Two days after I post about Namco's robots, their 71st anniversary occurs...what a coincidence. If you're curious about how this legendary company got started, please take a look at my article that I wrote for @gamingalexandria.bsky.social last year! I hope to write more articles like this soon.

Before he recovered stolen items, Mappy literally was a 'Micromouse' who solved mazes. He's one of several examples of robots that Namco produced for public spaces within the 80s. After this robot venture phased out, Namco utilized the knowledge gained to brainstorm new types of public pursuits...

The lost derivative that was made during the off-off hours at the University....

Seeing this WIP emulation of Zolgear was a sight to behold! For me, this game marks the end of an exciting time in Namco history where large machines and 3D technology were public spectacles. I want to highlight some of that here, and credit the Bennett bros for preserving some of that history. (1)

This company profile highlights the end of Sega's tenure under Gulf+Western. Their arcade hardware was becoming more complex, Gremlin Industries was renamed to "Sega Electronics", and there's some talk about game consoles in the works. Much thanks to @sudden-desu.net for grabbing this!

1971 - It's been 6 years since Nihon Goraku Bussan and Rosen Enterprises merged. And this then-new amusement company called "Sega Enterprises" would later become one of the largest arcade companies in the world. From the May 1, 1971 Sega Price List scanned by @thestacks.ca #sega #arcadehistory

Besides the articles, I absolutely love seeing these rare photographs of game centers in their heyday. As this is a special issue, there's a reprinted 1977 article about...the then-rising trend of tabletop cabinets in cafes and coffee shops? Now why does that sound familiar? 👾 #coinophistory

I've been considering a ton of projects for the future...but for now, here's a report of my first visit to Pinball Hall of Fame (aka Pinball Museum) in Las Vegas, Nevada. I've known about this place for a while, but I finally got to visit and bask in all of the coin-op history. (1) #coinophistory

Within the latest batch of Coin Journal scans by @thestacks.ca, there are images of famous people we probably should've had a long time ago. Can YOU guess who they are without looking at the alts? #coinophistory #coinjournal

By the way: We're still looking for more Origin of Game authors! If you have a story about a game company's founding you want to tell, hit me up at the @gamingalexandria.bsky.social Discord. We want lots of varied views and unique research on the table! Some upcoming will be really great too.

My first ever written piece...I had a blast putting this together, and I wanted to contextualize as much of the company's early history as possible. Shout out to @playhistory.bsky.social for allowing me to write this, and for guiding me through the editing process!!! #namco #arcadehistory

Spent about the last 50 mins trying to ID as many of the devs as possible. Front Row (L-R): Junichi Masuda, Satoshi Tajiri, Takenori Ota, Shigeki Morimoto Back Row: ?, ?, Atsuko Nishida, Koji Nishino, Michiharu Nishihashi, Ken Sugimori, ? Motofumi Fujiwara, ?, ? #vghistory #pokemon #gamefreak

@gamesack.net's video on M2 reminded me of a form of preservation that I think goes overlooked: cabinet recreations. Many of SEGA's 3DS arcade ports have an option that recreates the experience of playing on their deluxe cabinets (and in 3D too). Here are a few examples in this thread (1)

It's well known that Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri and artist Ken Sugimori collaborated on "Game Freak", the doujin gaming magazine from the 80s. After reflecting upon their love for video games, I now wonder if Red's design was inspired by the M.C. of Game Center Arashi? #vghistory #pokemon

During the developer Q&A stream for Ridge Racer's Arcade Archives release, a treasure trove of development materials and historical documents were shown off! It's truly wonderful to see all of these items well preserved after all these years. (1) #arcadehistory #coinophistory #namco

Within the flyer for the SEGA R360, there are specs which suggest that the machine is compatible with a Laserdisc player. I wonder if SEGA planned on releasing pure motion simulator content similarly to the offerings of Taito's D3bos? #arcadehistory #coinophistory #sega #taito

I'm happy to report that I've partially solved the mystery behind the two clips that features Hi-Tech Land Sega Shibuya! I've managed to locate the source of one clip, while the second one was originally shared on Twitter. The latter's source is still unknown. (1) #arcadehistory #sega #segahistory

Thank you Jonny. I have extract what Ono Hiroshi said about that footage in Zekû's book, and MT it in English (to work faster). Then corrected the translation a bit to be closer to the Japanese meaning. But keep in mind that English is not my native language ;)

FTR @ohfivepro.bsky.social filled me in on this one! This comes from the program "Atsuo Nakamura's Earth Report at 10 PM" (中村敦夫の地球発22時). According to @michelentongs.bsky.social, this footage was staged for TV post-development. Nonetheless, I hope a high-resolution version of this exists somewhere!

These have all been won, thank you from the bottom of my heart to all who donated and shared! This is the biggest win for games history we've had in my two years of scanning and it would not be possible without your support 💛

ANNOUNCEMENT: All donations are being matched at 100%! An anonymous donor is doubling all donations, up to a total of $6000. Our goal is to buy & digitize & share early Coin Journal (月刊コインジャーナル) issues, documenting a pivotal decade in Japan's arcade history pinballnovice.blogspot.com/2025/05/help...

If you enjoyed the mid-late 90s issues that were scanned by @detchibe.bsky.social, please consider donating to these lots. In addition to the ads, CJ issues contain headlines, essays, and profiles on numerous arcade companies. These are def worth it to understand more about the Japanese coin-op biz.

