INSERT COIN TO CONTINUE (Part One)

Once the fastest growing sector of US and Japanese commerce, video amusements have now become something of a joke - a big risk proposition with little chance of success. How did the arcade industry fall from it's heady days of Pac-Man and Street Fighter II? And can it crawl back into contention against the vast million-dollar consumer videogames business it spawned?

The venerable arcade industry has always supported and fuelled the progress of it's younger sibling, personal consumer games. But over the last decade this adolescent brother has grown meaner and stronger. The changing relationship could best be described as the final scene in a game of Mortal Kombat, with the words 'finish him!' ringing over the broken body of the arcade industry. And to be even more brutal, what's left over? A few point-and-shoot gambling devices, the odd Korean freak and the occasional video golf machine hiding at the back of bars and pubs. So, where did it all go wrong?

Origin of the Species

When describing the arcade industry the analogy of walking down a seaside pier seems cruelly appropriate. A popular venue of entertainment in a bygone year now left in a dilapidated state from past glories.

Entering the pier, 'video amusements' were once seen as a parricidal market feeding on the back of the then established and profitable 'coin-operated' amusement sector. The coin-op industry began to flourish in the 1930s, with the explosion in mechanical entertainment systems personified by pinball tables (developed from the original Baffle Ball games), and mechanical carnival cabinets. These cabinets included many of the game concepts that would inspire a generation of video amusements.

By the end of the 1960's solid-state circuitry and video monitors reached a price where they could be considered for application beyond the laboratory. One of the larger American mid-west pinball manufactures, Nutting & Associates, invested in one of their technician team member's dreams to develop a coin-operated system that utilised this technology.

Nolan Bushnell entered the scene. Investment was placed into his project and would later be called Computer Space, a game that would borrow heavily from 'Spacewar!' seen on the University of Utah's DEC PDP-11 by Bushnell. However, a mixture of temperamental hardware, an expensive build price and an over complicated playing environment made this first 'gaudily coloured' production arcade machine under perform when it was released in 1971.

Bushnell took the $500 royalties from Nutting for Computer Space, and joined forces with two others, Ted Daney and Al Alcom, and founded Atari. Pong was Atari's first project. The hope was again to find a pinball developer that would offer the needed manufacturing and marketing support. Pinball manufacturers, we must remember, dominated all the sales and distribution avenues available back in the early 70s.

Indeed, it was in the middle of a meeting with a prominent American pinball developer, Bally Midway, when Bushnell received a momentous telephone call from across the States in California. It referred to the first prototype machine that had been installed into Andy Capp's Tavern in town. The operator had called to complain previously about it breaking down, and Al had gone to see what the fault was. The 'fault' was that the improvised paint can (that had been used to collect the earnings dropped into the machine) was full to overflowing; the coin mechanism was literally jammed.

Negotiations with Bally Midway ended there and then. Bushnell suddenly realised that Atari might be able to go it alone and Pong went on to do something very special: it broke the stranglehold the pinball manufacturers had on the coin-op market. Midway would still go on to acquire the Pong property, but only after Atari had made milked the format and sold 3,000 units. Indeed, Pong had quickly lost its momentum. Of the 10,000 units manufactured the majority were copies - many made by Midway under the name Winner. Years later the break away Midway operation would go on to acquire Atari itself - but let's not jump too far ahead.

Ironically, Pong had been a low priority programming opportunity for Al Alcom. Bushnell thought used the game as an experiment to test Atari's cabinet hardware, and though he often shirks the subject, Bushnell had seen a Pong-type game elsewhere. Ralph Baer had developed the first consumer video games system with a 'Tennis for Two' game, back in 1972. The success of Pong, from the original concept by Baer, would later haunt Nolan, and eventually embroiled him in an out-of-court legal settlement regarding royalties.

