)[n 11] $3.3 billion
United States Asteroids 1979 136,437 (up to 1999)[n 39] $850.79 million (up to 1999)[n 40] $1.14 billion
Japan SEGA Model 2 1993 130,000 (up to 1996)[183] $1.95 billion (up to 1996)
(hardware sales)[183]
$3.19 billion
United States Golden Tee Golf 1989 100,000 (up to 2011)[184]
United States Defender 1981 75,000 (up to 2002)[n 41] $1 billion (up to 2002)[115] $1.32 billion
United States Centipede 1981 65,978 (up to 1991)[n 42] $136.3 million (up to 1991)[n 43] $237 million
United States Mortal Kombat 1992 51,000 (up to 2002)[40] $1 billion (up to 1995)[185] $1.55 billion
Japan Bemani 1997 50,000+ (up to 2003)[n 44] $709.32 million+ (as of 2003)[n 45] $1.05 billion
Japan Galaxian 1979 40,986 (in the US up to 1988)[n 46]
Japan Starhorse 2000 38,734 (up to 2009)[n 47] $212 million (up to 2012)[n 48] $291 million
Japan Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road 2007 $327.2 million (up to 2008)[n 20] $373 million
Japan Lord of Vermilion 2008 $50.443 million (up to 2008)[n 29] $55.4 million
United States Big Buck 2000 33,500 (up to 2010)[n 49]
Japan e-Amusement 2002 32,000 (up to 2004)[186] $1.232 billion (up to 2012)[n 50] $1.62 billion
Japan Mr. Do! 1982 30,000 (in the US up to 1982)[78]
Japan OutRun 1986 30,000 (up to 1993)[118] $393.06 million (up to 1993)[119]
(hardware sales)
$849 million
(hardware sales)
Japan SEGA Network Mahjong 2000 25,986 (up to 2006)[n 51] $81.87 million (up to 2012)[n 52] $112 million
Japan Pole Position 1982 24,550 (in the US up to 1983)[n 53] $597 million (up to 1988)
(US hardware sales)[n 54]
$1.46 billion
Japan Dig Dug 1982 22,228[135] (in the US up to 1983)[79] $46.3 million (up to 1983)[135]
(US hardware sales)
$114 million
(US hardware sales)
Pump It Up 1999 20,000 (up to 2005)[124] $222 million (up to 2005)[124][134] $315 million
Japan Mushiking 2003 13,500 (up to 2005)[120] $631.0232 million (up to 2006)[n 15] $812 million
Japan Love and Berry 2004 10,300 (up to 2006)[129] $317 million (up to 2005)[n 19] $397 million
Japan Sangokushi Taisen 2005 9,929 (up to 2008)[n 55] $582.2 million (up to 2011)[n 56] $705 million
United States Pong 1972 8500-19,000[152][153] $11 million (up to 1973)[154] $58.6 million
United States Breakout 1976 15,805 (up to 1999)[149] $17.745 million (up to 1999)[149] $25.2 million
United States Star Wars 1983 14,039 (up to 1991)[135] $9.275 million (up to 1999)[135] $13.2 million
United States Sprint 1976 14,027 (up to 1999)[149] $28.729 million (up to 1999)[149] $40.8 million
United States Sea Wolf 1976 14,000 (up to 2000)[162]
Japan Mahjong Fight Club 2002 13,000 (up to 2004)[80]
United States Gauntlet 1985 11,368 (up to 1991)[135] $20.41 million (up to 1991)[135] $35.5 million
Hang-On 1985 7,500 (up to 1985)[86]
Japan Initial D Arcade Stage 2001 7,111 (2004-2007)[n 57] $19.3 million (2004-2007)[n 58] $25.8 million
Japan Dinosaur King 2005 7,000 (up to 2006)[87]
United States Hard Drivin' 1989 6,843 (up to 1991)[135] $42.93 million (up to 1991)[135] $74.6 million
Japan Xevious 1982 5,295 (in the US up to 1983)[135]
Japan Samba de Amigo 1999 3,000 (up to 2000)[150] $47.11 million (up to 2000)[n 27] $66.9 million
Japan Border Break 2009 2,998 (up to 2009)[97] $141 million (up to 2013)[n 23] $156 million

Evolution of arcade video game hardware[ | ]

Main article: Arcade system board

Throughout the late 20th century, arcade video game hardware was most often considerably more powerful than contemporary consoles and home computers of their time. In the early 2000s, however, this no longer remained the case, as powerful graphics boards previously limited to arcade systems became widely available for the PC platform, which eventually overtook arcade systems as the platform of choice for the most powerful graphics cards.

