Greatest Arcade Manufacturer

Atari, Capcom, Data East, Irem, Konami, Midway, Namco, Nintendo, Sega, Taito for any arcade nut these companies were the bastions of our digital dreams; their flashing, beeping, gyrating creations held us all in a state of blissful hypnosis unlike anything else in our little worlds; the appearance of a new machine in your local arcade was always a wonder to behold, even if the game itself turned out not to be that great.  I can recall the first time I saw luxury (and often hydraulic) cabinets for games like Star Wars, Space Harrier, Paper Boy, Super Hang-On and After Burner.  Each one blew my adolescent mind in ways no home computer game ever did.  I whiled away my summer holidays not just playing these games, but seeking them out.  They all made great games, games that rewrote the book, games that live on today in one form or another and so the question of which arcade manufacturer was the greatest is probably quite a personal one. Let's look at my nominees:

Of all the classic arcade manufacturers, I feel Capcom are the ones to have survived the death of the coin-op the best.  They may not have made a home console or created the world's single most recognisable video game character, but by investing in new franchises, backing emerging developers and genuinely improving their existing franchises, Capcom is as much of a force in the industry as it has ever been.  And let's not forget, in 2009 they single-handed brought fighting games back into the limelight with the sublime Street Fighter IV, providing that if it is done right, traditional arcade games can still be relevant today.

My favourite Capcom arcade games include:

• 1940 series
• Bionic Commando
• Capcom Vs ... series
• Darkstalkers
• Final Fight
• Ghosts 'n' Goblins/Ghouls 'n' Ghosts series
• Power Stone series
• Street Fighter series
• UN Squadron 

How many video game characters are truly household names?  Lara Croft and Mario Mario?  Maybe, but I bet your gran hasn't heard of them, however, mention Pac-Man and you can guarantee people have not only heard of him, they can describe his appearance and maybe even the basics of the game.  So in terms of star status, few arcade developers can match Namco, but they are much more than a one trick pony.  They have created many of the greatest franchises in gaming and titles like Tekken 6 and Pac-Man Battle Royale continue to keep the arcade spirit alive today.

My favourite Namco arcade games include:

• Galaxian/Galaga series
• Dig-Dug
• Mr Driller
• Pac-Man series
• Ridge Racer series
• Rolling Thunder series
• Soul Calibur series
• Tekken series
• Time Crisis series 

What can you say about Sega.  The are one of the few arcade manufacturers to delve into the home console market and they were always trying to come up with new and interesting ways to extract the coins from our pockets.  When people talk about arcade games any number of actual games get mentioned, but if you ask people about arcade machines they almost always talk about Space Harrier or the ridiculous G-Loc R360 machine, that could rotate the player upside down with its gyroscopic cabinet.  Remember, going to the arcade was an experience beyond simply playing video games, which is why people like us are still so hung-up on those halcyon days and few manufacturers created as many memorable arcade experiences as Sega.

My favourite Sega arcade games include:

• After Burner series
• Alien Syndrome/Storm series 
• Altered Beast
• Columns series
• Choplifter
• Crazy Taxi
• Daytona USA
• Fantasy Zone series
• Galaxy Force
• Golden Axe series
• Hang-On series
• House of the Dead series
• Outrun series
• Sega Rally series
• Shinobi series
• Sonic the Hedgehog (yes, that did appear in the arcades)
• Space Harrier series
• Virtua Fighter series
• Virtua Tennis series
• Wonderboy series 
• Batman Forever pinball
• Jurassic Park pinball
• Goldeneye pinball
• The list goes on

And the winner is...

If you can't tell from the extensive list, for me the winner has to be Sega.  This probably comes as a shock to regular readers of this blog, given how much I blather on about Street Fighter, but overall, Sega's games had the biggest impact on me.  In truth a lot of this was to do with the flashy nature of their luxury cabinets, but what can I say, I was a boy when I played these games and the vein of nostalgia they created runs deep to this day. 

MTW