Bushnell has been a great spokesperson for the arcade industry, but he's also been accused of mythologising Atari's past. Such claims have seen a rethinking his 'father of videogames' tag. The 'step-father' might be more accurate. A book under development, 'Bushnell 1A - Dissection of a Video Game Industry Icon', hopes to peal back the myth from the reality of Atari and Bushnell's part in the establishment of the coin-operated sector.

Book author and former Atarian, Loin Reeker stated. "If Higinbotham is the 'Columbus' (having created the first videogame in 1958 on an oscilloscope), and Baer is the 'Edison' (who, along with Higinbotham, tinkered with and perfected the Tennis For Two game, thus evolving into the Odyssey), then Bushnell is the 'P.T. Barnum.' I believe that had it not been for Bushnell's flamboyance and his evangelical 'Pied Piper' persona (which continues to be the lore that follows him, as demonstrated by his diehard followers and pedestal worshiping Atari fans), the videogame might not have ever caught on."

In fact Nolan would only be at the helm of Atari for seven years before being placed in a token position and finally unceremoniously fired by the then Warner Communication owned corporate giant. By this time he had set in motion Atari's entrance into pinball, facility operation, consumer development, and the 'golden era' of arcade amusement.

With the ascendance of Atari a slew of competitive video amusement manufacturers appeared. Arcade operators, initially concerned by the possibility of the theft of the valuable screens from cabinets, soon came round to the idea of video arcade machines once revenues started rolling in.

Many technicians who worked for Atari would go on to establish the other younger arm of the industry, the consumer computer industry. Apple's Steve Jobbs would work with Steve Wozniak to create BreakOut (1976), which sold an estimated 16,000 units, and also initiate one of the bitterest feuds in the industry's early history, as the two supremo's argued over credits for the game.

The impact of BreakOut also caused controversy in Japan. In Asia, these new video amusements were capturing the imagination of a number of companies that had banked heavily in the application of mechanical games within their home market (predominately mechanical cabinets and the way-of-life that is pachinko). The ability to license successful games allowed Japan to inspire a new generation of videogame designers.

A reasonably sized Japanese operation, with a previous history in fair ground rides, called Namco penned an agreement with Atari towards building the BreakOut machines under license. The manufacturing run was so successful that organised crime groups soon took an interest.

Video amusements encouraged the interest of this unsavoury business partly due to the large number of coins being generated with no receipts. Also, video amusements were perceived to be one step away from gambling and were often placed in seedy locations.

By 1977 the Japanese market was emerging as a force to be reckoned with and would eventually forge the future of the arcade sector. In America, other manufacturers had joined Atari but the originality in game design seemed to flag by the end of the 70's when all the variations of mechanical games had been converted into the videogame format.

Several established companies in Japan were quick to tap into this new craze for video amusement. These included mechanical machine operator and manufacture Taito Corporation; playing card and toy manufacture Nintendo and mechanical game service and sales operation Sega. But what came next was bigger even than Pong. Tokyo was about to experience a mania so intense that the manufacture of the 100 Yen coin would have to be quadrupled.

The Taitronic game, developed and programmed by Toshihiro Nishikado changed the landscape of video amusements. On closer inspection Nishikado-sans game bore a striking resemblance to Taito's 1972 mechanical game 'Space Monsters', but that aside, the product created a dynasty. The Space Invader franchise went on to generated $500million in revenues and even spawned a themed dance in the hip clubs of Tokyo.

Space Invaders proved that video amusements were a viable business proposition and could compete on an equal footing with mechanical coin-ops. However, it wasn't long before the first dangers of videogames emerged when people began complaining of 'Space Invaders Wrist.' Parents also complained that their children were turning to theft to fuel their Space Invader addiction.

On the otherside of the pacific a prosperous business had started for satellite manufacturers. American companies like Midway looked to the east for originality and prosperous ideas. Taito's Western Gun, (later renamed Gun Fight) pioneered the way in videogame licensing in 1975 and Midway reputedly made a mint out of this and subsequent deals.

