53-542: Fantasy Zone is a 1986 arcade video game by Sega , and the first game in the Fantasy Zone series. It was later ported to a wide variety of consoles, including the Master System . The player controls a sentient spaceship named Opa-Opa who fights an enemy invasion in the titular group of planets. The game contains a number of features atypical of the traditional scrolling shooter . The main character, Opa-Opa,
106-508: A golden age of arcade video games , the exact dates of which are debated but range from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. This golden age includes Space Invaders , Pac-Man , and Donkey Kong . The arcade industry had a resurgence from the early 1990s to mid-2000s, including Street Fighter II , Mortal Kombat , and Dance Dance Revolution , but ultimately declined in the Western world as competing home video game consoles such as
159-421: A "technological renaissance" driven by "audio-visual" EM novelty games, establishing the arcades as a suitable environment for the introduction of commercial video games in the early 1970s. In the late 1960s, college student Nolan Bushnell had a part-time job at an arcade where he became familiar with EM games such as Chicago Coin 's racing game Speedway (1969), watching customers play and helping to maintain
212-517: A combination of angled monitor positioning, one-way mirrors , and clear overlays to simulate colors and other graphics onto the gameplay field. Coin-operated arcade video games from the 1990s to the 2000s generally use custom hardware often with multiple CPUs , highly specialized sound and graphics chips , and the latest in expensive computer graphics display technology. This allows more complex graphics and sound than contemporary video game consoles or personal computers . Many arcade games since
265-510: A fixture in popular culture . Across North America and Japan, dedicated video-game arcades appeared and arcade-game cabinets appeared in many smaller storefronts. By 1981, the arcade video-game industry was worth US$ 8 billion in the US. The novelty of arcade games waned sharply after 1982 due to several factors, including market saturation of arcades and arcade games, a moral panic over video games (similar to fears raised over pinball machines in
318-470: A lack of available data for coin drop earnings which typically account for the majority of a hit arcade game's gross revenue. This list only includes arcade games that either sold more than 10,000 hardware units or generated a revenue of more than $ 10 million . Most of the games listed were released between the golden age of arcade video games (1978–1984) and the 1990s. These are the combined hardware sales of at least two or more arcade games that are part of
371-526: A new mode which involves the player playing as Upa-Upa, Opa-Opa's brother. The two replacement bosses from the Master System release can be unveiled, each replacing the standard boss. The arcade version is a minigame in several entries in the Yakuza series , beginning with Yakuza 0 . It is identical to the original arcade release, except the addition of a rapid fire button. A Sega Genesis port of
424-457: A new renaissance in the arcades. Another factor was realism, including the "3D Revolution" from 2D and pseudo-3D graphics to "true" real-time 3D polygon graphics . This was largely driven by a technological arms-race between Sega and Namco . During the early 1990s games such as Sega's Virtua Racing and Virtua Fighter popularized 3D-polygon technology in arcades. 3D graphics later became popular in console and computer games by
477-535: A pack-in game for the ColecoVision to challenge the VCS. Arcade conversions typically had to make concessions for the lower computational power and capabilities of the home console, such as limited graphics or alterations in gameplay. Such conversions had mixed results. The Atari VCS conversion of Space Invaders was considered the VCS's killer application , helping to quadruple the VCS sales in 1980. In contrast,
530-476: A shop by touching a marked balloon. Prices rise with each purchase. When the player chooses to exit or the time runs up, another screen appears to equip these upgrades; only one engine, weapon and bomb can be equipped at a time. Some of the purchasable weapons have a time limit that starts as soon as the shop is left. Some of the bombs can be used at any moment, but are limited in quantity.Engine upgrades are permanent. The powerups can also be reassigned by reentering
583-656: A simplified physics engine , and short learning time when compared with more realistic racing simulations . Cars can turn sharply without braking or understeer, and the AI rivals are sometimes programmed so they are always near the player with a rubberband effect . Other types of arcade-style games include music games (particularly rhythm games ), and mobile and casual games with intuitive controls and short sessions. The term "arcade game" can refer to an action video game designed to play similarly to an arcade game with frantic, addictive gameplay. The focus of arcade action games
