"That's a Baby's toy!"

[pewlagon]

Saw an old style light gun arcade game today. Put a quarter in. Three little kids gathered around to watch me humiliate myself. None of them any older than Frodo was in that infamous Back to the Future scene. As they watched they began snickering and laughing. After a bit one of the kids called to their parents. "Mom, this man is playing a baby game!" All I need now is a life perserver vest and a Dalorrean (sp).

[FatherXmas]

Many years ago, an old college friend and I went to an exhibit of arcade games on display at the regional science museum.  They were set up to play and while we could school the tweens in games like Battlezone, Missile Command and Tempest, they murdered us in games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat.

Just a few years ago we went to a Fandom convention (board games/anime/scifi/comics) and I had to put some distance between me and him because he insisted in trying out the Japanese DDR machine.  50 year old guy Vs pink hair anime fangirl...

[TimtheEnchanter]

Fracking smart-phone brats.

Pick me up, we're going to the 80's to play in a real arcade.

[Aggelakis]

My husband and I visited Flynn's Arcade at the California Adventure park next to Disneyland and he spent I don't know how many dollars putting coins in things and pushing buttons for like four hours straight, alongside other grown men putting coins in things and pushing buttons for hours. There was some serious man-squee from time to time.

[healix]

Fun should never go out of style!!!

https://i.imgur.com/bCpbx9y.jpg

[Dollhouse]

Fracking smart-phone brats.

Pick me up, we're going to the 80's to play in a real arcade.

Here in Portland, we have a real arcade...with a liquor license.  :D

[TimtheEnchanter]

My husband and I visited Flynn's Arcade at the California Adventure park next to Disneyland and he spent I don't know how many dollars putting coins in things and pushing buttons for like four hours straight, alongside other grown men putting coins in things and pushing buttons for hours. There was some serious man-squee from time to time.

When I went to the Tron Legacy sneak-peek, I got pretty darned misty-eyed when Sam switched on the circuit breaker at the arcade. If I went to the 'real' one, I'd probably need therapy.

Here in Portland, we have a real arcade...with a liquor license.  :D

I'm surprised they allow it. The nearest classic arcade out here doesn't allow food or drink indoors. Too many people spill stuff on the machines that they've taken such a long time to restore.

[dwturducken]

Here in Portland, we have a real arcade...with a liquor license.  :D

My sister lives in Portland. I've been putting off going out to visit. Now, I'm pricing Amtrak...

[JWBullfrog]

When I went to the Tron Legacy sneak-peek, I got pretty darned misty-eyed when Sam switched on the circuit breaker at the arcade. If I went to the 'real' one, I'd probably need therapy.

I'm surprised they allow it. The nearest classic arcade out here doesn't allow food or drink indoors. Too many people spill stuff on the machines that they've taken such a long time to restore.

The lights on the cabinets switch on, the screens flicker to life and Journey slowly winds back into audibility in the background.

Yeah. I can relate.

I had a bit of this while watching Wreck it Ralph. All of the classic game references that I spent time saying "I know that...and that...and that..."

[dwturducken]

I had a bit of this while watching Wreck it Ralph. All of the classic game references that I spent time saying "I know that...and that...and that..."

My son and I annoyed the pancake out of my wife doing this, and the Playstation 2 has been around longer than this kid. :)

[Kaiser Tarantula]

I mourned when the last video game arcade in my area finally closed up shop.  It was part of an old rollerskating rink.

On the last day it was open, I was the last one playing at closing time, enjoying my last few tokens on a Final Fight machine.  They kept the place open 'til I'd used up my last credit.  When I stepped away from the machine the manager came out, patted me on the shoulder and said, "Y'know, I wish more people knew how to have fun like you.  We might've stayed in business."

Probably the third saddest day in my life.

Never let anyone insult an arcade machine, or your choice to enjoy one.  Before Internet, before home consoles, before PC gaming, arcades were the cornerstone of video gaming, and any gamer who disrespects an arcade cabinet is disrespecting his history and origins as a gamer.

[Shenku]

I use to love going to arcades, but I rarely had the money to when I was little, and now that I'm older and have money, there's not many arcades around any more... There's a Game Works near where I live(They serve liquor there too, or at least they did the last time I was there...), but their selection of games seems smaller every time I go in...