Indeed, Midway secured the Space Invaders licence in 1980 and sold roughly 60,000 units out of the 750,000 units claimed to have been manufactured worldwide. As far as US gamers were concerned Space Invaders was wholly American and the Japanese linage was only revealed much later.

Obviously, some companies either attempted to copy successful games directly (the cupboards of certain respectable manufacturers is full of such skeletons of this kind, such as Midway's Winner), while others illegally imported machines from other countries; the infamous grey Imports market, that has blighted the amusement sector since its conception.

The first coin-op videogames were monochrome releases, but beyond the use of coloured strips to simulate colour, there was a need for more visually impressive representations. The inclusion of real colour would soon follow, along with the unique application of vector graphics. The beginning of the 80s marked the true golden age of video amusement and unit sales regularly reached into the thousands. The structure of the video amusement industry was now established, along with the various genres.

"To my mind, this was the golden age of the coin-op videogame industry. Not only did this period see the boom of the arcade business, but it was also the most innovative period in the industry. Many of the games designed during this period are still being copied in some form or another on platforms today." Ed Rotberg, key member of Atari's coin-op division and designer of Battlezone and Stun Runner.

The popularity of driving, shoot 'em up, and beat 'em up games was established and it was American developers that created the various styles, though it became more common for the Japanese developers to maximise the concept in the market. But in 1983 the coin-op industry went through a disastrous crash. This saw the market decimated as operators, many of whom had expanded too quickly, were forced to close down their empty arcade centres. There is no single factor responsible for the crash but it's true to say that the games just stopped enthusing players. Many manufactures had to rethink their development model, or just shut up shop.

Established firms like Williams Bally Midway generated vast losses, which were compounded by the fact that many they'd invested in new technology such as laser disks, (like Midway's Star Rider), and were left with vast inventories of unsold stock. North America revenue from video games was estimated at $5million at the peak of 1981, but by 1983 it had plummeted to $3million. It was a market that quickly lost business and consumer confidence.

"Williams suffered greatly in the crash. Floods of cheap videogames were dumped on the market, and the much heralded laser disc revolution of prerecorded track-switching games bombed. The company [Williams Midway] reverted back to the ancient 1940s vintage California Ave. factory in Chicago making pinball machines, and although a few video flops were produced, like Escort and Turkey Shoot, nothing of significance was released until 1989's NARC. Basically, everyone thought that videogames were permanently dead, the Hula-Hoop of the 80s, a disco fever flameout scenario. Except Nintendo." Eugene Jarvis, creator of

Defender and Robotron: 2084

It would not be until 1985 that the market regained momentum and started to become profitable again. But the scares of the crash left its marks, and the coin-op industry remained nervous for some time. So, out of the flames a new era began. An era that would be defined by conservative risk taking, standardisation and the three-minute-one-play philosophy.

Pure Arcade

Following the crash, it became clear that a 'dedicated' model of video coin-op development was too risky, and that a 'universal' standard of hardware development was needed. The arcade operator was fed up with having to replace one machine by one manufacturer, for a near identical machine from another manufacturer. The difficulty of quickly turning round poor performing machines, and the headache of servicing similar cabinets, but with different wiring, needed addressing.

Companies had previously experimented with 'universal' interchangeable systems. The Deco Video Cassette System launched in 1980 was the first time the Japanese sector (Data East in this case) had experimented with a standardised plug-in printed circuit board (PCB). But with the collapse of the market and growing clamour for the trade associations to provide a solution, the Japanese Amusement Machine Manufactures Association (JAMMA) brought together the leading manufactures and arrived at a solution. In Japan, the grand 'old men' of video amusements (strong leaders of their corporations - acting like benevolent gods) created the JAMMA standard during 1985-6.

