Heavyweight Champ

1976 video game

1976 video game

Heavyweight Champ

Arcade flyer for the 1987 game

Developer(s)| Sega
Platform(s)| Arcade
Release| October 1976 (original)[1]
September 1987 (remake)[2]
Genre(s)| Sports

This article is about the video game. For heavyweight champions in real life, see List of heavyweight boxing champions.

Heavyweight Champ[a] 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.[3][4][5] It was a commercial success in Japan, where it was the third highest-grossing arcade video game of 1976.[6] However, it is now considered a lost video game.[7]

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.[3] The 1987 remake was Japan's fifth highest-grossing arcade video game of 1988 and received positive reviews from critics.

## Gameplay

[edit]

The 1976 game has monochrome graphics and side-view perspective.

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.[3] It used large monochrome sprite visuals for the graphics.[8]

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.[9]

## Reception

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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.[6]

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.[10] It went on to become Japan's fifth highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1988.[11]

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.[12][13] Commodore User also had positive impressions of the game's graphics and gave the game a 9 out of 10 overall.[14]

## Legacy

[edit]

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.[15][16][17]

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.[18]

## See also

[edit]

* List of Sega arcade games

## Notes

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1. ^ Japanese: ヘビーウェイトチャンプ, Hepburn: Hebīweito Chanpu

## References

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1. ^ "1973-76". Sega Arcade History. Famitsu DC (in Japanese). Enterbrain. 2002. pp. 30–2.
2. ^ "Heavyweight Champ arcade video game pcb by SEGA Enterprises, Ltd. (1987)". Arcade-history.com. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
3. ^ a b c Spencer, Spanner, The Tao of Beat-'em-ups, EuroGamer, Feb 6 2008, Accessed Feb 23, 2009
4. ^ Ashcraft, Brian, (2008) Arcade Mania! The Turbo-Charged World of Japan's Game Centers, (Kodansha International), p. 94
5. ^ Nadia Oxford, 20 Years of Street Fighter, 1UP.com, 12/11/2007
6. ^ a b "本紙アンケー 〜 ト調査の結果" [Paper Questionnaire: Results of the Survey] (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 65\. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 February 1977. p. 2.
7. ^ "Heavyweight Champ". Ultimate History of Video games. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
8. ^ Loguidice, Bill; Barton, Matt (24 February 2014). Vintage Game Consoles: An Inside Look at Apple, Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, and the Greatest Gaming Platforms of All Time. CRC Press. ISBN 9781135006518. Retrieved 8 October 2017 - via Google Books.
9. ^ "Heavyweight Champ (1987)". International Arcade Museum. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
10. ^ "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)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 320\. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 November 1987. p. 25.
11. ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: '88 / "Game of the Year '88" By Game Machine" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 348\. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 January 1989. pp. 10–1, 26.
12. ^ "Heavyweight Champ". Advanced Computer Entertainment. March 1988. p. 26.
13. ^ "Heavyweight Champ". Commodore User. December 1987. p. 144
14. ^ Kelly, Nick. "Heavyweight Champ". Commodore User. January 1988.
15. ^ Heavyweight Championship Boxing. Mean Machines. Issue 7. pp 58-59.
16. ^ Heavyweight Champ. Raze. Issue 9. p. 54.
17. ^ Heavyweight Championship Boxing. CVG's Complete Guide to Sega. pp. 95-96.
18. ^ Title Fight. Killer List of Video Games. Retrieved January 3, 2013.

## External links

[edit]

* Heavyweight Champ (1976) at the Killer List of Videogames
* Heavyweight Champ (1976) at arcade-history
* Jonathan Dunn-Rankin (1977). Sega Center offers state of the art video games in 1977 (television). San Diego: CBS 8 San Diego. Retrieved 9 April 2022.