amusement park arcades are a joke.

Because classics don't make any money. You're looking at pulling a few dollars on a classic game versus hundreds a week on some newer ones. If they did still make money it would be a different story and there would be incentive to pick up older stuff. Sadly that is pretty much the case everywhere but where arcades have a hard enough time as it is, they aren't going to dedicate space to a game that no one plays.
 
The new ticket version of Seawolf is sweet though. Gets Lots of play too.

Because classics don't make any money. You're looking at pulling a few dollars on a classic game versus hundreds a week on some newer ones. If they did still make money it would be a different story and there would be incentive to pick up older stuff. Sadly that is pretty much the case everywhere but where arcades have a hard enough time as it is, they aren't going to dedicate space to a game that no one plays.
 
I hate to say it but 80s era arcades are gone. For that matter 90s are gone too and if there not then they will be soon
 
The new ticket version of Seawolf is sweet though. Gets Lots of play too.

Oh yeah, on modern games which are updates of classics then it's a different thing all together. I would love to get a video-only version of Sea Wolf: The Next Mission for my arcade one day soon, especially because they are around $3000 last I checked. Same thing with Pac-Man Battle Royale, which I think will do very well. But it baffles me how people expect to see arcades of today packed with actual classics. I have nothing against them, in fact I have a few in my own arcade but they don't earn well at all and tend to break down often.
 
I see a lot of dad's just standing around waiting for there kids
I bet they would playing too if a classic or two was around.
 
I worked at Cedar Point in Ohio for a couple of days last week doing a commercial for one of their rides. On my way to the restroom I noticed that I was right by the arcade. I had heard about it but had not seen it for many years so I went in to take a quick peek. Man, it is massive! Ya, plenty of drivers, DDR's and other newer games. But scattered among them was quite a few classics. I found a couple of Pacs and Mrs Pacs, Berzerk, Defender, Robotron, Centipede, Gorf, some older standup EM gun games, and some that I canot remember. There was a wall of about 20 EM pins caped at each end with a Hercules pin. I was saddened by the fact that the games were well worn and looked to be in need of some love. Monitors were either out of adjustment or in need of a rebuild. In their defense, with that many games it must be quite a chore to maintain. I would love to go back and have the time to play and take some pictures. Maybe someone else knows this arcade better. It was a pleasant site to see classics still making money and providing entertainment.
 
I see a lot of dad's just standing around waiting for there kids
I bet they would playing too if a classic or two was around.

Perhaps, I see that happen on occasion but even then a classic game simply can't make the money a DDR can. The management at amusement parks probably could care less about the content inside of the arcade and just look at a spreadsheet to see what earns well. I don't disagree with you that it would be cool to see classics in amusement parks. The problem all boils down to money though. That and it's so easy to buy a classic game at home that many I have talked to don't have interest in playing something they own on a console or PC already when they come across a real, original cabinet. The home versions are "good enough" for them.

I have a Warlords cocktail in my arcade. People walk up to it all the time and check it out but 95% never play it. They sit there with a confused look on their face and they aren't impressed with it graphically then walk away. I go out of my way to goad people into playing it. When I can get people to play it, they love it, in fact it will earn accolades from players who claim it's the best game they have ever played. But even then the game has been making about $3-4 a week or less at times. Crystal Castles - 25¢-75¢ a week average with occasional spurts of it making a couple of dollars. I have a multicade with stuff like Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Dig Dug and a few others that does better but it's still far below any of the newer stuff I own. I want to see more classic play but I have to almost beg people to try it all out, no matter what their age. I doubt anyone at an amusement park cares enough to have to put that much effort into a game. :(
 
I disagree with you for several reasons. First, I think you're just going to the wrong places. Some parks are still running some classics. Canobie Lake Park in Salem, NH has several arcades, hundreds of games and tons of classics, going as far back as EM games. Next, you've got 60-in-1 boards (or similar) popping up everywhere. Yeah, they're not in their classic cabs but they are still the games that we know and love. Lastly, you occasionally have companies like Namco releasing their classic games like the pac/galaga class of 81 reunion machine which I've seen everywhere. These parks want to buy (or lease) new machines. They're not into restoring barn and warehouse salvages. Blame the manufacturers for not re-releasing more classics.
 
One thing to think about is if classics were still on route making $100's a week, there would be no way in hell you would be able to get them CHEAP!!! Ops would hold onto EVERYTHING!!!

Only thing classics are now is filler pieces in large arcades.

Brian
 
Just sayin. Where are all the classics. Just stupid shit like guitar hero and DDR and fast and furious


Same reason there wasn't any cork guns, penny arcades or 1950's mechanical games in the arcades when we were kids.

Arcades are there to make money and stock the things people want to play. No one wants to play "classics" - they are boring as hell and ANCIENT technology.

Don't let your nostalgic feelings cloud your brain and make you think the classics are still fun. VAST majority of the 1970's/1980's classics are repetitive, boring with little to no replay value.

