arcade game coinop redirects here for other coinoperated machines see vending machine not to be confused with casino game a player in japan playing police 911 an arcade game in which players use a light gun part of a series onvideo games platforms arcade game console game game console home console electronic game audio game electronic handheld handheld game handheld console mobile game online game social network game pc game linux mac genres action beat em up fighting platform shooter survival actionadventure stealth survival horror adventure interactive fiction interactive movie visual novel roleplaying action roleplaying tactical roleplaying simulation construction and management life simulation sports vehicle strategy multiplayer online battle arena realtime strategy realtime tactics turnbased strategy turnbased tactics massively multiplayer online lists arcade video games bestselling video games bestselling video game franchises highestgrossing video game franchises mostplayed video games by player count mostplayed mobile games by player count highestgrossing arcade games video games considered among the best game of the year awards video games notable for negative reception development game ai game design interaction design game programming level design video game art video game design video game graphics video game music vte an arcade game or coinop is a coinoperated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants bars and amusement arcades most arcade games are video games pinball machines electromechanical games redemption games or merchandisers while exact dates are debated the golden age of arcade video games is usually defined as a period beginning sometime in the late 1970s and ending sometime in the mid1980s excluding a brief resurgence in the early 1990s the arcade industry subsequently declined in the western hemisphere as competing home video game consoles such as the sony playstation and microsoft xbox increased in their graphics and gameplay capability and decreased in cost history the first popular arcade games included early amusementpark midway games such as shooting galleries balltoss games and the earliest coinoperated machines such as those that claimed to tell a persons fortune or that played mechanical music the old midways of 1920sera amusement parks such as coney island in new york provided the inspiration and atmosphere for later arcade games in the 1930s the first coinoperated pinball machines emerged these early amusement machines differed from their later electronic cousins in that they were made of wood they lacked plungers or litup bonus surfaces on the playing field and used mechanical instead of electronic scoringreadouts by around 1977 most pinball machines in production switched to using solidstate electronics both for operation and for scoring electromechanical games in 1966 sega introduced an electromechanical game called periscope sega later produced gun games which resemble firstperson shooter video games but which were in fact electromechanical games that used rear image projection in a manner similar to the ancient zoetrope to produce moving animations on a screen in the course of the 1970s following the release of pong in 1972 electronic videogames gradually replaced electromechanical arcade games and midnight madness 1980 as did segas jet rocket in the latter film the 1978 video game space invaders however dealt a yet more powerful blow to the popularity of electromechanical games see also ja arcade video games see also timeline of arcade video game history part of a series on thehistory of video games general early history of video games early mainframe games golden age of arcade video games video game crash of 1983 consoles 1st generation 19721980 2nd generation 19761992 3rd generation 19832003 4th generation 19872004 5th generation 19932005 6th generation 19982013 7th generation 20052017 8th generation 2012 genres history of eastern roleplaying video games history of western roleplaying video games history of online games history of massively multiplayer online games lists list of video games in development timeline of arcade video game history vte in 1971 students at stanford university set up the galaxy game a coinoperated version of the spacewar video game this ranks as the earliest known instance of a coinoperated video game later in the same year nolan bushnell created the first massmanufactured game computer space for nutting associates in 1972 atari was formed by nolan bushnell and ted dabney atari essentially created the coinoperated 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 coinoperated video game market golden age golden age of arcade video games taitos space invaders in 1978 proved to be the first blockbuster arcade video game 215billion in 2017 during the late 1970s and 1980s chains such as chuck e cheeses ground round dave and busters showbiz pizza place and gattis pizza combined the traditional restaurant or bar environment with arcades late 1980s sega am2s hangon designed by yu suzuki and running on the sega space harrier hardware was the first of segas super scaler arcade system boards that allowed pseudo3d spritescaling at high frame rates renaissance in the early 1990s