Any Other "Arcade Kids"?

[RadarScope1]

I did most of my gaming on consoles, but I got a lot in at the arcades. They always held a lot of wonder and "wow" factor because the games were so much "bigger and better" graphically and stylistically. I will admit that I didn't really take to the arcades until SF2 lit things up in the early 90s. Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, brawlers like the Simpons and X-Men spurred it on for me. Then came the age of truly big eye-candy like the Virtua Games, Namco fighters, Daytona, Ridge Racer, etc. Arcades were all about spectacle in the late 90s.

A big part of the arcades for me was watching how the console ports held up. It was always interesting to see how the home hardware was just behind the curve and watch it catch up -- until today when there's virtually no difference at all....

[cloudrat7]

ok, now i feel old, lol. i started playing arcades when i was about 9 years old. to be honest i've been to every arcade in new york city and i damn played in every one of them. even after the main consoles hit the scene (nes, snes, genesis) and so forth, i still played arcade machines. everything kind of died down about 2001- 2002. almost every arcade closed down, the market was flooded with consoles and games which contributed to it's downfall. it's a sad thing, i had alot of fun while it lasted and it lasted a long time, everytime i see an arcade machine somewhere in some corner of a pizzeria or a store, i still to this day stop and play. The finest memory i have is when street fighter 2 came out in the arcades, it was pure madness, i used to hang out in a pool hall in the middle of brooklyn till 3 am playing and holding tournaments. i actually beat someone in 12 seconds using E honda!! the place went nuts..lol, so yeah.. i'm in my thirties and i've played tons of arcade games thruout my lifetime, starting with the likes of space invaders and pacman. The last new arcade game i played was soul calibur 3. and i beat it with 1 quarter using astaroth. Suck it!! lol

[Haoie]

Ha, I went to the arcade today. And I go usually twice a week at lunch break.

No old retro games at my place though, unfortunately.

[Koopin_Krackerz]

I spent MANY quarters on the X-Men arcade game and TMNT arcade game. The Pizza Hut here had both and me and my friends and cousins would pour quarters into the machines. Also, for some reason skate parties were really cool when I was a middle schooler and I didn't skate so would play a lot of pinball and more X-Men while everyone skated. If I ever make enough money, I will buy a X-Men arcade machine.

[indecks]

I was huge into the arcade scene in the early 90s. I always went to arcades but when Street Fighter II hit, it was a maelstrom of games, and arcades just exploded - and I loved it. I have some very very good memories of playing SF2, early NeoGeo games like Blue's Journey for the first time, Golden Axe, Forgotten Worlds, etc. Austin has *maybe* one arcade left in the whole city which is a crying shame. It's downtown and I rarely go downtown, and even if I did, I wouldn't want to play one of the 50 Dance Dance Revolution machines (and their clones) they have there.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again... DDR and games like that ruined arcades. The space the games take/took up, the cost, the annoying music, the idiot kids that played them. I know that consoles catching up and surpassing arcade tech was also part of it, but I remember when one of my local arcades got rid of several Neo MVS machines and a classic Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting (my favorite version) to make room for some DDR machines. Ruined that arcade. Guess where that arcade is now? Dead.

Sorry about the rant.

[REPO Man]

ok, now i feel old, lol. i started playing arcades when i was about 9 years old. to be honest i've been to every arcade in new york city and i damn played in every one of them. even after the main consoles hit the scene (nes, snes, genesis) and so forth, i still played arcade machines. everything kind of died down about 2001- 2002. almost every arcade closed down, the market was flooded with consoles and games which contributed to it's downfall. it's a sad thing, i had alot of fun while it lasted and it lasted a long time, everytime i see an arcade machine somewhere in some corner of a pizzeria or a store, i still to this day stop and play. The finest memory i have is when street fighter 2 came out in the arcades, it was pure madness, i used to hang out in a pool hall in the middle of brooklyn till 3 am playing and holding tournaments. i actually beat someone in 12 seconds using E honda!! the place went nuts..lol, so yeah.. i'm in my thirties and i've played tons of arcade games thruout my lifetime, starting with the likes of space invaders and pacman. The last new arcade game i played was soul calibur 3. and i beat it with 1 quarter using astaroth. Suck it!! lol

Tell me about it. But when you think about it, arcades aren't really dying. I mean, the boxing game in Wii Sports could NEVER compare with Mocap Boxing (worked up quite a sweat on that one). And a big 1000inch (exajj)-screen for House of the Dead could NEVER compare with playing House of the Dead 3 on my Xbox. And same with:

* Dance Dance Revolution (not Pump It Up)
* Racing games (you just NEED to have that driving cabinet)
* and so on and so forth

But at least with new arcade innovations (multicabs, GlobalVR machines running FPS, touchscreen games), we know that it can still keep kicking for years.

Also, why don't they just up the ante? I mean, sure they can't compete with the graphics and sound of current systems, but with games with non-traditional control schemes (DDR, Guitar Hero, lightgun games, etc), they could still find a niche. Also, if they find a way to adapt music games like Guitar Hero into an arcade game (like it's THAT hard), they could offer things you can't get on the home version, like being able to play your music (via iPod, MP3 player, CD, etc). And with Geometry Wars, they could make multiplayer versions. And with GlobalVR's technology, they could even bring games like Metroid, Halo, and others to arcades. It's all about innovation, like the kind that you CAN'T do on a home console.