See also[ | ]

Footnotes[ | ]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Space Invaders revenues:
  2. 2.0 2.1 Pac-Man revenue:
    • Cabinet sales: $1.14 billion by 1982
      • $1 billion cabinet sales by 1981.[66]
        • $200 million cabinet sales in 1981, therefore $800 million cabinet sales in 1980.
      • 350,000 cabinets sold for $2800 each by 1981. [1] Out of total 400,000 sales by 1982,[65] remaining 50,000 for $2800 means $140 million additional revenue in cabinet sales in 1982.
    • Coin revenues: estimated 10 billion coins (quarters and 100-yen coins) in coin revenues by 1990's[67][68] = $2.95 billion
      • Estimated 7 billion coins by 1981:[65] $2.2 billion
      • Remaining 3 billion coins (1982 onwards) = $750 million in quarters
  3. Street Fighter II:
  4. 4.0 4.1 Street Fighter II revenue:
    • 1992-1993: $3.126 billion
      • Based on Street Fighter II generating £260 million in 1992 in the UK alone,[n 12] and the annual revenues in the larger Japan and US markets being larger. Generating at least £260 million annually in each of these three markets (the UK, US, and Japan) works out to at least £780 million ($1.563 billion) in 1992.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Street Fighter II revenue:
    • The World Warrior in 1992: $1.563 billion[n 4]
    • Champion Edition: $1.882 billion
      • Japan hardware sales: $257 million in 1992[71]
      • Coin revenue in quarters: $1.625 billion[73]
    • Later versions in 1994: $800 million
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Donkey Kong cabinet sales:
    • Japan: 65,000 of Donkey Kong
    • United States: 87,000 of Donkey Kong and Crazy Kong
      • United States: 67,000 of Donkey Kong
        • Bienaime, Pierre (13 January 2012). Square Roots: Donkey Kong (NES). Nintendojo. Retrieved on 8 April 2012 “Donkey Kong sold some 67,000 arcade cabinets in two years, making two of its American distributors sudden millionaires thanks to paid commission. As a barometer of success, know that Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man are the only arcade games to have sold over 100,000 units in the United States.”
      • United States: 20,000 of Crazy Kong (licensed release of Donkey Kong)
    • United States: 30,000 of Donkey Kong Jr. and 5000 of Donkey Kong 3.[74]
  7. 7.0 7.1 SEGA Network Mahjong MJ2:
    • April 2004 to March 2005: 4,984[90]
    • April 2005 to June 2005: 502[91]
  8. World Club Champion Football: Intercontinental Clubs
    • World Club Champion Football: Intercontinental Clubs 2006-2007 - 831 units from June 2008 to March 2009[96]
    • World Club Champion Football: Intercontinental Clubs 2008-2009 - 858 units from April 2009 to December 2009[97]
  9. 9.0 9.1 World Club Champion Football, unit sales:
    • World Club Champion Football: European Clubs 2004-2005 - 514 units in fiscal year ending March 2006[85]
    • World Club Champion Football: European Clubs 2004-2005 Ver. 2 - 276 units during April?September 2006 (240 satellite units during April?June 2006,[95] and 36 body units during April?September 2006)[87]
    • World Club Champion Football: Intercontinental Clubs 2008-2009 - 1,689 units from June 2008 to December 2009[n 8]
  10. World Club Champion Football: Intercontinental Clubs
    • Fiscal year ended 31 March 2010: ¥4.2 billion[100]
    • Fiscal year ended 31 March 2011: ¥3.8 billion[101]
    • Fiscal year ended 31 March 2012: ¥3.6 billion[102][103]
    • Fiscal year ended 31 March 2013: ¥3.2 billion
    • April–December 2013: ¥2.1 billion
    • Currency conversion: [2] $224 million
      • ¥4.2 billion = $55.4312 million
      • ¥3.8 billion = $50.2 million
      • ¥3.6 billion = $48 million
      • ¥3.2 billion = $42.2333 million
      • ¥2.1 billion = $28 million
  11. 11.0 11.1 World Club Champion Football revenue:
    • Card revenues up until January 2009 - $1.901 billion
      • 480 million player cards sold as of January 2009, costing around ¥300 each.[98][99] This brings the total card revenue up to ¥144 billion, equivalent to $1.901 billion.
