Arcade's how I miss them

[DerekG52]

I don't know of any full time arcade around here anymore (Delaware). The closest is Dave & Busters in Philly, but that has to mix games with a full restaurant and bar to be successful. The boardwalk at the Delaware beaches has a few arcades which are always packed to the brim during the summer. To this day I still try to find the Crypt Killer arcade as that was my favorite years ago. That or any racing game like Daytona USA or Cruisin' that my girlfriend will play with me. Always choose manual transmission, always.

[Medical Dust]

I miss them as well as you, but here in Portland I probably have it easier than most y'all for we have Ground Kontrol (one of the best retro arcades in the states) and two Wunder Land nickel arcades!

What I really miss, is how none of my gaming friends are very enthusiastic about going to the arcade with me.

[CRTGAMER]

What I really miss, is how none of my gaming friends are very enthusiastic about going to the arcade with me.

A sad reality for demise of Arcades. Maybe with all the YLODs and RRODs a resurgence of the arcade will happen.

[MentalMan]

Where I live we barely really had Arcades. But we do had Arcade Machines at the ususal places, like theme parks or in movie theaters.

Only ever when I was in Munich I saw a real huge arcade. Oh boy that was nice, had everything. From Street Fighter to Mortal Kombat. From super hang-on up to manx t.t and daytona usa. Of course a sega rally too! And ton's of other games. The best thing i've ever seen.

The little places where I got my Sega Rally and Daytona fix where alright though. Funny thing is, most of the time I had no problem just jumping on them and playing for as long as I feel like. Maybe that was part of its demise. Nobody really cared about it, and most adults sucked at it, took it for a joke and never played again.

Which, to this date I dont understand. Its not like Sega Rally screams Kids Toy. Everyone can enjoy that, but only ever the kids did. At least they didnt suck at it, lol.

Around the launch of the Dreamcast in 98/99 all those places started to kick arcade games out. Never to be seen again. Some go-kart hall had a old Daytona USA, and that was my last play of it. Around 99 I guess. At least it was 2 player with my brother

I sure wish I could have experienced the late 80s and early 90s of arcade enthusiasm of the USA. Or even better, japan. Where there's still enough arcades around. Where over here, I havent seen one in a decade now. Wow, sad. And then Dreamcast died, and arcade goodness with it. Grah, todays idea of gaming sucks.

edit: Oh yea I just remember. Around the demise, many places got all snippy when you asked them to turn the damn things on. If you leave them off, how can you expect it to be worth your investment as a business man. And if you ask them to please power them up, you get a stupid look and a sigh with a slow move towards the power outlets. And segata sanshiro forbid, dont ever touch these yourself! Oh no no!

[wakeup]

Went back to Hong Kong for a vacation last year. There were arcades everywhere and each arcade had plenty of people in it, not to mention the arcades were pretty damn big.

Even in Vancouver, there are some arcades here and there. The most popular being the one in Metrotown (the biggest mall in Vancouver). That place is always packed, loud, no room to move and hard to breathe. The place is equal to the size of 3 typical small clothing stores in malls. Everyone there is like high school kids and it is definitely still thriving, might even be the most profitable store in the mall...

[Weekend_Warrior]

Went back to Hong Kong for a vacation last year. There were arcades everywhere and each arcade had plenty of people in it, not to mention the arcades were pretty damn big.

Even in Vancouver, there are some arcades here and there. The most popular being the one in Metrotown (the biggest mall in Vancouver). That place is always packed, loud, no room to move and hard to breathe. The place is equal to the size of 3 typical small clothing stores in malls. Everyone there is like high school kids and it is definitely still thriving, might even be the most profitable store in the mall...

Hmm. That poses an interesting question - what keeps their interest in going to the arcade? Perhaps someone should research this more in depth and release it as a documentary entitled "Death of the American Video Arcade" or something to that effect? Sounds like something I'd like to watch and learn more about

[wakeup]

Went back to Hong Kong for a vacation last year. There were arcades everywhere and each arcade had plenty of people in it, not to mention the arcades were pretty damn big.

Even in Vancouver, there are some arcades here and there. The most popular being the one in Metrotown (the biggest mall in Vancouver). That place is always packed, loud, no room to move and hard to breathe. The place is equal to the size of 3 typical small clothing stores in malls. Everyone there is like high school kids and it is definitely still thriving, might even be the most profitable store in the mall...

Hmm. That poses an interesting question - what keeps their interest in going to the arcade. Perhaps someone should research this more in depth and release it as a documentary entitled "Death of the American Video Arcade" or something to that effect?

I think its just because Vancouver is heavily populated by Asian immigrants and one of the culture they bring to Vancouver is the arcade. Its just a culture thing I think just like how Canada loves hockey or Asians love soccer.

[Octopod]

It doesn't help that negative associations with arcade was present in the 80's and 90's, such as a place for playing hokey on school days, a opportunity for drug dealers to distribute drugs to young kids, the dirty atmosphere (look at the early the Simpsons eps); which was the reason that Chuck E. Cheese came to rise.

That is part of what made them fun...



There are still arcades near me but it is not the same. I think it is that atmosphere that is lacking. Not sure. There are several in Hampton Beach and Salisbury Beach though. I usually go in the summer.

[the7k]

I've got a dream of running my own arcade. I think it can work, if you put the effort into figuring out how to make it work. Most of the arcades in my town have died (with the exception of Chuck E Cheese), and I honestly lay the blame on the people running the arcades.

They would just sit there at the desk, waiting for people to bring tickets to them to give them shiny little trinkets - one arm on the desk barely supporting their bored face. Have all the flashing lights and loud pop music you want, the place just felt dead.

I feel like the first thing you'd have to do to make a successful arcade is not make it just an arcade. Places like Chuck E Cheese and Dave & Busters survive by the fact that they get people in there with the promise of other activities like eating, drinking and watching sports on a big TV. If I ran an arcade, I'd also sell video game-related merchandise (anything from stuffed Nintendo characters to Street Fighter comic books) and buy/sell used video games. This would give people a reason to come in (and it would mean less grease all over my joysticks, unlike CEC and D&B.)

Then, you gotta get stuff people are actually going to play. You wouldn't believe how many arcades went out of business here when all they had were redemption games and Namco classics. Redemption is crap, and any system out there will allow you to get a playable version of Pac-Man and Galaga. You gotta go for the games that get constant play (MvC2, SF3:TS, NBA Jam), games that are new and not available/still pricy on consoles (BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, Red Earth, Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3), and a few unique-but-good games that will set your place apart from the rest (Jackie Chan In Fists of Fire will do perfectly.)

And then, finally, actually do something! Never once did any of the arcades in my area organize tournaments with prizes, limited-time reduced prices for tokens, or anything. I'd honestly do a tournament every freaking week, hopping from one game to another to keep any fresh meat from being discouraged from participating.

Of course, this is all me speaking from theory. I have no idea how hard or easy it really is to run an arcade... but I am pretty sure that doing these things could have saved at least a few of the ones that shut down in my hometown.

[CRTGAMER]

Come to think of it Arcades are big in Vegas. Kids have no Game Consoles and responsible parents are at the slots, what's a kid to do. There is also the Pinball Museum there, you can test the exhibits.