[Doctor Fugue]

Also, why don't they just up the ante? I mean, sure they can't compete with the graphics and sound of current systems

Are you saying the Lindbergh and Taito Type X2 games look much better on home consoles? I would disagree; they look almost identical. Those boards have some serious specs.

Also, if they find a way to adapt music games like Guitar Hero into an arcade game (like it's THAT hard)

Ummm...ever hear of Guitar Freaks? Guitar Hero is a popular rip-off of that 1998 Konami ARCADE classic.

And with GlobalVR's technology, they could even bring games like Metroid, Halo, and others to arcades. It's all about innovation, like the kind that you CAN'T do on a home console.

Exactly how is bringing f@#%ing FPS games to an arcade being innovative?! And what is so special about Global VR's "technology"...which to me seems like just a bunch of licenced games forced into multiplayer cabs.

You say you want games that can't be done on a home console, so why mention Metroid and Halo...which, last time I checked, were on home consoles.

[manillaungol]

[REPO Man]

Are you saying the Lindbergh and Taito Type X2 games look much better on home consoles? I would disagree; they look almost identical. Those boards have some serious specs.

No, I'm not. But then again, I've never really SEEN an actual game running on those boards.

Ummm...ever hear of Guitar Freaks? Guitar Hero is a popular rip-off of that 1998 Konami ARCADE classic.

I've heard OF it. But if I remember correctly, GH is much different control wise. GF has 3 buttons, a pink lever (for strumming) and a small metal knob for adjusting the audio. GH, however, has a similar, but different controller. So, technically, that's like saying Pump It Up, which uses diagonal arrows and a center button, ripped of DDR, which has four basic arrows (up, down, left, right).

Exactly how is bringing f@#%ing FPS games to an arcade being innovative?! And what is so special about Global VR's "technology"...which to me seems like just a bunch of licenced games forced into multiplayer cabs.

Do you know of the Vortek cabinets? They run FPS games in special cabs with VR-style helmets. Check out the sell sheet

I mean, can YOU do that at home? Actually be immersed in it? No. All you can hope for is a big-ass HDTV and a high-end sound system.

You say you want games that can't be done on a home console, so why mention Metroid and Halo...which, last time I checked, were on home consoles.

Takes these two games for example. Both can be done on home consoles, but while they are more convenient and less expensive than $1 in quarters per play, they lack the one thing these have... immersion.

Take the Aliens cab, for example. One could port a more arcade-friendly Halo and add something for moving around and such.

[ott0bot]

ok, now i feel old, lol. i started playing arcades when i was about 9 years old. to be honest i've been to every arcade in new york city and i damn played in every one of them. even after the main consoles hit the scene (nes, snes, genesis) and so forth, i still played arcade machines. everything kind of died down about 2001- 2002. almost every arcade closed down, the market was flooded with consoles and games which contributed to it's downfall. it's a sad thing, i had alot of fun while it lasted and it lasted a long time, everytime i see an arcade machine somewhere in some corner of a pizzeria or a store, i still to this day stop and play. The finest memory i have is when street fighter 2 came out in the arcades, it was pure madness, i used to hang out in a pool hall in the middle of brooklyn till 3 am playing and holding tournaments. i actually beat someone in 12 seconds using E honda!! the place went nuts..lol, so yeah.. i'm in my thirties and i've played tons of arcade games thruout my lifetime, starting with the likes of space invaders and pacman. The last new arcade game i played was soul calibur 3. and i beat it with 1 quarter using astaroth. Suck it!! lol

I'm a little younger than you (27) but similar exerience. I started going to arcades in the mid eighties when i was like 5 or 6. My brother is 3 years older and was a total video game junkie so we were always there. We had an awesome arcade in town at the mall, plus a hot dog joint with tons of games, the bowling alley right accross the street from my high school had some great stuff, and another ghetto pool hall downtown with some decent games. We also had a 7-11 with some great games. Does anyone else remember when 7-11 used to be a hang out with video games? If we were really lucky we'd go to Family Fun Center in Omaha. Three stories of any game you could think of, and lots of old school...but i hear it's changed too.

I played alot of the Tron arcade game, especially the light cycle game! Street Fighter II really changed things and competions were everywhere. I pissed off quite a few people by getting good at Dhalsim. Everyone made fun of me, until I got a perfect on them! MK was huge here in the arcades, but MK 2 is where the competition really picked up. Samurai Showdown 2 was my favorite. I used to beat people down with Ukyo!

I played alot of acrade games until I graduated high school, but even then game rooms got smaller or closed down. And the ones that stayed open were filled with basketball games, racing games, and shooting games. Shmups really died out here, but we still had some decent fighters. But these days you just don't get the same scummy, slightly odd smelling, dark as hell game room feel. I don't really have fun at Gameworks, and the machines at most places small places are in disrepair.

Oh well...the good 'ol days...blah blah....