<s>
Astron	B-Application
Belt	I-Application
( アストロンベルト	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
LaserDisc	O
video	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
a	O
third-person	O
,	O
space	O
combat	O
rail	O
shooter	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
arcades	B-Application
in	O
1983	O
by	O
Sega	O
in	O
Japan	O
,	O
and	O
licensed	O
to	O
Bally	O
Midway	O
for	O
release	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developed	O
in	O
1982	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
major	O
arcade	B-Application
laserdisc	O
video	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
combines	O
full-motion	B-Application
video	I-Application
(	O
FMV	O
)	O
footage	O
from	O
the	O
laserdisc	O
with	O
real-time	B-General_Concept
2D	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
arcade	B-Application
game	O
was	O
available	O
in	O
both	O
upright	O
and	O
cockpit	O
arcade	B-Application
cabinets	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
latter	O
having	O
illuminated	O
buttons	O
on	O
the	O
control	O
panel	O
,	O
a	O
larger	O
25	O
"	O
monitor	O
(	O
the	O
upright	O
used	O
a	O
standard	O
19	O
"	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
force	B-Device
feedback	I-Device
vibrating	O
seat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Bally	O
Midway	O
delayed	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
release	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
to	O
fix	O
several	O
hardware	O
and	O
software	O
bugs	O
,	O
by	O
which	O
time	O
it	O
had	O
been	O
beaten	O
to	O
public	O
release	O
by	O
several	O
laserdisc	O
games	O
including	O
Dragon	B-Application
's	I-Application
Lair	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
a	O
commercial	O
success	O
in	O
arcades	B-Application
,	O
especially	O
in	O
Japan	O
where	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
top-grossing	O
upright/cockpit	O
arcade	B-Application
game	O
for	O
four	O
months	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Astron	B-Application
Belt	I-Application
was	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
MSX	B-Operating_System
home	O
system	O
in	O
1984	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Astron	B-Application
Belt	I-Application
initially	O
used	O
a	O
Pioneer	O
laserdisc	O
player	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Running	O
on	O
the	O
Sega	B-Application
Laserdisc	I-Application
hardware	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
combines	O
pre-rendered	O
laserdisc	O
footage	O
with	O
a	O
real-time	B-General_Concept
2D	O
computer	O
graphics	O
plane	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
real-time	B-General_Concept
graphics	O
plane	O
generates	O
sprite	O
graphics	O
similar	O
to	O
an	O
earlier	O
Sega	O
title	O
,	O
Buck	B-Application
Rogers	I-Application
:	I-Application
Planet	I-Application
of	I-Application
Zoom	I-Application
(	O
1982	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
overlaid	O
by	O
imitating	O
a	O
matting	O
technique	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
CRT	B-Device
monitor	I-Device
scans	B-Algorithm
horizontally	O
across	O
the	O
screen	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
fed	O
information	O
from	O
the	O
laserdisc	O
up	O
until	O
the	O
point	O
where	O
it	O
is	O
fed	O
information	O
from	O
the	O
computer	O
graphics	O
system	O
,	O
after	O
which	O
information	O
coming	O
from	O
the	O
laserdisc	O
stops	O
,	O
creating	O
a	O
black	O
mask	O
into	O
which	O
a	O
sprite	O
is	O
inserted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
frame	O
of	O
the	O
laserdisc	O
footage	O
is	O
coded	O
with	O
a	O
hit	O
detection	O
spot	O
stored	O
in	O
ROM	B-Device
memory	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Zilog	B-General_Concept
Z80	I-General_Concept
CPU	B-General_Concept
reads	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
the	O
laserdisc	O
frame	O
,	O
and	O
checks	O
the	O
laserdisc	O
hit	O
spots	O
with	O
the	O
shots	O
fired	O
by	O
the	O
player	O
,	O
and	O
if	O
the	O
coordinates	O
correspond	O
,	O
it	O
instructs	O
the	O
laserdisc	O
player	O
to	O
display	O
an	O
explosion	O
sequence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Japan	O
,	O
Game	O
Machine	O
listed	O
Astron	B-Application
Belt	I-Application
as	O
the	O
top-grossing	O
upright/cockpit	O
arcade	B-Application
cabinet	O
for	O
four	O
months	O
in	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
remained	O
at	O
the	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
Game	O
Machine	O
upright/cockpit	O
charts	O
through	O
October	O
1	O
,	O
1983	O
,	O
before	O
being	O
dethroned	O
by	O
Namco	O
's	O
Pole	B-Application
Position	I-Application
on	O
October	O
15	O
,	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Astron	B-Application
Belt	I-Application
remained	O
in	O
the	O
top	O
ten	O
through	O
December	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
Astron	B-Application
Belt	I-Application
topped	O
the	O
Play	O
Meter	O
laserdisc	O
arcade	B-Application
charts	O
for	O
street	O
locations	O
by	O
August	O
1	O
,	O
1984	O
,	O
while	O
being	O
in	O
the	O
top	O
three	O
for	O
arcade	B-Application
locations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
remained	O
among	O
the	O
top	O
five	O
laserdisc	O
arcade	B-Application
games	O
for	O
street	O
locations	O
and	O
top	O
ten	O
for	O
arcade	B-Application
locations	O
through	O
November	O
1984	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Video	O
Games	O
gave	O
the	O
arcade	B-Application
game	O
a	O
highly	O
positive	O
review	O
following	O
its	O
AMOA	O
1982	O
demonstration	O
,	O
calling	O
it	O
a	O
"	O
large	O
screen	O
science	O
fiction	O
space	O
shooting	O
game	O
that	O
's	O
played	O
against	O
film	O
footage	O
of	O
spaceships	O
,	O
planets	O
and	O
explosions	O
!	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
concluded	O
that	O
"	O
any	O
arcade	B-Application
player	O
who	O
wants	O
a	O
future	O
in	O
gaming	O
should	O
try	O
his	O
hand	O
at	O
Astron	B-Application
Belt	I-Application
as	O
soon	O
as	O
possible	O
"	O
but	O
"	O
it	O
remains	O
to	O
be	O
seen	O
if	O
Astron	B-Application
Belt	I-Application
is	O
the	O
shape	O
of	O
games	O
to	O
come.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Astron	B-Application
Belt	I-Application
was	O
responsible	O
for	O
starting	O
the	O
LaserDisc	O
interactive	B-Application
movie	I-Application
craze	O
when	O
it	O
was	O
shown	O
at	O
the	O
1982	O
AMOA	O
show	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
games	O
it	O
inspired	O
was	O
Dragon	B-Application
's	I-Application
Lair	I-Application
(	O
1983	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
had	O
the	O
same	O
controls	O
and	O
very	O
similar	O
gameplay	O
to	O
Astron	B-Application
Belt	I-Application
,	O
and	O
one	O
machine	O
could	O
be	O
converted	O
to	O
the	O
other	O
by	O
simply	O
changing	O
the	O
LaserDisc	O
,	O
game	O
ROMs	B-Device
,	O
and	O
sound	O
board	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Japan	O
,	O
Game	O
Machine	O
listed	O
Starblazer	O
on	O
their	O
January	O
15	O
,	O
1984	O
issue	O
as	O
being	O
the	O
third	O
most-successful	O
upright	O
arcade	B-Application
unit	O
of	O
the	O
month	O
.	O
</s>
