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…
Tag: coinop
Freddy Flames: Centuri’s Lost Arcade Game
Some time back, I wrote about Centuri’s successful but brief stint as an arcade manufacturer in the early 80s. In that article, which you can check out here, I touched on a game developed by a member of Centuri’s in-house development team. This week I want to share some more detail about that game –…
Capcom Mini Cute Restoration 1
The Capcom Mini Cute arcade cabinet was launched in Japan during 1991; which for older readers of this blog is probably a frightening thought: 30 years ago! Primarily aimed at kids, it stands at just 1300mm tall, resulting in one of the most diminutive arcade cabinets ever released. As a result, this all-steel games machine…
Crystal Castles Conversion Kit
We’ve looked at arcade conversions here on the blog previously. Put simply, this was a way for arcade operators to maximise their profits. When an arcade machine got to the end of its play life and stopped taking money, why buy a whole new cabinet, when a simple swap of the game’s PCB, controls and…
Williams Robotron: Weekend Pickup!
I really don’t need any more restoration projects. So of course when an opportunity came up to buy a rather rare European Williams Robotron upright cabinet, I jumped at the chance. Such is the madness of this hobby. But that’s it now – NO MORE. At least until the next cab comes up. (But seriously,…
Behind the scenes at Atari Coin-Op
I stumbled across a great series of videos this week that I hadn’t seen before. Into The Valley of the Space Invaders was a mini documentary produced by Field Communications back in 1982 – at the very height of the Golden Age of video games. It managed to go behind the scenes at Atari’s coin-op…
The Atari Arcade Theatre Kiosk
Last year I wrote an article which looked at some of Atari’s early industrial design concept drawings. I was looking again at that piece last night, and one picture jumped out at me: It’s an intriguing idea and one that never really took off. This is what Atari called its ‘Theatre’ concept. Designed to maximise…
Classic Arcades: Early 80’s News Reports
When the “Golden Age” of classic video games hit the American mainstream, much of the country was somewhat bemused by this new phenomena. Adults didn’t know what had hit them, as millions of teenagers across the country spent many waking hours in dark arcades that had sprung up all over the USA. From laundromats to…
Kan Yabumoto: Mad Planets
This week saw the passing of Kan Yabumoto, creator of Gottlieb’s Mad Planets arcade video game. Very sad news indeed – Kan was well-respected and admired by all who knew him. As a game designer in the early eighties, he was one of the behind-the-scenes unsung heroes of the Golden Age of video gaming –…
A hole in the Atari Battlezone story
An interesting piece of arcade minutia to share this week. Atari’s upright Battlezone cabinet is an imposing beast. Standing at just over 6 feet tall, the machine towers over the player and most of its contemporaries. Although shared by Atari title Red Baron, the cabinet design is instantly recognizable by its sheer size and bright…
The Arcade Blogger 