Centuri

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Centuri, formerly known as Allied Leisure, was an American arcade game manufacturer. [1] They were based in Hialeah, Florida, and were one of the top six suppliers of coin-operated arcade video game machinery in the United States during the early 1980s. Centuri in its modern inception was formed when former Taito America president Ed Miller and his partner Bill Olliges took over Allied Leisure, Inc. They renamed it "Centuri" in 1980.

Contents

Many of the video game machines distributed in the US under the Centuri name were licensed from overseas manufacturers, particularly Japanese developers such as Konami. Allied Leisure previously also manufactured pinball and electro-mechanical games, which were developed in-house. The company's vice president was Joel Hochberg from about 1976 to 1982, before he went on to work for Rare. [1]

Centuri had a close relationship with Konami, which licensed the North American rights of their games to Centuri during the early 1980s. This led to Konami acquiring 5% of Centuri's stocks in 1983, with Konami founder Kagemasa Kōzuki announcing he would become a director at Centuri. [2] Centuri discontinued their video game operations in January 1985.

List of games

Allied Leisure and Centuri published the following arcade games in the United States:

Pinball and electro-mechanical games released as Allied Leisure (1969–1979)

Arcade video games released as Allied Leisure (1973–1979)

Arcade video games released as Centuri (1980–1984)

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Jon (13 February 2006). "Joel Hochberg (Centuri Inc, Nintendo, Rare Inc) Email Interview". Centuri.net. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  2. "Overseas Readers Column" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 226. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 December 1983. p. 34.
  3. 1 2 Baer, Ralph H. (2005). Videogames: In the Beginning. Rolenta Press. pp. 10–3. ISBN   978-0-9643848-1-1.
  4. 1 2 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. pp. 41–2, 109, 114. ISBN   978-4990251215.
  5. "Centuri, Hiraoka Announce Licensing Agreement For 'Round-Up' Video Game". Cash Box . Cash Box Pub. Co. 5 December 1981. pp. 39–41.
  6. Kent, Steven (November 1997). "Retroview: The Owen Rubin Memorial Gameroom". Next Generation . No. 35. Imagine Media. p. 34.