    • Unit sales revenues from April 2005 to December 2009 - $307.4 million
      • World Club Champion Football: European Clubs 2004-2005 at £90,000 ($189,000) [3] each - $149.4 million
        • 514 units from April 2005 to March 2006: $97.2 million
        • 276 units during April?September 2006: $52.2 million
      • World Club Champion Football: Intercontinental Clubs 2006-2007 - 831 units from June 2008 to March 2009 at £90,000 ($189,000) [4] each = $158 million
    • World Club Champion Football: Intercontinental Clubs revenues from April 2009 to December 2013 - $224 million[n 10]
  12. In 1992, the game captured 60% of the UK coin-op market, with individual machines taking up to £1000 per week, for an estimated total of £260 million per year.[104]
  13. 13.0 13.1 Pole Position revenue:
    • US hardware sales as of 1983: $88.2 million (21,000 units[92] at $4200[105] each)
    • US coin revenue as of 1984: $491.4 million (21,000 units[92] at $450 per week)[106]
  14. 14.0 14.1 125,000 units[107] at $2800 each[109]
  15. 15.0 15.1 Mushiking: King of the Beetles, revenue
    • 420 million cards by December 2006.[121]
    • 478 million cards [5] at ¥100 each[122] [6] = ¥47.8 billion
    • Currency conversion: $631.023102 million [7]
  16. 16.0 16.1 Dance Dance Revolution sales:
  17. 17.0 17.1 Sangokushi Taisen unit sales:
    • As of March 2005: 421[90]
    • April 2005 to March 2006: 1,521[85]
  18. 18.0 18.1 Beatmania revenue:
    • ¥1 billion in March 1998[125]
      • Yen-Dollar currency conversion: $12.4 million[128]
    • Based on $12.4 million revenue from 1,000 units sold in fiscal year ending March 1998,[125] assuming price of $12,400
      • 25,000 arcade machines at $12,400 each = $310 million
  19. 19.0 19.1 Love and Berry:
    • 240 million[121] 100 yen coins[122] = ¥24 billion
    • Currency conversion: $317 million [9]
  20. 20.0 20.1 Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road
    • ¥4.5 billion from June 2007 to March 2008[132]
      • Currency conversion: $56.731 million[128]
    • ¥1.7 billion from April 2008 to September 2008[133]
      • Currency conversion: $21.4317 million[128]
    • 2 million cards at $1.24 = $249 million
  21. Dragon's Lair revenues:
    • Hardware sales: $68.8 million in 1983.[136][138]
    • Coin revenues: Up to $1400 weekly (2,800 50-cent sessions) per machine at its peak in October 1983.[10]
  22. 22.0 22.1 StarHorse3 Season I: A New Legend Begins
    • Three quarters ended December 2011: ¥3.3 billion [11]
    • Fiscal year ended March 2012: ¥10.1 billion[102] (additional ¥6.8 billion)
    • Fiscal year ended March 2013: ¥1.7 billion [12] [139]
    • Currency conversion:
      • ¥3.3 billion in 2011 = $43 million in 2011 [13]
      • ¥6.8 billion in 2012 = $87.2 million in 2012 [14]
      • ¥1.7 billion in 2013 = $22.2 million in 2013 [15]
  23. 23.0 23.1 Border Break:
    • Fiscal year ended 31 March 2010: ¥3.3 billion[100]
    • Fiscal year ended 31 March 2011: ¥2.5 billion[101]
    • Fiscal year ended 31 March 2012: ¥2.3 billion[102][141]
    • Fiscal year ended 31 March 2013: ¥2 billion
    • April–December 2013: ¥1.2 billion
    • Currency conversion:[128]
      • ¥3.3 billion = $40.7317 million
      • ¥2.5 billion = $30.8542 million
      • ¥2.3 billion = $28.6371 million
      • ¥2 billion = $24.902 million
      • ¥1.2 billion = $14.9411 million
  24. 24.0 24.1 Sengoku Taisen:
