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Tron

Tron - Japanese Title

Tron - marquee

Manufacturer: Bally Midway
Year: 1982
Class: Wide Release
Genre: Other
Type: Videogame

Monitor:

  • Orientation: Vertical
  • Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
  • CRT: Color
Conversion Class: Midway MCR II
Number of Simultaneous Players: 1
Maximum number of Players: 2
Gameplay: Alternating
Control Panel Layout: Single Player
Controls:
  • Rotary: Optical [Direction of Fire]
  • Joystick: 8-way stick with trigger [Fire/Throttle]

Sound: Unamplified Stereo (requires two-channel amp)

Tron


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Tron 3-D Model (QuickTime (TM))

Tron Bezel Image
Tron Control Panel Image
Tron Side Art Image


Tron Description

Based on scenes from the Walt Disney movie of the same name, this game has four distinct games per level: Lightcycles, Grid Bugs, Tanks, and the MPC Cone. All four games must be completed before you can advance to the next level.

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Cabinet Information

The uniquely-shaped upright cabinet featured characters and objects from the movie on the side-art, while the control panel and much of the other cabinet surfaces were painted with "circuit lines" similar to those seen in many of the film's set designs. The control panel also featured a pair of blacklights, one located just above the controls behind a clear plastic shield and one underneath the panel; together, these caused the translucent-blue joystick and the fluorescent paint used on the cabinet "circuit lines" to glow. In a darkened arcade, the effect was quite eerie!

Cabaret (or "mini") and cocktail cabinet versions were also produced.

Cheats, Tricks and Bugs

In the Lightcycle stage, the cycles have a fixed behavior pattern for each stage; and so, like Pac-Man, it is possible to find a pattern of your own which will defeat the cycles every time on that level. In the Tanks stage, if no part of your tank is touching the white line running through the center of each corridor, the enemy tanks' fire cannot hit you. If you are careful, you can move halfway into the central "transporter diamond", just far enough to get off the white line, then pick the enemy tanks off at will. Note: the tanks can still ram you, though.

Game Play

There are four distinct games per level.
  • Light Cycles: The player controls a Light Cycle that leaves a blue trail. The joystick controls the direction of travel and the trigger controls the speed of the bike. The object is force the enemy Light Cycles (yellow) to run into each other or the trails while avoiding crashing.
  • Grid Bugs: Destroy the Grid Bugs and escape into the I/O Tower before the timer runs out. The stick controls the movement of your character and the whirlygig controls the direction of fire.
  • Tanks: Destroy all enemy tanks or Recognizers to clear the level. The stick controls the movement of your tank and the whirlygig controls the direction of fire.
  • MCP Cone: Destroy the blocks (similar to Breakout) and move your character into the cone to clear the level. A bonus is awarded if you destroy all the blocks. The stick controls the movement of your character and the whirlygig controls the direction of fire.

Miscellaneous

LICENSOR: The TRON name and concept were licensed from Walt Disney, the makers of the film.

One of the more unique touches in the game is that the levels, instead of being simply designated "Level 1, 2, 3, etc.", were named after programming languages; you start out at "RPG" and advance through "PASCAL", "BASIC", "ASSEMBLER", etc. until you reach the "USER" level.

VAPS Arcade Census

GAMES OWNED, WANTED, or FOR SALE BY MEMBERS OF THE VIDEO ARCADE PRESERVATION SOCIETY

Very Common - There are 335 known instances of Tron owned by one of our 900 members. Of these, 319 of them are original dedicated machines, it is a conversion in which game circuit boards (and possibly cabinet graphics) have been placed in (and on) another game cabinet, and 15 of them are only circuit boards which a collector could put into a generic case if desired.

Of the 57,113 video games (3,420 unique) tracked by the Video Game Preservation Society, this game ranks a 90 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most commonly seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on ownership records.

Wanted - Very Popular - There are 72 VAPS members currently looking for Tron.

For Sale - There are 11 VAPS members with Tron machines for sale. There are 11 VAPS members with extra Tron circuit boards for sale. VAPS members are totally independent of VAPS and the International Arcade Museum, and we are unable to recommend, endorce, or guarantee any person or company selling games or game parts.

Rarity is NOT necessarily an indication of value. Some common games show up as very rare here because collectors don't want them (they are common because arcade operators might be sitting on tons of them in warehouses), while some fairly scarce games are grabbed by collectors every time they show up. Additionally, some games made in the last 5 years are still making money for operators and are thus not yet affordable to the typical collector. For a clue to value, compare how many people have this game vs. how many people want this game and then click on the eBay links to help determine an accurate price range.

Trivia

The game that became Discs Of Tron was supposed to be included in Tron, but the programming was not completed in time.

As every good Tron fan knows, the grid bugs were almost entirely edited out of the movie (what was left was about two seconds of an animation of a grid bug creating itself). Grid bugs appear in the game because of pressures to develop the arcade game in time for the release of the movie (all part of Disney's sales strategy for the movie's launch -- posters and trailers ended with a tagline along the lines of: "See the movie. Play the game.") So, game programmers had to use whatever script elements they could from the movie before the film itself was actually completed. Light cycles, tanks, recognizers, and the MCP, of course, all made the final cut -- the grid bugs did not.

eBay Listings

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Tron

1. Lazer Tron Aftershock Arcade Redemption Game

Auction ends in: 1 day, 15 hours

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$200.00
 
2. TRON Stand-UP Arcade - Original Coin-op Video Game

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$1,400.00
 
3. TWISTER REDEMPTION Arcade Machine by LAZER-TRON - NICE!

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4. Discs of Tron - Parts and Operating Manual+Schematics

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5. Discs of Tron - Lamp Sequencer PCB

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 1 bid
 
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6. Discs of Tron Dedicated Arcade Game

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7. Midway Tron Arcade Game

Auction ends in: 1 day, 17 hours

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8. Discs of Tron - Squawk & Talk MCRII PCB

Auction ends in: 2 days, 53 minutes

 1 bid
 
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9. Discs of Tron - Squawk & Talk MCRII PCB

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$22.50
 
10. Midway Tron Upper and Lower Artwork "Cheap"

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Legacy

  1. Tron
  2. Discs Of Tron

Manuals

  1. Parts and Operating Manual  129 Pages, 11986 KB File.

Foto-Finder™

  1. The Encyclpedia of Arcade Video Games, Kurtz (ISBN 0764319256): Page: 136; Color photo;
Tron - Cabinet Image


Tron - Title screen image


Tron - Title screen image

Tron - Title screen image

Tron - Title screen image

Tron - Title screen image


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