Arcade Heroes

This page is a reference for “firsts” in arcades – either the first time anywhere that a feature, idea or technique was implemented in an arcade machine, OR recording the first time that some aspect or innovation made an appearance in an arcade game. It is a page to refer to a deleted section of the Arcade Heroes vidcast about graphics.

This is a “Work In Progress” and is subject to change with new information. This data is presented as “to the best of my knowledge.” At times there are certain things in dispute; If you have evidence for something to correct the information below, then please contact us so it can be fixed!

Last update: 9/12/2026

These are the first video arcade games…

… to take coins; to use a joystick controller: Galaxy Game, Independent, 1970

… to see mass production & produced in a fiberglass cabinet: Computer Space, Syzygy Engineering/Nutting Associates, 1971

… to copy another video game; based off of a TV show: Star Trek, For-Play, 1972

… to be commercially successful; use knob/spinner controllers; to come in a cocktail cabinet: Pong, Atari, 1972

… to involve racing of any kind: Space Race, Atari, 1973

… to allow up to four players: Tennis Tourney, Allied Leisure, 1973

… to be labyrinth/maze game & true full color game: Gotcha, Atari 1973

… to implement player lives: Elimination, Kee Games (Atari), 1973

… to break 10,000 in sales: Paddle Battle, Allied Leisure, 1973

… to be a light-gun video game: Balloon Gun, Sega, 1974

… to be a proper racing video game (with a race car and car controls) & use a ROM for storage: Gran Trak 10, Atari, 1974

… that was a basketball game; feature human characters; licensed game from Japan to the West: Basketball, Taito, 1974

… that was a baseball game; feature animated characters: Baseball, Ramtek, 1974

… to use a ROM chip; to use two joysticks per person: Tank, Atari/Kee Games, 1974

… that was a digital pinball game: Pin Pong, Atari, 1974

… to use vertical scrolling: Speed Race, Taito, 1974

… to mount the monitor flat inside of an upright cabinet instead of placing it at eye level; feature artwork inside of the cabinet; first game developed by an overseas studio: TV Goalee, Chicago Coin, 1974

… to use the iconic “ball top” joystick: One on One, PMC, 1974

… to use a code name during its development: TV Pinball (called Sting as a codename), Exidy, 1974

… to offer up to 8-players on one game: Indy 800, Kee Games / Atari, 1975

… to use a CPU; one joystick to move, another to shoot(aka twin stick shooter): Gun Fight, Midway, 1975*

… to be setup as a first-person shooter: Cobra Gunship, Meadows, 1975

… to feature a cabinet sculpted after an animal: Maneater, Project Support Engineering, 1975

… to be a vertically scrolling shoot ‘em up (a shmup): Avenger, Electra Games, 1975

… to put a digital pinball game in an actual pinball cabinet: UFO / Super Flipper, Chicago Coin, 1975

… to feature an Easter Egg (accessed through a hardware method): Anti-Aircraft, Atari, 1975

… made in a sit-down cabinet: Hi-Way, Atari, 1975

… to use the Pepper’s Ghost Effect; periscope controller: Sea Wolf, Midway, 1976

… to feature a “proper” labyrinth/maze; use digital music: Amazing Maze, Midway, 1976

… to use horizontal & parallax scrolling: Attack, Taito, 1976

… to feature violence: Death Race, Exidy, 1976

… to be a 1v1 fighting game; boxing game: Heavyweight Champ, Sega, 1976

… to use an analog storage medium (tapes) to hold game data: Quiz Show, Atari, 1976

… to simulate skiing by using a swivel foot controller: Ski, Allied Leisure, 1976

… to feature a celebrity tie-in: Fonz, Sega, 1976

… to use perspective scrolling: Road Race, Sega, 1976

… to feature 8-way scrolling: Race, Fun Games, 1976 / Super Bug, Atari, 1978**

… to be a skiing game, complete with sliding foot controllers: Ski, Allied Leisure, 1976

… to use a yoke controller: Cobra Gunship, Meadows Games, 1976

… to use stereo sound; to penalize players for shooting a civilian: Bazooka, Project Support Engineering, 1976

… to involve a sweepstakes with a big prize giveaway: 280 Zzzap!, Midway, 1977

… to dynamically scale (resize) 2D sprites: Starship I, Atari, 1977

… to use two monitors in the same cabinet: Two Game Module, Atari, 1977

… to use a vector monitor; feature partial damage effects to objects; to have a reset button: Space Wars, Cinematronics, 1977

