Arcade Era
Pac-Man (1980): The History of Namco’s Arcade Icon
The story of Pac-Man: Toru Iwatani's design goals, the Puck-Man name change, the four ghosts, level 256, Pac-Man Fever, Ms. Pac-Man and the Guinness record.
Arcade Era
Arcade Era
Space Invaders (1978): How Taito’s Shooter Launched the Arcade Boom
How Tomohiro Nishikado built Space Invaders, why the aliens speed up, the yen-coin shortage myth, Midway's US release and the Atari 2600 port that sold consoles.
Arcade Era
Pong and the Birth of Atari: How a Tennis Game Started an Industry
How Nolan Bushnell, Ted Dabney and Allan Alcorn turned a simple tennis game into Atari's first hit, plus the Odyssey patent fight and Home Pong.
Arcade Era
The Golden Age of Arcade Games: How Coin-Op Machines Took Over the World
How Space Invaders, Asteroids, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and friends built the late-1970s arcade boom, why it faded, and how fighting games revived arcades.