Electro-mechanical Arcade Games!

[flojocabron]

While I was looking through the atari oddities article here

I came across the word Electromehcanical Arcade game.

doing some typical youtube fu came up with some interesting things.

like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhO02gQEu-k

and http://youtu.be/Sp7lv1lhNJI

I was surprized by this too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm915f0ZRFU&feature=related

Those little battery operated steering wheel toy car games are probably based off of stuff like this.

This is an awesome part of gaming. A non-videogame arcade game!

Yeah and although pachinko, pinball machines and whackamole games may be a part of this genre. These games that I linked are really something else!

have any of you tried these games or have seen them in real life?

These guys must be pretty rare and still be able to be working after 35+ years!

just another reason to be proud of our gaming history!

[Majors]

I recently read that Nintendo had a EM Wild Gunman out in 1974 at the arcade. The NES version was a "port" a decade later. Same thing with Duck Hunt, there was a home EM version before the NES cart and zapper.

[pumpkinpie65]

Wow. I had to bump this. This is SO cool! I remember having one of those battery operated car games you were talking about when I was really little, but I've never seen anything like this! That Missile one is awesome!

[d123456]

Awesome stuff.
Sega made a video game port of Periscope in Sega Ages Vol 26: Dynamite Deka - Playstation 2 (2006)

http://segaretro.org/Periscope
http://hardcoregaming101.net/segaages/segaages7.htm
I played it a couple of times, it was surprisingly fun and played it longer than expected

[CRTGAMER]

Musee Mechanique San Francisco
On Fishermans Wharf, tons of vintage Mechanical Arcades including the driving toy car mentioned.

Whirl Bird
I remember playing this mechanical helicopter game as a kid. Not just fly around in a fast circle. The fun is hovering, moving up and down, even backwards to hit every metal bar for points. Really captured the feeling of flying a helicopter.



I bought a toy version a few years ago that captures the gameplay this old arcade.

[Nemoide]

This kind of thing was the specialty of a really awesome looking Retro Arcade Museum that was actually really close to where I live.

Unfortunately it was shut down shortly after opening due to some ancient anti-pinball law that was on the books in the town. (And I first heard of it from news stories about its closing.) It's so frustrating; I really wish the place still existed!

[brandman]

I don't know if this really counts as it's really just a UFO Catcher at it's core, but I have seen this thing at two different restaurants in my home town.

Oh and animal activists shy away.



This is a lobster UFO machine, instead of plush SEGA characters and teddy bears, this thing gives you a lobster. It works exactly how that sounds.

The first time I saw it the restaurant had a deal if you caught it, then they would cook it for you no extra charge (for just the lobster I assume) at a restaurant that was famed in my town for seeing weird and strange things you wouldn't think you would see on the menu for what you thought would be just a seafood restaurant. This was just one oddity among others at the restaurant. I've actually seen a person catch one, so it's not impossible, but I had to go and couldn't stick around to see exactly how it worked.

Eventually that restaurant closed down for not meeting the requirements of the government for sanitation in restaurants (go figure) add to the fact that the lake is was next to flooded the parking lot every so often.

Anyways some time later, I bought the Guinness World Records 2010: Gamers Edition book, and guess what I found:



It was the same machine! It was real! But it was under the Japanese Arcade section, not just a general arcade section. So I looked it up and pretty much found the same info as the book gave me. That of course explains the Japanese characters in the first photo from google images.

A few years later (and by that I mean earlier this year [Earlier than July in 2012]) I went to another seafood restaurant, and the damn machine was in there (along with other late 90's - modern day machines)! Remember the first restaurant closed down so this one could have bought it from them, so it could be the same machine but idk.

I have to say though, this machine has intrigued me quite a bit and if anyone has any more info on it I would gladly appreciate it. Has anyone else seen this thing in person? Outside of Japan?

EDIT: sorry for the huge second pic

[driph]

I've got one of these in the garage:



It's similar to the Sega game above, and plays just like Sea Wolf (the arcade game), but with mechanical bits.

Mine still needs work, and I plan to restore it sometime down the road (once I finish the 3 or 4 cabs in line in front of it). I'd love to eventually add a rifle or car EM game to the lineup as well.

[d123456]

I've got one of these in the garage:

Look, it´s Sookie from True Blood.
I love this thread. Mechanical games rock.

[ExedExes]

A place I visit every month has this great EM example. Ambush by Williams from 1973. Very challenging to reach that extended play score. As you can see, the playfield has multiple layers of background, and tons of lights and action.

It's only 1 credit for 25 cents though