the sad state of today's arcades

[Kid Ice]

Ahh, a trip to the Jersey shore...the beach, the food, the drinks, the moonlit nights, the cool breezes, the company, and most importantly, the arcades...back in the day, a trip to the shore = gaming bliss. I recently made such a trip, with no less than $30 in quarters. I returned with about $25 in quarters (thanks, Skee ball). What happened?

I have not been blind to the painful decline of the American arcade. Maybe I shouldn't complain at all. Who would've predicted that better-than arcade perfect ports would begin arriving on home consoles? In the Atari 2600 era, it was only a question of how much the game would be compromised. I was perfectly happy to live with a Defender with a disappearing ship, a Berzerk with no voices, Asteroids that only moved vertically. I was less than satisified with weak ports of Donkey Kong, Gyruss, and the poster boy of rotten arcade ports, Pac Man. And I was heartbroken by the "Un-VCS-able" no shows; Tempest, Robotron, and Galaga.

Slowly but surely, console games caught up. Street Fighter 2 (SNES) and Mortal Kombat (Genny) were darn close. Then with the 3DO, Saturn, and PSX, the term "arcade-perfect" started getting tossed around. Then MAME. Then Tekken 3, Crazy Taxi, Soul Caliber, Marvel vs. Capcom 2...in your HOUSE!

So it shouldn't be surprising that arcades fell back on gimmicks. Redemption games! Spend 10 bucks in tokens for a prize worth 50 cents. OK, fair enough, at least there's a little gaming involved, shooting basketballs, slamming crocodiles with mallets, stepping on big white buttons. Fine.

But then there's the not fine part. Then there's the part that I saw on my last trip to the shore. Then there's the gambling games. The Poker games. The slot machines. The cranes. And that one where you throw your quarter into a huge pile of quarters, so that your quarter will become part of the huge pile. That's fun.

I remember the first time I ever played Defender. It was in a restaurant called The Library. It was called The Library because the walls were covered with shelves of used books. You could take one of those books home for nothing, as long as you paid for your over-priced dinner. I wasn't interested in those books. I was interested in that arcade game in the back room. Ineterested because when you died, your ship exploded into a beautiful array of white stars, burning bright, then fading away. I watched others play. I couldn't wait for them to die, so I could see that explosion effect. I begged my dad for quarters. I used them to kill myself so I could see that glorious explosion. He said that machine was stealing money.

It wasn't stealing money, Dad. It was introducing me to beauty... the beauty I hadn't found in Saturday morning cartoons, animals, comic books, songs, or sunsets. I spent the next day of school ignoring the teacher, writing it over and over and over on my shopping bag book covers...Defender Defender Defender Defender.

Today? Sorry Junior, you're not going home with a memorable experience, your initials immortalized, a console port to look forward to, a logo to emblazen on your book covers, something to dream about. You're going home with a spider ring. If you spend enough quarters, you're going home with a Sponge Bob back-scratcher. Talk about stealing money.

[RoboticParanoia]

Bravo.

I don't even have an arcade near me. Just GameWorks (which doesn't have any classic game) and Main Event (which I haven't been to).

There's this seafood resteraunt nearby that does have Galaga and an arcade version of Super Mario Bros. in a Donkey Kong cabinent. Movie theaters have some classic games (mainly Galaga, Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, or etc.).

My greatest arcade find was this coffee shop about 30 minutes away that has Asteroids in a cocktail table and Pac Man in a cocktail table as well. That was a great day.

[scooterb23]

If you spend enough quarters, you're going home with a Sponge Bob back-scratcher.

Ooh...how many tickets does that take??

Really, I know that arcades have gone downhill in the past few years...but I find the experience with a few good friends is just as rewarding as it ever has been to me.

Last night, a bunch of my cow-orkers and I from COSI went to Magic Mountain for some Laser Tag and other random frivolity. I introduced everyone to DDR (they looked at me like a god because I perfect comboed a 2-foot song I'm a 2-3 foot player at best... ) I nearly beat up one of my supervisors because of my prowess at the Batman pinball machine, as he hates to lose he tried to push me away from it...he's half my size I scored 100 Million, he had 23 Mil!! A couple of games of air hockey and Skee Ball later, they closed, but it was the best time I've had in an arcade in 20 years!!!

So I'll submit that while the games aren't the best...there is still a heck of a lot of fun to be had in arcades today.

