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I was thinking about some things.
This was some of it. Who remembers these things?
Mechanical games (pinball)and others before video screens
Old dusty collossal cabinetts, washed-out dirty,sunbleached screens ,tan footprints(kicked baseboards)cigarrette burns
buttons ,joysticks,coin mechanisms that do not work
barely audible sound or blasting in you ear audio
pick-up trucks carrying games thru town
artwork such as mechanical bird on phoenix or garter snake on vanguard
hanging out at arcade when broke
tokens with ridges
Aladdins Palace
Tear plastic seal on side to reveal cheap particle board and glue wood frame
getting mild electrical shock/ blackout during thunderstorm
aquire keys to games (he he)
little parlor sized games (ha)
turning games back on or off (putting a sign on it)
The noise of a few dozen machines together
special days to pay cover charge and all games on free play
The smell of a brand new arcade

I do remember Alladins Palace, but thats nothing. Anyone remember Showbiz Pizza Place. I used to go during the hayday, nay, the Golden Age of Video games in 1980-84. I was pretty young but I remember the place being HUGE. Tons of games. I even remember seeing the game Leprechaun(which sucks) there. It was set in a cabaret style cabinet and rigged to accept dimes. Ahh those were the days. Thanks tar for the Nestalgia.

My main memory is when a new game came to town and you used to have put your 'credits' down (usually propping your coins up against the front glass) and waiting your turn to play. Huge crowds of people around one machine and you used to have to go tip-toes to see the screen. Never see that these days, the closest to it is with Dance Dance Revolution and games like that.

Also when somebody completes a game for the first time. I was amongst a huge crowd watching someone complete Bubble Bobble for the first time. And I never forget when my local arcade changed Super Mario Bros to 100 coins/1up for one night only. Somebody completed it that night and there was about 20-30 people gathered around one machine. Brilliant memories.

The 80's were great but then along came home consoles and killed off the arcade industry. All the old arcades are still there in my home town but now they are full of fruit machines and little else. Great shame.

DAX wrote

I remember the place being HUGE. Tons of games.

How ,bout a place called Electronics 101. Owned by Bally/ Midway.
3x the size of a standard room, at The university of Ohio State campus.
There were half a dozen arcades on High Street alone. the only places I ever saw Joust 2 Survival of the fittest. (Tall vertical screen) + Tac-Scan.
DRN said

Huge crowds of people around one machine and you used to have to go tip-toes to see the screen.

Did you ever see games with a second monitor on top? Strange.
more things..
Starring at girls' asses who had their backs to you
2 or 3 of the same game in a row

We had a jukebox and Defender and 005 in our lunchroom when I was in highschool. Cool.

tar wrote: Starring at girls' asses who had their backs to you

haha!

tar wrote: 2 or 3 of the same game in a row

well I sure do now with all these crappy dance games which seem to grow here way too much....

Did you ever see games with a second monitor on top? Strange.

Rarely, the only time I saw it was with Super Punch-Out I think. Anyone remember TX-1 by Atari which had 3 screens? Similar to Pole Position.

We had a jukebox and Defender and 005 in our lunchroom when I was in highschool

We had Zoo Keeper, Gyruss, Ghosts & Goblins and some f*cked up Taito thing which name escapes me. Used to piss me off when you were doing really well and you had to walk away and abandon the game because your lunch hour was over.

Starring at girls' asses who had their backs to you

Of course, one of the main reasons I was there!

tar wrote:DAX wrote
Did you ever see games with a second monitor on top? Strange.
more things..
Starring at girls' asses who had their backs to you
2 or 3 of the same game in a row

In Italy I saw games with a second monitor on top only for Galaga (and yes, they had 3-4 cabinets in a row!!!), and for laser games (Dragon's Lair, Space Ace....)

At the wizard we had Space panic. Later , they painted the cabinet red and changed it into piranha. One place had a bootleg moon cresta and crazy kong with white cabinets.
do you remember 4 tokens for $1. Sometimes 5 ,6 ,7 ,8 even ten tokens for a buck!

DRN wrote:My main memory is when a new game came to town and you used to have put your 'credits' down (usually propping your coins up against the front glass) and waiting your turn to play. Huge crowds of people around one machine and you used to have to go tip-toes to see the screen.

Used to see that a lot with Super Puzzle Fighter II when it debuted in the arcades. Of course 95% of the people who played that game were Asians. o.o; So my white ass coming in there and getting 10 wins in a row probably pissed em off.

Soul Calibur II's getting that a lot it seems..

...And remember Street Fighter II's debut?

JEEZUS. x.x;

Also when somebody completes a game for the first time.

