Sega Arcade Pop-Up History: Celebrating Classic 'Taikan' Machines with an Artful Tribute

During the 1980s and 1990s, amusement arcades stood at the heart of gaming culture.

For anyone who grew up in the golden age of arcades, they were more than just centers of entertainment—they offered a kinetic, communal gaming experience powered by roaring cabinets, brilliant lights, and fierce competition.

Before the days of global online play, the arcade was the ultimate arena, a space where friends and strangers matched their skills in real time. Within this vibrant era, Sega pioneered a new level of immersion through their 'Taikan' arcade machines—a term that translates to 'body sensation'.

These innovative cabinets sought to push the boundaries of traditional arcade experiences, replacing generic interfaces with interactive, life-sized designs that demanded physical engagement.

The first of these groundbreaking titles, Hang-On, let players straddle a full-scale replica of a motorcycle.

The sensation was unlike anything else at the time, and its formula quickly spread to other legends like After Burner, Out Run, and Power Drift. These iconic cabinets are now given a meticulous tribute in Sega Arcade: Pop-Up History, the latest—and most ambitious—art book from Read-Only Memories.

Released following a successful crowdfunding campaign, the book is now arriving with backers.

Though compact at just 45 pages, each section is richly detailed, offering both nostalgia and visual spectacle. Written by acclaimed journalist Keith Stuart, Sega Arcade: Pop-Up History dives into the vision behind each Taikan masterpiece.

The narrative explains how Yu Suzuki and his AM2 development division conceived the Taikan concept, creating machines that permanently changed the landscape of arcade gaming.

Each featured arcade game receives its own comprehensive entry, exploring development anecdotes, hardware achievements, and cultural impact.

These are complemented by authentic screenshots—faithfully filtered to resemble CRT displays—and rare cabinet concept art pulled directly from Sega’s archives. Further elevating the book’s value are its innovative pop-up sections, engineered by renowned paper artist Helen Friel.

These intricately designed paper models provide a 3D visualization of historic Sega cabinets, allowing readers to experience their grandeur on a smaller scale.

While nothing can fully substitute the awe of the real machines, these pop-up renditions come astonishingly close, especially given the rarity of surviving units. Priced at £35, Sega Arcade: Pop-Up History occupies a unique niche in the library of arcade enthusiasts.

For those primarily seeking exhaustive history, Ken Horowitz’s The Sega Arcade Revolution offers deeper research.

But for fans of visual design and arcade nostalgia, the Read-Only Memories release stands as a must-have centerpiece—its detailed pop-up cabinets sure to spark fond memories of a defining era in gaming. Sega Arcade: Pop-Up History does more than reminisce; it immortalizes the artistry and pioneering spirit of Sega’s golden age, offering both longtime fans and newcomers a stunning window into the innovative world of Taikan arcade cabinets.

Sega arcade Arcade Read-Only Memories Keith Stuart Yu Suzuki AM2 Helen Friel Ken Horowitz Hang-On After Burner Out Run Power Drift Sega Arcade Pop-Up History