BurgerTime is a 1982 platform arcade game released by Data East in Japan and Bally Midway in the US.
Quick Facts
| Title | BurgerTime |
| Year | 1982 |
| Manufacturer | Data East (Japan) / Bally Midway (US) |
| Designer(s) | Not credited in available records |
| Genre | Platform |
| Hardware | DECO Cassette System arcade hardware |
| Ports | 6 ports, including Intellivision, Atari 2600, and Apple II — see Ports section |
History
BurgerTime arrived in Japanese arcades in August 1982 under the title Hamburger, then reached North America that November after Data East licensed the game to Bally Midway for distribution. The design is credited to Data East, though production was reportedly handled by an outside development house working under the company. It ran on the DECO Cassette System, a tape-based arcade board Data East used to swap game software without changing cabinet hardware. The renamed Western release built a devoted following quickly, and operators reported the game’s popularity kept coin-op cabinets occupied for so long that other players sometimes had to be pulled away from the controls.
The chef character Peter Pepper carried the brand well past the arcade era. Data East produced sequels including Super BurgerTime in 1990 and later revived the franchise with BurgerTime World Tour in 2011. Ownership of the property passed to G-Mode after Data East’s 2003 bankruptcy, and the arcade original has since resurfaced in console compilations. Peter Pepper’s mustachioed likeness became recognizable enough to earn cameo appearances in the animated films Wreck-It Ralph and Pixels, decades after the character first climbed a ladder to escape a hot dog.
Gameplay
Players guide chef Peter Pepper across a multi-level maze of platforms and ladders, walking over oversized burger ingredients to knock them down a level at a time until they land on a bun waiting below. Completing a burger by stacking every ingredient in order clears that portion of the board, and finishing all the burgers on screen advances the chef to the next layout. Anthropomorphic hot dogs, eggs, and pickles chase Peter Pepper through the maze, and contact with any of them costs a life unless he escapes up or down a ladder in time. A limited supply of pepper shots lets him briefly stun a pursuing enemy, buying a window to squeeze past or drop an ingredient safely, though the pepper must be used sparingly since supplies run out. Enemies can also be defeated outright by dropping an ingredient directly on top of them as they cross underneath.
- Walking over ingredients to drop them down onto a bun below
- Ladders and platforms used both to navigate and to evade enemies
- Limited pepper shots that temporarily stun hot dogs, eggs, and pickles
- Crushing enemies by dropping ingredients on them mid-chase
Cabinet & Hardware
BurgerTime runs on the DECO Cassette System, Data East’s proprietary arcade platform that stored game data on tape cassettes loaded into a shared cabinet board. The system let operators swap between different Data East titles by changing the cassette rather than replacing an entire dedicated PCB, which made BurgerTime and its cassette-based stablemates comparatively cheap for arcades to rotate in and out of a single cabinet.
Ports & Re-releases
| Platform | Year |
|---|---|
| Intellivision | 1983 |
| Atari 2600 | 1983 |
| Apple II | 1983 |
| ColecoVision | 1984 |
| Famicom/NES | 1985 |
| MSX | 1986 |
BurgerTime has reappeared in modern form through BurgerTime Party!, a 2019 remake released for Nintendo Switch, and the original arcade version has been included in compilation discs such as Data East Arcade Classics. Check the Intellivision, Atari 2600, ColecoVision, and NES platform pages for details on those specific ports.
Where to Play Legally Today
- The 2019 Nintendo Switch remake BurgerTime Party!, which includes the original arcade game alongside a modernized version
- Official compilation discs such as Data East Arcade Classics where available
- MAME, run only with legally owned ROM dumps from a cabinet or licensed source you own
- Arcade museums and retro arcade venues that keep a working BurgerTime cabinet on their floor
Collector Value
Original BurgerTime cabinets turn up regularly on the secondary market, and because the game ran on the DECO Cassette System, condition of the tape mechanism and cassette itself is a major factor in a unit’s value alongside the usual concerns about marquee and side-art wear. Standalone cassette boards are also collected separately from full cabinets by owners of compatible DECO Cassette System enclosures. Home ports on cartridge-based systems like the Intellivision, Atari 2600, and ColecoVision are widely available and inexpensive, making them an accessible way to own a piece of the game’s history without a full-size cabinet.
FAQs
Who made BurgerTime?
BurgerTime was made by Data East in Japan, with Bally Midway handling manufacturing and distribution for the North American arcade market.
What year did BurgerTime come out?
BurgerTime came out in 1982, first in Japanese arcades and later that year in North America through Bally Midway.
What genre is BurgerTime?
BurgerTime is a platform arcade game, in which the player climbs ladders and crosses platforms to drop ingredients onto burger buns while avoiding pursuing enemies.
What hardware did BurgerTime run on?
BurgerTime ran on the DECO Cassette System, Data East’s cassette-based arcade platform.
Has BurgerTime been ported to home consoles?
Yes, BurgerTime has been ported to at least six platforms, including the Intellivision, Atari 2600, Apple II, ColecoVision, Famicom/NES, and MSX.
See also the related Tapper and Mappy arcade pages from the same Bally Midway/Data East era, and browse the Golden Age of Arcade Games hub for more classic platform titles.
Sources
Facts on this page last verified 2026-07-15.