Why arcade Pac-Man players literally grabbed onto the game

[Tawmis]

I am not sure if most of you are even old enough to have played PAC MAN in the arcade - but man, this was an interesting read...
Because I saw myself again, holding the side of the arcade as I jerked the PAC MAN controls violently to make those last minute turns...

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/02/ ... -the-game/

[Collector]

I am surprised that those joysticks weren't commonly jerked out of the machines.

[Rath Darkblade]

I never played Pac-Man in the arcade, but I'm old enough to have played it on the Atari 2800. Does that count?

Now I suddenly feel very old..........

[MusicallyInspired]

I played Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man on my dad's Tandy 1000. Preferred Ms. Pac-Man though. That's as far back as I go. I have played the Atari 2600 though. We never got to the arcades really at all at that age. And no consoles. We were a computer family. Had a Tandy 1000 and a Color Computer 3.

[Tawmis]

I am surprised that those joysticks weren't commonly jerked out of the machines.

Agreed.

I never played Pac-Man in the arcade, but I'm old enough to have played it on the Atari 2800. Does that count?
Now I suddenly feel very old..........

Well if you didn't play Pac-Man in the arcade, we definitely know you're not old if you compare yourself to me.

I played Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man on my dad's Tandy 1000. Preferred Ms. Pac-Man though. That's as far back as I go. I have played the Atari 2600 though. We never got to the arcades really at all at that age. And no consoles. We were a computer family. Had a Tandy 1000 and a Color Computer 3.

I remember my sisters had one of these (though I distinctly remember the paddles being completely black)...
https://dustyconsoles.files.wordpress.c ... g_0740.jpg

After that, we got the Atari 2600, then the 5200, then the Sega and NES...

And then came the might Tandy 1000 SX... which cost over $1,000. (I still have the receipt somewhere)

Tandy 1000 SX cover, my friend Mike Day playing Hero's Quest, me as Leisure Suit Larry, the Tandy 100 SX uncovered

After my father saw how much I got into computers, he knew he made the right "investment"...

[MusicallyInspired]

Nice.

[Tawmis]

Nice.

I wish I had kept the Pong machine (to be clear the photo of the Pong machine is not a photo of ours - that was a google search, that's why I was saying I remember the paddles being black). So I am not 100% it was that model but it was something similar.

EDIT: Did a bit of googling. Chances are that was the model we had. Because I remember it being clunky. But I think it's because we got it for the Atari later, when I got the Atari as a gift.
Because I remember something like this:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... ler-FR.jpg

[Rath Darkblade]

I didn't play Pac-Man in the arcades, but I did play other games at the arcade. (I forget which - it was the mid-80s).

Speaking of Pac-Man ...

[Tawmis]

I love me some Weird Al... but if we're gonna talk PAC MAN and songs, this was my jam...

[Tawmis]

I love that the movements were not random when it came to the ghosts - but each was specifically programmed to have a "personality."