Atari Arcade: From Concept to Cabinets

This week, I wanted to share some cool shots of very early concept models of Atari cabinets from the early eighties. These things have never really been highlighted before, but represent a key part of the design function at Atari Coin Operated Division during the Golden Age of arcade gaming. Most of you will be…

Arcade Raid! Huge Arkansas Barn Find

After something of a drought of Arcade Raid reports in recent months, I have another great classic arcade cabinet stash find to share on the blog this week. Maybe we’re on a roll! Check out last weeks’ arcade raid tale here if you missed it. So we go from South Dakota last week, to Arkansas…

Arcade Raid! South Dakota mega-haul

Here’s a cool arcade raid tale from a few years back that turned up several rare titles. US-based collector Joe Magiera received a message from a fellow collector back in 2006 with a lead on some arcade cabinets being sold off. It read: I got a cold-call email stemming from my web site from some…

The Arcade Raid That Wasn’t

Been a while since I wrote about an arcade raid here on the blog. For the uninitiated, an “Arcade Raid” usually involves the discovery and subsequent removal of classic arcade cabinets. A typical raid will occur in an old warehouse, barn or storage area, usually owned by an ex arcade operator. These buildings house stashes…

The Development of Xevious

Well here we are at the end of another year on the blog. I want to thank everyone for checking in regularly and of course for the support with my book, which continues to sell well. Over the Christmas break I found myself playing a lot of Namco’s excellent vertical shooter Xevious on my Mini…

The TDE Podcast Ep 26: Twin Galaxies founder Walter Day

Episode 26 of the Ted Dabney Experience podcast is available now for your listening pleasure! If you enjoy reading ArcadeBlogger.com, you’ll love the other project I’m involved with: We speak with Walter Day, the grandfather of e-sports and the inspiration for Wreck-it-Ralph’s avuncular arcade manager, Mr Litwack. Walter is the founder of the long-defunct but…

Williams Defender Restoration 1

So, with some decent weather around these parts over the past couple of weeks, I thought I’d make a start with the restoration of the Defender upright that I picked up. Catch up on the details here. Our starting point isn’t exactly great, but there’s enough here that’s complete to get this thing back into…

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The TDE Podcast Ep 24: Death Race Creator, Howell Ivy

Episode 24 of the Ted Dabney Experience podcast is available now for your listening pleasure! If you enjoy reading ArcadeBlogger.com, you’ll love the other project I’m involved with: Howell Ivy is the creator of Exidy’s infamous Death Race. Released in 1976, this was the first arcade game to stir a moral panic over videogame violence…

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Weekend Pickup! Williams Defender

If you’ve been following this blog over the years, you will know that space is now at a premium here at Arcade Blogger Towers. Simply put, I cannot see a way of squeezing another cabinet into the loft arcade space that I have, so future acquisitions in theory are not possible, unless I start selling…

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Atari Star Wars Launch Videos

Released in 1983, Atari’s seminal arcade title Star Wars was the result of three year’s worth of intense development. What started out as a technical proof of concept demo, known internally as Warp Speed, this vector title eventually adorned the Lucas Films licence, with speech and colourful graphics that captured the imagination of teenage gamers…

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