Lesser classics with lines

nutballchamp

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Anyone remember big lines for games that aren't considered classics now? When Kung Fu Master came out there was always a huge crowd around it and nearly impossible for me to get in a game unless I got there right when the arcade opened. This is also the first game I remember where everyone would hog it by putting up tons of quarters on the Marquee.
 
While I distinctly remember the quarters on the marquee thing, I can't remember how the people in line would keep track of who owned which quarter. :confused:
 
I do not remember any particular game where people would line up unless it was new. I do however keep quarters on my Marquee's at home. I always have next game @ my arcade.
 
Anyone remember big lines for games that aren't considered classics now? When Kung Fu Master came out there was always a huge crowd around it and nearly impossible for me to get in a game unless I got there right when the arcade opened. This is also the first game I remember where everyone would hog it by putting up tons of quarters on the Marquee.

I only remember the quarters thing on Berzerk and more so on pool tables. I never saw any lines for games in my day. I grew up in a small town though, so I don't think anyone knew what was new or what was hot. My local arcade probably only got secondhand games after their popularity waned.
 
I remember lines for Dragon's Lair when it came out, and quarters on ther Marquee mostly for fighting games (SF II & MK).

Not so much lines, but I do remember waiting to play the new 4P beat 'em up games when they came out.

with 3 others I'd wait until the machine was empty, they we'd play/continue until we beat the new game (Simpsons, TMNT, Spiderman, X-Men, D&D, etc) and then never play them again.
 
By the time I could remember any sort of arcade lines, it was always for MK or Street Fighter 2, as these two games always had two players challenging one another for single play.
 
By the time I could remember any sort of arcade lines, it was always for Street Fighter 2

Me too. I was at Harvey's in Tahoe when in 6th grade, and you wouldn't believe the line of quarters on all the SF2 machines. Amazing. People can hate that game all they want, but it got played the shit out of in the arcades and still makes a ton of money today (consoles).
 
Yep, SF: World Warrior... But it's pretty much crap now...

The quarter racks are absolutely necessary on pool tables to avoid fights... But for every 3 fights that they save, they cause at least one.
 
Although it is considered a classic by most, I do remember having a helluva time getting on a Star Castle machine when it first came out.

I couldn't get near the one at the local arcade but I then found one at a 7/11 just down the street which was relatively unknown. But it was also quickly found out, and soon enough there was a line on that one, too :D ...

Jon
 
The big ol' sit down Afterburner (the one that moved) had a line at my local putt-putt golf arcade when it first came out... and it cost a whopping .75 cents to play. I seem to remember the coolness wearing off pretty quickly though.
 
I remember waiting to play Dig Dug but not many others. I was still a pretty young pupat the time so I didn't go to a lot of arcades.
 
In the grocery store by home there was a centipede machine and I remember waiting in line with my mom so that she could play the game.

the local arcade where I hung out as a young teen had at least 4 or 5 guys lining up quarters on the top of the double dragon cab for months after the game was released.

not sure either of those are 'lesser games' but those are the two I remember.
 
Not to hijack the thread and simultaneously sound like an ass (some people might think I'm a prime one after this story) but that whole quarter lineup thing always pissed me off.

Not so much for arcade games - because I could put a line of my own quarters on the CP or marquee.

Pool tables - whole different story. My cousin and I were hanging out at our local watering hole (I was about 28 at the time). He had just come back from the first Gulf War. There were 6 pool tables in the bar and we were the only ones using a table.

Some jerkwad comes up and lays his two quarters in spot 1 of the quarter rack on the table (we didn't have any lined up because there were no other occupied tables). We just wanted to drink beer, play pool, and catch up on the last few years.

So when our game ended, I put two more quarters in the slots and coined up the table for abother game. The guy comes up and says angrily "What the hell do you think you're doing? I put quarters on this table!"

Both me and my cousin tried to politely explain we were wanting to play and talk - not play "the winner of the next game" etc.

The guy got more and more irate until finally I - using my not yet drunk off my ass brain - picked up his two quarters off the table, said "Fine, you can have my two quarters." He said "damn right," and then watched, dumbfounded, as my cousin and I calmly picked up our cigs, beers, and cues and walked over to another table- using his quarters to start a new game there, and leaving him to play with himself at the original table.
 
Gladiator when it was new had lines in the arcades I frequented because my friend Dave and I caused them ;) Folks would back up behind us while we played but that was the last machine I can remember putting my tokens up on the marquee for my turn.
 
Maybe sort of a sideline to your thread, but I saw a huge crowd around Pit Fighter when it was new.

Was this the first game with full digitized sprites (I know Journey did just the heads)? In any event, another example of graphics over gameplay.
 
By the time I could remember any sort of arcade lines, it was always for MK or Street Fighter 2, as these two games always had two players challenging one another for single play.

We must be about the same age. Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Killer Instinct always had a row of quarters on them. That is until they started adding those quarter holders to the machines. These things. http://www.happ.com/amusement/billiards/26106500.htm
 
We must be about the same age. Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Killer Instinct always had a row of quarters on them. That is until they started adding those quarter holders to the machines. These things. http://www.happ.com/amusement/billiards/26106500.htm

Yeah, I'm nearly 30 now. So I missed all the golden age fun of arcades. So by the time I was 12-14 years old is when I started noticing people in "line" to play a machine.
 
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