The technology concentrated the key components of video amusement. The PCB comprised the processor, ROM chips and circuitry to enable the game - but in a revolutionary move - used an edge connector that connected via a wire loom to the corresponding components of the physical arcade cabinet. The joystick, buttons, audio, monitor, power and coin-operation systems were standardised in their connection to a simple 'swap out' PCB, its structure open to all. Coin-op, not for the first time, borrowed from the consumer games sector that had been playing with cartridges using this hardware for years.

Technology has always fuelled the video amusement industry expansion. The JAMMA standard allowed a major revitalisation in the video amusement sector to the point that coin-op was back in business in 1985, but from an Asian perspective. At this point the grand old men of video amusement attempted to control the industry so that the factors that led to the 'crash', would never happen again.

The video amusement sector had comprised a widely familiar cabinet, the 'vanilla' style upright model. The JAMMA standard would allow games to be easily disseminated on this platform and so establish a firm core market for Japanese amusement. Obscure newcomers to video amusement prior to the crash were reinvigorated by the standard and now had a willing pallet to their artistic outputs. Capsule Computers (later to be renamed Capcom), Data East, Shin Nihon Kikaku (later to be SNK), Toaplan, and Jaleco, played their part in what might be termed the golden era for Japanese amusement.

Emerging from a collapsed market, Sega Enterprises created a revision to the fixed arcade formula. Investment in development talent by the corporation had resulted in the hiring of an unknown programmer and producer in 1983. His name was Yu Suzuki and he would go on to develop two systems building on previous R&D software by his team. In 1985, along with the first 'ride on' racing simulator (Hang-On), the Suzuki-san team created Space Harrier.

At this point there were usually only two flavours of amusement machine. The bog-standard upright cabinet, and a larger 'deluxe' variant, which would boast a higher manufacture quality, and larger capabilities of screen and audio. With Space Harrier Sega created a successful 3D shooting game that used an over the shoulder view, but was providing three wholly unique flavours of video amusement system. The Sit-Down Type, Upright Type, and more influentially, the Rolling Type - a full motion arcade system that blasted video interactive amusement into an area bordering on fairground ride and theme park experience. Two years before Disneyland would install the 'Star Tours' motion simulation theatre attraction, Space Harrier offered an incredible vision of the possibilities beyond what existed in video amusement.

Sega would focus development on 'Deluxe', 'Dedicated' and 'Uprights', breaking the mould, compounded by the success of the 'Deluxe' motion version of Out Run, in 1986. However in changing the industry towards a high-end, expensive, amusement alternative for operators to consider, an un-foreseen danger was placed at the heart of the amusement model. For when a 'vanilla' upright cabinet failed the price of lease or purchase could be weathered by the operator - from profits gained from other acquisitions. If, however, the operator had purchased one 'Deluxe' system at the expense of four or five uprights, the impact of failure (unpopularity) was magnified tenfold. However, the development of fully immersive arcade cabinets would continue a pace with such pinnacles of the craft as the R-360 rotating arcade system.

The move towards a more 'immersive' experience from video amusement was at odds with the products from the more conventional amusement providers. In an industry that saw the near stillbirth of the Street Fighter dynasty (Capcom's disastrous first attempt to use punch pads to control the action in the first title in the series), inroads in the presentation of the various gaming genres were attempted. Video amusement had constantly toyed with new visualisation technology. Midway and Atari would look into more realistic scene generation with the use of rotoscoping to incorporate actual film footage into the game scene, and build products such as the infamous Mortal Kombat.

But it is the technology emanating from the simulation industry, in its application in the mission rehearsal systems (see 'Wargames' E 114) that interested the new R&D divisions housed in the highly competitive heart of the amusement sector.

The financially unsuccessful, but innovative I Robot in 1984, applied the new technology of polygon generation that would rush the amusement sector into a converging course with consumer gaming. Atari developed the first true three dimensional computer graphics (3D CG) driving game Hard Drivin' in 1989. But at this point Atari had been decimated by past financial difficulties and found itself in the position of having the Japanese developer, that it had once supported, acquiring a majority ownership of its stock in 1986. Namco was given a kick-start in this technology developing its 'Polygonizer' hardware for Winning Run.

