Scramble (video game)

Scramble
North American flyer
Developer(s)Konami
Publisher(s)Arcade
Ports
  • NA: GCE
  • EU: Compu-Games A/S
Platform(s)Arcade, Tomy Tutor, Vectrex
ReleaseArcade
Vectrex
Tomy Tutor
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemKonami Scramble

Scramble (スクランブル, Sukuranburu) is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game released in 1981. It was developed by Konami and manufactured and distributed by Leijac in Japan and Stern in North America. It was the first side-scrolling shooter with forced scrolling and multiple distinct levels,[4] and it established the foundation for a new genre.

It was Konami's first major worldwide hit. In the United States, it sold 15,136 arcade cabinets within five months and became Stern's second best-selling game. Scramble was not ported to any major contemporary consoles or computers, but there were releases for the Tomy Tutor and Vectrex as well as dedicated tabletop/handheld versions. Unauthorized clones for the VIC-20 and Commodore 64 used the same name as the original. The BBC Micro clone was called Rocket Raid, marketed by Acornsoft from 1982 and primarily within the UK. Scramble's sequel, the more difficult Super Cobra, was released later that year. Gradius (1985) was originally intended to be a follow-up to Scramble.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference stern_production_numbers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Stern Electronics, Inc. v. Kaufman, 669 F.2d 852 (2nd Cir. 1982)
  3. ^ Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 27. ISBN 978-4990251215.
  4. ^ Game Genres: Shmups[permanent dead link‍], Professor Jim Whitehead, January 29, 2007, Accessed June 17, 2008