Context

Q*bert’s success turned it into more than just an arcade game, Q*bert became a household name. Like most popular media, Q*bert started appearing on shirts, keychains, and other paraphernalia. Q*bert even had its own animated television series, which ran from 1983 to 1985 (Hodges). Evidently, the cultural impact of Q*bert was significant.

Arcades are where Q*bert thrived. Arcades in this context are spaces that contain many different “game cabinets”. These game cabinets contain a CRT television, along with some form of controller that is unique to the game. Q*bert’s arcade cabinet included a joystick, for example. Arcades are a unique experience, and they do not have much presence today. Small business owners would often buy arcade cabinets for their business, whether they are running a full scale arcade or not. However, we don’t see much of this anymore, and that is because arcades are being phased out. 

Arcades are being phased out due to technological advancements in the video game industry. Big corporations producing consoles, and games for those consoles, resulted in the obsolescence of arcades. People don’t need to leave their home, and go to an arcade to play video games anymore - they can play them right at home. However, the mediums and interfaces for which these new games are played at home vary greatly from traditional arcade cabinet games. For example, handheld controllers have been developed in lieu of a 180 degree flat joystick button combination which Q*bert uses. The obsolescence of arcades means the obsolescence of the haptic technology that arcade games took advantage of. This poses a particularly difficult problem when it comes to preservation. With a game as culturally significant as Q*bert, preservation is key since Q*bert is endangered. Preservation of video games comes in the form of emulation, which is discussed in the technology section of this exhibit.