What on earth was the game 'Killer Shark' that appeared in the classic shark movie 'Jaws'?
In the classic shark movie '
For Over 40 Years, I've Wanted to Play That Cool-Looking 'Killer Shark' Arcade Game Briefly Seen in 'Jaws'
https://www.remindmagazine.com/article/15694/jaws-arcade-video-game-killer-shark-atari-sega-electromechanical/
Killer Shark only appears for a few seconds, revealing that the game involves shooting sharks swimming around the screen with a gun-shaped controller.
Videogames in Movies - (1975) - Jaws - YouTube
'Killer Shark' was an arcade game developed by Sega and released in December 1972. 'Jaws' was released in 1975, so it was created before the movie.
The actual gameplay footage is as follows:
Sega Killer Shark: Gameplay - Jaws - YouTube
Pfeiffer pointed out, 'Not only does this scene reflect the film's themes and demonstrate Steven Spielberg's grasp of the pop culture trends that young people were obsessed with at the time, but the 'rifle and shark' composition also serves as a fun hint at the film's climax.'
The game console behind the child playing Killer Shark is the world's first arcade game, ' Computer Space .' Taking this into consideration, Pfeiffer said, 'In other words, this one scene condenses the history of arcades in the early 1970s!'
Shark-themed games continued to appear after the release of Jaws. One of these was 'Shark Jaws,' released by a company called 'Horror Games.' Horror Games was a shell company created by Atari to avoid a lawsuit from Universal Studios, the studio that produced and distributed Jaws. Promotional flyers for the game emphasized the 'Jaws' part and wrote the 'Shark' part in very small letters. Perhaps this strategy was successful, as 'Shark Jaws' was relatively successful, and no lawsuits against Atari have been found.
Another game, released in 1975, was 'Maneater.' Players controlled a diver who retrieved treasure from the ocean floor and brought it back to the surface while avoiding killer sharks. It's unclear whether this console was an officially licensed 'Jaws' game, but there are photos of Spielberg interacting with Maneater, so it seems he was at least personally aware of it.
by Rob Brennan
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