About

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.

AVAILABLE NOW!

PAPERBACK
KINDLE
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.

Praise for Arcade Perfect

If you’ve ever wondered how your favorite arcade game made it home, read this book. It’s full of great stories from the people who made the magic happen, sometimes by bending the rules and using obscure hardware tricks. 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 and co-creator of Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake

I loved reading David Craddock’s Arcade Perfect. I had forgotten how hard it was for developers to convert an arcade game to the SNES or Sega Genesis home consoles, and David captures those stories in vivid 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, co-kreator of Mortal Kombat

About the Author

David L. Craddock lives with his wife and business partner in Ohio. He is the author of the bestselling Stay Awhile and Listen trilogy detailing the history of Blizzard Entertainment, the Gairden Chronicles epic fantasy series for young adults. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com, @davidlcraddock on Twitter, and on Amazon and Goodreads.