Still, I don't feel as bad knowing I have this sucker in my living room right now:

https://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb456/Shenku85/IMG_0363_zps71c5baad.jpg

Still works 99.9%(there's a few lights that need replacing, but other wise everything works), makes a lot of racket, and I love every bit of it. Unfortunately, it belongs to two of my brothers, they have the keys to it, and if I ever want to play it I still have to spend quarters on it... :P

[Minotaur]

I use to love going to arcades, but I rarely had the money to when I was little, and now that I'm older and have money, there's not many arcades around any more... There's a Game Works near where I live(They serve liquor there too, or at least they did the last time I was there...), but their selection of games seems smaller every time I go in...

Still, I don't feel as bad knowing I have this sucker in my living room right now:

<image snipped>

Still works 99.9%(there's a few lights that need replacing, but other wise everything works), makes a lot of racket, and I love every bit of it. Unfortunately, it belongs to two of my brothers, they have the keys to it, and if I ever want to play it I still have to spend quarters on it... :P

That brings back memories, spent a load of coins on that machine when it was in the common room at my university in the mid 80s.

[FatherXmas]

I use to love going to arcades, but I rarely had the money to when I was little, and now that I'm older and have money, there's not many arcades around any more... There's a Game Works near where I live(They serve liquor there too, or at least they did the last time I was there...), but their selection of games seems smaller every time I go in...

Still, I don't feel as bad knowing I have this sucker in my living room right now:

Still works 99.9%(there's a few lights that need replacing, but other wise everything works), makes a lot of racket, and I love every bit of it. Unfortunately, it belongs to two of my brothers, they have the keys to it, and if I ever want to play it I still have to spend quarters on it... :P

Sweet.

[TimtheEnchanter]

The pinball machines that really stick out in my mind are Haunted House, and another Pac Man variant.

Haunted House had 2 levels of play, and by that I mean there was an entirely different level beneath the regular one, that was only visible at certain times. The main play level would 'vanish' and be replaced with the one beneath it via a simple trick of light.

The Pac Man pinball game I'm remembering was actually 2 games in 1. It had controls for both pinball and the arcade game, and there was a video screen built into scoreboard panel. Doing certain things on the pinball end would temporarily switch you over to the arcade game to play through one level of conventional Pac Man.

[Kaiser Tarantula]

The pinball machines that really stick out in my mind are Haunted House, ...

Haunted House had 2 levels of play, and by that I mean there was an entirely different level beneath the regular one, that was only visible at certain times. The main play level would 'vanish' and be replaced with the one beneath it via a simple trick of light.

Oh man.

It's incredible that you mention this, because the skating rink that I mentioned in my last post?  Had this very pinball machine, and it was the most-played pinball machine there.  Except that this one had three playfields - attic, cellar, and foyer, instead of just two.  You could only lose the ball on the main playfield, the foyer, so if you got good at knocking the ball into the attic or cellar 'secret passages' you could score ridiculous amounts of points.

It was a thing of beauty, and I kinda wish I could've been there, and been old enough, when the rink's stuff was auctioned off.  I would've bid on that machine (and that old Final Fight machine - I swear I had more time spent on that than anyone else) in a heartbeat.

[houtex]

Man.  I'm jealous of that Pac-Man pinball machine.

I still want my own sit down Star Wars arcade machine.  I understand the vector screens are *really* difficult to acquire... much less the whole box it comes in. :)

/And no, MAME isn't quite right.
//Finally got to play an ESB one, and... man did Atari mess that up. :p
///Oh, and a sit down Star Trek machine, and a Sinistar machine, and that Williams space motorcycle laserdisc machine, and that awesome F1 machine, and a Lunar Lander, and a Funhouse pinball , and a Black Knight 2000 pinball, and an old school not fixed Galaga, and a Dragon's Lair, and a Liberator, and a Missile Command, and a Hercules Pinball machine.
////I... don't know where I'd put all that.... oh an Exidy XWing.  Oh, and...

[MindBlender]

It may make us sound old talking about arcades of yesteryear, but I remember sneaking a mile away from my house to the bowling alley in Chicago just to play Galaga and Pac-Man for an hour.  The only way I get to stand up and play these days are at Dave & Busters or Chuck E Cheese (wait, that's kids games).  There was just something special about the sounds of an arcade.  Every game had it's own sound, but they would all come together to make that special "music".  The last arcade I was at was 10 years ago and I miss it.  Arcades were just that thing we miss, a group of people coming together for the same purpose...the love of playing games.

[dwturducken]

http://www.hanselman.com/blog/BuildingYourOwnArcadeCabinetForGeeksPart1TheCabinet.aspx

I'm sure, with a little knowledge of carpentry, a sit-down cabinet should be no problem. :)

[BobMc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL9qRWFhvdI