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#1732780634671636-545: A successful arcade video game is "easy to learn, difficult to master" along with a "multiple life , progressively difficult level " paradigm. This is due to the environment of the arcade, where the player is essentially renting the game for as long as their in-game avatar can stay alive or until they run out of tokens . Games on consoles or PCs can be referred to as "arcade games" if they share these qualities, or are direct ports of arcade games. Arcade racing games often have sophisticated motion simulator arcade cabinets ,
689-641: Is an application that translates foreign software onto a modern system, in real-time. Emulated games appeared legally and commercially on the Macintosh in 1994 with Williams floppy disks, Sony PlayStation in 1996, and Sega Saturn in 1997 with CD-ROM compilations such as Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits and Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1 , and on the PlayStation 2 and GameCube with DVD-ROM compilations such as Midway Arcade Treasures . Arcade games are downloaded and emulated through
742-616: Is expanded by the popularity of conversions of arcade games for home-based platforms. In 1997, WMS Industries (parent company of Midway Games ) reported that if more than 5,000 arcade units are sold, at least 100,000 home version units will be sold. The American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) is a trade association established in 1981 that represents the American coin-operated amusement machine industry, including 120 arcade game distributors and manufacturers. The Japan Amusement Machine and Marketing Association (JAMMA) represents
795-761: Is on the user's reflexes, and many feature very little puzzle-solving, complex thinking, or strategy skills. These include fighting games often played with an arcade controller , beat 'em up games including fast-paced hack and slash games, and light gun rail shooters and " bullet hell " shooters with intuitive controls and rapidly increasing difficulty. Many arcade combat flight simulation games have sophisticated hydraulic motion simulator cabinets, and simplified physics and handling. Arcade flight games are meant to have an easy learning curve , in order to preserve their action component. Increasing numbers of console flight video games, such as Crimson Skies , Ace Combat , and Secret Weapons Over Normandy indicate
848-405: Is sometimes referred to as Sega's first mascot character. The game design and main character have many similarities to the earlier TwinBee , and both are credited with establishing the cute 'em up subgenre. It also popularized the concept of a boss rush , a stage where the player faces multiple previous bosses again in succession. Numerous sequels were made over the years. In the game,
901-562: Is unlockable in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection . A 3D port of the game was released on March 19, 2014 for the Nintendo 3DS titled 3D Fantasy Zone: Opa-Opa Bros. New features of the 3DS port involve stereoscopic 3D visuals, adjustable difficulty settings, the ability to save the game, the ability to switch to the Japanese versions and US versions of the game, a Stage Select feature, and
954-448: Is usually judged by either the number of arcade hardware units sold to operators, or the amount of revenue generated. The revenue can include the coin drop earnings from coins (such as quarters , dollars , or 100 yen coins ) inserted into machines, and/or the earnings from hardware sales with each unit costing thousands of dollars. Most of the revenue figures listed below are incomplete as they only include hardware sales revenue, due to
1007-723: Is very similar to Space Harrier , or the unreleased Space Fantasy Zone . This version was released in North America and Europe as part of the Sega Classics Collection . Fantasy Zone was released for mobile phones in 2002 in Japan and in August 2003 in the United States. Due to hardware limitations, this version was divided in three different parts. The Master System version was re-released in Japan for
1060-612: The Nintendo Wii Virtual Console service starting in 2009. Using emulation, companies like Arcade1Up have produced at-scale or reduced-scale recreations of arcade cabinets using modern technology, such as LCD monitors and lightweight construction. These cabinets are typically designed to resemble the original arcade game cabinets, but may also support multiple related games. These cabinets can be offered in diverse and miniaturized styles, such as table-mounted and wall-mounted versions. For arcade games, success
1113-579: The Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox increased in their graphics and gameplay capability and decreased in cost. Nevertheless, Japan, China, and South Korea retain a strong arcade industry in the present day. Games of skill were popular amusement-park midway attractions from the 19th century on. With the introduction of electricity and coin-operated machines, they facilitated a viable business . When pinball machines with electric lights and displays were introduced in 1933 (but without
