Sad news to report on the blog this week. Midway\u2019s Director of Marketing during the Golden Era of classic arcade gaming passed away on 14 May 2024 aged 94. He lived out his later years in Albuquerque, New Mexico.<\/p>\n
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Jarocki\u2019s influence on the industry should not be underestimated. He was the king of the Japanese licence, bringing many games over from the East and introducing them to American arcade gamers across the nation. Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Rally X<\/em> to name a few, and of course he oversaw the most successful arcade game ever to be released in the United States \u2013 Ms Pac-Man<\/em>.<\/p>\n Interviewed in September 1979, he had this to say after the acquisition of the Space Invaders<\/em> licence from Japanese manufacturer Taito:<\/p>\n We\u2019ve distributed many thousands, well beyond 20,000 of the machines. It\u2019s been popular for 19 months, and it looks like its going to continue that way for another 10 months.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Space Invaders <\/em>of course was a huge scoop for Midway beating other American manufacturers, all desperate to get the exclusive distribution licence for that market. Distributors at the time recognised that Space Invaders<\/em> was going to be the hottest electronic game every introduced to the coin industry.<\/p>\n The game has great retaining power. Many games are played on a time basis, but with Space Invaders, the player keeps on playing as long as he is not wiped out by the invaders. The game seems to be gaining player appeal as it goes on. It\u2019s phenomenal. People have gotten into it and really critique it and even they have not stopped playing it. Its like a cult of players have developed around the game. Its unbelievable. There is no area in the United States that is immune to Space Invaders. You can go to Turtle Bayou, Texas and they have Space Invaders in that town.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Within 12 months of its release in November 1978, over 60,000 units were sold across the USA at a price tag of $1,700 apiece. A huge earner for Midway with many locations reporting the machine paid for itself within a month. Even after 16 months of production of Space Invaders<\/em>, distributers had to wait five weeks to receive an order for the game. It is reported that 370,000 Space Invaders <\/em>cabinets have been sold worldwide.<\/p>\n It was an even better story for the American release of Pac-Man<\/em>. Some 96,000 machines were manufactured and sold by Midway. But it wasn\u2019t just machine sales that brought income to the Chicago based manufacturer. An article dated February 16, 1982 by the New York Times had this to say:<\/p>\n \u201dPac-Man is a cute creature with cute features,\u201d Jarocki said. \u201dI don\u2019t think the novelty is going to wear off.\u201d In the past eight months, 30 companies have signed sublicensing agreements with Midway for Pac-Man products ranging from greeting cards and wrapping paper to bumperstickers, watches, clocks and mugs. In addition, three new Pac-Man home games are making their debut this winter, including one from Coleco Industries, a Hartford-based manufacturer of video games and above ground swimming pools. Last year, Pac-Man arcade game sales totalled about $200 million.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
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