Before the rise of online casino games took the world by storm, arcade games changed the face of entertainment forever. This occurred long before the internet and technologies such as iGaming, with early classics such as ‘Pong’ quickly growing to be one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the 1970s and 1980s.
Even as the arcade game industry lagged behind the at-home video game industry from the late 1980s onward, many of the classic arcade game titles released in this era have maintained their popularity in the five decades since they were first released.
Of these many different arcade games, however, which have proved the most timeless?
Street Fighter II
The Street Fighter game franchise is one of the highest grossing video game franchises of all time, and for the developer Capcom, it has proved to be by far their most popular title ever!
Since the first title was released in 1987 — Street Fighter — it has spawned a multi-generational video game franchise that has sold 48 million units as of 2022. It has also generated around $12.2bn in revenue, which includes a whopping 500,000 arcade unit sales.
Needless to say, the Street Fighter series is incredibly popular with both hardcore and casual video game fans alike.
Of the many games released in the franchise, however, by far the most popular is Street Fighter II. Developed in-house by the Capcom designers and released in 1991, Street Fighter II was the second instalment in the series and radically improved many of the gameplay mechanics from the first game.
This included the use of a special command-based movement system, the combo system, a unique six-button configuration and a wide range of iconic playable characters. The two-player mode was particularly popular, which introduced human-vs-human combat.
This combination of gameplay mechanics helped to reignite the popularity of in-person arcade games which had been ailing at that point due to the rise in at-home video game consoles.
As a result of these unique factors, Street Fighter has since gone on to become one of the most popular games of all time and is still regularly played at arcade game tournaments around the world!
Space Invaders
Space Invaders is a Japanese video game that was originally released in 1978 and has since gone on to become one of the most recognizable video games of all time. It was a forerunner of the modern video gaming industry and experienced massive success on both at-home gaming consoles and in the many arcades that popped up around the world during the 1980s.
Space Invaders was originally launched as an arcade game and has since been re-released on essentially every video gaming platform ever produced.
Space Invaders was loved by gaming fans around the world for its simple yet addicting gameplay mechanics, which went on to inspire multiple clones that tried to replicate its success.
The Space Invaders game has even gone on to inspire a new generation of online casino games. Of these, the Space Invaders slot game has proved to be a particular hit with online casino fans who appreciate the combination of exciting gameplay and retro-themed aesthetics.
The combination of unique graphics, immediately recognizable sound design and simple yet surprisingly challenging gameplay has ensured that Space Invaders has maintained its popularity over the course of its four-decade history.
Pac-Man
If you were to create a list of the most popular classic arcade games and failed to include this next title, you would more than likely be accused by arcade game fans of being grossly negligent. And there is good reason for this!
Pac-Man is, in our humble opinion, easily the most iconic arcade game ever released. The first title in the long-running franchise was released in May 1980. It has since gone on to inspire a slew of subsequent releases and spin-off games.
It is also one of the longest-running, best-selling and highest-grossing video game franchises. The Pac-Man series is over 40 years old and has sold almost 50 million copies across essentially every video and arcade game platform ever, with an estimated lifetime gross of $14bn!
In fact, Pac-Man has become so iconic that the logo and titular character is often used as a representation of this whole era of arcade game-based popular culture. Pac-Man forms such an important part of videogame history that it is hard to imagine what the industry would look like today if it had never been released.
However, it isn’t just nostalgia alone that helps to keep this title so popular. It also happens to be one of the most intensely playable games ever created. The combination of simple but engrossing gameplay mechanics and pleasing aesthetics gives it endless replay value. Even in the latest releases on today’s modern gaming consoles, it is every bit as playable as the original arcade version from 1980!
