How popular my games were at the NW pinball and Gameroom Show

blinddog

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How popular my games were at the NW pinball and Gameroom Show

Here's my unofficial and unscientific ranking of how my games did this year at the show. I was there all three days and I think I got a pretty good idea of how they did.

I brought 10 games: Armor Attack, Assault Plus, Atari Football, Pin pong, Rip Off, Sea Wolf, Sprint2, Stargate, Subs and Tank and here's the order I came up with.

1 Sprint2 - it was the clear winner of my games 2 years in a row

2 Sea Wolf – very busy and a wide range of players age 6 to 60 men and women.

3 Tank - Tank really surprised me. I did not think it would be played as much as it was but it has a big hit and was just a little bit more popular then Stargate

3.25 Stargate – it didn't get as much play as its neighbor defender but it did all right.

4 (tie) Atari Football (X's & O's) – you need to find a buddy to play against but I saw quite a few people really enjoying this one

4 (tie) Armor Attack – Seemed to be played a fair amount there was a lot of two player co-op games on this one

5 (tie) Subs – unique game best played head to head with a human opponent it got a decent amount of play

5 (tie) Assault Plus - I have a feeling this would have done better if the attract screen was allowed to come up more but if you have credits sitting on it. It just shows a black screen that says hit start so it was difficult to see what the game was about if you were passing by.

5 (tie) Rip Off – I really thought this one would do better it's my favorite Cinematronics game but it seemed people would start a game and because the goal of the game was not immediately obvious, to protect your fuel cells from space pirates, they would soon walk away. The instructions are written on the bezel which most didn't seem to read.

6 Pin Pong - I think it would have got more play, not a lot more probably, if I made the credit switch more obvious most people expected the game to start when you hit the serve switch then walked away when that didn't work. I had to bring it thou because it's a cool looking early (1974) game that is pretty rare.

I hope you found this interesting I know I do and I think it would be cool if the others that brought games might make a list of how their games did at the show

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The instructions are written on the bezel which most didn't seem to read.

I find it interesting that people don't seem to pay attention to the instructions. I don't ever remember paying attention to them growing up. I guess because it was easier to watch someone else play and figure it out that way, or watch the attract mode. I've been trying recently to be patient enough to read instructions on games I don't know.
 
Since nobody likes Pin Pong I'll gladly take it off of your hands...



I am not surprised about Tank, it is very similar to the Atari 2600 game and that makes it known to people my age and older. Also, you get to sit down to play it and, since Washington is a "fat state" (my teenager told me that a couple of years ago) it was very appealing for that reason as well.



I brought five games and their popularity rankings didn't really surprise me. MvC2 was the obvious winner. The lack of play RType got was the only puzzler...
 
I had a blast with Armor Attack. Played it with my wife a few times, and 2 of my friends who showed up went back to it for co-op play more than any other game. Thanks for bringing it by!
 
I played Subs, Tank (both against my wife), Assault, and Sprint 2. I had my wife play Pin Pong, but didn't play it myself since I've played it a few times in the past.

For the others:
Sea Wolf – just didn't get aroudn to it
Stargate – I'm not a fan, so didn't touch it.
Atari Football (X's & O's) – I saw it being played, but didn't get a game in against anyone.
Armor Attack – played it last year, but didn't fit it in thist year.
Rip Off – I kept meaning to try this out but never got around to it.

Most of the time my daughter was with me so I didn't play as much as I would have liked... and did abandon a bunch of games when she wanted to look at something else. I probably only had about 3 hours of game time when I wasn't watching her, so if a game was being played I didn't wait to get on it next.
 
Matt, your games are awesome. That Stargate is unreal nice!!! We enjoyed playing the Sprint, Armor attack, and Atari Football. Thanks for bringing them:)
 
I'm not suprised about Sprint2 at all. Everyone that plays mine is always smiling and having a great time. In my opinion, it is one of the best driving game ever made, and certainly the best classic driving game.
 
I'm not suprised about Sprint2 at all. Everyone that plays mine is always smiling and having a great time. In my opinion, it is one of the best driving game ever made, and certainly the best classic driving game.

There was a Sprint 2 in one of the local bars, The Wooden Nickel, back in '81. I forgot all about that game until you posted the pics. Thanks Matt.
 
Sprint 2 and Armor attack were pretty high for me from your games.

Was the competitive sub hunting game yours? If so, what was that? That game was surprisingly fun!
 
Was the competitive sub hunting game yours? If so, what was that? That game was surprisingly fun!

It is called Subs. It's an atari game from 1977. The one I have is missing the overlays for the screen. I would love to find them but it still works the way it is.
 
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It is called Subs. It's an atari game from 1977. The one I have is missing the overlays for the screen. I would love to find them but it still works the way it is.

Is very cool that you've specialized in older games. It is easy to forget how much fun some of the earlier games were and how well they stand the test of time.

I love the art, cab, blacklight backdrop, and especially the sound in Space Invaders, but the gameplay doesn't hold up as well as other games for me.
 
Since nobody likes Pin Pong I'll gladly take it off of your hands...



I am not surprised about Tank, it is very similar to the Atari 2600 game and that makes it known to people my age and older. Also, you get to sit down to play it and, since Washington is a "fat state" (my teenager told me that a couple of years ago) it was very appealing for that reason as well.



I brought five games and their popularity rankings didn't really surprise me. MvC2 was the obvious winner. The lack of play RType got was the only puzzler...

I played R-Type alot! I almost failed University because of R-Type... :)

Scary thing is that I still remember the patterns... :D
 
They just can't believe Atari released it!


Nah... There was an impromptu hazing contest because someone was seen playing it.


I was later told that the kid who was the focus of the hazing dashed out the door, eyes swolen with tears, and directly into the path of a city bus.

I am taking donations for his family. He is survived by his mother, but sadly he has no other family. There are rumors that he died a virgin, not really unbelievable for someone who would play Kangaroo, but sad none the less.
 
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