… that was a bowling game: Meadows Lanes, Meadows Games, 1977

… to use a dedicated video processor: M-79 Ambush, Ramtek, 1977

… to feature the top score; to have a random bonus target: Space Invaders, Taito, 1978

… to use home game console hardware to power the game: Tournament Table, Atari, 1978

… to feature 2-player co-op: Fire Truck, Atari, 1978

… to use a trackball: Football, Sega, 1978

… to come in a cockpit cabinet; to use a radar; let players enter their initials on the leaderboard; to be based off of a movie: Star Fire, Exidy, 1978

… to have a “pinball” letter-by-letter light-up marquee feature: Skydiver, Atari, 1978

… that was a shuffleboard game: Shuffleboard, Midway, 1978

… to use two monitors for the same game: Subs, Atari, 1979

… to feature an intermission/cut scene: Space Invaders Part II, Taito, 1979

… to use a 16-bit CPU: Get-A-Way, Universal, 1979

… to feature nudity: SOS, Namco, 1979

… to feature a 3D world you could explore: BattleZone, Atari, 1980

… to feature bi-directional scrolling; a screen-clearing smart bomb: Defender, Williams, 1980

… to operate as a “platformer” game: Space Panic, Universal, 1980

… to physically move the monitor based on the user’s control input: Space Tactics, Sega, 1980

… to use voice synthesis: Stratovox, Taito, 1980

… to feature a radar map of the entire game world; active world off the game screen; to feature a built-in operator menu for option changes: Defender, Williams, 1980

… to be registered with the US copyright office: Asteroids & Lunar Lander, Atari, 1980

… to be blamed for a player’s death: Berzerk, Stern Electronics, 1980

… to have a continue feature: Fantasy, SNK, 1981

… to feature a boss whose form changes after he takes so much damage: Demoneye-X, Irem, 1981

… to use a LaserDisc player: Quarterhorse, Electro Sport, 1981 / Astron Belt, Sega, 1983***

… to have a change of day-to-night during gameplay: Red Alert, Irem, 1981

… to feature hills in a driving game: Turbo, Sega, 1981

… to have an origial music score crafted for it: Venture, Exidy, 1981

… to allow the player to design/setup their own defenses: Tactician, Konami, 1981

… to use a color vector monitor: Space Fury, Sega, 1981

… to be a side scrolling run’n jump platformer: Jungle King/Hunt, Taito, 1982

… to credit the game’s designer in the attract mode: Reactor, Gottlieb, 1982

… to use stereoscopic 3D effects: Subroc 3-D, Sega, 1982

… to feature isometrically drawn graphics: Zaxxon, Sega, 1982

… to use 3D flat-shaded polygons for character objects: Cube Quest, Simutrek, 1983

… to use “Quick-Time Events” (QTEs): Dragon’s Lair, Cinematronics, 1983

… to be a home-to-arcade port instead of the other way around: Cosmic Chasm, Cinematronics, 1983

… to use digitized graphics/photos of real people: Journey, Midway, 1983

… to use a Dollar Bill Validator/Acceptor: NFL Football, Midway, 1983

… to feature a rear-view mirror that rendered a reflection in real-time: Star Rider, Williams, 1983

… to present Olympic events in video form: Track & Field, Konami, 1983

… to combine three monitors for a panoramic view; to feature controller force feedback; to have forks in the road that the user could pick: TX-1, Tatsumi/Namco/Atari, 1983

to feature official licensing from a sports organization (including real teams & players): NFL Football, Midway, 1983

… to use a dithering effect similar to anti-aliasing: Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi, Atari Games, 1984

… to feature full levels and all game objects rendered using 3D polygons: I, Robot, Atari, 1984

… to be a 1v1 martial arts fighting game: Taisen Karate Dou / Karate Champ, Data East, 1984

… to be a scrolling beat ‘em up: Spartan-X / Kung Fu Master, Irem, 1984

… to be based on wrestling: Appoooh, Sega, 1984

… arcade game to feature a QWERTY keyboard for the controller: Thayer’s Quest, RDI Video Systems, 1984

… that was a four player co-op game: Gauntlet, Atari Games, 1985

… that was a fighter where users could select their character and have specialized movesets: Galactic Warriors, Konami, 1985