    • Fiscal year ended 31 March 2011: ¥6.4 billion[101]
    • Fiscal year ended 31 March 2012: ¥1.2 billion[102]
    • Fiscal year ended 31 March 2013: ¥2.2 billion
    Currency conversion:[128]
    • ¥6.4 billion = $79.1 million
    • ¥1.2 billion = $14.94 million
    • ¥2.2 billion = $27.4 million
  25. 25.0 25.1 StarHorse2:
    • From April 2005 to March 2007: 18,079 units
      • StarHorse2: New Generation ? 7,819 units from April 2005 to June 2006 (6,020 units in fiscal year ended March 2006,[85] and 1,799 units during April?June 2006)[87]
      • StarHorse2: Second Fusion - 10,260 units from April 2006 to March 2007 (8,105 conversion kits during April?December 2006,[129] and 2,155 body and satellite units in fiscal year ending March 2007)[145]
    • From April 2007 to March 2008: 10,275 units (756 body and satellite units of StarHorse2: Second Fusion during April?September 2007,[146] and 9,519 conversion kits in fiscal year ended March 2008)[147]
    • From April 2009 to December 2009: 10,657 units of StarHorse2: Fifth Expansion[97]
  26. 26.0 26.1 StarHorse2: Fifth Expansion:
    • Fiscal year ended 31 March 2010: ¥2.8 billion[100]
    • Fiscal year ended 31 March 2011: ¥2 billion[101]
    • Currency conversion:[128]
      • ¥2.8 billion = $34.6039 million
      • ¥2 billion = $24.7171 million
  27. 27.0 27.1 Samba de Amigo: ¥3.84 billion
    • Currency conversion: $47.11 million[128]
  28. 28.0 28.1 Sangokushi Taisen 3:
    • Fiscal year ended 31 March 2010: ¥1.8 billion[100]
    • Fiscal year ended 31 March 2011: ¥2.6 billion[101]
    • Currency conversion:[128]
      • ¥1.8 billion = $22.2401 million
      • ¥2.6 billion = $32.1248 million
  29. 29.0 29.1 Lord of Vermilion: ¥4 billion[133]
    • Currency conversion: $50.443 million[128]
  30. 30.0 30.1 SEGA Network Mahjong MJ4:
    • Fiscal year ended March 2008: 10,427[147]
    • Fiscal year ended March 2009: 2,465[96]
  31. 31.0 31.1 Fiscal year ended 31 March 2010: ¥3.8 billion[100]
    • Currency conversion: $47 million[128]
  32. 32.0 32.1 Fiscal year ended March 2012: ¥2.8 billion[102]
    • Currency conversion: $34.87 million[128]
  33. 33.0 33.1 Initial D Arcade Stage 4:
    • 3,056 units in fiscal year ending March 2007.[145]
    • 848 units during April?September 2007.[146]
  34. Sangokushi Taisen 2:
    • 3,211 units during April?September 2006.[87]
    • 830 units during April?September 2007.[146]
  35. 35.0 35.1 Sangokushi Taisen 2 revenue:
    • Cards: 69,821 cartons[145] at ¥7000 each [16] = ¥500 million = $7 million [17]
  36. Pac-Man series:
  37. Pac-Man series:
  38. Mario series:
  39. Asteroids series:
  40. Asteroids series:
  41. Defender series:
  42. Centipede series:[135][92]
  43. Centipede series:[135]
  44. Bemani series, sales:
  45. Bemani series, gross revenues:
  46. Galaxian series:
  47. StarHorse series:
    • Starhorse Progress - 120 in fiscal year ended March 2005[90]
    • StarHorse2 - 38,614 up to 2009[n 25]
  48. Starhorse series, 2009-2011:
    • Starhorse2 - $59.321 million[n 26]
    • StarHorse3 Season I: A New Legend Begins - $152.4 million[n 22]
  49. Big Buck series:
    • Big Buck Hunter series sales up until April 2007: 22,500 units, including 7,500 Big Buck Hunter Pro units.[164]
    • Series sales after April 2007 until September 2009: additional 2,500 Big Buck Hunter Pro units and 5,500 Big Buck Safari units.[163]