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#17327806346711166-953: The 2000s run on modified video game console hardware (such as the Sega NAOMI or Triforce) or gaming PC components (such as the Taito Type X ). Many arcade games have more immersive and realistic game controls than PC or console games . This includes specialized ambiance or control accessories such as 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 too bulky, expensive, and specialized to be used with typical home PCs and consoles. Arcade makers experiment with virtual reality technology. Arcades have progressed from using coins as credits to smart cards that hold
1219-426: The Japanese arcade industry. Arcade machines may have standardized connectors or interfaces such as JAMMA, or JVS, that help with quick replacement of game systems or boards in arcade cabinets. The game boards or arcade boards may themselves allow for games to be replaced via game cartridges or discs. Prior to the 2000s, successful video games were often converted to a home video game console or home computer. Many of
1272-773: The PC Engine version to be better than the Master System version but not as commercially successful. Console XS reviewed the Master System version in 1992, giving it a 91% score. It was reviewed by Génération 4 , Sega Power , Happy Computer , and Tilt in 1987 and 1990. Arcade video game An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-operated or accept other means of payment, housed in an arcade cabinet , and located in amusement arcades alongside other kinds of arcade games . Until
1325-510: The United States, arcades have become niche markets as they compete with the home-console market, and they have adapted other business models, such as providing other entertainment options or adding prize redemptions. In Japan, where arcades continue to flourish, games like Dance Dance Revolution and The House of the Dead aim to deliver tailored experiences that players cannot easily have at home. Virtually all modern arcade games (other than
1378-469: The VCS conversion of Pac-Man in 1982 was highly criticized for technical flaws due to VCS limitations such as flickering ghosts and simplified gameplay. Though Pac-Man was the best-selling game on the VCS, it eroded consumer confidence in Atari's games and partially contributed to the 1983 crash. The need for arcade conversions began to wane as arcade game manufacturers like Nintendo, Sega, and SNK entered
1431-491: The Virtual Console on March 11, 2008, for Europe and Australia on April 11, and in North America on April 14. On September 18, the final Sega Ages disc was devoted to the series, Fantasy Zone Complete Collection . Instead of a 3D remake, it compiles all of the games in the series, including spin-offs, all of Sega's own versions, and a remake of Fantasy Zone II for System 16 hardware. The original arcade version
1484-468: The advent of Space Invaders and the golden era, microprocessor-based games became typical. Early arcade games were also designed around raster graphics displayed on a cathode-ray tube (CRT) display. Many games of the late 1970s and early 1980s use special displays that rendered vector graphics , though these waned by the mid-1980s as display technology on CRTs improved. Prior to the availability of color CRT or vector displays, some arcade cabinets have
1537-494: The arcade game market out of the 1983 downturn and created new genres of video games. In terms of arcades, Sega is the world's most prolific arcade game producer, having developed more than 500 games , 70 franchises , and 20 arcade system boards since 1981. It has been recognized by Guinness World Records for this achievement. The following list comprises the various arcade system boards developed and used by Sega in their arcade games. Before Lindbergh, Sega arcade hardware
1590-572: The bosses were replaced by alternate bosses. Two different versions were released for the Famicom and NES . The Japanese version was released in 1987, developed and published by Sunsoft . The American version was released in 1989, developed by Pixel and published unlicensed by Tengen . In 1997, Fantasy Zone was released in the Sega Ages series in Japan for the Sega Saturn . Fantasy Zone
1643-463: The construction of replacement guns, flippers, and other parts for the machines. According to former Sega director Akira Nagai, this is what led to the company into developing their own games. Sega released Pong-Tron , its first video-based game, in 1973. The company prospered from the arcade game boom of the late 1970s, with revenues climbing to over US$ 100 million by 1979. Nagai has stated that Hang-On and Out Run helped to pull
