A Brief History On Arcades and Arcade Gaming

The earliest arcade games are what we still see at the fair today. Games such as ring toss and automated fortune tellers were once referred to as 'arcade games' in the 1920's. And the arcade games we see today were actually once electro-mechanical games. The first coin-operated electro-mechanical games were pinball and Periscope, a submarine shooter. The first first-person shooter games were also electro-mechanical arcade games. Duck Hunt, a game by Sega, is one of the most known of this time period.

Atari, however, essentially founded the coin-operated video game industry. In 1972, they came out with Pong. Pong was the first successful, electronic coin-operated video game. Space Invaders was the first 'blockbuster' arcade game, and its success marked the golden age of arcade games.

Arcade games proved to be incredibly popular. Arcades began popping up all across the United States and Japan. Even restaurant franchises centered around arcades came to life. But sadly, all good things come to an end. Because of the booming home video game console industry, arcade revenue began to drop. By 1991, sales had fallen to $2.1 billion, compared to $8 billion in 1981.

Arcades and arcade games resurged again with the highly successful game Mortal Kombat. The industry stayed stable for a while, then began to wane again after the appearance of online gaming. Today, arcades continue to exist. But they have yet to reobtain their former glory.