10-Yard Fight

10-Yard Fight[lower-alpha 1] is an American football sports video game that was developed and published in Japan by Irem for arcades in 1983. It was published overseas by Taito in the Americas, by Electrocoin in Europe, and by ADP Automaten GmbH in West Germany.[2]

For the band, see Ten Yard Fight.
10-Yard Fight
North American arcade flyer
Developer(s)Irem
Publisher(s)
Irem
  • Arcade
    Famicom/NES
Producer(s)Gunpei Yokoi (NES)
Composer(s)Ichiro Takagi
Platform(s)
Release
December 5, 1983
  • Arcade
    Famicom/NES
    • JP: August 30, 1985
    • NA: October 18, 1985
    • EU: December 6, 1986
    MSX
Genre(s)Sports (American football)
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemIrem M-52 hardware

Gameplay
Screenshot of 10-Yard Fight (arcade version)

10-Yard Fight is viewed in a top-down perspective and is vertical scrolling. The player does not select plays for either offense or defense. On offense, the player simply receives the ball upon the snap and either attempts to run with the quarterback, toss the ball to a running back, or throw the ball to the one long distance receiver – basically the option offense. On defense, the player chooses one of two players to control, and the computer manipulates the others. The ball can also be punted or a field goal can be attempted.

The game has five levels of increasing difficulty: high school, college, professional, playoff, and Super Bowl. If the player wins both halves of an "accelerated real time" 30-minute half at an easier level, the player advances to the next level of difficulty, like a career mode.

A player scores 20,000 points for any kickoff that is returned for a touchdown.

Ports
Cartridge of 10-Yard Fight (NES version)

The arcade game was later ported to the Famicom by Irem first in Japan, and later published in North America and Europe by Nintendo in 1985 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The arcade game was also ported to the MSX home computer also by Irem, but exclusively in Japan.

While graphically similar, there are some fundamental differences between the arcade and NES versions of the game. The arcade version only seeks to simulate the offense, with the team attempting to score a touchdown, which ultimately leads the player to the next level. The NES version was developed to allow both defense and offense, as well as a simultaneous 2-player mode.

10-Yard Fight was, along with Kung Fu, one of only two NES launch titles not originally developed by Nintendo. Both games were developed initially for arcades by Irem. Although Nintendo developed the NES port of Kung Fu, Irem handled the system's port of 10-Yard Fight.[3][4]

A port for the Nintendo Switch was released by HAMSTER in May 2018 as part of their Arcade Archives series.[5]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed 10-Yard Fight on their January 1, 1984 issue as the top-grossing new table arcade cabinet of the month.[6] It later topped Japan's table arcade game chart in March 1984.[7]

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called it the "patriarch of football games".[8] Adam Duerson of Sports Illustrated stated that while no one remembered it or could say what makes it great, it is worth recognition for the fact that it brought football games out of the Atari era, setting a simple precedent for future football games.[9] Adam Swiderski of UGO Networks called it "downright advanced" compared to earlier football titles. He added that while it looked neat and had a quality soundtrack, it didn't play like "real football".[10] N-Sider called it more like a racing game than a football game, due to the objective being racing for a first down to increase players' time.[11] Author Bj Klein, however, called it less realistic than Tecmo Bowl.[12] The Journal News called it an "immortal classic".[13]

Legacy

A remake of the game has been announced for release exclusively for the Intellivision Amico.[14]

See also

Notes
  1. Japanese: 10ヤードファイト, Hepburn: Ten Yādo Faito

References
  1. "10-Yard Fight (Registration Number PA0000201534)". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  2. "Overseas Readers Column" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 230. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 February 1984. pp. 29–30.
  3. "How NES launch negotiations, Tetris, and Lode Runner inspired boutique game publisher Tozai". www.polygon.com. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  4. "IGN: 10-Yard Fight". 2010-12-13. Archived from the original on 2010-12-13. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  5. Lane, Gavin (2020-03-13). "Guide: Every Arcade Archives Game On Nintendo Switch, Plus Our Top Picks". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  6. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型新製品 (New Videos-Table Type)" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 227. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 January 1984. p. 37.
  7. "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 232. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 March 1984. p. 31.
  8. "Post-Gazette.com". Docs.newsbank.com. November 19, 2002. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  9. "SI.com - Scorecard Daily - Adam Duerson: Madden '06 is best ever - Thursday August 11, 2005 3:03PM". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. August 11, 2005. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  10. "A Brief History of Football Games". UGO.com. September 5, 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  11. "10 Yard Fight". N-Sider.com. August 30, 1985. Archived from the original on 2012-10-02. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  12. Klein, B. J. College Weekend...a Strange, True Story - Bj Klein - Google Boeken. ISBN 9780557676552. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  13. "Madden bigger, better than ever". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. August 13, 2009. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  14. "Intellivision Reveals Initial Details For The Upcoming Amico Home Video Game Console!". PR Newswire (Press release).
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