Posted in: Arcade, Games, Twitch, Video Games | Tagged: embargoed, Shout! Factory, Starcade, Twitch, Twitch Marathon

Get Ready For Retro Arcade Action With Twitch's 'Starcade' Marathon

It may be San Diego Comic Con, but that won't prevent Twitch from getting into the spirit of things and announcing a brand new Twitch marathon. At the SDCC panel today, Twitch announced a partnership with Shout! Factory to host a marathon of Starcade.

If you don't remember the show, Starcade was a classic game show where contestants competed in arcade video games. The show was in syndication from 1982 to 1984, and was considered a groundbreaking game show where contestants competed in classic arcade video games, such as Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Galaga and Centipede. Starcade aired on WTBS (now TBS) and, as the first of its kind, set the stage for future video game-themed TV series and served as a platform for introducing new arcade games to consumers. The show was created by Jim Caruso and Mavis E. Arthur, a partnership and JM Production Company, and was hosted by Mark Richards and Geoff Edwards. In fact, you might think of Starcade as the 80s version of Twitch, as it filled a similar nice. People in the 80s loved arcade games, but there was no crossover to home entertainment until Starcade. Similarly, Twitch came in with the internet age to fill that void with live-streamed gaming.

The Starcade marathon will feature all 123 episodes that aired in the original broadcast run, most of which have not been widely aired in over a decade, as well as additional content to be announced. To ensure the best quality possible, the episodes have all been digitized from the original master tapes. The marathon begins at the end of August and will air on Shout! Factory's official Twitch channel.

"Based on viewership numbers, it's clear that the Twitch community has a passion for video games and classic programmatic television," said Ben Vallat, VP of Business Development at Twitch. "With Shout! Factory's Starcade marathon, both of these passions are combined for an entertaining look at the past, while allowing them to be collectively viewed in an interactive
manner that defines the future of television."

"As Shout! Factory continues to offer retro television programs packaged for today's new digital formats, Twitch provides viewers a unique interactive experience," said Gene Pao, SVP of Digital Media at Shout! Factory. "With Starcade, we're thrilled to be bringing the godfather of competitive gaming to a platform known for celebrating this engaging style of content."

This classic show follows in the footsteps of Shout! Factory's Mystery Science Theater 3000 marathon which was used to launch their official Twitch channel.

You can watch the Starcade announcement trailer below.

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