Besides the articles, I absolutely love seeing these rare photographs of game centers in their heyday. As this is a special issue, there's a reprinted 1977 article about...the then-rising trend of tabletop cabinets in cafes and coffee shops? Now why does that sound familiar? 👾 #coinophistory
The exterior of Pinball Hall of Fame (aka Pinball Museum) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The word pinball is printed on a bold, red font and it's size overshadows the entrance.
I've been considering a ton of projects for the future...but for now, here's a report of my first visit to Pinball Hall of Fame (aka Pinball Museum) in Las Vegas, Nevada. I've known about this place for a while, but I finally got to visit and bask in all of the coin-op history. (1) #coinophistory
Tomonobu Itagaki around the release of "Dead or Alive" (1996). From: Monthly Coin Journal, Vol. 21 No. 6 (June 1996), pg. 201
Satoshi Tajiri (right) standing next to a "Computer Space" (1971) cabinet for a video game history exhibit. From: Monthly Coin Journal, Vol. 21 No. 6 (June 1996), pg. 443
Leonardo DiCaprio riding "Rail Chase the Ride" at Tokyo Joypolis. From: Monthly Coin Journal Vol. 22 No. 12 (December 1997), pg. 405
Within the latest batch of Coin Journal scans by @thestacks.ca, there are images of famous people we probably should've had a long time ago. Can YOU guess who they are without looking at the alts? #coinophistory #coinjournal
Concept art of the deluxe cabinet featuring the name "Winding Road", designed by Naotaka Yoshimatsu (吉松尚孝).
Concept art of the Full Scale cabinet featuring the name "SimDrive", also by Yoshimatsu.
Concept art featuring some unused scenes and an early course layout.
Early logo designs, also by Yoshimatsu.
During the developer Q&A stream for Ridge Racer's Arcade Archives release, a treasure trove of development materials and historical documents were shown off! It's truly wonderful to see all of these items well preserved after all these years. (1) #arcadehistory #coinophistory #namco
Laserdisc specifications worth noting from the official R360 flyer: Screen: VIDEO input (Laser Disk connection possible), equipped with VIDEO SELECTOR. Sound: Audio input x 2 (Laser Disk connection possible). Image from: Sega Retro
The official flyer for Taito's D3bos: a 360° motion simulator where players ride within an enclosed sphere. This machine played video content. Riders could experience the heights of acrobatic skiing, tilting within a roller coaster, traveling in a dune buggy, and flying through space. Image from: The Arcade Flyer Archive
Within the flyer for the SEGA R360, there are specs which suggest that the machine is compatible with a Laserdisc player. I wonder if SEGA planned on releasing pure motion simulator content similarly to the offerings of Taito's D3bos? #arcadehistory #coinophistory #sega #taito
The mini upright cabinet for Namco's Pole Position II from 1983. It has a relatively small form factor with a blue paint job. Image from: テーブル筐体な日々
The mini upright cabinet for Konami's Salamander from 1986. This cabinet has a black paint job. It's also a unique sample unit that was manufactured by the medal game company Sigma. The version that Konami released themselves has different marquee and bezel art. Image from: Museum of the Game & International Arcade Museum Forums
The mini upright version of Taito's Operation Wolf from 1987. This small cabinet with it's baby blue base was designed for kids. It was released as part of the "Chibikko Series" (ちびっこシリーズ) of arcade machines that Taito produced at the time. Image from: Aucfree
Following up on my SEGA taikan post from last week: Other arcade companies like Namco, Konami and Taito occasionally produced smaller upright versions of their contemporary games. #arcadehistory #coinophistory
The standard version of Outrun (1986) which uses the same motor as the deluxe type for movement but features a smaller monitor and is missing the speaker behind the seat. Image from: Sega Retro
The commander cabinet of After Burner II (1987) which retains the swinging sensation seen in the double cradle version, but doesn't have the pitch and roll sensation of moving up and down. Image from: Sega Forever (Twitter/X)
The middle deluxe cabinet of Galaxy Force II (1988) which doesn't tilt and turn nearly as wide as the super deluxe cabinet. Image from: Sega Retro