And so began the graphics arms race.

At the same time as Atari and Namco, Sega was investing heavily in the polygon arcade graphics with its ground breaking Model 1 hardware. It would eventually pave the way for Virtua Formula in 1992 (under the tutelage of Yu Suzuki) and 3D graphics would influence all genres of video amusement after Virtua Fighter was released in 1993. But the expense of developing Model 1, along with the inability to create seemless polygon representation available in military systems, forced the company into one of the many alliances that would fuel the technology arms race.

Sega would go on to create the Model 2, with hardware support by simulator image generator manufacturer Martin Marietta. The brinkmanship that the Model 2's appearance placed on Namco saw the development of its own System 22 - and other intermediate steps - that directly led Namco to compete with Sega. The rivalry eventually saw Namco trouncing Sega with the phenomenally successful Ridge Racer.

But were these developments responsible for the ultimate decline of the arcade industry? In the background the establishment of a strong following for these 3D CG products provided an opportunity for the re-positioning of such games for consumer players. The maximising of home presence saw cost-reductions in 3D technology in this field. The bridging of the power gap became a stark realisation with systems such as the Sega Titan (ST-V) hardware, a repackaged Sega Saturn console for amusement application.

The financial failure of Sega's console aspirations, with the Saturn console, was compounded by the Dreamcast console's short life. But Sega's amusement division banked all on the possibility that an arcade derivative system based on this hardware would offer in cheap and affordable high power arcade hardware. The Naomi was born, a system that would support the latest version of the JAMMA standard (JVS). At the same time Namco decided to support Sony and its PlayStation console with an arcade derivative system (the System 11), followed by the System 246, supporting the PlayStation 2.

Other manufactures either had to sign agreements to license 3D hardware or enter into expensive R&D to develop their own architecture. At this time game prices rose to cover the spiralling costs of graphical technology and games seemed to become less enjoyable. As in the crash of 1983 players abandoned the machines in droves. Availability of new hardware to replace failed titles dwindled, while those sold had such a prohibitive high price.

By the end of the 90s the rise and fall of the arcade industry had run its dramatic course. Innovation was still apparent, in titles like Arctic Thunder and Police 24/7, but at anything up to a ?1 a go, they were never likely to compete with the likes of Metal Gear Solid 2 on PlayStation2 or Halo on Xbox.

And now? The video amusement sector is not waving, but drowning. At the crumbling end of the video amusement pier, there's some evidence of restoration work. But is the industry making the same mistakes? Manufacturers are pinning their hopes on expensive simulators, virtual reality, and immersive technology. It's new chapter, but will it be the story of a glorious revival, or another tale of woe? Edge investigates...

"For me the retro-gaming movement is more than just nostalgia of misty-eyed Gen X'ers. It's a reaction to the current graphical overkill, the simulation obsessed gaming environment of the late 90s. In our quest for absolute graphical realism, we have forgotten the basics of gaming. Look at Virtua Fighter 3 vs. Virtua Fighter 2. Unless you are a proctologist, you can't find a dimes' worth of difference in the gameplay. It is clear that the design team focused on the beautiful water effects, facial expressions, awesome backdrops, and 400 polygons, fully rendered loincloth animations."

Eugene Jarvis

House of Games

The Start - 1970 to the Mid 80's
The home of pinball; bars and taverns, were converted over night into arcade halls once video gaming emerged as a strong money spinner. The dark, smoke filled dens hummed with zombies glued to the latest video game, the solitary illumination coming from the monitors reflected on the players' faces. These sites represented the low status that local government gave videogaming, its links to the more unsavoury side of entertainment seeing it treated as an illicit drug like gambling obsession, rather than a popular recreation.