    • Big Buck Hunter Pro: Open Season sales from September 2009 to January 2010: 3,000 units[172]
  50. e-Amusement revenue:
    • April 2009 to March 2010: ¥39 billion[187]
    • April 2010 to March 2011: ¥28.3 billion[187]
    • April 2011 to March 2012: ¥25.5 billion[188]
    • April 2012 to June 2012: ¥3.8 billion[189]
    • Currency conversion:[128]
      • ¥39 billion = $497.5124 million in 2010
      • ¥28.3 billion = $361.0154 million in 2011
      • ¥25.5 billion = $325.2966 million in 2012
      • ¥3.8 billion = $48.4756 million in 2012
  51. SEGA Network Mahjong MJ series:
    • SEGA Network Mahjong MJ2 from April 2004 to June 2005: 5,486 units[n 7]
    • SEGA Network Mahjong MJ3 from April 2005 to March 2006: 7,608 units[85]
    • SEGA Network Mahjong MJ4 from April 2007 to March 2009: 12,892[n 30]
  52. SEGA Network Mahjong MJ series, 2009-2012:
    • SEGA Network Mahjong MJ4: $47 million in fiscal year 2010[n 31]
    • SEGA Network Mahjong MJ5: $34.87 million in fiscal year 2012[n 32]
  53. Pole Position series US sales:
  54. Pole Position series US sales:[135][92]
  55. Sangokushi Taisen series:
    • Sales from January 2005 to September 2006: 5,153 units
      • Sangokushi Taisen from January 2005 to March 2006: 1,942 units[n 17]
      • Sangokushi Taisen 2 during April-September 2006: 3,211 units[87]
    • Sales from April 2007 to March 2008: 4,776
      • 166 body units of Sangokushi Taisen 2 during April-September 2007[146]
      • 4,610 satellite units of Sangokushi Taisen from April 2007 to March 2008[147]
  56. Sangokushi Taisen series revenue:
    • Sangokushi Taisen, 2005-2006: $399.3404 million[127]
    • Sangokushi Taisen 2, 2006-2007: $7 million[n 35]
    • Sangokushi Taisen series, 2009-2013: $175.84 million
      • Sangokushi Taisen 3: $54.4 million[n 28]
      • Sengoku Taisen: $121.44 million[n 24]
  57. Initial D series:
    • Initial D Arcade Stage: 2,534 units from April 2004 to September 2004[94]
    • Initial D Arcade Stage Ver. 3: 673 units from April 2004 to March 2005[90]
    • Initial D Arcade Stage 4: 3,904 units from April 2006 to September 2007[n 33]
  58. Initial D series revenue:
    • Initial D Arcade Stage Ver. 3: 673 units[90] at $3390 [18] each = $2.3 million
    • Initial D Arcade Stage 4: $17 million[159]

References[ | ]

  1. Vintage Coin Operated Fortune Tellers, Arcade Games, Digger/Cranes, Gun Games and other Penny Arcade games, pre-1977 from Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 D.S. Cohen. Killer Shark: The Undersea Horror Arcade Game from Jaws. About.com. http://classicgames.about.com/od/arcadegames/p/KillerShark.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-03. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Kasco and the Electro-Mechanical Golden Age (Interview), Classic Videogame Station ODYSSEY, 2001
  4. Tweet, Onion Software
  5. Elemecha, Namco
  6. 6.0 6.1 Steven L. Kent (2000), The First Quarter: A 25-Year History of Video Games, p. 83, BWD Press, ISBN 0-9704755-0-0
  7. Brian Ashcraft (2008) Arcade Mania! The Turbo Charged World of Japan's Game Centers, p. 133, Kodansha International
  8. Steve L. Kent (2001), The ultimate history of video games: from Pong to Pokémon and beyond: the story behind the craze that touched our lives and changed the world, p. 102, Prima, ISBN 0-7615-3643-4
  9. 9.0 9.1 Mark J. P. Wolf (2008), The video game explosion: a history from PONG to PlayStation and beyond, p. 149, ABC-CLIO, ISBN 0-313-33868-X