I would love to try out these scaled-down versions of Sega's taikan games one day. These cabinets typically used smaller monitors, less power and had limited movement in comparison to the larger deluxe cabinets. #arcadehistory #coinophistory #sega
The original Piccadilly Circus (ピカデリーサーカス) model from 1976. It is a blue upright roulette machine with buttons for players to place bets. After placing a bet, a light emits from the roulette wheel and lands on a random number. As a note: Konami's machines at this time were distributed by Leijac (レジャック). Image from: Aucfree
A closer look at the Piccadilly Circus machine. Image From: 10円玉を入れてバチンッ！ と弾いたりする，古きゲームたちとまた遊ぼ。東京・板橋の「駄菓子屋ゲーム博物館」に行ってきた by 4gamer
An image of the "Mark II" model from 1976 with a new design for the roulette wheel. Image From: A foreigners' guide to eremeka arcades
An image of the "New Piccadilly Circus" (ニューピカデリーサーカス) model. This is also known as the "Dogfight" (ドッグファイト) model because of the illustration of an arial dogfight in the center of the roulette wheel. Image from: 1978 遊戯機械総合年鑑 (1978 Amusement Machine Comprehensive Yearbook) pg. 86
Before making video games, Konami produced a popular series of medal games in the late 70s under the name "Piccadilly Circus." These were roulette machines where players inserted coins, placed bets, and hoped they got a good return. #arcadehistory #coinophistory #konami
PlayCity Carrot Namba location with a jeans wearing lady walking in front of a rectangular sign saying The Game Center, and next to a store called Chips. A Mahjong parlor can be seen in the background with a man standing under its sign.
Still has mahjong in the same arcade area but no more game center / arcade, and lots of bicycles parked in front. Credit: https://www.inu-inu-yeti.com/entry/BASICMAGAZINE198802
PlayCity Carrot in Namba (Osaka) in 1987 was one of the top arcades in the country, with the latest games often before Tokyo, and revenue also in top 3 easily. A website researching where these were accurately identified this building block #gamehistory #arcades #coinophistory #coinops
Two examples of the development environment, machine is called out as being SMC-777 which was a Sony 8 bit computer.
The crew behind Video System "graphics department", 11 employees pictures standing and sitting posing for a picture
Speaking of Video System here is the "graphics team" (probably coding and art?) with their workspace, a company initially known for mahjong arcade games they would eventually do the Aero Fighters series and many others #coinophistory #gamehistory
A photo of a young Satoshi Tajiri (left) and another boy standing in between a "Xevious" poster with yen coins in their hands. From Issue #4 (April 1983), pg. 10
And I cannot forget to mention that within these issues, we find a young Satoshi Tajiri around the time of his "Game Freak" magazine...13 years before the release of Pokémon Red and Green in Japan. (3) #arcadehistory #coinophistory
A game center with tabletop cabinets arranged in rows, and some upright machines towards the back of the facility. From Issue #4 (April 1983), pg. 30
A group of boys huddled around a tabletop cabinet. From Issue #7 (July 1983) pg. 12
A woman playing an upright shooting game. From Issue #6 (June 1983), pg. 28
An attendant assisting a woman playing a Bally "Hawaii" pinball machine. From Issue #15 (March 1984) pg. 33
Onto the B/W photos! #arcadehistory #coinophistory (2)
A woman sitting inside a Namco "Pole Position" cockpit cabinet. From Issue #7 (July 1983), pg. 3
A woman stands in between two men who are sitting and playing games on tabletop cabinets. From Issue #12 (December 1983), pg. 2
A group of people sitting around the medal game "The Derby Mark III" by Sigma. From Issue #3 (March 1983), pg. 61
Big Image: A woman standing in front of a Gottlieb "Royal Flush Deluxe" pinball machine. Small Image: The same woman standing outside Namco's "Game Space Milaiya" game center. From Issue #8 (August 1984), pg. 1
Recently decided to flip through some issues of Amusement Life; a Japanese publication from the early 80s. The photographs truly encapsulate what game centers looked like post-Invader Boom. Just wanted to share my favorite color and B/W photos! #arcadehistory #coinophistory (1)
