Hey there, flashback members!
Who remembers the old-school video arcades, where we used to spend practically all of the day on Saturday, before it was off to the drive-in movies and night clubs?

I'm talking Malibu, the Tilt Room, Stargate's, the big ones that held over 500 games, and there was ALWAYS that line for the one game you REALLY wanted to play!

The arcade era will never happen again. Sure, there are still places that have games, but they do not have appeal and the coolness that those old arcade hangouts had. I remember the arcade that my local mall had in the 80's called the Tilt. It was THE hangout. Great games, alot of kids, teens, and a few adults. All games only a quarter. It was great. I have fond memories of those days. I was living in missouri for part of the 90's, and when I moved back to California, one of the first things I did when I came back was go to that mall. To my surprise, the tilt was still there, but there was only a couple people in there, and they were going out of business because each arcade game had a For Sale sign on it. It brought me on the verge of tears. Just knowing that something that so many people had fond memories of could just be erased like that was unbelievable. The Tilt was gone the next time I went to that mall. Now it is some food place I never heard of.

Another great arcade place then was this bowling alley about 10 miles from that mall. It had a HUGE arcade. It was really cool. On one side of the building, was a wall that had about 40 or 50 pinball machines lined up. On the other side, was all the arcade games. In the middle, was the actual bowling lanes. That place was packed every night. But it had another sad ending. It went out of business in the late 80's, and the building has sat there empty and rotting for 20 years. Strange, because the building is in a prime spot, yet no one ever buys it out and builds something else there. Its like the city wants to have a constant reminder of how great that place really was.

Like I said, it will never be like that again. We live in the XBOX, Playstation, Nintendo, and internet era. To add even more insult to injury, the young generation cares too much about sex and other adult things to ever be able to enjoy anything resembling arcade life in the 70's and 80's.

This is true, my friend.

Also, the games they have out now are all about killing, being rap artists, and finding crack ho's to bang.
QUEL HORREUR! (Maybe Whitney Houston has a possible revival in her career here??)

I remember this place, when i was living in Utah- also called "The Tilt". It had some of the most primo games there- and I was always a big pinball buff!

-Remember 'Hercules'? That was the pinball game that was so huge, they usually used an 8 Ball, for the playball?

I remember this place, when i was living in Utah- also called "The Tilt". It had some of the most primo games there- and I was always a big pinball buff!


...which makes sense in that regard, since "Tilt" is what happens if you bump the pinball table too much.

...which makes sense in that regard, since "Tilt" is what happens if you bump the pinball table too much.


Very true! http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/15/thumbsup.gif

Hey there, flashback members!
Who remembers the old-school video arcades, where we used to spend practically all of the day on Saturday, before it was off to the drive-in movies and night clubs?

I'm talking Malibu, the Tilt Room, Stargate's, the big ones that held over 500 games, and there was ALWAYS that line for the one game you REALLY wanted to play!


Friday nights - my boyfriend and I and some friends would go to the arcade at Golfland - there were hundreds of games, all costing a quarter and you could play for hours.  I ALWAYS played Centipeded and he played Donkey Kong.  We both had the highest scores - what a claim to fame huh?  What an inexpensive date?  I miss those old arcades.  But every once in awhile I will find a Centipede game somewhere and I JUST have to play.  :)

in the heyday there were like eight arcades within probably four blocks of my house. they were EVERYWHERE. this was in the mid-80s. they always had defender and stargate and some variety of pac man.

Ahhh, the games!

Pac-Man, donkey Kong, Centipede, Crazy Climber, Tron...where have they all gone?

elevator action! that game was kickin'.

Arcades still exist, but good luck finding games that still cost a quarter  ;D

Even Pac-Man is 50 cents to play now  :\'(

There's a place in Chico, that has the following five '80s games, & I have to stop & play each one, whenever I'm there....

-Dig Dug
-Donkey Kong (YES, the original)
-Galaga
-Bagman (remember this one? You're a thief in a mineshaft, w/a Keystone Kop chasing you.)
-Joust (Long live the Ostrich Knights!!!!!!)

I remember when I was little and growing up in the early-mid '90s, there was a video arcade at the dead Carolina Circle Mall called Electronics America. I rarely went in there so I don't remember what all it had, but I've heard it was awesome.

At Del Amo Mall, where part of Fast Times at Ridgemont High was filmed, there was an arcade called Le Mans Speedway.This was back in the mid 1970s. The "Speedway" was bumper cars. It was so modern! All along the outer walls of the arcade were pinball machines.

On the main street of our city was a "head shop" in the 1970s with a couple of pinball machines inside. Also, there was a liquor store near our high school that had Space Invaders in the early early 1980s.

So exciting!

:o :o :o

Someone revived this thread?!?!?

I thought there was no further interest in this!
-COOOOLLLL!

