Arcade Game System » Jamma Arcade

Jamma Arcade games come from the Japanese Amusement Machine Manufacturers’ Association (JAMMA), which is based in Tokyo, Japan. JAMMA is represented by Namco, Bandai, Sega, Taito, Tecmo, Capcom and Atlus. JAMMA established many industry standards that are in use today. They began as a rights group in 1981, becoming an organization in 1989. Today they are the world leader in arcade machines and arcade PCB components.

The wiring design, introduced in 1981
The wiring design, introduced in 1981, became the industry standard. All arcade cabinets built to this standard could be made to receive the circuit board for any game. By the 1990s almost all new arcade games were designed in Japan and JAMMA standardized. Today JAMMA is the existing world standard. There are over five-hundred games listed on the JAMMA Board Website. They are the world leading manufacture of arcade video game cabinets. Their “plug and play” components made the video arcade industry more profitable for the average arcade owner, enabling the industry to thrive.

You can access JAMMA Arcade PCBs 

You can access JAMMA Arcade PCBs and game cabinet components on the internet. There are sites where you can get the plans to build your own cabinets also. Auctions where you can purchase used units are listed on the JAMMA official website. Before JAMMA standardization most arcade PCBs, wiring harnesses and power supply designs were custom made. A 56-pin edge connector is the JAMMA standard that accepts most games. These include power units (12 volt and 5 volt), two joystick inputs with three action buttons each, and one start button. There is also an analog RBG video output with negative composite synchronization, single speaker sound output and inputs for coin, service, test and tilt. JAMMA video standards consist of peripheral device connections and communication protocol sections. These designs will accommodate all modern peripherals as well as the more vintage types.
There are sites available on line
There are sites available on line where you can play or download to your desktop all of your classic JAMMA video game favorites. The jammaboards.com site offers downloads for Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, C-Bert, Star Castle and Space Invaders. Playing these games is like going back in time for a few moments. With access to games like these to keep the legacy alive, JAMMA will continue to dominate the video arcade game industry for generations to come.