It was also amazing to me that no home computer manufacturer ever had a plan for a serious gaming home computer system that matched (or came close to)

It was also amazing to me that no home computer manufacturer ever had a plan for a serious gaming home computer system that matched (or came close to) the arcades in visual quality. Who wouldn't try to buy a machine that could play, for example, Outrun, close to the arcade? even if it cost 1000 dollars... There were serious heaps of silicon inside those arcade machines. No way they could have been (profitably) sold to home users for anything remotely resembling $1K. Check out the arcade board for After Burner; essentially the same hardware as Outrun: https://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Arcade/PCB/big/After_Burner_II_-_1987_-_Sega.jpg https://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Arcade/PCB/big/Af... Gobs of RAM and custom silicon. Compare with any contemporary home computer of the era. No way these massive slabs of arcade silicon could have been produced and sold profitably for less than thousands of dollars. There were other issues as well. These arcade boards were very power hungry and therefore put out lots of heat. Home consumers willing to put up with that would be a very small niche.