The first arcades in Japan weren't video arcades, and they weren't even in game centres. In the decades following the second world war, gamers played electro-magnetic games in bowling alleys and on department store rooftops. Families would take shopping breaks, playing carnival-style shooting games or riding rinky-dink kiddy trains. Gradually, early analogue arcade games began popping up - driving games in which the road was on a rotating belt, and players had to steer a small car through obstacles. Companies like Namco and Sega started joining in, releasing magnet-powered cabinets that were the forerunners of the modern arcade game.
In 1978, everything changed as Space Invaders enthralled the country - and the rest of the western world - spawning a slew of arcades and players dedicated solely to the new game. The game's release came just as Star Wars was hitting Japanese cinemas - and the timing could not have been better. (guardian.co.uk)
The first arcades in Japan weren't video arcades, and they weren't even in game centres. In the decades following the second world war, gamers played electro-magnetic games in bowling alleys and on department store rooftops. Families would take shopping breaks, playing carnival-style shooting games or riding rinky-dink kiddy trains. Gradually, early analogue arcade games began popping up - driving games in which the road was on a rotating belt, and players had to steer a small car through obstacles. Companies like Namco and Sega started joining in, releasing magnet-powered cabinets that were the forerunners of the modern arcade game.
In 1978, everything changed as Space Invaders enthralled the country - and the rest of the western world - spawning a slew of arcades and players dedicated solely to the new game. The game's release came just as Star Wars was hitting Japanese cinemas - and the timing could not have been better. (guardian.co.uk)