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1696-448: The decades prior), and the 1983 video game crash as the home-console market impacted arcades. The arcade market had recovered by 1986, with the help of software-conversion kits, the arrival of popular beat 'em up games (such as Kung-Fu Master (1984) and Renegade (1986-1987)), and advanced motion simulator games (such as Sega's "taikan" games including Hang-On (1985), Space Harrier (1985), and Out Run (1986)). However,
1749-420: The early 2000s, arcade video games were the largest and most technologically advanced segment of the video game industry . Early prototypical entries Galaxy Game and Computer Space in 1971 established the principle operations for arcade games, and Atari 's Pong in 1972 is recognized as the first successful commercial arcade video game. Improvements in computer technology and gameplay design led to
1802-802: The falling of manual-heavy flight sim popularity in favor of instant arcade flight action. A modern subgenre of action games called " hack and slash " or "character action games" represent an evolution of traditional arcade action games, and are sometimes considered a subgenre of beat 'em up brawlers. This subgenre of games was largely defined by Hideki Kamiya , creator of the Devil May Cry and Bayonetta franchises. Arcade games are found in restaurants, bowling alleys, college campuses, video rental shops, dormitories, laundromats, movie theaters, supermarkets, shopping malls, airports, and other retail environments. They are popular in public places where people are likely to have free time. Their profitability
1855-626: The game was developed for the Sega Genesis Mini 2, the successor to the Sega Genesis Mini microconsole, which was released on October 27, 2022. The port added a Super Easy mode. Fantasy Zone was very successful in Japanese arcades, helping to give rise to the popular System 16 arcade board. In April 1986, it was the second top-grossing table arcade cabinet of the month in Japan. It was the top-grossing arcade game in Japan from July–August 1986. The Sega Master System version
1908-581: The growth of home video-game systems such as the Nintendo Entertainment System led to another brief arcade decline toward the end of the 1980s. Arcade games continued to improve with the development of technology and of gameplay. In the early 1990s, the release of Capcom 's Street Fighter II established the modern style of fighting games and led to a number of similar games such as Mortal Kombat , Fatal Fury , Killer Instinct , Virtua Fighter , and Tekken , creating
1961-576: The home console market and used similar technology within their home consoles as found at the arcade, negating the need to simplify the game. Concessions still may be made for a home release; notably, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System conversion of Mortal Kombat removed much of the gore from the arcade version to meet Nintendo's quality control standards. Exact copies of arcade video games can be run through emulators such as MAME on modern devices. An emulator
2014-468: The initial Atari VCS games, for example, were conversions of Atari's success arcade games. Arcade game manufacturers that were not in the home console or computer business found licensing of their games to console manufacturers to be a successful business model, as console manufacturer competitors would vie for rights to more popular games. Coleco famously bested Atari to secure the rights to convert Nintendo's Donkey Kong , which it subsequently included as
2067-541: The machinery, while learning the game business. The early mainframe game Spacewar! (1962) inspired the first commercial arcade video game, Computer Space (1971), created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney and released by Nutting Associates . It was demonstrated at the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) show in October 1971. Another Spacewar -inspired coin-operated video game, Galaxy Game ,
2120-443: The mid-1970s, starting with Gun Fight in 1975. The arcade industry entered a "Golden Age" in 1978 with the release of Taito 's Space Invaders , which introduced many novel gameplay features - including a scoreboard . From 1978 to 1982, several other major arcade-games from Namco, Atari, Williams Electronics, Stern Electronics, and Nintendo were all considered blockbusters , particularly Namco's Pac-Man (1980), which became
2173-483: The mid-1990s, though arcade systems such as the Sega Model 3 remained considerably more advanced than home systems in the late 1990s. Until about 1996, arcade video-games had remained the largest segment of the global video-game industry . Arcades declined in the late 1990s, surpassed by the console market for the first time around 1997–1998. Since the 2000s, arcade games have taken different routes globally. In
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2226-408: The player's ship is placed in a level with a number of bases to destroy. When all the bases are gone, the stage boss appears, who must be defeated in order to move on to the next stage. There are eight stages, and in all of them, except the final one, the scrolling camera is not fixed; the player can move either left or right, although the stage loops. The final level consists of a rematch against all of
