Arcade game

An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games or merchandisers.

While exact dates are debated, the initial golden age of arcade video games is usually defined as a period from the late 1970s to mid-1980s, with titles such as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. The arcade industry also had somewhat of a resurgence from the early 1990s to mid-2000s, with titles such as Mortal Kombat and Dance Dance Revolution, but ultimately declined in the Western world as competing home video game consoles such as the Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox increased in their graphics and gameplay capability and decreased in cost. Nevertheless, the Eastern world retains a strong arcade industry in the present day.