[hikura]

I have to agree.Todays acrade(in my area) really do suck.Most of the games now are redemption games or rythm games.I personally do not have anything against rythm games but redemption games are thievery.I am lucky person in the sense that i do have one good(only good not great) acrade in my area.They do have lots of older games but not alot of the good ones.Plus they do not upkeep the games to much which is a problem.If they had more of the older games and upkept them they could be easily the best arcade in my area for many of miles around.I remember our used to have loads of great game rooms but that is a bygon era.Do not get me wrong i do enjoy having great game systems at home but i also enjoy going out with friends and socializing with others plus there is nothing like stepping into an arcade with the lights and sounds with friends to have fun.

[RetroYoungen]

I'm not going to say that arcades nowadays SUCK, but I will say that they're dying a slow and painful death. True, it's so sad that the days of the high score are pretty much gone, but there are some fun games still in arcades: most of them rhythm games. But pretty much any and every arcade I've been to in a long time has had a Neo Geo set-up. In the Golfland Sunsplash arcade in Sacramento I've been to, there's a Neo Geo machine with King of Fighters 2001 (I THINK 2001), Samurai Showdown III, and a few other fighters. The Grid is well represented, and Bust-a-Move is still a great game in a lot of my arcades.

IMO, it's not about how good or bad the arcade games are, it's the fact that no one truly respects or visits arcades anymore, except people like us. Dead are most of the days of the mainstream groups of friends just to play and hang out. So, so sad.

...

We need a Tempest at my local 'cade... that'd work...

[Dire 51]

My local laundromat has a better selection of arcade games than most arcades do these days... hell, that place has Capcom Vs. SNK, Metal Slug 3, Bust-A-Move, Cruisin' USA, Strikers 1945 II, Area 51/Maximum Force, Ms. Pac-Man, and a soccer game. I've been in I don't know how many arcades that have a less varied selection then my damned laundromat does.

[devilman]

The situation's no better in the UK. I went to Blackpool the other week for a night out and on the following day we did a few arcades. They're virtually ALL the same. Each arcade consists of...

Daytona
Sega Rally
Numerous Crane machines
Lots of fruit machines to hook the kids in at an early age
The occasional DDR game (but never something like Guitar Freaks)
Virtua Tennis

At least the price-per-go has come down on some of these older games. Sadly, the machines weren't terribly well looked after so a couple of pound coins were wasted.

Maybe I'm just getting old, but the experience of an arcade isn't what it used to be for me.

[Duncan]

I will agree that most arcades today suck. I went to Dave & Buster's up in Denver a while back (a place that you could loosely call an arcade) and, apart from Tekken 4 and the ever-present Pac-Man, was surpised to find very few machines that actually require real gaming talent -- as opposed to dancing, skiing, driving or shooting talents.

However, there are alternatives. For instance, if you ever happen to be in the Colorado Springs area, take a trip down to Manitou Springs and check out Arcade Amusements. The place is a winding cavern of gaming goodness, featuring anything from classic pinball and mechanical games up to absolutely golden hits like the Simpsons beat-em-up. There's also a nice big Skee-Ball room, and a few of those evil quarter-stacking machines (which are somewhat addictive, actually -- "look, that one's about to fall!"). I highly recommend the experience if you get a chance someday.

But then, that's also the only dedicated arcade I can think of in town. Everything else is either combined with other amusements (like mini-golf or go-karts) or gone entirely. Boardwalk USA was one of the best in town back in the mid-1990s or so; then they got bought out and slipped away. And there was a Bally arcade at the mall long ago, but its space was taken over by a movie theater expansion a while back.

It is sort of depressing when you think about it -- I have a lot of good arcade memories, at least. But when the first disc consoles arrived and blew everyone away, we all really knew it was only a matter of time. Didn't we?

Duncan

[grayejectbutton]

Ah, the plight of the good old arcade. 'Tis a tragedy, for sure, but the truth is that people are far more likely to play video games at home than they are at an arcade.

I still remember the good days. Back in the mid to late 80's when I was a kid, we would go to a nice arcade in Southwold in Suffolk (UK). I still remember many of the classic games they had, including Outrun, After Burner, Operation Wolf, Rainbow Islands, Star Wars, Ghosts 'n' Goblins, Thunderblade and the original Space Invaders.

Happy days.

[BHvrd]

They should just go ahead and strap some muscle dudes icon on every Arcade and change the name Arcade to Belittiling Aerobic Recreational Fitness, aka, BARF.

