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Bouncer and Turbo Sub
Today's post post is a preliminary one covering two rare games from the golden age. I don't have a lot of info on these games beyond what's already out there but I'm hoping to interview some more of...
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Pinball Before Baffle Ball
Today's post is a bit off topic. It's a subject I should probably leave to those better versed in it than I - the prehisotry of pinball. While none of this info is new to pinball historians and can be...
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Early Video Game Tournaments And Players
Two questions for today:1) What was the first arcade video game tournament - or at least the first national one?2) Can you name the player who may have been the first arcade video game player to gain...
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What Was The First Coin-Op Video Game to Feature Scrolling?
What was the first coin-op video game to feature scrolling?I'm actually not sure and I'm not going to give a definitive answer for one main reason - I haven't played every arcade video game ever made...
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America's Oldest Coin-Ops
Today's post is definitely off topic, but I think it's interesting anyway. I thought I'd do a brief post on a couple of really old American coin-op machines.First, up is this one:This is believed to be...
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The Video Game Industry Year by Year: 1973-1975
I don't know if this kind of thing will be of much intrest or not. One thing I plan to include in my book is a couple of chapters offering brief summaries of the coin-op video game industry as a whole....
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Potomac Mortgage Company, Blue Sky Operators, and Other Golden Age Ripoffs
During the writing of my book, I slowly came to believe that every video game and every video game manufacturer, not matter how boring they might seem, had a story to tell. I've sometimes doubted that...
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The Saker One Space Probe
During the Golden Age of Video Games, there were a number of attempts at creating a video game with a moving cabinet. Among them were Exidy's Vertigo, Sente's Shrike Avenger and Amusement Technology's...
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Updates, Odds & Ends, and More
A few quick updates on some recent stories. Saker One Space Probe I found some color photos of the unit in Play Meter They even had a flyer. A little more info on the Saker One.Play Meter listed the...
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The Ultimate (So Far) History of Exidy - Part 1
I was going to wait and post this later after I head back from a few more Exidy employees I've contacted, but I decide to go ahead and start it now. I'll update it if I get more info (or include the...
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The Ultimate (So Far) History of Exidy - Part 2
Today's post is bascially a repost of my December post on Death Race with the addition of some info on the early years of Exidy. I hate to repost material, but you can't very well have an...
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Video Game Mythbusters?? - The Malfunctioning Pong
One of the most oft-told stories from the annals of video game history involves the first Pong game and its legendary "malfunction". You've probably all heard this one. Ted Dabney and Al Alcorn put...
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Pong Legend Confirmed
I wasn't planning on doing a post today, but I came across some new Pong-related info that I wanted to share. Last time, I discussed one of the many legends about the game (though I think it was...
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The Ultimate (So Far) History of Exidy - Part 3
Exidy's new plant - 1976Robot Bowl Death Race was followed by a number of less morbid games. Alley Rally (July, 1976) was a 1 or 2-player racing game in the mold of Atari's Sprint 2 in which the...
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Brides of Chuck E. - Pizza Time Theatre's Forgottten Imitators
Today's post is mostly pictures. Everyone has heard of Pizza Time Theatre and its mascot Chuck E. Cheese. Most people know that the chain spawned a number of imitators that combined food (often pizza),...
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The Ultimate (So Far) History of Exidy - Part 4
By 1978 Exidy had become one of the leading video game makers on the west coast and continued to churn out games at a rapid pace. 1978’s Football and Rip Cord were standard variations of games already...
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The Video Game Industry Year by Year: 1976-1977
1976 In 1976 the industry finally left the ball-and-paddle game behind. While a good number of such games were produced (around 1/3 of new titles) they were a distinct minority. Driving...
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The Ultimate (So Far) History of Exidy - Part 5
Other ProductsNot all of Exidy’s efforts during these years were video games, however. The company also branched out into other areas. A number of games were the result of Pete Kauffman’s love of games...
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For-Play Manufacturing
Here's a question for you. What was the second mass-produced coin-op video game ever made (after Computer Space)? Most would answer Pong, but that isn't the one I'm thinking of. And no, I'm not talking...
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The Ultimate (So Far) History of Exidy - Part 6
As the 1970s wound to a close, Exidy continued to expand. In early 1979 they moved to a 50,000 square foot facility in Moffet Park in Sunnyvale. Meanwhile, they were hard at work turning out Star...
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