Midway Arcade Origins

Midway Arcade Origins

Company type	Video game compilation
Industry	Video games
Predecessor	Midway Arcade Treasures series
Founded	2012
Founder	Backbone Entertainment
Products	Video game compilation
Parent	Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Midway Arcade Origins is a 2012 video game compilation created by Backbone Entertainment and released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms. Serving as a follow-up to the Midway Arcade Treasures series, this collection features arcade games originally owned or published by Midway Games from the years 1981 through 1992. After Midway Games declared bankruptcy, Warner Bros. acquired the rights, allowing the compilation to be accessible on Xbox One through backward compatibility.

Games

The compilation Midway Arcade Origins offers 31 classic arcade titles emulated from the now-defunct Midway Games. Nearly all included games, with the exception of Vindicators Part II, were previously part of the Midway Arcade Treasures collections.

Titles featured in Midway Arcade Origins

Title	Genre	Original Release Year	Developer
Defender	Shoot 'Em Up	1981	Williams Electronics
Stargate	Shoot 'Em Up	1981	Vid Kidz
Wizard of Wor	Action	1981	Dave Nutting Associates
Bubbles	Action	1982	Williams Electronics
Joust	Action	1982	Williams Electronics
Robotron: 2084	Shoot 'Em Up	1982	Vid Kidz
Satan's Hollow	Shoot Em Up	1982	Midway Games
Sinistar	Shoot Em Up	1983	Williams Electronics
Spy Hunter	Vehicular Combat	1983	Midway Games
Marble Madness	Platformer	1984	Atari Games
Root Beer Tapper	Action	1984	Marvin Glass and Associates
Gauntlet	Dungeon Crawler	1985	Atari Games
720°	Sports	1986	Atari Games
Championship Sprint	Racing	1986	Atari Games

Title	Genre	Original Release Year	Developer

''Gauntlet II''	Dungeon Crawler	1986	Atari Games
''Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest''	Action	1986	Williams Electronics
Rampage	Action	1986	Midway Games
''Super Sprint''	Racing	1986	Atari Games
APB	Action	1987	Atari Games
''Spy Hunter II''	Vehicular Combat	1987	Midway Games
Xenophobe	Action	1987	Midway Games
''Xybots''	Shooter	1987	Atari Games
''Toobin''''	Action	1988	Atari Games, Midway Games
Vindicators Part II	Shoot Em Up	1988	Atari Games
''Arch Rivals''	Sports	1989	Midway Games
''Super Off Road''	Racing	1989	Leland Corporation
Tournament Cyberball 2072	Sports	1989	Atari Games
''Pit-Fighter''	Fighting	1990	Atari Games
Rampart	Strategy	1990	Atari Games
''Smash TV''	Shoot Em Up	1990	Williams Electronics
''Total Carnage''	Shoot Em Up	1992	Midway Games

Reception

According to Metacritic, the Xbox 360 edition holds an aggregate score of 61 out of 100 based on eleven critiques, while the PlayStation 3 version has a rating of 58 out of 100 from four reviews. In a review for IGN, Samuel Claiborn acknowledged that despite featuring well-known games, technical shortcomings—particularly subpar control schemes—diminish its overall appeal, leaving online leaderboards as the main incentive for players.