That still happens actually. Even on a lesser scale.. Amazing how many people haven't seen the 5th level of Mars Matrix, yet a crowd of 8 stand there with their jaws agape with a collective opinion of "WTF...?!" I WOULDA got to the 6th, but of course I screwed up, cuz staring eyes make meh nervous. x.x; You get that a lot with the DDR clones these days though. Can't really whoop ass on Raiden Fighters since 9 times outta 10 there's always someone WHO WANTS TO JUMP IN ON THE 2P SIDE. GET AWAY FROM MEH IM TRYING TO GET THIS HIGH SCORE CUNT. -_-;

tar wrote: Starring at girls' asses who had their backs to you

Amazingly all those girls play DDR now. So it's a little bit more interesting to stare. -o.o-

Did you ever see games with a second monitor on top? Strange.

There used to be a Street Fighter EX machine in Jersey..forgot where. You had the main screen, and a big screen overhead, most likely so people could watch.

2 or 3 of the same game in a row

Saw this once at Coney Island. A relatively big room. Filled with NOTHING BUT STREET FIGHTER II, STREET FIGHTER II CHAMPION EDITION, AND STREET FIGHTER II TURBO. Good lord. x.x

...

Heh...take all of what Tar just said and consider this: What if Boong-Ga Boong-Ga was released in the States? o.o;;

buttons ,joysticks,coin mechanisms that do not work

When I played Space Gun once, the gun was broken.
I encountered a Metal Slug 3 with a broken left coin slot, and Ms. Pac Man didn't seem to want my quarter either.
I also encountered a Marvel vs. Street Fighter in bad condition (for example, the 2P fierce punch button was broken).
One time, I played Carnevil and I was unable to shoot even one zombie thanks to bad callibration.
Speaking of bad callibration, I played one of those infamous hunting games and no matter where I shot, I couldn't get a single deer.

barely audible sound or blasting in you ear audio

The first time I ever played Mighty Pang, it was ear-piercingly loud.
I encountered a rather loud Ultracade machine. I lost lives in Gunsmoke because loud noises keep disturbing me.
Barely being able to hear any sound from the game I play is common, and I couldn't hear anything from Namco Classics Volume 2, but I guess that it was because the sound card was broken.

Aladdins Palace

Been there once. Not as good as Tilt, but that may be just my area. In my area, neither exist anymore.

special days to pay cover charge and all games on free play

I know of an arcade that does that all the time: http://www.tornadoterrys.com/
Never been there though (too far away).

Did you ever see games with a second monitor on top? Strange.
more things..

Just Super Punch Out.

2 or 3 of the same game in a row

I know of an arcade that had two copies of both Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike and Marvel vs. Capcom 2.

DRN wrote

Anyone remember TX-1 by Atari which had 3 screens? Similar to Pole Position.

I remember a futuristic driving game. Might be laser disk. Made by williams, you round the bend and Sinistar surprises you.
Metrackle said

Been there once. Not as good as Tilt, but that may be just my area. In my area, neither exist anymore.

Been there, a.k.a. gold mine
Not sure if still at the mall. Have not been there in years.
Skyline-

Saw this once at Coney Island. A relatively big room. Filled with NOTHING BUT STREET FIGHTER II, STREET FIGHTER II CHAMPION EDITION, AND STREET FIGHTER II TURBO. Good lord. x.x

YUCK!
There is an arcade in Cleveland ,Ohio at Cedar Point amusement park that is GIANT.
Was there in 1982 , 1987 and 1998. Still had Phoenix ,Galaxian , Centipede, Tailgunner, Wizard of Wor.

tar wrote:Who remembers these things?
Old dusty collossal cabinetts, washed-out dirty,sunbleached screens ,tan footprints(kicked baseboards)cigarrette burns

I once saw an Aero Fighters cab in a hotel that had a really *bright* screen. The reds were pink, the blues were teal, etc. Really frighteningly distracting.

tar wrote:buttons ,joysticks,coin mechanisms that do not work

More than I'd like to care. I had inserted a coin into a Metal Slug machine before I realized that the shoot button didn't work. Therefore, it really was a moot point to play.

tar wrote:barely audible sound or blasting in you ear audio

This happened to me a lot, too. Sometimes I'd be so embarrased to be playing the game because it was so loud.

Sometimes I wish I was born earlier so I could've experienced the arcade heyday. I was born in the late 80's (1987, to be exact), and by that time, the home consoles were getting a grip on the market.

Pika163-

This happened to me a lot, too. Sometimes I'd be so embarrased to be playing the game because it was so loud.

My brother Forest and I still laugh about this STRATOVOX machine at the skate rink 20 years ago that seemed normal, but when the players ship exploded, It was so earth shakingly LOUD! You could hear it from anywhere in the building.