[Wired In raw #29: Bally/Midway #2]

Raw footage for "Wired In," a never completed series on the technological trends and innovations of the 1980s. In this video, Bally Midway's Marketing VP Stanley Jarocki talks about the current video game boom, focusing on the popularity of Pac Man and Ms. Pac Man. Jarocki / Bally #2.

00:00Copy video clip URL This tape begins with color bars.

00:40Copy video clip URL Cut to a shot of Stanley Jarocki who patiently waits for the interview to begin.

01:32Copy video clip URL The videomaker asks Jarocki about the current video game boom in the U.S. and across the world. Jarocki highlights the reasons why video games have become so popular. “I think that video games have taken the country by storm because they give the players a very inexpensive form of entertainment.” He goes on to talk about the video game industry and how it has progressed over the years, tracing back to the first coin operated video game Pong to the recent proliferation of arcade games.

03:49Copy video clip URL The videomaker asks Jarocki what psychologists have had to say about the video game phenomenon. Jarocki explains that psychologists are very divided over the issue and whether or not video games are a positive of negative influence on society. He goes on to talk about the necessary components of video game development. Jarocki then highlights the positive aspects of video games, specifically citing gaming as a way to relieve stress. He also emphasizes the participatory nature of the video game Space Invaders. “It was a type of game that had a tremendous player/game interface, and by that I mean that the player would become directly involved in the game.” This lasts for several minutes.

06:28Copy video clip URL Jarocki discusses the effect that arcade games have had on the game of pinball. He eludes to the fact that pinball is a bit of a one trick pony, and describes the many different formats of arcade games that can be utilized.

08:45Copy video clip URL Jarocki talks about the growth within the industry. He explains that forty-two percent of game players are made up from the 19-34 demographic. He goes on to talk about the number of Pac Man video games manufactured per year. The game itself generates roughly a billion dollars a year. Jarocki goes on to talk about some of the marketing strategies for the Pac Man video game. This lasts for several minutes.

13:50Copy video clip URL Jarocki takes the videomakers through a step by step summary of the video game development process at Bally Midway. The video game itself moves through a number of different parts of the company, beginning with a group of programmers and software engineers who conceptualize the game, all of the way up to demoing the new product in local arcades. This lasts for several minutes.

16:49Copy video clip URL Jarocki talks about the growing popularity of video games and the effect that Pac Man has had on the industry. He emphasizes the game’s “simplicity of play” as one of the keys of it’s popularity and convergence into the female game playing market. “What it did was introduce hundreds of thousands, if not millions of women players to the game, again because of simplicity.” The tape ends shortly afterward.

18:19Copy video clip URL Tape ends.