Periscope

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Periscope
System(s): Electro-mechanical arcade
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Developer: Namco, Sega Production and Engineering Department
Distributor: Phonographic Equipment (UK)
Genre: Shooting
Number of players: 1-3
Release Date RRP Code JP 1966 ¥? ? US 1968-03 $1,495 ? EU 1966-11 €? ? UK 1966-11 £? ? FR 1967-10 ?F ?

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Periscope (ペリスコープ) is a 1966 electro-mechanical arcade submarines shooting game, with the player looking through a periscope to shoot ships, manufactured by Sega Enterprises, Ltd. Interior scenery inside the machine is lit up with a blacklight tube.

The game is an adaptation of an earlier Namco arcade game, also called Periscope, released in 1965. It was the first electro-mechanical arcade game to incorporate special effects and electronic sound, introducing a new genre of arcade games simulating an audio-visual experience behind a screen. Sega's version was a major milestone in the history of arcade games. It revived the North American arcade industry in the late 1960s, laying the foundation for the arrival of arcade video games in the early 1970s.

Gameplay

As the game starts boats start cruising by across the back of the scenery, and the front glass lights up "torpedoes ready to fire". Look through the periscope and aim in front of the ship, then press the fire button on the right handle. An electronic "whoosh" sounds is made as the torpedo heads towards the boat. There are a series of ten torpedo shaped lights on the playfield that make the torpedo look like it's moving towards the ship (light animation). If the boat is hit the scenery flashes a 120 volt red light from each side and an explosion is heard.

There is an electronic sound board that makes the sonor "beep" and the torpedo "woosh" sounds, and an amplifer circuit for these sounds. The explosion sound however is a mechanical sounds. It's made by pulling in a relay attached to a spring, with a magnet (to make the sound more robust) near a transducer. The spring vibrates and is read thru this phonograph needle/transducer device, like an old guitar reverb unit. A 500 mfd cap is added to the explosion relay to hold the relay in for about 2 seconds giving a longer explosion sound (if the explosion sound is too short, this cap is probably dead). This mechanical set up gives a nice explosion. The power supply for the sonar/woosh sound boards is unregulated 18 volt DC and comes from 12 volt AC to a single diode and capacitor. Adding capacitance can reduced sound hum, but will not eliminate is. It's just 1/2 wave DC regulation (not full wave like a bridge rectifier would provide), so there will always be a bit of hum.

The machine tracks how many torpedoes have been fired and how much tonnage has been sunk. The goal is to sink as many boats as you can using your torpedoes. The game gives you ten torpedoes per play with bonus torpedoes awarded for a perfect score. The boats also may change direction at any time for more challenge. There are also two windows in the front top glass that allow other people to watch the action as you play. Scoring is done with light box scoring (no score reels).

Specifications

Dimensions

Three-player cabinet

3.962 m (156")

2.134 m (84")

2.743 m (108")

Single cabinet

1.219 m (48")

1.829 m (72")

2.438 m (96")

History

Development

Periscope was originally a three-player machine manufactured by Namco in 1965, and was designed by its founder Masaya Nakamura. The game was inspired by a Japanese manga series, Submarine 707 (1963–1965).

The Sega version was one of the first arcade game projects to be started by the newly formed Sega Enterprises (following the merger of Rosen Enterprises and Service Games) and was engineered by Hisashi Suzuki in the same year. It was not released in Japan until 1966, however.

Like Namco's version, Sega's Periscope was originally only available as a three-player game, with a single player variant entering production in early 1968. Sega's version was exported overseas to the Western world, whereas Namco's version was only released in Japan.

Sega developed the "Model NP-3D" system to produce the "unique combination of electricity, light and sound" for the game.

Impact

Periscope was an early submarine simulator and light gun shooter, which used lights and plastic waves to simulate sinking ships from a submarine. It was the first electro-mechanical arcade game to incorporate special effects and electronic sound. The three-player version was also the first co-op game. It became an instant success in Japan, Europe, and North America, where it was the first arcade game to cost a quarter per play, which would remain the standard price for arcade games for many years to come. By 1967, Sega had sold 5,000 arcade units.

Periscope was the biggest hit in the history of the American arcade industry up until 1969. It was reportedly the most profitable arcade game of the 1960s. Periscope revived the North American arcade industry in the late 1960s. It popularized a new genre of "see-hear-do" arcade games, where an audio-visual experience is simulated behind a screen, making it a precursor to early arcade video games.

The game was cloned by Midway as Sea Raider (1969) and Sea Devil (1970). Midway later adapted it into an arcade video game, Sea Wolf (1976).

Periscope revolutionized the arcade industry. It created a new genre of "specialty games" or "novelty games" which emphasized special effects. According to Cash Box magazine in 1969: "Five years ago, most of these items would have been termed "far out" ... with their mad sound effects, crazy lights, and altogether unorthodox play features like shooting down a jet bomber with a visible beam of light, or crashing into a racing car so hard, you feel the jar in your hands." This paved the way for the emergence of arcade video games several years later, with arcade video games initially marketed as "novelty games" in the early 1970s.

Legacy

A three-player version was advertised by Sega, taking the form of a large installation with three separate periscopes. This variant is exceedingly rare - only one is definitely known to have existed, being a setup used for the 14th Hotel Equipment Exhibition (where it stood at the Socodimex booth) in late 1967. Reportedly it was very popular, taking in 500 francs a day.

Sega later released several submarine arcade video games that could be considered spiritual successors to Periscope, including Depthcharge (1977), Deep Scan (1980) and SubRoc-3D (1982).

Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 26: Dynamite Deka replaces the Deep Scan mini-game in the original Dynamite Deka with a simulation of Periscope.

Magazine articles

Main article: Periscope/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Promotional photo

Flyer

PDF

Flyer 2

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PDF

UK flyer

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Print advert in Cash Box (US) #1968-03-23: "March 23, 1968" (1968-03-23)

Print advert in Cash Box (US) #1968-12-28: "December 28, 1968" (1968-12-28)

Print advert in Cash Box (US) #1968-12-28: "December 28, 1968" (1968-12-28)

Photo gallery

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  Game backboard

External links

• Footage of an exhibition of amusement equipment at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London in 1968 showing Periscope running