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Insert Coin

The oral history of a team of geeks and misfits in the back of a Chicago factory creating the biggest video games (Mortal Kombat, NBA JAM, and others) of all time.

Director

Joshua Y. Tsui

Year

Genre

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N/A

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Explore 670 Clips

They're like The Ramones
or The Sex Pistols - Insert Coin

They're like The Ramones or The Sex Pistols

"Well, what if we
go the other way?" - Insert Coin

"Well, what if we go the other way?"

- It's being, pushing the
boundaries of maybe good taste. - Insert Coin

- It's being, pushing the boundaries of maybe good tast...

[car screeching] - Insert Coin

[car screeching]

- They were the only
company, in a lot of ways, - Insert Coin

- They were the only company, in a lot of ways,

- It looked so real to
me, that I was like, - Insert Coin

- It looked so real to me, that I was like,

[gentle music] - Insert Coin

I mean, we want
from blank screens - Insert Coin

I mean, we want from blank screens

- [Announcer] Within months
of appearing on the market - Insert Coin

- [Announcer] Within months of appearing on the market

For Williams, the
company that owned it, - Insert Coin

For Williams, the company that owned it,

- Well, it's sort of the,
it's the ultimate fantasy - Insert Coin

- Well, it's sort of the, it's the ultimate fantas...

- You'd go into a place, - Insert Coin

- You'd go into a place,

All this great stuff
got kind of buried - Insert Coin

All this great stuff got kind of buried

- Anything was
selling at the time, - Insert Coin

- Anything was selling at the time,

And at some point in time, - Insert Coin

And at some point in time,

- This year's hit is the
next year's firewood. - Insert Coin

- This year's hit is the next year's firewood.

- It is, I mean
three years from now, - Insert Coin

- It is, I mean three years from now,

- The consumer got disenchanted
with what was going on - Insert Coin

- The consumer got disenchanted with what was going on

It affected how things were
going on in the arcades - Insert Coin

It affected how things were going on in the arcades

- The whole video game
crash, we just kind of like, - Insert Coin

- The whole video game crash, we just kind of like,

But I just couldn't get the
video game thing out of my head. - Insert Coin

But I just couldn't get the video game thing out of my ...

So it was like, yeah, man,
we gotta do a new game, - Insert Coin

So it was like, yeah, man, we gotta do a new game,

So back to working at what
was known as Williams. - Insert Coin

So back to working at what was known as Williams.

I just remember him, before
he started doing anything, - Insert Coin

I just remember him, before he started doing anything,

- Eugene came in and
wasn't really prepared. - Insert Coin

- Eugene came in and wasn't really prepared.

And he wrote down on a big
piece of paper, N-A-R-C. - Insert Coin

And he wrote down on a big piece of paper, N-A-R-C.

- Guy, you know, protecting
the world from this scourge - Insert Coin

- Guy, you know, protecting the world from this scourge

I felt like video
games was always - Insert Coin

I felt like video games was always

We're running around with swords - Insert Coin

We're running around with swords

And like, why can't a video
game be about something real? - Insert Coin

And like, why can't a video game be about something rea...

We wanted to make an
impression to the world - Insert Coin

We wanted to make an impression to the world

And I would badger
the programmers at ni - Insert Coin

And I would badger the programmers at ni

So then I would go to college - Insert Coin

So then I would go to college

And I just, there's
no way you can learn - Insert Coin

And I just, there's no way you can learn

- You think about the
casualness of this era, - Insert Coin

- You think about the casualness of this era,

And then, you talk
to a couple people, - Insert Coin

And then, you talk to a couple people,

Actually, I think he's
still trying to finish - Insert Coin

Actually, I think he's still trying to finish

I mean, if Eugene's
starting video - Insert Coin

I mean, if Eugene's starting video

- Jack Haeger was
really the lead artist - Insert Coin

- Jack Haeger was really the lead artist

- Jack has a great history
where he went on to be - Insert Coin

- Jack has a great history where he went on to be

[audience laughing] - Insert Coin

[audience laughing]

It was more let's develop
a hardware and a software. - Insert Coin

It was more let's develop a hardware and a software.

- I always thought
with video games, - Insert Coin

- I always thought with video games,

It was like, so what
do you guys wanna do - Insert Coin

It was like, so what do you guys wanna do

I mean, they had just armies
of incredibly talented artists. - Insert Coin

I mean, they had just armies of incredibly talented artists.

