Arcade Perfect: How Pac-Man, Mortal Kombat, and Other Coin-Op Classics Invaded the Living Room

Before personal computers and game consoles, video arcades hosted cutting-edge software consumers couldn’t play anywhere else. As companies like Atari, Commodore, and Nintendo disrupted the status quo, publishers charged their developers with an impossible task: Cram the world’s most successful coin-op games into microchips with a fraction of the computing power of arcade hardware.From the first Pong machine through the dystopian raceways of San Francisco Rush 2049, Arcade Perfect: How Pac-Man, Mortal Kombat, and Other Coin-Op Classics Invaded the Living Room takes readers on an unprecedented behind-the-scenes tour of the decline of arcades and the rise of the multibillion-dollar home games industry.•Discover how more than 15 coin-op classics made the jump from cabinet to cartridge including Ms. Pac-Man, Street Fighter II, NBA Jam, Terminator 2, and more.•Based on research and interviews with dozens of programmers, artists, and designers. •Delve into the guts of the Atari 2600, Sega Genesis, Super NES, ZX Spectrum, and other platforms to find out how they stacked up against arcade hardware.•Read bonus interviews with John Tobias (Mortal Kombat), Ed Logg (Gauntlet, Asteroids), ex-GamePro editor Dan “Elektro” Amrich, and more.

I loved reading David Craddock's Arcade Perfect. I had forgotten how hard it was for developers/programmers to convert an arcade game to the SNES or Sega Genesis home consoles, and David captures those stories in great detail. -Tom Kalinske, former CEO of Sega of America

A crucial yet overlooked part of our industry's past is the art of the arcade port to console. David's book sheds light on the stories of some of the biggest games that made that transition and is a must-read for anyone looking to understand the process. -John Tobias, "ko-kreator" of Mortal Kombat

I don't know of another book like this one that focuses on arcade ports--it's unique and I had a blast reading it. -John Romero, co-founder of id Software (Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake)

In Arcade Perfect, David lets us inside the unique, insanely difficult world of video game porting. I learned a lot, and I've been making games professionally for 32 years. -Tom Hall, co-founder of id Software (Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom)

Rather than copy press releases designed to turn business executives into heroes, David steps into the trenches to share the stories of the people who brought our favorite games into being. -Jennell Jaquays, director of game design at Coleco Industries (1982-'85), Hall of Fame member: Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design

When I smell pepperoni pizza, I can hear "GET OVER HERE!" and "BOOM-SHAKKA-LAKKA!" vividly. It was wonderful to read about the work that went into those games, and it's something I never considered until Arcade Perfect. -Adam Bromell, co-founder of System Era Softworks and co-creator of Astroneer

Home versions of arcade hits drove the growth of the video game industry. Arcade Perfect brings to light how this was done. -David Bamberger, former senior brand manager of marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America (Final Fantasy VII)

Arcade Perfect is a great look into the work our industry pioneers had to put into bringing games home before technology should have allowed it to be possible. -Patrick Scott Patterson, historian and Guinness World Record-holding pro gamer

The history of the creation of great arcade games has been exhaustively covered, but adding in how they were converted to home consoles and computers? That's a fascinating, under-explored angle. -Simon Carless, executive vice president of GDC (Game Developers Conference)

Arcade Perfect is a deep exploration of one of the most overlooked aspects of game development, and a celebration of the creativity found in the limitations developers face when porting games from powerful arcade cabinets to the inferior hardware of consoles. -Gabe Durham, founding editor of Boss Fight Books

A must-read for any gamer old enough to have hoisted a controller in the 1980s and '90s--and should be required reading for today's budding designers. -Doug Walsh, author of The Walkthrough: Insider Tales From a Life in Strategy Guides

David Craddock builds a time machine out of thoughtful storytelling and attention to detail that puts you right in the room with game developers charged with the impossible: to bring the greatest video games in the world into millions of homes. -Jesse Schell, author of The Art of Game Design, Professor of Entertainment Technology at Carnegie Mellon University

Craddock's DiMaggio-like streak for providing readers with compelling video game history is still going strong. -Wes Locher, author of Braving Britannia: Tales of Life, Love, and Adventure in Ultima Online

I loved learning about some of the most important ports that helped bring the arcades to our homes. -Adrian Wallett, co-host of the Arcade Attack podcast

This is primary resource material and very nice to have in its entirety. -Chris Sanyk, developer/critic

From the arcade classics of yesteryear to the Arcade1Up movement of today, Craddock tells the behind-the-scenes stories of some of your favorite games. -Patrick Hickey, Jr., author of The Minds Behind the Games series