[Delgrace]

The last arcade I went to was awhile back, maybe this time last year, down at the Gold Coast. I can't remember many of the games there, but I DO remember seeing a badass Metal Slug cab (not sure which MS it was...possibly 4). So I reached into my wallet for my shiny $1 coins, looked around for the coinslot...and there wasn't any. Turns out the machines only took these special credit card things that you could purchase from the arcade; I THINK the cheapest one was...25 bucks? I didn't even have $25 on me at the time, and if I did, I sure as hell wasn't going to spend it on an arcade card I've only seen taken at one arcade.

Was saddening. I wanted to play that Metal Slug.

[YoshiM]

However, there are alternatives. For instance, if you ever happen to be in the Colorado Springs area, take a trip down to Manitou Springs and check out Arcade Amusements. The place is a winding cavern of gaming goodness, featuring anything from classic pinball and mechanical games up to absolutely golden hits like the Simpsons beat-em-up. There's also a nice big Skee-Ball room, and a few of those evil quarter-stacking machines (which are somewhat addictive, actually -- "look, that one's about to fall!"). I highly recommend the experience if you get a chance someday.

Ooo! Ooo! I was there. I concur, awesome place. But just go there after Memorial Day as a lot of the machines were turned off outside. There's also a Penny Arcade I'd like to go to there, but alas it was closed.

[Darth Sensei]

I remember when you could go anywhere and find arcade games. In my small town on the outskirts of Grand Rapids, Michigan we had 2 video arcades. There were also games in the drugstores, gas stations, some resteraunts, etc.

In fact, my doctor asked me (I was 12 at the time) if I thought he should buy a Pac-Man machine for his lobby. He was dead serious.

I was the king of Asteroids. I'll never forget the first time I realized that I was good enough to play as long as I wanted. I had to go home for curfew and I had played 4 hours on one quarter. Kids were all around watching. I was the shiznit.

So, I too lament the loss of the arcade experience. Now that I'm older and actually have the disposable income that experience really can't be purchased anymore.

Why don't the independent businesses that sell vintage VG's have a few arcade machines in their stores? I'd think that they'd pay for themselves and the space as well as add atmosphere.

Well, today I'm going to Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum. http://marvin3m.com/

I can't wait to get my hands on Asteroids, Pac-man, and the rest again today. I can finally be the one with the roll of quarters.

Dave

[Dire 51]

Hmmm... I have to wonder whatever happened to that Hot Circuits traveling arcade (sponsored by the American Museum Of The Moving Image) from the early '90s?

[kainemaxwell]

The arcade in my mall (Rockaway Mall, NJ) sucks too. Has alot of redemption games, skeeball and DDR, but also has mainly gun games, racing, and a few others like Die Hard Arcade, Guantlet Dark legacy and MK4. About the only classic game it has is Galaga.

[yanni111]

Duncan thats awesome that the place in Colorado Springs has the old Simpsons game!!!! Does anyone know of any place on the east coast that has this thing too? Id give my right arm to play that again!! I remember a few years ago seeing a pc copy of on floppy disk but i was told it didnt work.
Hey anyone know if there is an emulator of the simpsons arcade game?

[Dire 51]

It's been playable on MAME for quite some time now.

[SoulBlazer]

I was VERY lucky in that, going to school at Plymouth State College in NH, to be only 20 minutes away from one of the best arcades in the country --

Funspot at Weirs Beach, NH.

A LOT of classic arcade games, and a lot of fun, and they also had some nice modern games in there as well. I spent many a hour there with my friends.

[spoon]

I used to love to go down to the local arcade and kick some ass at the various Street Fighter cab's they had. I remeber how awesome our local arcade was. Then, the crap games started rolling in, and I knew it was over. Sure enough, it closed a few months later.

I used ti wirk at a used game store that had a Gauntlet machine. Played the hell ouit of it, and, so did the little kids who came in. Someone mentioned that the stores that sell older games, (Gamestop,Game Crazy, Babbages), should have a machine in their store. That would be awesome. Don't know if they would ever do it though.

They used to have a that Simpsons beat 'em up at the Pizza Hut in Adrian MI. Changed it out for Mortal Kombat 2 about two-three years ago.

[buttasuperb]

I have an arcade in my house.

But yea arcades have gone to crap big time. I went to the arcade I used to always go to playing SF, MK for hours straight. I walked in the place, and the area where all the good games were, was reduced in half. Besides that, the only fighter they had in the place was Tekken 3. I spent a quarter on that, and one on Galaga and left in disgust.

At least I did find a place near me that had SvC pretty soon after release. Also had SF3, SFA3, KoF2001, CvS2, MvC2, and 19xx. I was shocked.