Some experimentation was attempted with videogames when fast food restaurants and certain retail stores attempted to place arcade machines in their locations with differing levels of success. The machines found themselves in bars and clubs, though the main audience in the 80's was the teenager.

Pac'ing them In - Mid 80's to the late 90's
Following the crash, the need to make video gaming more 'family friendly' moved to the forefront and in America the development of the Pizza Time Theatre facility, (envisaged by Nolan Bushnell), evolved into the successful Chuck E. Cheese themed pizza and children's videogame site. Videogames pulled in the audiences while the operator of the venue tried to keep them there with snacks and gifts.

The industry split into two forms of operation. The independent operator represented those street sites that had installed the first videogames, and had managed to survive and expand. These sites purchased relative numbers of conventional cabinets, but also purchased one large 'Deluxe' machine to keep their site fresh. The second operators were the manufactures themselves. Factory sites run by the very manufactures of the machines, selling to themselves, Sega, Taito, and Namco the big developers of specialist sites.

Brave New World - Late 90's to 2000
The beginning of a new wave in video amusement experiences came with ATP's (Amusement Theme Park). Namco develops the Wonder Egg facility concept, a mixture of fun fair, and theme park, with video amusement deluxe systems. The more conventional upright cabinet was left out of the equation. Followed by the Taito 'Cannonball City' facility, the Sega 'JOYPOLIS' and the SNK 'Neo-Geo World' sites, these multiple level venues offered arcade as an attraction, rather than just videogame.

The International market becomes the target for the ATP concept; with a number of 'Sega World' sites built in Australia, England and down scaled for America. The North American market a hot bed of theme parks and large family entertainment centres was a tough nut to crack for the manufacture controlled sites. In order to smooth the transition Sega teamed up with Universal Studios, DreamWorks LLC and created the 'GameWorks' concept. At the same time the film industry and major entertainment developers tried their hand at creating ATP style regional venues.

The latest 'crash' brushes away only the most successful venues. The GameWorks concept of a bar, pizza, coffee and arcade 'urban factory' failed to enthral, but has hung on by its fingernails, attempting to reinvigorate its appeal with a new core audience. Companies such as Dave & Busters, Jillian's and XS Entertainment became the new leaders and developers of the renamed Urban Entertainment Centre (UEC) the food and drinks as important to the new mature audience as the videogames. However, the amusement market is not dead, a $7billion is generated by amusement operations worldwide, and there is still a hunger for new games to feed the need.

"Hard core players have long gone and have been replaced by a more casual player... Games as part of a broader mix of food drinks and entertainment, in places like Namco's XS Orlando, Gameworks and Dave & Busters' or children orientated places". Industry veteran Namco America's President Kevin Hayes.

Home Invasion

Atari's early experiment into the development of consumer amusement from its video amusement systems had seen home versions of sellers such as Pong and BreakOut. In establishing this market the first software companies were created and started to build games independently to support the growing home computer platforms, and then consoles.

The establishment of the consumer games industry would obviously father consideration of being able to return to arcade amusements with the gold generated within the console sector, so maximising possible profits, (treating arcade games as merely another platform to support). The success of a consumer game placed into the arcades was seemingly confirmed when Sega released the Apple game Choplifter to great success.

This naive attitude would see many console software developers burn their wings, victims to a highly insular nature of the video amusement industry (compared to the open attitude of consumer gaming) and the difficulties of developing products that suit the unique requirements of the core arcade players. Predominately fed on word of mouth and the revenue generating opportunities of new releases, the arcade sector was a brutal taskmaster.

The most notorious attempt at consumer development turning to arcades would be that by Microprose. The flamboyant American consumer simulations company created a version of the 6 million selling home game F-15 Strike Eagle, in a special coin-op version. In a vastly funded breakaway project, the company attempted to break into amusement. Following a poor reaction to their first game the company produced a second (BOTSS: Battle of the Solar System). A third game was stillborn (Super Tank War) and finally the operation was merged with Japanese manufacturer Jaleco in 1991, hoping that Microprose's 3D graphics technology could help Jaleco compete in a changing 3D industry.

