ABSTRACT
The arcade scene in the mid-1990s was popularized by games utilizing 3D polygon graphics. Sega pioneered the genre with games such as Virtua Racing (1992) (shown in Figure 8.1), Virtua Fighter (1993), and Virtua Cop (1994). Namco went head-to-head with Sega, releasing Ridge Racer (1993), Tekken (1994), and Time Crisis (1995). Racing, fighting, and light gun shooting games were the main draw and most of these games were now costing 50 cents or more to play. According to Businessweek, by 1994 Americans were pouring $7 billion into arcade games each year-approximately $1 billion more than they were spending on the home console market at that time (Armstrong, 1994, p. 58).
