The Arcade Era and how it has Influenced Modern Games

Arcades transformed the lives of many teenagers in the 1970s and 1980s. They provided a great excuse to get out of the house and were a relatively inexpensive form of entertainment. In the UK, the first digital arcade machines emerged in the mid-70s, and some of the earliest games included Pong, Pac-Man, and Space Invaders.

Pac-Man was slightly different from most games as it was not aggressive or war-themed. This helped attract new audiences, including younger children. This, in turn, made arcades more family-friendly venues and attracted a more diverse group of attendees.

Towards the end of the 1980s, several major brands launched home video consoles that offered similar or superior graphics and gameplay to those found in arcades. Nintendo launched the NES in 1985 and the Game Boy in 1989. Also in 1989, Sega released its 16-bit Genesis console. Naturally, this resulted in a decline in the number of people visiting arcades, as they could now enjoy games from the comfort of their own homes.

Despite this, many games that became available on consoles were based on pre-existing arcade games. This still applies today, as many of the most recent games have their origins in the arcades.

Arcades still exist in some countries, although they are primarily targeted at retro gamers and are often combined with bars, rather than being standalone. There are also several video game museums around the world, which are filled with classic arcade machines from the golden age of gaming.

Culturally, arcades still have a place even now. For example, you will often come across a Pac-Man or Space Invaders t-shirt when wandering the streets of a city. Additionally, there probably would never have been the degree of interest in video games or consoles that we see today without the arcade boom. 

The most successful arcade games

In an era where revenue was earned one quarter at a time, several games stood head and shoulders above the rest in terms of popularity and revenue. The top 10 games in terms of (inflation-adjusted) revenue as of 2016 were as follows:

• Pac-Man: $7,681,491,635
• Space Invaders: $6,612,228,000
• Street Fighter II (Champion Edition): $3,582,553,228
• Ms. Pac-Man: $2,494,552,816
• NBA Jam: $1,704,501,968
• Defender: $1,588,463,873
• Asteroids: $1,346,548,823
• Mortal Kombat II: $787,607,559
• Mortal Kombat: $748,462,000
• Donkey Kong: $686,262,000

Between them, Pac-Man and Space Invaders generated over $ 14 billion in revenue (figures adjusted for inflation).

The best classic arcade games

Pac-Man

Released in 1980, Pac-Man features one of the most recognizable video game characters in history. When released in Japan, the game became so popular that it led to a nationwide coin shortage. Along with the main character of Pac-Man, there were four ghosts (Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde) to avoid on the trip around the maze. Whilst the premise of the game was fairly simple and arguably the first maze chase game, it was fiendishly difficult to reach the higher levels. 

PAC-Man spawned numerous sequels, spin-offs, and remakes, even making several guest appearances on the big screen (notably in Pixels and Wreck-It-Ralph). More recently, Pac-Man has been featured in numerous game compilations for consoles, including the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as well as for PCs. Additionally, it was one of 30 games included in the NES Classic Edition released in 2016.

Space Invaders

Released in Japan and North America in 1978, Space Invaders was the first of the 'fixed shooter genre and is considered by many to be the most influential game of all time. 

The game aims to defeat the alien army that descends from the top of the screen towards the player's laser cannon. Each time all the aliens that are on the screen are defeated, another more difficult wave appears - and this can continue endlessly. 

Space Invaders was the very first arcade game to be converted and released on a cartridge-based home console system - the Atari 2600. Space Invaders helped action games become the dominant genre both in arcades and at home. It could be said that many of today's most popular games, such as Halo and Call of Duty, might not exist if Space Invaders had never been created. 

Street Fighter (series)

Street Fighter was the first fighting game developed by Capcom and was released in arcades in 1987. It was the first arcade game to utilize six-button controls and special techniques, featuring ten computer-controlled opponents, each with their own unique skills, special moves, and distinctive features. 

Street Fighter 2 was released in 1991 and actually proved even more successful than the original. There have since been several further versions, the most recent being Street Fighter V, released in 2016 on the PlayStation 4 and PC.