But recreating the feeling of the best that coin-ops could offer, that was a mission that ran through 8- and 16-bit eras, alongside emerging gaming genres built for domestic play, until the mid-1990s really gave players hardware that could closely enough emulate what they’d experienced on nights out with a pocketful of change.Īlongside the incessant stream of compromised arcade ports and shameless clones that came to Atari, Nintendo and Sega systems in the late 1970s and into the 1980s was a procession of dedicated table-top toys that offered players compelling interpretations of hit coin-ops, but on very different technological terms. Not necessarily in terms of visuals or audio, as the technology wasn’t there yet – there was no way to bring a genuinely arcade-accurate Space Harrier, Rastan or Gradius into the home without actually splashing out on a cabinet and finding room for it. Home gaming in the 1980s, be that on consoles or home computers, seemed obsessed with achieving a version of arcade quality. Best ROM Hacks, Mods And Homebrews Of 2023.