… to use a motion base for simulated movement: Space Harrier, Sega, 1985

… to establish a progressive power-up upgrading system: Gradius, Konami, 1985

… to involve arm wrestling: Arm Wrestling, Nintendo, 1985

… to simulate realistic pitching & batting effects using an analog joystick: World Series: The Season, Cinematronics, 1985

… to use four monitors for the same game: Super Dead Heat, Taito, 1985

… to use a physical data saving device (a key, in this case): World Series – The Season, Cinematronics, 1985

… to use a “bi-optic” dual monitor Pepper’s Ghost effect: Wyvern F-0, Taito, 1985

… to use a swivel seat bike controller: Hang-On, Sega, 1985

… to use the Pepper’s Ghost Effect to combine multiple monitors into one image: Darius, Taito, 1986

… to feature both a steering wheel & light-gun controller: Night Stocker, Bally Sente, 1986

… to be based on skateboarding: 720°, Atari Games, 1986

… to put the player into the role of the villain: Rampage, Bally Midway, 1986

… to feature gore: Chiller, Exidy, 1986

… where you played as a police officer: A.P.B., Atari Games, 1987

… to render a racing game in full 3D: Winning Run, Namco, 1988

… to link cabinets together in a local network: Final Lap, Namco, 1988

… to use a 32-bit CPU: N.A.R.C., Midway, 1988

… to feature an unofficial cameo by a US President: Bad Dudes Vs. Dragonninja, Data East, 1988

… set as a realistic 3D driving simulator, complete with turning key ignition: Hard Drivin’, Atari Games, 1989

… to use drive-over boosts: S.T.U.N. Runner, Atari Games, 1989

… to use the raycasting graphics technique: Last Survivor, Sega, 1989

… to use a sculpted, motorized arm controller for arm wrestling: Arm Champs, Jaleco, 1989

… to use a full gyroscopic cabinet for any direction rotation: R360, Sega, 1990

… to implement a foot pedal in a gun game: Space Gun, Taito, 1990

… to feature microtransactions as a part of the in-game shop system: Double Dragon 3, Tecmo, 1990

… to be available as a conversion kit for a driving game: Badlands, Atari Games, 1990

… to use texture mapping in a 3D game: Air Inferno, Taito, 1990

… to use a Virtual Reality (VR) headset: SD1000 (multi-game VR unit), Virtuality, 1991

… to allow the player to change the camera view on the fly: Virtua Racing, Sega, 1992

… to use digitized characters instead of hand-drawn sprites in a fighting game; introduce the concept of the “Fatality” at the end of a match: Mortal Kombat, Midway, 1992

… to use texture mapping on all 3D polygon objects: Ridge Racer, Namco, 1993

… to place a speaker inside of the controller (a mounted gun): Dragongun, Data East, 1993

… to feature 3D characters in a 1v1 fighter: Virtua Fighter, Sega, 1993

… to be the first “true” maniac/bullet hell shooter: Batsugun, Toaplan, 1993

… to use a computer hard drive as the game data storage medium; to use the auto combos game mechanic: Killer Instinct, Rare/Midway, 1994

… to simulate on-rails shooting in 3D: Virtua Cop, Sega, 1994

… to simulate skiing in full 3D: Apline Racer, Namco, 1995

… to use a bicycle pedalling device as a controller; to produce wind effects using a fan: Prop Cycle, Namco, 1996

… to feature fully fledged “rhythm” or musical gameplay: Beatmania, Konami, 1997

… to use the “normal mapping” graphics technique: Virtua Fighter 4, Sega, 2001

… to have cross platform (arcade & console) play: Alienfront Online, Sega, 2001

… to use an HD widescreen [720p]: Wasteland 2071, Triotech, 2005

…to use a dome shaped screen: Kidou Senshi Gundam – Senjou no Kizuna (Gundam Battle Pod), Bandai Namco, 2006

… to use two foot pedals in a gun game: 2Spicy, Sega, 2007

… to use a water mist sprayer: AquaRace Extreme, Simuline, 2008

… to feature achievements: H2Overdrive, Specular Interactive/Raw Thrills, 2009

…to use sand; to implement projection mapping/Mixed Reality technology (MXR): Edel Sand Sega, 2014

… to follow the “MOBA” (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) genre format in arcades: Wonderland Wars, Sega, 2014

… to use a 4K screen in arcades: Cosmotrons [Deluxe model], Arcadeaholics, 2018

There are more “firsts” that the arcade industry introduced or had take place in it’s realm, I’ve just overlooked them or ran out of time to compile. Please contact me about anything that has been missed or is incorrect!