Heavyweight Champ
{{short description|1976 video game}}
{{Infobox VG
|title = Heavyweight Champ
|image = Heavyweight Champ arcade flyer.jpg
|caption = Arcade flyer for the 1987 game
|developer = Sega
|designer =
|released = October 1976 (original){{cite book |chapter=1973-76 |title=Sega Arcade History |date=2002 |series=Famitsu DC |publisher=Enterbrain |pages=30–2 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/segaarcadehistoryfamitsudc/page/n31/mode/2up |lang=ja}}
September 1987 (remake){{cite web|url=http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=heavyweight-champ&page=detail&id=1110|title=Heavyweight Champ arcade video game pcb by SEGA Enterprises, Ltd. (1987)|website=Arcade-history.com|accessdate=8 October 2017}}
|genre = Sports
|platforms = Arcade
}}
{{about|the video game|heavyweight champions in real life|List of heavyweight boxing champions}}
{{nihongo foot|Heavyweight Champ|ヘビーウェイトチャンプ|Hebīweito Chanpu|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} is a series of boxing video games from Sega. The original arcade video game was released in 1976. The game uses black-and-white graphics and critics have since identified it as the first video game to feature hand-to-hand fighting.Spencer, Spanner, [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/the-tao-of-beat-em-ups-article?page=1 The Tao of Beat-'em-ups], EuroGamer, Feb 6 2008, Accessed Feb 23, 2009Ashcraft, Brian, (2008) Arcade Mania! The Turbo-Charged World of Japan's Game Centers, (Kodansha International), p. 94Nadia Oxford, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160118091153/www.1up.com/features/20-years-street-fighter 20 Years of Street Fighter], 1UP.com, 12/11/2007 It was a commercial success in Japan, where it was the third highest-grossing arcade video game of 1976. However, it is now considered a lost video game.{{cite web|url=https://ultimatehistoryvideogames.jimdo.com/heavyweight-champ-arcade/|title=Heavyweight Champ|website=Ultimate History of Video games|accessdate=8 October 2017|archive-date=22 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822041224/https://ultimatehistoryvideogames.jimdo.com/heavyweight-champ-arcade|url-status=dead}}
Sega released a remake to arcades in 1987, changing the side perspective of the original game to a third-person viewpoint from behind the boxer. Both games feature unique controls that simulate throwing actual punches. The 1987 remake was Japan's fifth highest-grossing arcade video game of 1988 and received positive reviews from critics.
Gameplay
File:Heavyweight Champ screenshot.jpg
The 1976 original featured gameplay viewed from a side-view perspective. It employed two boxing glove controllers, one for each player, which moved up and down for high and low punches, with an inward movement for striking. It used large monochrome sprite visuals for the graphics.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wZnpAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA10|title=Vintage Game Consoles: An Inside Look at Apple, Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, and the Greatest Gaming Platforms of All Time|first1=Bill|last1=Loguidice|first2=Matt|last2=Barton|date=24 February 2014|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=9781135006518|accessdate=8 October 2017|via=Google Books}}
The 1987 game changed the perspective to behind the player's boxer. In addition, the player is given two punch controllers, one for each hand. Only a single-player mode was made available, in which the player faces a series of opponents in one-round, three-minute bouts. Players can swivel the cabinet to move their boxer from side to side.{{cite web|url=http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8098|title=Heavyweight Champ (1987)|publisher=International Arcade Museum|accessdate=January 3, 2012}}
Reception
The original 1976 game was a commercial success in Japan. On the first annual Game Machine arcade chart, Heavyweight Champ was the third highest-grossing arcade video game of 1976 in Japan, just below Taito's Ball Park and Speed Race DX.{{cite magazine|title=本紙アンケー 〜 ト調査の結果|trans-title=Paper Questionnaire: Results of the Survey |magazine=Game Machine|issue=65|publisher=Amusement Press, Inc.|date=1 February 1977|page=2|lang=ja|url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19770201p.pdf#page=2}}
The 1987 remake was also a commercial success. In Japan, Game Machine listed the 1987 version on their November 15 issue as being the fourth most-successful upright arcade unit of the month.{{cite magazine|title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - アップライト, コックピット型TVゲーム機 (Upright/Cockpit Videos)|magazine=Game Machine|issue=320|publisher=Amusement Press, Inc.|date=15 November 1987|page=25|lang=ja}} It went on to become Japan's fifth highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1988.{{cite magazine |title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: '88 / "Game of the Year '88" By Game Machine |magazine=Game Machine |issue=348 |publisher=Amusement Press, Inc. |date=15 January 1989 |pages=10–1, 26 |lang=ja |url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19890115p.pdf#page=6}}
The 1987 remake was also critically well-received. Advanced Computer Entertainment and Commodore User praised the game's unique controls but raised concerns that they might decrease the lifespan of the cabinets."[http://www.solvalou.com/subpage/arcade_reviews/10/175/heavyweight_champ_review.html Heavyweight Champ"]. Advanced Computer Entertainment. March 1988. p. 26."[http://www.solvalou.com/subpage/arcade_reviews/262/175/heavyweight_champ_review.html Heavyweight Champ"]. Commodore User. December 1987. p. 144 Commodore User also had positive impressions of the game's graphics and gave the game a 9 out of 10 overall.Kelly, Nick. "[http://www.solvalou.com/subpage/arcade_reviews/263/175/heavyweight_champ_review.html Heavyweight Champ"]. Commodore User. January 1988.
Legacy
Sega reused the Heavyweight Champ name when they released the Sega Master System version of James "Buster" Douglas Knockout Boxing outside of North America. The game features a side perspective and is otherwise unrelated to the arcade games. It was not received well.[http://www.smspower.org/Scans/MeanMachines-Magazine-Issue07?gallerypage=58 Heavyweight Championship Boxing]. Mean Machines. Issue 7. pp 58-59.[http://www.smspower.org/Scans/Raze-Magazine-Issue09?gallerypage=54 Heavyweight Champ.] Raze. Issue 9. p. 54.[http://www.smspower.org/Scans/CVGCompleteGuideToSega-Magazine-Issue1?gallerypage=94 Heavyweight Championship Boxing]. CVG's Complete Guide to Sega. pp. 95-96.
The 1991 Sega arcade game Title Fight also featured controls for left and right punches and a similar behind-the-boxer perspective as the 1987 game, along with two-player gameplay through use of a dual-monitor cabinet.[http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=10129 Title Fight]. Killer List of Video Games. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
See also
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{KLOV game|name=Heavyweight Champ (1976)|id=8099}}
- [http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=heavyweight-champ&page=detail&id=26086 Heavyweight Champ (1976) at arcade-history]
- {{cite AV media |people=Jonathan Dunn-Rankin |date=1977 |title=Sega Center offers state of the art video games in 1977 |type=television |location=San Diego |publisher=CBS 8 San Diego |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwfeOu0QsGk |access-date=9 April 2022}}
Category:Arcade-only video games