the arcades experienced a major resurgence with the 1991 release of capcoms street fighter ii 3d polygon graphics were popularized by the sega model 1 games virtua racing 1992 and virtua fighter 1993 around the mid1990s the fifthgeneration home consoles sega saturn playstation and nintendo 64 began offering true 3d graphics improved sound and better 2d graphics than the previous generation by 1995 personal computers followed with 3d accelerator cards while arcade systems such as the sega model 3 remained considerably more advanced than home systems in the late 1990s the technological advantage that arcade games had in their ability to customize and use the latest graphics and sound chips slowly began narrowing and the convenience of home games eventually caused a decline in arcade gaming segas sixth generation console the dreamcast could produce 3d graphics comparable to the sega naomi arcade system in 1998 after which sega produced more powerful arcade systems such as the sega naomi multiboard and sega hikaru in 1999 and the sega naomi 2 in 2000 before sega eventually stopped manufacturing expensive proprietary arcade system boards with their subsequent arcade boards being based on more affordable commercial console or pc components decline arcade video games had declined in popularity so much by the late 1990s that revenues in the united states dropped to 133 billion in 1999 the arcade market suffered from a lack of diversity even compared to other gaming markets a 1996 survey showed that 70 of arcade players were teenage males leading to a cycle in which the uniformity of the audience discouraged innovation in game design which in turn further discouraged people outside the narrow target audience from visiting arcades the arcades 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 gamefor a video game consolethe console became the preferred choice fighting games were the most attractive feature for arcades since they offered the prospect of facetoface 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 a 20th anniversary arcade machine combining the two classic games ms pacman and galaga to remain viable arcades added other elements to complement the video games such as redemption games merchandiser games and food service typically snacks and fast food referred to as fun centers or family fun centers also changed to this format many 1980sera video game arcades have long since closed and classic coinoperated games have become largely the province of dedicated gamers and hobbyists in the 2010s some movie theaters and family fun centers still have small arcades 2000s2010s in the 2000s and 2010s arcades have found a niche market by providing games that use special controllers largely inaccessible to home users such as dance games that have a floor that senses the users dancing an alternative interpretation in the western world the arcade video game industry still exists but in a greatly reduced form video arcade game hardware is often based on home game consoles to reduce development costs there are video arcade versions of dreamcast naomi atomiswave playstation 2 system 246 nintendo gamecube triforce and microsoft xbox chihiro home consoles and pc eg taito type x some arcades have survived by expanding into ticketbased prize redemption and more physical games with no home console equivalent such as skee ball and whacamole some genres particularly dancing and rhythm games such as konamis dance dance revolution continue to be popular in arcades worldwide arcade game revenues gradually increased from 18 billion in 1998 to 32 billion in 2002 rivalling pc game sales of 32 billion that same year 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 namcos ms pacman 20 year reunion galaga class of 1981 twoinone game japan video gaming in japan a man playing a drumming arcade game drummania in tsukuba ibaraki 2005 girls playing the house of the dead iii in an amusement arcade in japan 2005 in the japanese gaming industry arcades have remained popular through to the present day as of 2009 out of japans 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 35 billion and 2 billion respectively in the japanese market network and card features introduced by virtua fighter 4 and world club champion football and novelty cabinets such as gundam pod machines have caused revitalizations in arcade profitability in japan the reason for the continued popularity of arcades in comparison to the west are heavy population density and an infrastructure similar to casino facilities former rivals in the japanese arcade industry konami taito bandai namco entertainment and sega are now working together to keep the arcade industry vibrant this is evidenced in the sharing of arcade networks and venues having games from all major companies rather than only games from their own company technology see also arcade system board list of sega arcade system boards and sprite computer graphics inside of a neo geo virtually all modern arcade games other than the very traditional midwaytype games at county fairs make extensive use of solid state electronics integrated circuits and cathode ray tube screens in the past coinoperated arcade video games generally used custom pergame hardware often with