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Title: Arcade extinction is almost upon us
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Published: Feb 4, 2007
Author: Ryan Smith
Post Date: 2007-02-04 18:28:45 by orangedog
Keywords: None
Views: 317
Comments: 16
It's difficult to write a eulogy for the arcade, that once ubiquitous quarter-eating staple of malls, bowling alleys and college campuses everywhere. Like Saturday morning cartoons and the NHL, it still exists, but has been slowly fading from the American consciousness since its 1980s heyday. But it's hard not to wax poetic about one of the last of the old neighborhood arcades -- the kind of place Norman Rockwell would have painted had he been a Gen-X-er who felt romantic notions about Double Dragon. For many teens in the late '70s and '80s (before the advent of Xbox, cellphones and MySpace), arcades were actually prime destinations. It wasn't just that my generation was dying to guide a yellow anthropomorphic hockey puck through a maze or help a mustachioed plumber rescue his girlfriend from a barrel-tossing ape, but because arcades were one of the few shared spaces we could hang out that felt decidedly adult-unfriendly. For some of us, going to the arcade was a small act of anti-authoritarian rebellion. Ah, the atmosphere ... The arcades I grew up in were dark, sweaty, dungeon-like rooms filled with loud obnoxious lights and sounds with even louder and more obnoxious people. I remember the plethora of mohawked misfits, D&D-obsessed geeky types and various other mallrats. Even the typical arcade employee embodied the aesthetic -- the longhaired burnout or the twentysomething underachiever celebrated in virtually every Kevin Smith movie. Ironically, though arcades were viewed by the older generation as seedy dens of teen corruption, the games themselves were often simplistic and childish affairs, especially compared with today's popular over-complex and over-stimulating console games. Back then, video games didn't revolve around fighting virtual lifelike recreations of World War II battles or murdering gang members; rather, we were innocently helping a pixelated frog across a street or saving a princess from a dragon. And despite all the unblinking eyes staring at video screens, arcades also often bred a sense of community -- we'd chat with strangers about how to get past the Nth wave of aliens in Galaga, look on in awe for the guy who got past Act V in Ms. Pac-Man without losing a life, or bicker over who got the turkey leg in Gauntlet. But by the late '80s and early '90s, fewer people were dropping dollars into arcades. The first big blow of competition arrived with the home systems -- first the Atari 2600 and then the Nintendo Entertainment System -- when technology began to allow kids to play arcade games in the safe space of home (as Mom and Dad sighed in relief). A losing battle Game makers tried to adapt somewhat by focusing on games with steering wheels, jet fighter sticks, dual screens, trackballs and other gadgets not possible at home, but the market erosion continued. The number of arcade game units nationwide dropped from 860,000 in 1994 to 333,000 in 2004, according to statistics from Vending Times. Revenue from the games sank from $2.3 billion to $866 million in that same timeframe. The small arcades that survive tend to feed off the spare change of tourists and theme park goers. Most of the ones that thrive are the multipurpose "entertainment centers" like Chuck E. Cheese for kids and Dave & Buster's for adults, with both continually adding new locations. For those of us who miss the old days, home consoles offer "arcade favorites" compilations and collections, but they never feel satisfying because the sum of the unique arcade experience was more than simply standing up in a room while playing Elevator Action or Burgertime.
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#1. To: orangedog (#0)
Arcades live on the Boardwalk.
"First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. Then they fight you. Then you win." --Mahatma K. Gandhi
I still like to tangle with a good pinball machine but it is damn hard to find a decent one that is in top working order...
We still have ours here....sorta. Press 1 to proceed in English. Press 2 for Deportation.
All of the old arcades here are gone. Took my kid the Gameworks where they still had a Pac Man machine. I swiped a couple of credits into it, handed her the card and told her to have fun. She came back a half hour later and I was still playing. Ended on the first key a couple of minutes after that. Was she even moderately impressed...? No. She said "I'm going to hear stories about 'the good old days' all the way home, aren't I?" Kids...
"First I'm gonna bother everybody I meet, and then I'll probably go home and get drunk."
They wither on the vine here.
"First I'm gonna bother everybody I meet, and then I'll probably go home and get drunk."
I like playing the old school pins, but they are even harder to find than the new ones, what few there are.
"First I'm gonna bother everybody I meet, and then I'll probably go home and get drunk."
Ya, the mall arcades are pretty much toast. Around here we're left with Chuck E. Cheese, the movie theatre pseudo-arcades, and Wunderland. I guess any kids I might have will grow up in a world where the social life revolves around Starbucks instead of multiple possible venues. So sad...
Press 1 to proceed in English. Press 2 for Deportation.
When I was growing up we didn't have arcades. We didn't even have video games, just pinball, all of which were at the bowling alley. Now, when I got into college, there were arcades, and I was obsessed for a while. I'd spend hours at the one downtown. Later, they moved them into the malls, but by then I had graduated and was no longer hanging out at them. Nowadays, all the ones I see at the movie theaters.
"We become what we behold. We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us." -- Marshall McLuhan, after Alexander Pope and William Blake.
Arcades were everywhere during the Golden Age. Pizza shops, small grocery stores, any business that had a spare room had at least a handful of games.
"First I'm gonna bother everybody I meet, and then I'll probably go home and get drunk."
The Gameworks here is in one of the malls. The last time I took my daughter there was a few months ago. Guess I'm lucky to have a 17 year old who still wants to hang out with the old man. After I got my bit of nostalgia, we didn't even bother with the new games. We ended up spending the rest of the day playing skiball. Sure, new games are pretty...so was my ex wife at one time. But what they both are lacking is a soul.
"First I'm gonna bother everybody I meet, and then I'll probably go home and get drunk."
Yup. Lots of women nowadays are lacking a soul. That is the reason I'm 35 and with only a two year old.....cat....:)
Press 1 to proceed in English. Press 2 for Deportation.
Now there's a man who sounds like he's ready for Sam Kinison's "Are You Lonesome Tonight"
"First I'm gonna bother everybody I meet, and then I'll probably go home and get drunk."
Not needed, but thanks :-)
Press 1 to proceed in English. Press 2 for Deportation.
Glad to hear that!
"First I'm gonna bother everybody I meet, and then I'll probably go home and get drunk."
I would give my left nut for an Addams Family Gold machine that's been recently "shopped". /Greatest pinball EVAR. //Jurassic Park runs a close second.
The national nightmare has ended... Now begins two years of watching the Congress play "Kick the Gimp".
A lot of old coins ended up back into circulation as kids would bust into Dads' coin collection to get them quarters. It was a great time for collectors.
#2. To: orangedog (#0)
#3. To: orangedog (#0)
#4. To: mirage (#3)
We still have ours here....sorta.
#5. To: angle (#1)
Arcades live on the Boardwalk.
#6. To: Brian S (#2)
I still like to tangle with a good pinball machine but it is damn hard to find a decent one that is in top working order...
#7. To: orangedog (#4)
#8. To: orangedog (#0)
#9. To: YertleTurtle (#8)
#10. To: mirage (#7)
Ya, the mall arcades are pretty much toast. Around here we're left with Chuck E. Cheese, the movie theatre pseudo-arcades, and Wunderland.
#11. To: orangedog (#10)
Sure, new games are pretty...so was my ex wife at one time. But what they both are lacking is a soul.
#12. To: mirage (#11)
#13. To: orangedog (#12)
#14. To: mirage (#13)
Not needed
#15. To: Brian S (#2)
I still like to tangle with a good pinball machine but it is damn hard to find a decent one that is in top working order...
#16. To: orangedog (#0)
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