Longest Running Video Game Franchises That Originated in The Arcade
The Arcade is widely recognised as the birthplace of some of gaming’s most iconic titles. Without the simplistic 8-bit graphics of the 1970s, we would
The Arcade is widely recognised as the birthplace of some of gaming’s most iconic titles. Without the simplistic 8-bit graphics of the 1970s, we would never have experienced the triple-a behemoths that now dominate our screens. While many franchises have struggled to make the jump from retro to modern, such as Time Crisis with its overreliance on peripherals and Crazy Taxi with its failed mobile spin-offs, there are plenty that have managed to reinvent themselves for the latest gaming generation. The IPs that are still kicking well into the 2020s are now amongst the oldest running video game franchises – here are some of our favourites.
There are few gaming franchises as iconic as Pac-Man. You take the role of an emoji-style sprite making your way through a maze, picking up pills while avoiding the pursuit of multiple ghosts following you through each corridor. The captivating simplicity of Pac-Man made it an instant arcade hit while the steep-yet-fair learning curve gave it genuine replay value even at a miniscule 24 kilobytes. Since its launch in 1980, there have been countless versions of Pac-Man ranging from reinterpretations of the classic gameplay in titles such as Pac-Man Championship Edition DX (2011), to complete genre-switches in the point-and-click adventure game Pac-Man 2 The New Adventures (1994), and even a 64-player battle royale in Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle (2020). The Pac-Man franchise is still very much alive on modern home devices with titles available primarily on Nintendo’s line of consoles, but also on PC, Xbox and PlayStation. At time of writing, we’re anticipating the latest Pac-Man launch in Shadow Labyrinth – a dark take on the original game scheduled for release sometime in 2025.
Few franchises have managed the switch to home consoles quite as successfully as Super Mario. Recognised as one of the most influential games of all time, Super Mario 64 released for the Nintendo 64 in 1996 and changed the whole gaming landscape with its implementation of 3D gameplay. Since then, Mario, Luigi and friends have amassed countless appearances across home consoles on everything from the wildly unsuccessful Virtual Boy, to the go-to portable darling of the 2010s in the Nintendo DS. While you could certainly argue that the Super Mario franchise is the strongest it’s ever been following a series of exceptional releases on the Nintendo Switch in Super Mario Odyssey (2017), Super Mario Maker 2 (2019), and Luigi’s Mansion 3 (2019), the franchise has been dominating the gaming space since 1983.
Many game genres benefited greatly from advancements in technology; RPGs were able to implement massive open worlds with outrageous levels of detail, adventure games were able to bring about engrossing stories with voice acting and face capture, and FPS were able to add realistic gun mechanics to bring life to their combat simulations. While it would be unfair to say that fighting games haven’t also majorly benefited, the difference between a 1992 release of Mortal Kombat and the 2019 release of Mortal Kombat 11 is much smaller than that of 1992’s Donkey Kong Jr and 2018’s Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze. Without the innovation that punctuated early fighting games and following the decline of arcade hall popularity, interest began to wane and mainstream interest shifted toward other genres.
Of the few fighting games that managed to reestablish themselves on home consoles, Street Fighter remains as the most influential, introducing many of the genre staples that we have come to know such as special moves, blocking, and even light/medium/heavy attacks. Capcom have continued to invest in the Street Fighter series, regularly bringing out new instalments and offering remasters of older classics. Their latest title, Street Fighter 6 (2023) was very commercially successful and even a year after it’s release remains as the most played fighting game on Steam averaging over 20,000 active daily players.
Somewhat of a unique entry, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles originally started as a TV show before being ported over to arcade devices as a side scrolling beat em up. Only two years after the TV show started airing in 1987, Konami acquired the TMNT license and began work on a four-player arcade cabinet, as well as a console version. Outstanding sales figures followed and the TMNT cabinet became Konami’s highest grossing arcade game even requiring them to outsource manufacturing in order to keep up with demand. What followed were countless sequels, releasing almost annually up until 1997; quality was generally high with the turtles seeing out the Millenium in style. The switch to modern home consoles and PC wasn’t particularly favourable, however, especially with there being a bit of an IP burnout alongside a notable drop in the quality of titles being released. Just like several other franchises on this list, Nintendo played a major role in reinvigorating its popularity by bringing remasters of the classic early games to the Switch in the form of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection (2022), as well as a fresh new title – Shredder’s Revenge (2022).
While there are some franchises that have managed to survive beyond their humble arcade origins, plenty haven’t managed to withstand the test of time. It’s important that we recognise the quality of classic gaming and preserve these titles via mediums such as emulation. Our custom Arcade Machines are designed with the keen retro gamer in mind, offering countless classics from yesteryear.
The Arcade is widely recognised as the birthplace of some of gaming’s most iconic titles. Without the simplistic 8-bit graphics of the 1970s, we would
Whether you’re a hardcore gamer, or someone with more of a casual interest; it’s no secret that gaming as a medium has changed a great
There was a time when arcade machines dominated the gaming space – arcades were found around every corner and were packed with people of all
Games such as Pac Man & Space Invaders were first created in the 70s & 80s and video games were born. People of all ages
The charm of a classic arcade game is seldom matched in the modern gaming landscape. From the instantly recognisable pixel artwork of the early Super
Purchasing a bespoke arcade machine from Arcade Mania is one of the best choices you will make. An issue that some customers face however is
The Arcade is widely recognised as the birthplace of some of gaming’s most iconic titles. Without the simplistic 8-bit graphics of the 1970s, we would
Whether you’re a hardcore gamer, or someone with more of a casual interest; it’s no secret that gaming as a medium has changed a great
There was a time when arcade machines dominated the gaming space – arcades were found around every corner and were packed with people of all
Every video game lover out there has at some point thought about starting their own gaming collection. There’s something therapeutic about paying homage to the
Everyone knows the arcade classics – Street Fighter, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, etc. These are the games that moulded a generation of gamers and are still
While the glory days of arcade gaming may be long behind us, the digital world isn’t quite ready to forget an industry that was so
The charm of a classic arcade game is seldom matched in the modern gaming landscape. From the instantly recognisable pixel artwork of the early Super
Early Arcade History 1971 In the early 1970s video games were at the beginning of their development and were computer-based games that were not widely