  10. 10.0 10.1 https://archive.org/stream/NextGeneration24Dec1996/Next_Generation_24_Dec_1996#page/n10/mode/1up
  11. http://www.pinrepair.com/arcade/sperisc.htm
  12. Crown Soccer Special at Museum of the Game
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Once Upon a Time on the Screen: Wild West in Computer and Video Games, Academia.edu
  14. 14.0 14.1 1969 SEGA Duck Hunt (Arcade Flyer). pinrepair.com. Retrieved on 2011-05-03
  15. Duck Hunt (1969) at Museum of the Game
  16. Grand Prix at Museum of the Game
  17. Bill Loguidice & Matt Barton (2009), Vintage games: an insider look at the history of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the most influential games of all time, p. 198, Focal Press, ISBN 0-240-81146-1
  18. 18.0 18.1 Missile at Museum of the Game
  19. S.A.M.I. at Museum of the Game
  20. Jet Rocket at Museum of the Game
  21. 21.0 21.1 Carl Therrien, Inspecting Video Game Historiography Through Critical Lens: Etymology of the First-Person Shooter Genre, Game Studies: The International Journal of Computer Game Research, Volume 15, issue 2, December 2015, ISSN 1604-7982
  22. Wild Gunman (1974) at Museum of the Game
  23. https://www.arcade-history.com/?n=gun-smoke&page=detail&id=14552
  24. https://books.google.com/books?id=tLWlCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA179
  25. F-1 at Museum of the Game
  26. This links to a channel or video on YouTube Mall Arcade (Dawn Of The Dead)
  27. Brian Ashcraft (2008) Arcade Mania! The Turbo Charged World of Japan's Game Centers, p. 134, Kodansha International
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  29. Chris Kohler (2005), Power-up: how Japanese video games gave the world an extra life, BradyGames, p. 18, ISBN 0-7440-0424-1, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=auMTAQAAIAAJ, retrieved 27 March 2011 
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  62. 62.0 62.1 Space Invaders arcade machine sales
    • Worldwide sales: 500,000 cabinets
    • Up until 1982: 350,000 cabinets in Japan and 65,000 cabinets in the United States
    • Jiji Gaho Sha, inc. (2003), Asia Pacific perspectives, Japan, 1, University of Virginia, p. 57, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=CTRWAAAAYAAJ, retrieved 9 April 2011, "At that time, a game for use in entertainment arcades was considered a hit if it sold 1000 units; sales of Space Invaders topped 300,000 units in Japan and 60,000 units overseas." 
    • Dale Peterson (1983), Genesis II, creation and recreation with computers, Reston Publishing, p. 175, ISBN 0-8359-2434-3, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DL1YAAAAMAAJ, retrieved 1 May 2011, "By 1980, some 300,000 Space Invader video arcade games were in use in Japan, and an additional 60,000 in the United States." 
    • Kohler, Chris (2004). Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life. Indianapolis, Ind.: BradyGames. p. "represented+a+significant+portion+of+the+cost" 19. ISBN 0-7440-0424-1. "Within one year of its US release, an additional 60,000 machines had been sold. One arcade owner said of Space Invaders that it was the first arcade game whose intake "represented a significant portion of the cost of [buying] the game in any one week." That is, it was the first video game that paid for itself within about a month." 