Of course those games were bad ass when we were kids because we had never seen anything like it and you had to use some imagination.

I still love the sounds and game play of the old games because that's what we had back then. But, holy hell, those games are boooooooring.

The kids now will grow up and ask where all their 'classics' have gone in the arcades in 2030 too.
 
Well, the arcade at Cedar Point in Ohio has plenty of classics. And one of the former techs is a member here. Maybe he will chime in.
 
Same reason there wasn't any cork guns, penny arcades or 1950's mechanical games in the arcades when we were kids.

Arcades are there to make money and stock the things people want to play. No one wants to play "classics" - they are boring as hell and ANCIENT technology.

Don't let your nostalgic feelings cloud your brain and make you think the classics are still fun. VAST majority of the 1970's/1980's classics are repetitive, boring with little to no replay value.

Of course those games were bad ass when we were kids because we had never seen anything like it and you had to use some imagination.

I still love the sounds and game play of the old games because that's what we had back then. But, holy hell, those games are boooooooring.

The kids now will grow up and ask where all their 'classics' have gone in the arcades in 2030 too.

I disagree. I'm a fairly young arcade hobbyist (24). I wasn't alive, or I didn't have the means to play in many arcades pre-1996, so now that I've come to start playing more classic games, I find that I really enjoy them a lot more than modern games most of the time. New games for the most part, are just overly complex, and have to be more extreme than anything out there. Classic games are simple to play, yet difficult. I find many classics to be MUCH harder than modern games. Modern games, you get stuck and don't know what to do... classic games, you keep getting killed, and having to go back to the beginning.
 
I think this is the story of almost every "arcade." At least in these parts. I have a Boomers (Family Fun Center) down the street and the arcade is just terrible. Same deal with movie theaters, bowling alleys, etc.

I think the closest good arcade, not counting personal collections, that I know of is Starbase Arcade (www.starbasearcade.com) in San Rafael. It's a bit of a drive for me so I've never been, but I've heard good things. One of these days, I'll try to make it out there and support what seems to be the last real arcade in the SF Bay Area.

Unfortunately, we just have to accept that with the emergence of the modern consoles, most arcades will only consist of DDR, Drivers, Shooters, 1 Ms. Pac/Galaga Reunion, 1 Ultracade, and redemption games.

But I guess that's why many of us choose to collect the games we love to preserve that part of our lives that seems to slowly fade away as time goes on. I'm still very happy that I have a couple of original cabinets of games I played as a kid as I will probably never see them in public again.
 
Blame the manufacturers for not re-releasing more classics.

This attitude is common in the Linux/Windows fight, too and most of the Linux guys miss the point the same way.

We're zealots. The arcade owners are capitalists. We're happy to lose money if it means preserving a classic. They're not. They want the market majority (kids). Not us. If they could make money re-releasing classics, they would, but compare the $ made on a classic where an occasional 30-something drops buy to play it versus another guitar/DDR/redemption game where the teens and younger line up to drop in their parents' money, and the decision is clear.

It's not an opinion poll about whether the classic games are any good. It's economics.

I agree with the earlier poster. If there are EMs, classics, etc in any existing arcades, they won't be there for long. The days of the classic arcade are gone. Time to build 'em in our homes!
 
Well, the arcade at Cedar Point in Ohio has plenty of classics. And one of the former techs is a member here. Maybe he will chime in.

They certainly do. I went last year here's a few pics...... - Barry
 

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Wow, nice selection of games with a lot of room to spare. Sweet Rowe change machine as well. Again, I wish there was some place like that around here. :(

There's actually quite a few more games in there with the newer stuff in the front. I thought I had taken more pics..... - Barry
 
This attitude is common in the Linux/Windows fight, too and most of the Linux guys miss the point the same way.

We're zealots. The arcade owners are capitalists. We're happy to lose money if it means preserving a classic. They're not. They want the market majority (kids). Not us. If they could make money re-releasing classics, they would, but compare the $ made on a classic where an occasional 30-something drops buy to play it versus another guitar/DDR/redemption game where the teens and younger line up to drop in their parents' money, and the decision is clear.

It's not an opinion poll about whether the classic games are any good. It's economics.

I agree with the earlier poster. If there are EMs, classics, etc in any existing arcades, they won't be there for long. The days of the classic arcade are gone. Time to build 'em in our homes!

Then explain to me the "class of 81" machine. Explain to me why I see it on operators' routes. Explain to me why I see it making money. Yes, kids want the biggest and brightest and flashiest thing when they drop quarters, but I re-state that if more of these machines were available, you'd probably see more of them around. Arcade owners keep games going. They don't really restore them. If a classic was on route for 20+ years, it's probably going to be in sad shape. Easier and more economical for the operator to pitch it (or sell it to us) and buy something new than to restore. If he's shopping for a new machine and a new version of robotron (or whatever) isn't available and a DDR is, well I guess the operator doesn't have much of a choice in what to buy even if he wanted the classic game.
 
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