multiple cpus highly specialized sound and graphics chips and the latest in expensive computer graphics display technology this allowed arcade system boards to produce more complex graphics and sound than what was then possible on video game consoles or personal computers which is no longer the case in the 2010s arcade game hardware in the 2010s is often based on modified video game console hardware or highend pc components 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 rearprojection displays reproductions of automobile or airplane cockpits motorcycle or horseshaped 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 arcade genre a man playing world combat here known by its alternate name warzaid in jakarta indonesia arcade games often have short levels simple and intuitive control schemes and rapidly increasing difficulty this is due to the environment of the arcade where the player is essentially renting the game for as long as their ingame 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 titles many independent developers are now producing games in the arcade genre that are designed specifically for use on the internet these games are usually designed with flashjavadhtml and run directly in webbrowsers arcade racing games have a simplified physics engine and do not require much learning time when compared with racing simulators cars can turn sharply without braking or understeer and the ai rivals are sometimes programmed so they are always near the player rubberband effect arcade flight games also use simplified physics and controls in comparison to flight simulators these are meant to have an easy learning curve in order to preserve their action component increasing numbers of console flight video games from crimson skies to ace combat and secret weapons over normandy indicate the falling of manualheavy flight sim popularity in favor of instant arcade flight action other types of arcadestyle games include fighting games often played with an arcade controller beat em up games including fastpaced hack and slash games light gun rail shooters and bullet hell shooters intuitive controls and rapidly increasing difficulty music games particularly rhythm games and mobilecasual games intuitive controls and often played in short sessions arcade action games the term arcade game is also used to refer to an action video game that was designed to play similarly to an arcade game with frantic addictive gameplay the focus of arcade action games is on the users reflexes and the games usually feature very little puzzlesolving complex thinking or strategy skills games with complex thinking are called strategy video games or puzzle video games emulation list of video game emulators arcade emulators such as mame which can be run on modern computers and a number of other devices aim to preserve the games of the past emulators enable game enthusiasts to play old video games using the actual code from the 1970s or 1980s which is translated by a modern software system legitimate emulated titles started to appear on the macintosh 1994 with williams floppy disks sony playstation 1996 and sega saturn 1997 with cdrom compilations such as williams arcades greatest hits and arcades greatest hits the atari collection 1 and on the playstation 2 and gamecube with dvdrom titles such as midway arcade treasures arcade games are currently being downloaded and emulated through the nintendo wii virtual console service starting in 2009 with gaplus mappy space harrier star force the tower of druaga tecmo bowl altered beast and many more other classic arcade games such as asteroids tron discs of tron yie ar kungfu pacman joust battlezone dig dug robotron 2084 and missile command are emulated on playstation network and xbox live arcade industry in addition to restaurants and video arcades arcade games are also found in bowling alleys college campuses video rental shops dormitories laundromats movie theaters supermarkets shopping malls airports ice rinks corner shops truck stops barspubs hotels and even bakeries in short arcade games are popular in places open to the public where people are likely to have free time the american amusement machine association aama is a trade association established in 1981 list of highestgrossing games see also golden age of 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 or the hardware sales with arcade hardware prices often ranging from 1000 to 4000 or more this list only includes arcade games that have either sold more than 1000 hardware units or generated a revenue of more than us1million most of the games in this list date back to the golden age of arcade video games though some are also from before and after the golden age game release year hardware units sold estimated gross revenue us without inflation estimated gross revenue us with 2017 inflation pacman 1980 400000 up to 1982 35billion up to 1999 104billion space invaders 1978 360000 up to 1980 2702billion up to 1982 101billion street fighter ii 1991 200000 up to 1992 the world warrior 60000 champion edition 140000 2312billion up to 1995 the world warrior champion edition 415billion the world warrior champion edition donkey kong 1981 132000 up to 1982 280million up to 1982 us hardware