2279-459: The previous bosses in succession before facing the final boss. Opa-Opa uses two different attacks: the standard weapon (initially bullets) and bombs. He can also move down to land on the ground by sprouting feet and walking around until he flies again. It is possible to upgrade Opa-Opa's weapons, get bombs and flying engine to increase speed, and get extra lives. To do these, the player must get money by defeating enemies, bases or bosses, and access
2332-632: The same franchise. This list only includes franchises that have sold at least 5,000 hardware units or grossed at least $ 10 million revenues. System 16 Sega is a video game developer , publisher , and hardware development company headquartered in Tokyo , Japan , with multiple offices around the world. The company's involvement in the arcade game industry began as a Japan-based distributor of coin-operated machines, including pinball games and jukeboxes . Sega imported second-hand machines that required frequent maintenance. This necessitated
2385-437: The shop or touch a balloon with the word "Select" written on it. If the player loses a life, all of the upgrades are lost. Fantasy Zone was ported to the Master System , MSX , Nintendo Entertainment System , X68000 , and PC Engine —all with similar gameplay. For example, the Master System version lacks some features such as the radar that indicates the location of the bases or a gauge that indicates energy level, and two of
2438-414: The user-controller flippers which would not be invented until 1947) these machines were seen as games of luck . Numerous states and cities treated them as amoral playthings for rebellious young people, and banned them into the 1960s and 1970s. Electro-mechanical games (EM games) appeared in arcades in the mid-20th century. Following Sega 's EM game Periscope (1966), the arcade industry experienced
2491-454: The very traditional fair midway ) make extensive use of solid state electronics , integrated circuits , and monitor screens, all installed inside an arcade cabinet . With the exception of Galaxy Game and Computer Space , which were built around small form-factor mainframe computers , the first arcade games are based on combinations of multiple discrete logic chips, such as transistor–transistor logic (TTL) chips. Designing an arcade game
2544-461: The virtual currency of credits. Modern arcade cabinets use flat panel displays instead of cathode-ray tubes. Internet services such as ALL.Net , NESiCAxLive , e-Amusement and NESYS , allow the cabinets to download updates or new games, do online multiplayer gameplay, save progress, unlock content, or earn credits. Many arcade games have short levels, simple and intuitive control schemes, and rapidly increasing difficulty . The classic formula for
2597-484: Was demonstrated at Stanford University in November 1971. Bushnell and Dabney followed their Computer Space success to create - with the help of Allan Alcorn - a table-tennis game, Pong , released in 1972. Pong became a commercial success, leading numerous other coin-op manufacturers to enter the market. The video game industry transitioned from discrete integrated circuitry to programmable microprocessors in
2650-424: Was either proprietary or built on gaming console architecture . Nowadays, arcade hardware closely resembles gaming PCs, with recent models even incorporating embedded versions of Microsoft Windows. Sega has developed and released additional arcade games that use technology other than their dedicated arcade system boards. The first arcade game manufactured by Sega was Periscope , an electromechanical game. This
2703-435: Was more about the combination of these TTL chips and other electronic components to achieve the desired effect on screen. More complex gameplay required significantly more TTL components to achieve this result. By the mid-1970s, the first inexpensive programmable microprocessors had arrived on the market. The first microprocessor-based video game is Midway's Gun Fight in 1975 (a conversion of Taito's Western Gun ), and with
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#17327806346712756-415: Was re-released as an enhanced remake for the PlayStation 2 , again in the Sega Ages series. Although similar in appearance to the arcade version (even incorporating the original arcade sounds), this version uses polygons instead of sprites and adds some stages, including bonus levels with the viewpoint behind Opa-Opa as he tries to collect coins from any boss that was defeated at the moment; this game mode
2809-450: Was reviewed in 1988 in Dragon , given 4 out of 5 stars. In 1988, it got four categories of 9/10 each from Computer and Video Games , calling it "a beaut of a game [where] I-want-to-eat-this-cartridge scrolling backdrop and aliens float in from all sides spitting death at you". In 1989, Computer and Video Games rated the PC Engine version 88% and the Master System version 87%, considering
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