Editing Arcade video game (section)

==Conversions, emulators, and recreations==
Prior to the 2000s, successful video games were often [[Video game conversion|converted]] to a home video game console or home computer. Many of the initial [[Atari VCS]] games, for example, were conversions of Atari's success arcade games. Arcade game manufacturers that were not in the home console or computer business found licensing of their games to console manufacturers to be a successful business model, as console manufacturer competitors would vie for rights to more popular games. [[Coleco]] famously bested Atari to secure the rights to convert Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'', which it subsequently included as a pack-in game for the [[ColecoVision]] to challenge the VCS.<ref name="nl bromley">{{cite web | url = https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2010/09/feature_how_colecovision_became_the_king_of_kong | title = Feature: How ColecoVision Became the King of Kong | first = Damien | last = McFerran | date = September 18, 2010 | access-date = April 13, 2021 | work = [[Nintendo Life]] | archive-date = 6 January 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120106181833/http://retro.nintendolife.com/news/2010/09/feature_how_colecovision_became_the_king_of_kong | url-status = live }}</ref>

Arcade conversions typically had to make concessions for the lower computational power and capabilities of the home console, such as limited graphics or alterations in gameplay. Such conversions had mixed results. The Atari VCS conversion of ''Space Invaders'' was considered the VCS's [[killer application]], helping to quadruple the VCS sales in 1980.<ref name="RG-41">{{Cite magazine|date=September 2007|title=The Definitive Space Invaders|url=https://archive.org/stream/retro_gamer/RetroGamer_041#page/24/mode/2up|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]]|issue=41|pages=24–33}}</ref> In contrast, the VCS conversion of ''Pac-Man'' in 1982 was highly criticized for technical flaws due to VCS limitations such as flickering ghosts and simplified gameplay. Though ''Pac-Man'' was the best-selling game on the VCS, it eroded consumer confidence in Atari's games and partially contributed to the 1983 crash.<ref name="Gama-2600">{{cite web|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3551/a_history_of_gaming_platforms_.php?page=5|title=A History of Gaming Platforms: Atari 2600 Video Computer System/VCS|last1=Barton|first1=Matt|last2=Loguidice|first2=Bill|date=February 28, 2008|website=[[Gamasutra]]|page=5|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224184727/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3551/a_history_of_gaming_platforms_.php?page=5|archive-date=December 24, 2018|url-status=dead|access-date=July 15, 2009}}</ref>

The need for arcade conversions began to wane as arcade game manufacturers like Nintendo, Sega, and SNK entered the home console market and used similar technology within their home consoles as found at the arcade, negating the need to simplify the game. Concessions still may be made for a home release; notably, the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] conversion of ''[[Mortal Kombat (1992 video game)|Mortal Kombat]]'' removed much of the gore from the arcade version to meet Nintendo's quality control standards.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/june03/dumbestmoments/readers/index4.shtml |title=Gamespy's The 25 Dumbest Moments in Gaming |publisher=Archive.gamespy.com |access-date=2012-06-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040818132132/http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/june03/dumbestmoments/readers/index4.shtml |archive-date=2004-08-18 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Main|List of video game emulators#Arcade}}
Exact copies of arcade video games can be run through [[emulator]]s such as [[MAME]] on modern devices. An emulator is an application that translates foreign software onto a modern system, in real-time. Emulated games appeared legally and commercially on the [[Macintosh]] in 1994<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mobygames.com/game/macintosh/joust|title=Joust for Macintosh (1994) – MobyGames|website=MobyGames|access-date=2017-12-10|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201033650/http://www.mobygames.com/game/macintosh/joust|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mobygames.com/company/digital-eclipse-software-inc|title=Digital Eclipse Software, Inc. – MobyGames|website=MobyGames|access-date=2017-12-10|archive-date=26 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226002505/http://www.mobygames.com/company/digital-eclipse-software-inc|url-status=live}}</ref> with Williams floppy disks, [[PlayStation (console)|Sony PlayStation]] in 1996, and [[Sega Saturn]] in 1997 with CD-ROM compilations such as ''[[Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits]]'' and ''[[Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1]]'', and on the [[PlayStation 2]] and [[GameCube]] with DVD-ROM compilations such as ''[[Midway Arcade Treasures]]''.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} Arcade games are downloaded and emulated through the [[Wii|Nintendo Wii]] [[Virtual Console]] service starting in 2009.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

Using emulation, companies like [[Arcade1Up]] have produced at-scale or reduced-scale recreations of arcade cabinets using modern technology, such as LCD monitors and lightweight construction. These cabinets are typically designed to resemble the original arcade game cabinets, but may also support multiple related games. These cabinets can be offered in diverse and miniaturized styles, such as table-mounted and wall-mounted versions.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/11/how-arcade1up-found-a-sweet-spot-for-scaled-down-home-game-cabinets/ | title = How Arcade1Up found a sweet spot for scaled-down home game cabinets | first = Matt | last = Paprocki | date = November 6, 2019 | access-date = April 13, 2021 | work = [[Ars Technica]] | archive-date = 13 April 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210413223516/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/11/how-arcade1up-found-a-sweet-spot-for-scaled-down-home-game-cabinets/ | url-status = live }}</ref>