sales 754million us hardware sales ms pacman 1981 125000 up to 1988 asteroids 1979 100000 up to 2001 800million up to 1991 144billion defender 1981 60000 up to 2002 1billion up to 2002 136billion galaxian 1979 40000 in the us up to 1982 donkey kong jr 1982 30000 in the us up to 1982 mr do 1982 30000 in the us up to 1982 popeye 1982 20000 in the us up to 1982 out run 1986 20000 up to 1987 pump it up 1999 20000 up to 2005 nba jam 1993 20000 up to 2013 1 billion up to 2010 112billion gun fight 1975 8000 up to 1976 sega network mahjong mj3 2005 7608 up to 2006 hangon 1985 7500 up to 1985 dinosaur king 2005 7000 up to 2006 wheels speed race 1974 7000 up to 1975 sega network mahjong mj2 2003 5486 up to 2005 donkey kong 3 1983 5000 in the us up to 1982 sangokushi taisen 2 2006 4041 up to 2007 initial d arcade stage 4 2007 3904 up to 2007 mario bros 1983 3800 in the us up to 1983 dance dance revolution 1998 3500 in japan as of 1999 zoo keeper 1982 3000 in the us up to 1983 initial d arcade stage 2001 2534 up to 2004 world club champion football 2002 2479 up to 2009 706014 million up to 2012 961million mortal kombat 1992 24000 up to 2002 570million up to 2002 776million jungle hunt 1982 18000 in the us up to 1983 scramble 1981 15136 up to 1981 mushiking king of the beetles 2003 13500 up to 2005 530million up to 2007 705million mahjong fight club 3 2004 13000 up to 2004 super cobra 1981 12337 up to 1981 oshare majo love and berry 2004 10300 up to 2006 30268million up to 2007 392million centipede 1981 55988 up to 1991 11565 million up to 1991 208million shining force cross 2009 2389 up to 2009 pengo 1982 2000 in the us up to 1983 sangokushi taisen 2005 1942 up to 2006 world club champion football intercontinental clubs 2008 1689 up to 2009 1501 million up to 2012 171million dragons lair 1983 16000 up to 1983 688million up to 1983 169million mortal kombat ii 1993 27000 up to 2002 100 million up to 1994 165million pole position 1982 21000 in the us up to 1983 60933 million up to 1983 us hardware sales 155million us hardware sales starhorse3 season i a new legend begins 2011 13218 million up to 2012 144million border break 2009 2998 up to 2009 107 million up to 2012 122million dig dug 1982 22228 463 million up to 1983 us hardware sales 117million us hardware sales tempest 1981 29000 up to 1983 62408 million up to 1991 112million tv basketball basketball 1974 1400 up to 1974 the house of the dead 4 2005 1008 up to 2005 radar scope 1980 1000 in the us up to 1980 tron 1982 800 in the us up to 1982 45million up to 1983 102million sengoku taisen 2010 9404 million up to 2012 106million dragon quest monster battle road 2007 782 million up to 2008 923million starhorse2 2005 38614 up to 2009 59321 million up to 2011 fifth expansion 743million fifth expansion qbert 1982 25000 up to 2001 robotron 2084 1982 23000 up to 1983 samba de amigo 1999 3000 up to 2000 4711 million up to 2000 692million asteroids deluxe 1981 22399 up to 1999 461 million up to 1999 677million missile command 1980 19999 up to 2010 368 million up to 1991 661million berzerk 1980 15780 up to 1981 sangokushi taisen 3 2007 544 million up to 2011 642million pong 1972 850019000 11million up to 1973 606million lord of vermilion 2008 50443 million up to 2008 573million sega network mahjong mj4 2008 12892 up to 2009 47 million up to 2010 534million kangaroo 1982 9803 2058 million up to 1983 us hardware sales 522million us hardware sales battlezone 1980 15122 up to 1999 312 million up to 1999 458million stargate 1983 15000 up to 1983 space duel 1982 12038 up to 1991 big buck hunter pro 2006 10000 up to 2009 snake pit 1983 9000 up to 1983 bagman 1983 5000 in the us up to 1983 big buck safari 2008 5500 up to 2009 hard drivin 1989 3318 up to 1989 229 million up to 1989 452million gauntlet 1985 7848 up to 1985 1801 million up to 1985 41million sega network mahjong mj5 2011 3487 million up to 2012 379million millipede 1982 9990 up to 1991 20669 million up to 1991 371million race drivin 1990 3525 up to 1991 2003 million up to 1991 36million time traveler 1991 18million up to 1991 323million space ace 1984 13million up to 1984 306million xevious 1982 5295 in the us up to 1983 111 million up to 1983 us hardware sales 281million us hardware sales big buck hunter pro open season 2009 3000 up to 2010 silver strike live 2010 3000 up to 2010 h2overdrive 2009 2000 up to 2010 atari football 1978 11306 up to 1999 17266 million up to 1999 254million final lap 1987 1150 in the us up to 1988 95 million up to 1988 us hardware sales 205million us hardware sales paperboy 1984 3442 up to 1991 86 million up to 1991 155million star wars 1983 12695 up to 1991 7595 million up to 1991 136million beatmania 1997 25000 up to 2000 124million up to 1998 japan hardware sales 189million japan hardware sales sprint 2 1976 8200 up to 1999 12669 million up to 1999 186million championship sprint 1986 3595 up to 1991 826 million up to 1991 148million pole position ii 1983 2400 in the us up to 1983 743 million up to 1983 us hardware sales 183million us hardware sales breakout 1976 11000 up to 1999 12045 million up to 1999 177million sea wolf 1976 10000 up to 2000 lunar lander 1979 4830 up to 1999 819 million up to 1999 12million super sprint 1986 2232 up to 