A clean video of Taito's 1993 futuristic arcade racing game VERTEXER has been uploaded to YouTube, showing a single course. The visual effects are a little eye-straining and flashy, so be warned! www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P85...

As promised, here's the write-up of the Galaxian 3 repair effort: philwip.com/galaxian-3-p...

Following up on my SEGA taikan post from last week: Other arcade companies like Namco, Konami and Taito occasionally produced smaller upright versions of their contemporary games. #arcadehistory #coinophistory

I would love to try out these scaled-down versions of Sega's taikan games one day. These cabinets typically used smaller monitors, less power and had limited movement in comparison to the larger deluxe cabinets. #arcadehistory #coinophistory #sega

I particularly enjoyed Kellyn Beeck's arcade reporting! This is a must watch for early 80s arcade and personal computer footage :)

For context: Zolgear was a kit game designed to replace the "Project Dragoon" PCBs and laserdiscs in 1994. While the former has seen a console release via the 1996 Playstation port, the latter has never been released on home consoles, and it has yet to be emulated due to its complicated hardware.

If you have any interest in pre-video game history (going beyond retro gaming into *vintage* gaming), you should give this account a follow.

Before making video games, Konami produced a popular series of medal games in the late 70s under the name "Piccadilly Circus." These were roulette machines where players inserted coins, placed bets, and hoped they got a good return. #arcadehistory #coinophistory #konami

Within five years, Namco released 16 titles that used the System 21 hardware (not all pictured here). While most of those games were either updates or derivatives, its wildly impressive what they were able to accomplish with brand new 3D hardware. #arcadehistory #namco

A contender for the most unique taikan game created by SEGA is Super Monaco GP from 1989. Inside the deluxe cabinet was the "Air Drive" system which utilized compressed air to shift the driver's seat all around to the gameplay. An air compressor would also be used in Virtua Racing's deluxe cabinet.

Sigma (maker of Japanese medal games) in 1993: Bad weather at the local derby? No problem, you and 62 other people can enjoy betting on mechanical horses within a nice warm room in our Rongo Rongo facility in Shibuya.

Recently decided to flip through some issues of Amusement Life; a Japanese publication from the early 80s. The photographs truly encapsulate what game centers looked like post-Invader Boom. Just wanted to share my favorite color and B/W photos! #arcadehistory #coinophistory (1)

Seeing all of the different Joypolis venues and attractions in this book was sublime...SEGA fans def need to check this one out as there's a whole plethora of information waiting to be seen :) #sega #joypolis #arcadehistory

As 2024 winds down, I want to shoutout @detchibe.bsky.social for the thousands of pages they scanned throughout the year; specifically the publications focused on the Japanese coin-op industry. I'm truly thankful for their hard work on getting all of this material scanned in for everyone! :)

The recent Defunctland vid reminds me that Namco once had their own Lincoln animatronic. After M. Nakamura visited Disneyland in '75, the company began to create their own robots (controlled by cams and wires). Early tests produced uncanny results, but gave rise to "emotional robots" like Mappy.

11 more issues of Coin Journal and Amusement Sangyo!Issues span 1989-07 to 1997-03. pinballnovice.blogspot.com/2024/12/scan... #retroarcade #coinjournal #amusementsangyo #japan #arcade #eremeka

I loved Toys That Made Us, so was excited to learn they’re behind Game Changers. But while watching the Nintendo ep with Gaming Alexandria folks, I was shocked to see my own color sprite interpretations of Bluto and Olive. Not sure how I feel about that. (Did they commission the other sprites?)

Acquired! Thank you for all your support through RTing or donating, expect to see scans in the new year 🥳

Myself and @saturnjaguar.bsky.social are currently eyeing a copy of "Joypolis Perfect Guide" and we're 7500JPY short of its steep asking price. If you're interested in helping us preserve this piece of SEGA history, and are able to, I am open for donations on ko-fi. ko-fi.com/detchibe

New to Flyer Fever: A 1989 catalog for Irem which showcases some dev rooms, a game center that highlights their coin-op sales & rental business, facilities from the parent company (and famous CRT maker) Nanao, and the President and CEO Yoshiyuki Takashima. www.flyerfever.com/irem-video-g...

A former Namco dev recently published a video debunking the claim that the System 22 hardware utilized technology from Evans & Sutherland. This claim was previously available on English Wikipedia, and has since been removed. (1) #arcadehistory #namco www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0CJ...

Researcher @ted90909.bsky.social and I are requesting assistance to locate the origins of two Japanese news reports that feature the historic Hi-Tech Land Sega Shibuya. These videos were shared onto social media platforms without the original context or source. (1) #arcadehistory #sega #segahistory

and then the west caught up about 10 years late lol

It's always fascinating to see how different companies responded to the success of Sega's taikan games...

There is a lot of information in that book that I had never seen anywhere else. This book inspired me to write a post about Takarazuka onsen earlyarcadesjapan.blogspot.com/2024/04/taka...

For those wanting to learn more about Japanese coin-op history: I want to share some books I've picked up in recent times which give a great overview of the games, machines and industry of the time. All of the full Japanese titles can be found in the alts as I go along the thread.

I've recently stumbled upon some archival video from Getty Images that showcase a few of the robots Namco made in the early 80s. This first clip features the "Mikoshi Bearers" riding on unicycles, the "Powerful Robot" lifting weights, and the "Barrel-Riding Clown" doing an act. #namco #vghistory

A Super Hang-on prototype (final version on the right) archive.org/details/beep...