    • Kubey, Craig (April 1982). The winners' book of video games. pp. 63-4. http://www.digitpress.com/library/books/book_winners_book_of_video_games.pdf. "Space Invaders. It is the Muhammad Ali of the video game world. It is the Greatest. The biggest seller in the history of the world. The best game ever for the year it was introduced. The game that revitalized the industry and changed it forever. The game that made the industry the monster it is today. The game that not only was an unprecedented success as a coin-op machine, but also the game that launched a home video version that became the biggest seller of all time. Space Invaders drove an entire nation mad. You may think the last sentence refers to the United States: Space Invaders did outsell the previous US leader—Pong of Sea Wolf, take your pick— by six to one (60,000 to 10,000). But if the United States was an eight on the scale of video craziness, Japan was an eleven. Space Invaders created a shortage of the hundred-yen coin. [...] The biggest seller in the history of the United States—Pac-Man—has sold about 100,000 units of the legal Midway version. That's in a country with a 1980 population of 226 million. Japan's 1980 population was about 117 million, or about half that of the United States. In Japan alone, approximately 350,000 Space Invaders machines were sold, about one for every 330 citizens!" 
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  63. 63.0 63.1 "Can Asteroids Conquer Space Invaders?". Electronic Games 1 (1): 30-33 [31]. Winter 1981. http://www.digitpress.com/library/magazines/electronic_games/electronic_games_winter81.pdf. Retrieved February 1, 2012. 
  64. "Video Warriors on the Screen", New Scientist 95 (1317): p. 377, August 5, 1982, ISSN 0262-4079, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=MdyCKvgw4ksC&pg=PA377, retrieved May 1, 2011, "But this is 1982, and the game Space Invaders ? as the Disney handout enviously reminds us ? grosses over $600 million a year." 
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  68. Mark J. P. Wolf (2008), The video game explosion: a history from PONG to Playstation and beyond, ABC-CLIO, p. 73, ISBN 0-313-33868-X, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=XiM0ntMybNwC&pg=PA73, retrieved 10 April 2011, "It would go on to become arguably the most famous video game of all time, with the arcade game alone taking in more than a billion dollars, and one study estimated that it had been played more than 10 billion times during the twentieth century." 
  69. Kline, Stephen; Nick Dyer-Witheford, Greig de Peuter (2003). Digital play: the interaction of technology, culture, and marketing (Reprint ed.). Montreal, Quebec: McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 96. ISBN 0-7735-2591-2. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=gw5V10iLEsUC&pg=PA96. Retrieved 25 February 2012. "The game produced one billion dollars in 1980 alone" 
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  72. 72.0 72.1 Steven L. Kent (2001), The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story behind the Craze that Touched Our Lives and Changed the World, Prima, p. 446, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=C2MH05ogU9oC, retrieved 9 April 2011, "Capcom will not release the final numbers, but some outsiders have estimated that more than 60,000 Street Fighter II arcade machines were sold worldwide." 
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  75. 75.0 75.1 75.2 Donkey Kong revenue: $1.496 billion during 1981-1982
    • Cabinet sales revenue: $494 million during 1981-1982
    • United States coin revenue: $1.002 billion from July 1981 to December 1982
      • July–December 1981: $175 million
        • July–October 1981: 4,000 cabinet sales per month, at $288 weekly average earnings per cabinet = $50 million
          • July 1981: 4,000 cabinets = $5 million
          • August 1981: 8,000 cabinets = $10 million
          • September 1981: 12,000 cabinets = $15 million
          • October 1981: 16,000 cabinets = $20 million
        • November–December 1981: 50,000 cabinets at $288 weekly earnings each [19] = $125 million
      • 1982: $827 million
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      • 1192 locations x $15,000 as of 2002 = $18 million+
      • Additional 380 locations x $15,000 in 2003 = $6 million+
    • Remaining 23,428+ units at £9995 ($21,000) each = $492 million+
  127. 127.0 127.1 Sangokushi Taisen revenue: [22][23]
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    • 100 million cards at ¥300 each = ¥30 billion = $396.04 million [25]
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