The Arcades Aren't Dead!

Pinball Wizard

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 20, 2010
Messages
3,084
Reaction score
407
Location
Baltimore, Maryland
I have to tell this story, it's priceless and it really shows a new generation picking up an interest in classic gaming. To give a little preface to this, I'm 17, a senior in high school and we had exams today. Me and 2 friends only had 1 exam to take, so we decided instead of hanging around at school we were gonna do something fun! Problem is none of us have a car, so we ended up on public transportation for almost an hour to go 10 minutes in a car and ended up at the local arcade, the only one that is filled to the brim with classic arcade games and pinball. Got there around 11 ish, and left around 3pm. Here is where the it gets great... We keep hitting the change machine round after round, and at one point, one of my 2 friends looks over at me and says "I can't buy lunch at school next week". I go what???? He says "yeah, I just put the last of my money for lunch next week in the change machine". And then it clicked, we are playing 80's arcAde games after school hanging out just like you all old farts used to do ;) I kid about the old fart part! But really these 2 friends don't own any games, and I dragged them to the arcade and one blew all his money for next weeks lunch! I see hope for the future!
 
Glad to hear it man. No matter what age, these games are still fun to play. I'm jut waiting for them to come back in the form of barcades in my area.
 
Kids dont know true gaming. You just showed your friends what true gaming is. Giving up lunch to play...Awesome!! I was playing with my kids the other day and they asked me to play X-box 360 a game called Battlefield 3. I started to play and the game practically plays itself. It autosaves at certain points. WTF? So, there is no "real play" because it will never take you back to the beginning to start over when you die. You just start at the last saved point. So, a 60.00 game can be beaten in just a couple days instead of weeks of saving up your quarters, playing the game and trying to get to the next level. If you didnt beat the same or run out of quarters you have to start over again. Beating the game was a big deal and a great accomplishment....But, no anymore.

Long live true aracades!!
 
Most young kids now don't even realize these games were out there in arcades 20 years ago. When they see them they seem to get interested in them because it is something new to them, at least that is the response that I get when I have the young side of the family in town. It will be very interesting to see what happens to this hobby 10 years from now.
 
Ahhhh lunch money...

Bygone days of begging mom for quarters. Running out of money and looking around for change in the coin returns of PAY PHONES!
 
What a great story... This thread gets the big thumb up!!:cool: OH BTW I had some super cool black and white checkered VANS in the 80's....
 
Dude!!! That is an awesome story! When ever I try to show some younger kids these games the response below is what I sometimes get:

 
Last edited:
Bygone days of begging mom for quarters. Running out of money and looking around for change in the coin returns of PAY PHONES!

Hah! the pay phone deal, I remember hittin the jack pot on one back in the day!
Thought I was rich back then when I got lucky and found a few bucks in the coin return.
Kinda miss the pay phones now.
Glad to see there is a reason us "old farts" are trying to keep these games alive. (besides trying to relive the old days)
I for one appreciate the fact you younger guys/gals are warming up to the games that made Xbox 360 a reality.
Some time I wonder but you just made it worth while.
Thanks for the post.
 
Keep Em Flyin

Good to know that while we restore the airplanes there's still some pilots to take the controls

Give this dude some wings...
 
Problem is there are very few arcades. When I was a kid you could find arcades everywhere, party stores and even out McDonalds had a dual racing game. I have been to a handful of bowling alleys and all they have are claw games or a touch screen sitting on the bar. Problem with that is kids don't sit at the bar. That's awesome you guys even have an arcade to go to. Keep up the good work and take new friends with you every time
 
Back
Top Bottom