1999 78 million up to 1999 115million marble madness 1984 4000 up to 1985 63 million up to 1991 113million sea wolf ii 1978 4000 up to 2000 rolling thunder 1986 2406 in the us up to 1987 48 million up to 1987 us hardware sales 107million us hardware sales tetris 1989 5771 in the us up to 1991 52 million up to 1991 us hardware sales 934million us hardware sales arabian 1983 1950 in the us up to 1983 39 million up to 1983 us hardware sales 958million us hardware sales terminator salvation 2010 1000 up to 2010 8 million up to 2010 898million blasteroids 1987 2000 up to 1991 469 million up to 1991 843million super breakout 1978 4805 up to 1999 57 million up to 1999 837million pacmania 1987 1412 in the us up to 1987 282 million up to 1987 us hardware sales 607million us hardware sales indiana jones and the temple of doom 1985 2825 up to 1991 32 million up to 1991 575million four trax 1989 205 in the us eu as of 1989 29 million up to 1989 us eu hardware sales 573million us eu hardware sales assault 1988 1079 in the us up to 1988 25 million up to 1988 us hardware sales 517million us hardware sales gauntlet ii 1986 3520 up to 1991 24 million up to 1991 431million guitar hero arcade 2009 2000 up to 2009 drag race 1977 1900 up to 1999 28 million up to 1999 411million night driver 1976 2100 up to 1999 24675 million up to 1999 362million i robot 1984 7501000 15 million up to 1984 353million rbi baseball 1987 3945 in the us up to 1987 16 million up to 1987 us hardware sales 345million us hardware sales computer space 1971 15002000 up to 1984 death race 1976 1000 up to 1976 dunk shot 1986 556 in the us up to 1987 14 million up to 1987 us hardware sales 313million us hardware sales star wars return of the jedi 1984 800 up to 1991 168 million up to 1991 302million dragon spirit 1987 600 in the us up to 1987 12 million up to 1987 us hardware sales 258million us hardware sales triple hunt 1977 865 up to 1999 12 million up to 1999 176million bestselling arcade video game franchises see also list of bestselling 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 5000 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 2017 inflation pacman 1980 526412 up to 1988 3853billion up to 1999 114billion street fighter 1987 500000 up to 2002 2312billion up to 1993 street fighter ii the world warrior street fighter ii champion edition 498billion street fighter ii the world warrior street fighter ii champion edition space invaders 1978 360000 up to 1980 2702billion up to 1982 101billion pacman clones 1980 300000 up to 2002 mario 1981 170800 up to 1983 280million up to 1982 us hardware sales 754million us hardware sales donkey kong 1981 167000 up to 1983 280million up to 1982 us hardware sales 754million us hardware sales asteroids 1979 136437 up to 1999 85079million up to 1999 125billion golden tee golf 1989 100000 up to 2011 defender 1981 75000 up to 2002 1billion up to 2002 136billion centipede 1981 65978 up to 1991 1363 million up to 1991 245million mortal kombat 1992 51000 up to 2002 1billion up to 1995 136billion galaxian 1979 40986 in the us up to 1988 starhorse 2000 38734 up to 2009 191501 million up to 2012 272million big buck 2000 33500 up to 2010 mr do 1982 30000 in the us up to 1982 dragon quest monster battle road 2007 782 million up to 2008 923million lord of vermilion 2008 50443 million up to 2008 573million bemani 1997 28500 up to 2000 124million up to 1998 japan hardware sales 189million japan hardware sales scramble 1981 27473 up to 1981 sega network mahjong 2000 25986 up to 2006 8187 million up to 2012 116million pole position 1982 24550 in the us up to 1983 779 million up to 1988 us hardware sales 198million us hardware sales dig dug 1982 22228 463 million up to 1983 us hardware sales 117million us hardware sales pump it up 1999 20000 up to 2005 breakout 1976 15805 up to 1999 17745 million up to 1999 261million star wars 1983 14039 up to 1991 9275 million up to 1983 167million sprint 1976 14027 up to 1999 28729 million up to 1999 422million mushiking 2003 13500 up to 2005 530million up to 2007 705million sea wolf 1976 14000 up to 2000 mahjong fight club 2002 13000 up to 2004 gauntlet 1985 11368 up to 1991 2041 million up to 1991 367million love and berry 2004 10300 up to 2006 30268million up to 2007 392million sangokushi taisen 2005 9929 up to 2008 14844 million up to 2012 186million pong 1972 850019000 11million up to 1973 606million hangon 1985 7500 up to 1985 initial d arcade stage 2001 7111 up to 2005 dinosaur king 2005 7000 up to 2006 hard drivin 1989 6843 up to 1991 4293 million up to 1991 7548 million xevious 1982 5295 in the us up to 1983 samba de amigo 1999 3000 up to 2000 4711 million up to 2000 692million border break 2009 2998 up to 2009 107 million up to 2012 122million world club champion football 2002 2479 up to 2009 706014 million up to 2012 961million video games portal claw crane money booth medal game jamma killer list of videogames list of arcade video games neogeo winners dont use drugs footnotes wikimedia commons has media related to arcade games the video arcade preservation society online collection of automatic age trade journals 19251945 system 16 the arcade museum arcade history coinop database the museum of soviet arcade games blog article 