Other companies stuck a toe into the swirling water of video amusement. With Nintendo's encouragement to port their games to the companies Vs. System and PlayChoice hardware (NES console games for coin-operation), English developer Rare had previous arcade interests re-ignited. After three releases, starting in 1986, the company create Rare Coin-It producing a cabinet called X The Ball in 1992 and then for Electronic Arts' Battle Toads.

Rare would be the first to strike arcade gold thanks to their close relationship with Nintendo. As the Japanese amusement giant exited video amusement, to concentrate on its next console, Rare developed an arcade game. To gain arcade credibility Killer Instincts claimed to use the new Nintendo 64 console hardware. Midway would release this and the Eugene Jarvis developed Cruis' n USA title to great success.

"We created a proprietary texture mapped 3-D hardware system and used it to create the driving simulation games Cruis'n USA and Cruis'n World. The texture mapping hardware system, known as the V-unit, was purchased by Nintendo for use in the Nintendo 64 project." Eugene Jarvis.

The possibility of cheap amusement console crossover was seen as a strong opportunity by SNK in the early 90's. The company developed a multiple game platform, which embraced the cartridge system of the console sector, the universal game capability of the JAMMA standard, and the promise of memory card storage. In a revolutionary move the company established a model that would see players playing on the Neo Geo MVS (Multiple Video System) in the arcades from a slew of high quality 2D games from the master. At the end of the game the player would save his position, rent a Home system from the arcade and then continue where they left off in the comfort of their own home. A vastly over priced home system was needed to avoid encroachment of home Neo-Geo systems into the arcade.

This Rolls Royce console system proved difficult to sell, amidst a better reaction from the operator. Bolstered by strong MVS sales, SNK turned their main focus on the arcade component, dropping the memory card (a concept ahead of its time). The loyal fans of the MVS however would not be enough to save SNK who fell by the wayside in 2000, its assets later plundered.

In the depths of the second crash in video amusement, the consumer industry once again attempted to step into the breach and act as its saviour. Supported by a considerable marketing spend by Microsoft and Intel, the ArcadePC and Open Amusement Architecture (OAA) initiative was proffered. A sketchily thought out scheme that would see PC software developed for amusement application - attempting to encourage prominent software developers to support their American created standard.

The failure of the ArcadePC claims for arcade success were eerily familiar to that of the system developed by Bell-Fruit Manufacturing in 1995, launched with the execrable Rise of the Robots. Such promises of hidden gold within amusement enticing Mastertronics and their abortive Arcadia System in 1988, or efforts by Gremlin Graphics and Acclaim - all dashed by a closed nit and secretive coin-op industry, speaking a foreign language to that of consumer gaming.

Regarding the 'come back' of the arcade industry in the US, Al Stone of Sega America stated "The industry has gone through an extensive purge and consolidation that we think was necessary for it to re-ratify itself and allow itself to move forward".

The remaining amusement developers have been forced by their respective directors to turn most of their R&D effort, not to amusement and their multiple thousand unit sales, but to the dependable million selling console sector. The grand old men of Japanese amusement brushed aside for console centric executive members; coin-op a frivolous after thought.

The American amusement sector dwindled to a sprinkling of manufactures. Midway, having acquired Atari Games, decided to withdraw from coin-op development altogether. The end was nigh.

"Midway Games decided to exit the business [Coin-op] in order to focus on the growing console industry. Midway found that the product development strategy necessary for success in both segments where no longer compatible. The coin-op market caters to a casual player... the consumer videogame industry increasingly caters to a player that demands great depth in game." Mark Struhs, influential executive in the closure of Midway Games, and amusement veteran.

(First published in the November 2002 issue of EDGE Magazine)

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