The idea of taking actual
images, video images, - Insert Coin

The idea of taking actual images, video images,

- The only thing that had
happened like this prior - Insert Coin

- The only thing that had happened like this prior

They actually like digitized
the heads of five frames - Insert Coin

They actually like digitized the heads of five frames

A normal company, right,
would go out and buy - Insert Coin

A normal company, right, would go out and buy

He's like, "Yeah, go out, I
bought a camera at Target." - Insert Coin

He's like, "Yeah, go out, I bought a camera at Tar...

That's what we had,
right, it was [laughs] - Insert Coin

That's what we had, right, it was [laughs]

And teaching actors how to
be a video game character. - Insert Coin

And teaching actors how to be a video game character.

And to my mind, nobody had
done that up to that point. - Insert Coin

And to my mind, nobody had done that up to that point.

- Jack Haeger approached
me one day and said, - Insert Coin

- Jack Haeger approached me one day and said,

"I think you'd be
perfect for it." - Insert Coin

"I think you'd be perfect for it."

I don't think it hit
me till decades lat - Insert Coin

I don't think it hit me till decades lat

And I asked, okay, we're, - Insert Coin

And I asked, okay, we're,

And I said, "Okay, when a player
fires the rocket launcher, - Insert Coin

And I said, "Okay, when a player fires the rocket launc...

"These are real people." - Insert Coin

"These are real people."

I mean, I guess this was one
of the first body part games. - Insert Coin

I mean, I guess this was one of the first body part games.

- I remember George was like, - Insert Coin

- I remember George was like,

"It's so cool!" - Insert Coin

"It's so cool!"

"But do you think that's
a good thing to put - Insert Coin

"But do you think that's a good thing to put

Any family, any age could
walk in without concern. - Insert Coin

Any family, any age could walk in without concern.

- And this escalated
into a huge argumen - Insert Coin

- And this escalated into a huge argumen

And all I'm saying is, - Insert Coin

And all I'm saying is,

- You know, I think,
and I think, too, - Insert Coin

- You know, I think, and I think, too,

- I remember actually a member
of the board of directors - Insert Coin

- I remember actually a member of the board of directors

And he was really concerned
that there might be some, - Insert Coin

And he was really concerned that there might be some,

- With the coin-op business, - Insert Coin

- With the coin-op business,

With the home business,
once you sell the cartridge, - Insert Coin

With the home business, once you sell the cartridge,

And it was a crappy game,
okay, you made your money. - Insert Coin

And it was a crappy game, okay, you made your money.

And if that game sucked,
the second quarter - Insert Coin

And if that game sucked, the second quarter

And in our case, we wouldn't
even get out of the test phase. - Insert Coin

And in our case, we wouldn't even get out of the test p...

- We had this magic
number of like $700. - Insert Coin

- We had this magic number of like $700.

That would be, if
we could do that, - Insert Coin

That would be, if we could do that,

- So we put it out there. - Insert Coin

- So we put it out there.

You know, we were
drinking champagne - Insert Coin

You know, we were drinking champagne

I was like [laughs],
these guys walk in. - Insert Coin

I was like [laughs], these guys walk in.

They're like, oh, check
this out, you know, - Insert Coin

They're like, oh, check this out, you know,

And just this whole new world
of kind of like reality. - Insert Coin

And just this whole new world of kind of like reality.

No one had ever seen
anything like that - Insert Coin

No one had ever seen anything like that

- Even with all of the problems
in the software and stuff, - Insert Coin

- Even with all of the problems in the software and stuff,

And we're like we've done it!
[triumphant video game music] - Insert Coin

And we're like we've done it! [triumphant video ga...

Yeah, that was the first
time that we actually started - Insert Coin

Yeah, that was the first time that we actually started

I think then management
all of the sudde - Insert Coin

I think then management all of the sudde

"Maybe we should actually
plan to build this game - Insert Coin

"Maybe we should actually plan to build this game

It's manufactured by
a company in Chicago - Insert Coin

It's manufactured by a company in Chicago

And it's currently the
number one video arcade game - Insert Coin

And it's currently the number one video arcade game

But it was okay, because they
were drug dealers [laughs] - Insert Coin

But it was okay, because they were drug dealers [laughs]

Insert Coin poster

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The oral history of a team of geeks and misfits in the back of a Chicago factory creating the biggest video games (Mortal Kombat, NBA JAM, and others) of all time.

User Rating: 0.0 (0 ratings)

Director: Joshua Y. Tsui

Writer: Joshua Y. Tsui, Andrew Hayward

Production: N/A

Genre: documentary

Year: 2020

MetaScore: 57/100

ImdbRating: 6.8

BoxOffice: N/A

Released: 25 Nov 2020

Awards: N/A

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