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What was the point of sideart in the 80's?
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Donkey_Kong:

--- Quote from: RayB on February 11, 2007, 04:46:42 pm ---You have to also remember that upright video games were EVERYWHERE, not just in crammed side by side in arcades. You could find 2 or 3 in corner stores, malls, bars, bowling alleys, etc. All sorts of places where they stood there with side-art fully visible.

--- End quote ---

Which is exactly where I did most of my gaming. Small town locations like Pizza joints, Bowling alley, etc.

However, I don't EVER remember taking side art into consideration before playing a game. EVER. I'm also ignorant to that type of thing and have tunnel vision when I'm distracted by thoughts of getting a quarter into a video game.

The big issue was probably half dressing up the final product. (I mean the side of a cab is virtually a Billboard on wheels) & possibly a subliminal advertisement to narrow visioned peoples like myself. The side art is something I would appreciate greatly these days. Back then...not so much.
meltman:
It was all marketing.

You have a huge standup billboard and the purpose of it is to make money. You want it to be as flashy "gotta play that" as possible.
FrizzleFried:
I remember as a kid I loved the Centipede side art...and the Burger Time side art... stuff with lots of colors and lots of stuff going on.   I always thought the Defender,  Sinistar, etc "painted on" side art looked cheezy...

javeryh:
I never really noticed side art when I was growing up but I notice it now.  It really adds the finishing touch to a cab, IMO.
RandyT:

In the midst of the 80's heyday, competition in the arcades was fierce.  The companies couldn't sell their games if they didn't have a "hook" of some kind that differentiated their offerings from the competition. 

Early game cabinets were mostly simple in appearance, as the game inside was sufficient to act as the draw.  When more and more games showed up on the market, it was no longer a "given" that a machine would get the play time needed for it to pay for itself.  In an attempt to get the attention of arcade players (and operators,) a number of companies departed from the simple stenciled side art on a "cookie cutter" cabinet and the designs became more elaborate.  In the case of some, like Burgertime, the side art actually dictated the shape of the cabinet.  The side art and cabinet shapes became more impressive and eventually became nearly as important to the machine's earning power as the game inside.  As I recall, Atari was one of first to come out with the more impressive cabinet designs based on the theme of the game.

As others have said, it was all about getting the attention of players and differentiation in the marketplace.

RandyT
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