Difference between revisions of "Electro-mechanical arcade games"

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(Created page with "thumb|right|''[[Periscope'', an example of an early Sega electro-mechanical arcade game. ]]'''Electro-mechanical arcade games''' (often abbrevi...")
 
 
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[[File:Periscope_machine1.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Periscope]]'', an example of an early Sega electro-mechanical arcade game.
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[[File:Periscope cabinet.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Periscope]]'', an example of an early Sega electro-mechanical arcade game.|link=Periscope]]
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]]'''Electro-mechanical arcade games''' (often abbreviated '''EM''' games) are what arcades used to have before the invention of solid state electronic games (which use solid-state electronics like transistors, integrated circuits, printed circuit boards and microcontrollers.) An electro-mechanical game is any coin operated game that has neither a microprocessor (nor an approximation of one with logic gates like ''SHARK Jaws'', ''Computer Space'', and others used), or a proper monitor. An electro-mechanical game is run through switches, relays, motors, and lights. Any electronic circuitry in the machine will be very simple.
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In the mid-20th century, '''electro-mechanical arcade games''' ('''EM''' games) were a staple of amusement [[arcade]] venues across the world. As the name suggests, these are commercial products, typically using simple electric circuits to move physical objects in order to simulate a game - an evolution of slot machines, pinball tables and Pachinko machines (as well as purely mechanical games), and which rose to prominence after the end of World War II.
  
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The most common type of electro-mechanical games were early Pinball machines—all of them up to the late seventies were electromechanical (the industry switched to microprocessors around 1978 or so). Other electro-mechanicals include most early slot machines and Pachinko machines, although the earliest ones were completely mechanical.
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Numerous amusement companies designed and manufactured coin-operated EM games between the early 1950s and late 1970s. [[Sega]] began producing games in the early 1960s, with the 1966 release of ''[[Periscope]]'' emerging as their first successful EM venture. Until the mid-1970s, the company structured itself around this market.
  
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These games had one big problem: they broke down all the time. This is why you never see any electro-mechanicals anymore (aside from a few really old Skee Ball machines). The mean time between failures on most of these machines could be measured in days. Some were more reliable than others, but in general the more complex ones were constantly failing. Any individual game may have hundreds of moving parts, which were often subject to abuse. This makes functioning electro-mechanicals very rare today.
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In the late 1960s, "video projection" electro-mechanical games began appearing, with the likes of Sega's ''[[Duck Hunt]]'' (1968) dropping physical moving targets in favour of projected animated images, helping to set the tone for the first half of the 1970s. With the advent of more complex and reliable "video games" - those which use a combination of [[wikipedia:Solid-state electronics|solid-state electronics]] to draw a picture on a television screen, Sega became less focused{{magref|cb|1975-07-05|229}} on its EM operations, ending with the release of ''[[Plinker's Canyon]]'' in 1976.
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A number of arcade video games were inspired by electro-mechanical arcade games (particularly the "video projection" type) during the 1970s, until video games eventually replaced electro-mechanical games with the arrival of ''[[Space Invaders]]'' (1978). Due to a reliance on physical moving parts (and by extension, high maintenance costs), all types of electro-mechanical arcade games are difficult to find outside of museums, with most being taken out of service in the early 1980s.
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==References==
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<references/>
  
 
[[Category:Arcade systems]]
 
[[Category:Arcade systems]]

Latest revision as of 22:09, 14 June 2024

Periscope, an example of an early Sega electro-mechanical arcade game.

In the mid-20th century, electro-mechanical arcade games (EM games) were a staple of amusement arcade venues across the world. As the name suggests, these are commercial products, typically using simple electric circuits to move physical objects in order to simulate a game - an evolution of slot machines, pinball tables and Pachinko machines (as well as purely mechanical games), and which rose to prominence after the end of World War II.

Numerous amusement companies designed and manufactured coin-operated EM games between the early 1950s and late 1970s. Sega began producing games in the early 1960s, with the 1966 release of Periscope emerging as their first successful EM venture. Until the mid-1970s, the company structured itself around this market.

In the late 1960s, "video projection" electro-mechanical games began appearing, with the likes of Sega's Duck Hunt (1968) dropping physical moving targets in favour of projected animated images, helping to set the tone for the first half of the 1970s. With the advent of more complex and reliable "video games" - those which use a combination of solid-state electronics to draw a picture on a television screen, Sega became less focused[1] on its EM operations, ending with the release of Plinker's Canyon in 1976.

A number of arcade video games were inspired by electro-mechanical arcade games (particularly the "video projection" type) during the 1970s, until video games eventually replaced electro-mechanical games with the arrival of Space Invaders (1978). Due to a reliance on physical moving parts (and by extension, high maintenance costs), all types of electro-mechanical arcade games are difficult to find outside of museums, with most being taken out of service in the early 1980s.

References

  1. ↑ Cash Box, "July 5, 1975" (US; 1975-07-05), page 229
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