| Heavyweight Champ | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Sega[1] |
| Publisher(s) | Sega[1] |
| Distributor(s) | Sega |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Genre(s) | Sports[1] |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Heavyweight Champ is a boxing sports arcade game, released by Sega in 1976. The game featured black-and-white graphics with the controls inside a set of plastic boxing gloves attached to the arcade cabinet. Critics have since identified it as the first video game to feature hand-to-hand fighting, though it had no real impact on subsequent martial arts themed fighting games.[2][3]
Like later fighting games, it was viewed from a side-view perspective.[4] Besides being the first fighting game, it was also notable for its imaginative control system. It employed two boxing glove controllers, one for each player, which moved up and down for high and low punches, with an inward movement for striking.[2]