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

[leapinlew]

Don't get me wrong - I love it, but I can't help but wonder why it even exists. The price on sideart in the 80's had to be just as expensive as it is today(if not more expensive). Wasn't it? And the only sideart I remember seeing as a kid was on the games on the edge at an arcade. Lots of side art I've only seen since getting into this hobby.  I never remember seeing the sideart for Centipede, Pac-man, Defender, Joust or Mario Bros. in the wild because it was always squished between other games.

[Grasshopper]

I'd guess the price of the artwork is a lot less when it is mass-produced. But who knows.

[spacies]

They would have used screen prints to do that side art wouldn't they?

Would have been fairly easy to do if you had a production line going.

[RayB]

First, not all arcades had their games crammed together. Most arcade owners who knew a bit about "marketing" would place new games near the front of the arcade, in positions where you DID see the art. Passers by would notice. (At least I did).

Elaborate side art, bezels and control panels enticed players to play games that were rather "blocky". It got your imagination going so the blocky graphics in-game had a context.

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.

[MYX]

myup. side art added to it, but for me it was the irristable glow and explosion noises coming from the back room at Fudruckers.

[Donkey_Kong]

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.

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

[ChadTower]

When you're talking about a $4000 investment into what is essentially $750 in physical parts, you'd damn well better drop an extra $250 on the packaging and make it pretty.

[PoDunkMoFo]

Screen printed graphics are very inexpensive to produce.  I would guess that in house screen printing depending on the number of colors were less than $20 per side.  Remember the expense in screen printing is in the setup if your quantities are high enough dividing that cost out over the quantity produced makes it very reasonable.  After setup your talking about your only expense being labor and the price of the inks (when printed directly).

If you buy a repro inkjet print or even a repro short run decal your price is many many times higher than what it cost the arcade companies to do them back in the day (even if you adjust for inflation).

That's my two-cents anyways.