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Illustration of Circus

Circus

Overview

Circus was one of the first games produced by Exidy that used a CPU (6502) to control the game logic instead of hand-crafted hard-coded logic circuits. It ran on a black & white monitor with a color overlay that gave each row of balloons at the top of the screen a different color. It was designed and programmed by Edward Valeau and Howell Ivey of Exidy in 1977.

Circus came in an upright dedicated cabinet, and may have also been available in a cocktail configuration as well. Circus machines had white sides with red painted sideart of several balloons in flight. The front of the machine was decorated with a large ornate monitor bezel that also doubled as a marquee (or nameplate). This bezel showed several clowns in a circus scene and had the game title spelled out with multicolored balloons. The control panel was unadorned, save for an analog spinner and a start button. The whole machine was finished off in black T-molding.

At least 13,000 units, possibly as many as 20,000, were produced.

Developers
Exidy
Platform
Arcade
Genre
Action
Alternate Names
  • AcrobatNorth AmericaFlag of North America region
  • Circus / Acrobat TV
Video
No information available

Media

Advertisement Flyer - Back

Circus - Advertisement Flyer - Back (Germany) - 850x1189
Germany -  850 x 1189
Circus - Advertisement Flyer - Back (North America) - 850x1098
North America -  850 x 1098

Advertisement Flyer - Front

Circus - Advertisement Flyer - Front (North America) - 850x1102
North America -  850 x 1102
Circus - Advertisement Flyer - Front (North America) - 850x1093
North America -  850 x 1093
Circus - Advertisement Flyer - Front (North America) - 850x1098
North America -  850 x 1098
Circus - Advertisement Flyer - Front (Italy) - 850x1196
Italy -  850 x 1196
Circus - Advertisement Flyer - Front (Germany) - 850x1189
Germany -  850 x 1189
Circus - Advertisement Flyer - Front (North America) - 850x1098
North America -  850 x 1098
Circus - Advertisement Flyer - Front (North America) - 850x1105
North America -  850 x 1105

Arcade - Cabinet

Circus - Arcade - Cabinet (null) - 455x812
455 x 812
Circus - Arcade - Cabinet (null) - 217x446
217 x 446
Circus - Arcade - Cabinet (null) - 1202x2205
1202 x 2205

Arcade - Control Panel

Circus - Arcade - Control Panel (North America) - 2051x744
North America -  2051 x 744

Arcade - Marquee

Circus - Arcade - Marquee (null) - 3649x1137
3649 x 1137

Box - 3D

Circus - Box - 3D (North America) - 582x889
North America -  582 x 889

Clear Logo

Circus - Clear Logo (Germany) - 400x131
Germany -  400 x 131
Circus - Clear Logo (North America) - 500x154
North America -  500 x 154
Circus - Clear Logo (North America) - 1351x418
North America -  1351 x 418

Fanart - Cart - Front

Circus - Fanart - Cart - Front (North America) - 436x533
North America -  436 x 533

Screenshot - Game Over

Circus - Screenshot - Game Over (null) - 248x256
248 x 256

Screenshot - Game Title

Circus - Screenshot - Game Title (null) - 248x256
248 x 256

Screenshot - Gameplay

Circus - Screenshot - Gameplay (null) - 248x256
248 x 256
Circus - Screenshot - Gameplay (null) - 248x256
248 x 256