Looking For the 1976 Fonz Moto-Cross Arcade Game!

[DiscoSkater79]

Hi beautiful forum!!! This is my first thread.

After 15 years of passively loving Fonzie, I decided to ACTUALLY watch Happy Days, and so far I am absolutely in LOVE with the show!!!!!!! It is so much more heartwarming, touching, and funny than I could have possibly imagined. I am mid Season 2 and really, really impressed.

Anyway, Fonzsploitation cracks me up, and I would LOVE to see more Happy Days memorabilia in real life. Sadly no thrift shops near me have anything. (though I got a Topps sticker on eBay)

Specifically, my new goal is to track down a 1976 Fonz game machine to visit!

1976 was a great year in music (Hustle especially) and apparently a great year for SEGA too!

Moto-Cross / Fonz is an early black-and-white motorbike racing game, most notable for introducing an early three-dimensional third-person perspective.

plus here is a funny ad for it with souvenir font

Does anyone know if there is a Fonz game like this in the Northeastern USA?
Willing to travel!

[DiscoSkater79]

P.S. good news...
One gentleman on YouTube commented:

Wow, last time I saw one of these was in the early 80's at the Asbury Park Casino Arcade !

So I'll try giving them a call and let you guys know if it's there!

[opus]

Originally Posted by DiscoSkater79

P.S. good news...
One gentleman on YouTube commented: So I'll try giving them a call and let you guys know if it's there!

The game or the Asbury Park Arcade itself?

You liked Fonzie from so long but never saw the show? How’s that work? How’d you find him?

[DiscoSkater79]

Originally Posted by opus

The game or the Asbury Park Arcade itself?

Calling the Arcade to ask if they have the game.
Sadly I found out that specific arcade had closed in 2000 but there's another plcae over there called Silverball Retro Arcade which seems to specialize in older games, so I'll try calling them and asking once they open.

Originally Posted by opus

You liked Fonzie from so long but never saw the show? How’s that work? How’d you find him?

(sorry, how do i make a pic small? This is showing up huge, lol)

Being born in 1999, most people my age know about the Fonz because of his appearances in such cartoons as Futurama, The Simpsons, South Park, and Family Guy. These cartoons reference the Fonz a LOT. Since I love those shows, I assumed the Fonz was just a one-note character (one-word, rather) known for personifying what was cool in the '50s.
Circa 2011, I was obsessed with the '50s rockabilly stuff like Elvis and Grease, so I watched a few Fonz compilations on YouTube, loved the character, and called it a day.

Since I didn't grow up watching sitcoms aside from Seinfeld and the crappy ones on TeenNick, I was hesitant to watch Happy Days itself, assuming it might be contrived or obvious. Admittedly the clips on YouTube don't really do it justice; the show is MUCH funnier in context.
Last year, per a friend's recommendation on The Simpsons forums, I ironically watched some of the Saturday morning cartoon Fonzie and the Happy Days Gang since I am a big fan of ironically-watching ridiculous cartoons (like The Roman Holidays). However, even though FatHDG was a silly concept, I was blown away because the voice acting was HILARIOUS.
Given my current obsession with the 1970s, I didn't give the real show a chance until more recently when I found full episodes on Archive.org, and BOY am I glad I finally did.
I had NO idea Happy Days would be this warm, heartfelt, and wonderfully written!!! So, something I have always enjoyed from afar has become something that I can finally focus on and adore.

[biffbronson]

Here is a pretty good look from the front:

[DiscoSkater79]

Originally Posted by biffbronson

Here is a pretty good look from the front:

Attachment 325471

Yes, that's a good one! It's interesting to see how much the colors differ from photo to photo. Cool nice blues here.

More information about the game: https://segaretro.org/Fonz
Here's the service manual digitized. Aprint vintage service manual is available for sale on eBay.


Update:

• Arcade cabinet aggregator Zenius-i-Vanisher (my favorite way to locate DDR/PIU cabinets) doesn't list the Fonz game, sadly.
• I've called the Silverball Retro Arcade in Asbury Park but the operator said they don't have it.
• I'll call Yestercades at 12PM; they have multiple locations so more chance of a retro cabinet.
• I'll keep researching other places and calling to see where this game has gone! I'm sure there's gotta be one somewhere in or near NYC.

[biffbronson]

I wonder if it might've actually been produced with differing shades of blue, in its production run.

If instead it were a case of fading, the reds in the Fonz image and lettering outlines would've turned pink almost immediately from UV light exposure.

I have to confess to not playing many arcade or pinball machines way back then; I always wanted to spend my cash instead on comic books, primarily...!

[opus]

Originally Posted by DiscoSkater79

Calling the Arcade to ask if they have the game.
Sadly I found out that specific arcade had closed in 2000 but there's another plcae over there called Silverball Retro Arcade which seems to specialize in older games, so I'll try calling them and asking once they open.





(sorry, how do i make a pic small? This is showing up huge, lol)

Being born in 1999, most people my age know about the Fonz because of his appearances in such cartoons as Futurama, The Simpsons, South Park, and Family Guy. These cartoons reference the Fonz a LOT. Since I love those shows, I assumed the Fonz was just a one-note character (one-word, rather) known for personifying what was cool in the '50s.
Circa 2011, I was obsessed with the '50s rockabilly stuff like Elvis and Grease, so I watched a few Fonz compilations on YouTube, loved the character, and called it a day.

Since I didn't grow up watching sitcoms aside from Seinfeld and the crappy ones on TeenNick, I was hesitant to watch Happy Days itself, assuming it might be contrived or obvious. Admittedly the clips on YouTube don't really do it justice; the show is MUCH funnier in context.
Last year, per a friend's recommendation on The Simpsons forums, I ironically watched some of the Saturday morning cartoon Fonzie and the Happy Days Gang since I am a big fan of ironically-watching ridiculous cartoons (like The Roman Holidays). However, even though FatHDG was a silly concept, I was blown away because the voice acting was HILARIOUS.
Given my current obsession with the 1970s, I didn't give the real show a chance until more recently when I found full episodes on Archive.org, and BOY am I glad I finally did.
I had NO idea Happy Days would be this warm, heartfelt, and wonderfully written!!! So, something I have always enjoyed from afar has become something that I can finally focus on and adore.

That tracks. He definitely remained in the pop culture zeitgeist over the years.

[opus]

Originally Posted by biffbronson

I have to confess to not playing many arcade or pinball machines way back then; I always wanted to spend my cash instead on comic books, primarily...!

Ayyy!