Time Traveler is an arcade game released in 1991 by Sega. This is the first time video game that takes aspects of holography. Enclosed in the machine the characters stand out more than life, the player meanwhile fluently characters in 3D. There are some disadvantages such as the size, it has the dimensions of a slot machine in a casino, and the terminal is dedicated to a single game. However, for the time, the technological genius was too avant-garde, the proof is, and she went almost unnoticed by the general public against the machines more traditional paving the video game market in profound changes.
When Time Traveler appears on the market, it seemed like forever revolutionized console arcade games giving them a new look. The console is equipped with a curved mirror, a CRT and a stereographic laserdisc giving the impression that the characters float in front of us. The joystick is used to guide the characters during their adventures. The success of the game was brief because at the same time appeared on the market Street Fighter II, a legend in the history of video games and therefore abandons the project at the expense of Holosseum, a game almost similar to Street Fighter. Therefore rather than choosing a strategy of differentiation through innovation, SEGA has chosen to attack his rival on the same grounds. Even if they change their strategy, Time Traveler was a huge success for the company, which recorded an average of one million dollars per week during the heyday of arcade games. However, the competition was due to this technology too avant-garde with popular products such as Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter. In 2001, Digital leisure Launched a DVD release, it was the only title to receive a 0/10 score from Official UK PlayStation 2 Magazine. The publisher of the game, however, did not lose hope and always kept in mind to adapt its technology to machines casino which is a huge market but also a concept adapted to the size of the machine.
What is most surprising is to see that for 20 years after, no holographic game has established itself on the world market. So the question is what has prompted Sega to break any research or at least to allocate a budget thinner. The answer is probably explained by the cost, because Sega brings more basic type through the sale of additional games to the base. Out, for a Time Traveler profitability operates at the purchase of the machine.
A question that may arise is to imagine what the video game will be in the future. The trend of the moment comes with the console WII, real interconnection with the player, the rules have now changed: The player plays intuitively with his video console, it is the real protagonist of the game so that the Industrial maintain a sustainable manner their market leadership, they must always innovate more, and maybe one day cross the barrier between the real and the virtual.
Videos presenting Time Traveler (Youtube):
http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=-lyTasMAYic&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=9958AbBMG9w&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=jbl_23GwjJ8&feature=related
