The Old School Arcade Thread

[Goon]

I've always missed the old school arcades.. Arcades in general have just vanished from Malls all across the country. So I wanted to make a thread where we could reminisce about the times when they were still around. I'm also hoping that most of you are old enough to remember the hay day of the arcade.. Which for me was when Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam were just making waves..

I mainly started this thread because earlier last month I went back to my hometown to visit some of the old places I use to hang out at. I really wanted to go back and check out what happened to the arcade. Below you can see the exact location of Alladins Castle.. I miss that place.. Right near the entrance is where they always put the best cabinet whether that would be Tekken or Street Fighter.. It always seemed like someone had a quarter waiting..

[snake]

My mall has a somewhat old school arcade. It still has some stuff from the 90's, (Late and Early.) But other then that, it's mostly newer games.

[Goon]

Consider yourself lucky man.. Every Arcade that I use to go to are all gone. The only places where you can really play now is like Putt Putt or Chuck E Cheese.. The mall near me now doesn't have anything worth going to. No music store, no movie store and one Gamestop which is surrounded by 2 others that are not even a mile away..

I think my fondest times at the Arcade are of playing NBA Jam... I always picked the Orlando Magic with Shaq and Scott Skiles.. Later they updated with Anfernee Hardaway and Horace Grant but that first team was pretty funny.

[Leo656]

Born in '82, right when games were "crashing" the first time and about to be reborn, it was an awkward time for gaming. I was pretty much raised with games; my Dad was able to get a Coleco-Vision/Atari 2600 and a ton of games dirt-cheap since the "fad" was seen to be over with. So I learned to game by playing Frogger and Donkey Kong on home consoles, then moved on to arcade games as I got older.

My first experience with arcade games wasn't at an arcade exactly; my Dad was a bartender on weekends, and they had a pinball machine and a couple games I can't remember off in the corner, so when my Mom and I would visit him at work they'd park me on a stool and I'd spend all my time playing games. It was awesome. As I got a little older they'd take me to the local mall, where they had a fairly small but pretty well-stocked arcade. They always had a good mix of classics and the most up-to-date hits. I also live close to the Boardwalk, and we used to spend summers going to Keansburg amusement park, where there were many, many arcade houses to play in. They all had different games, so you'd have to check them all out, and that's where I remember first playing some of my favorites from back in the day: WWF SuperStars and its sequel, The Simpsons, TMNT Arcade, Turtles In Time, etc. They'd usually hang onto the games for a really long time, too. I haven't been there in a while, but a few years ago they still had a bunch of 80s/90s classics set up.

It's a shame, but realistically there hasn't really been any need for arcades since the Dreamcast came out. Once a home console could replicate or surpass what could be done in arcades, it became simply a matter of logistics. You could spend $5 on one game for 15-20 minutes of play, or you could own it and play it whenever you want forever, and in some cases (like SoulCalibur II) the enhancements offered on the home console made playing the arcade version entirely pointless, unless you *really* like dropping quarters into a machine.

Still, like pinball, arcades were a vital part of gaming history and without them, we wouldn't have what we have today. They'll probably never be what they once were, and yes, the feeling of community and competition that came with the arcade experience is likely gone forever, but those of us who were there can still remember what it was like. :)

[Refractive Reflections]

It's a shame, but realistically there hasn't really been any need for arcades since the Dreamcast came out. Once a home console could replicate or surpass what could be done in arcades, it became simply a matter of logistics. You could spend $5 on one game for 15-20 minutes of play, or you could own it and play it whenever you want forever, and in some cases (like SoulCalibur II) the enhancements offered on the home console made playing the arcade version entirely pointless, unless you *really* like dropping quarters into a machine.

Still, like pinball, arcades were a vital part of gaming history and without them, we wouldn't have what we have today. They'll probably never be what they once were, and yes, the feeling of community and competition that came with the arcade experience is likely gone forever, but those of us who were there can still remember what it was like. :)

One thing I always wondered Leo656 (and anyone else can answer this also), is I wonder why arcades are still popular in Japan, but not here in the United States despite those technological advances that would make attending an arcade pointless? :-?

[Peanut]

Because fighting games.

[愛]

Fighting and rhythm games.

[VADER2013]

I miss the old games that were only 25 cents. Centipede, Pac man, etc

[Goon]

Born in '82, right when games were "crashing" the first time and about to be reborn, it was an awkward time for gaming. I was pretty much raised with games; my Dad was able to get a Coleco-Vision/Atari 2600 and a ton of games dirt-cheap since the "fad" was seen to be over with. So I learned to game by playing Frogger and Donkey Kong on home consoles, then moved on to arcade games as I got older.

My father was kind of "techie" so we always had a computer around the house. I remember playing a couple different games including The California Raisins, the very old school D&D game and the original Three Stooges. Later we got aan Atari 2600 as well although I didn't play it very much.. The arcade was where I really fell in love with gaming.

The Simpsons game you mentioned was really bad ass.. Along with Sunset Riders, Area 51 and the D&D arcade games.. I also really liked Altered Beasts.. Alot of those ended up being ported to console later.. Still not as good as the arcade versions though..

I feel like the arcade could come back if they made more games that used some kind of peripheral. Like some kind of Virtual Reality. A long time ago I paid like $5 or $10 to get into a VR game.. At that time it was really primitive but still fun.. I wonder why they never really tried to expand on it?

[snake]

I miss the old games that were only 25 cents. Centipede, Pac man, etc

I forgot, my arcade had an old Pac-man. They took it out back in 2008.

[Refractive Reflections]

Because fighting games.
Fighting and rhythm games.

Thanks Peanut and Ai for the answers. Appreciate it! :)

[Goon]

Yea.. I think Dance Dance Revolution actually helped arcades here in the states stay open longer. I know the old arcade where I live now use to have tournaments and things.. I think that might be part of it as well.. Not sure if they have some kind of tournament circuit but it wouldn't surprise me..