I loved arcades! Nothing better than taking about $30 just to blow at the local mall arcade, on a Saturday afternoon!

Ah, yes.  I miss those places.  Back in '82 there was a small arcade in my neighborhood (about 40 or so games) where I spent most weekends pumping quarters into Pac-Man, Galaga, Tempest, Centipede, etc.  The big arcade I remember having her in addition to someplace like Starcade or Stargate at the mall was a Bally's arcade in some shopping center that was huge.  When Dragon's Lair came out they had the huge monitor above the game so others could watch people play.  Pizza places like Chuck E. Cheese and Showbiz had dozens of great games.  The Golf n' Stuff miniature golf complex had two stories of arcade games with the latest and greatest on the lower level in "the pit".

Last time I went to an arcade was around '89 or '90.  It was a smaller neighborhood one.  Good times.

I sooooooooo miss those days!

The last time I was in an arcade was in '94.
"Scandia" in Scaramento, CA.

In addition to the arcade, they had go-karts, bumper boats w/water cannons, batting cages and they were talking about adding a "Laser Tag"-style game.

Where did those fun times go???

Maybe someone knows the real reason they are gone, but I am assuming it is because people have their own game consoles these days? All of the current thrills seem to be available on a home computer/console. Everything seems to be about sitting at home these days. Home theater, home game consoles, etc... Sad.

Maybe someone knows the real reason they are gone, but I am assuming it is because people have their own game consoles these days? All of the current thrills seem to be available on a home computer/console. Everything seems to be about sitting at home these days. Home theater, home game consoles, etc... Sad.


Indeed.

In addition, there are so many classic games unavailable to these home systems.

The last time I was in an arcade was in '94.
"Scandia" in Scaramento, CA.

Where did those fun times go???


http://www.caextreme.org

If you're in Sactown, it may be a 9-month wait, but it's only a 3-hour drive.  Get a room at a hotel within a 5-minute walk, play video games until midnight, then wake up the next morning and do it all over again. 

I was going to start a thread about arcades, then I remembered we already had one!  I was just thinking about the old arcades...and remembering how cheap it was to play a game compared to now. Gosh, they want like $1/game now..it's crazy! I used to love to play Ms. Pacman...that was the greatest!!

I was going to start a thread about arcades, then I remembered we already had one!  I was just thinking about the old arcades...and remembering how cheap it was to play a game compared to now. Gosh, they want like $1/game now..it's crazy! I used to love to play Ms. Pacman...that was the greatest!!

My mom was the Champion Supreme on Ms. Pac-Man!
She got on a machine, you couldn't get her off of one game for about 2 hours!

My tastes ran more towards stuff like Gorf, and Donkey Kong, and Joust, and Crazy Cimber.
I was also a Tron freak, and into stuff like Arabian, Tutank, and Krull.

My brother was mainly into Dig Dug and Mr. Do.

I used to love those side-scrolling beat 'em up games, the best one being the 'Double Dragon' series.  I used to pump lots of quarters into those 8)

If you get a chance, you should really check out a national chain called Gameworks 

It is a High-tech video game room and entertainment center designed by Steven Spielberg.http://www.gameworks.com/

Or even try to find a Dave & Busters (also a national chain arcade).http://www.daveandbusters.com/default.aspx

I do so miss the days of yesteryear when one could find me blissfully enthralled by the bleeps, blips, pings and sproings of my local arcade (Alaadin's Castle.)  I had my 15th birthday party there and the only people that came were 5 guys (2 of which I knew) but hey it was really fun.

I'm more of a pinball fan, and am looking forward to go to the Professional Amateur Pinball Association national pinball championships in Pittsburgh in October.  http://www.papa.org/

I worked at a Gameworks for about a year in the late 90's......on my days off I would play some of the classic games, like Pac Man, Centipede, Donkey Kong, and Tetris. It's been many years since I've been into a Gameworks, so I don't know if they still have these games or not.

When I was a kid, I used to go to the Chuck E Cheese by my house to play video games.....one thing has not changed in the past 20, 25 years: I have and will ALWAYS suck at Pac Man! I was the worst!  :-[

They're still around, especially in smaller towns outside of metropolitan areas. Generally those places are somewhat more impervious to trends. But I agree they've been in a downturn for awhile. The "arcade era" really took off in like 1981/'82 once malls did. It had enough popularity to sustain it through about 1995 or '96. Even the malls had some Aladdins' Castles through the late '90s, although it was clear they were in a decline by then with fewer people showing up (I even have a bunch of unused quarters from one of them that I'd been saving for the next time I went, which unfortunately never happened, lol).

It's weird if you think about it, but arcades really always co-existed with home gaming systems in some form (if you count Atari, or the c. 1987 explosion of Nintendo). So I don't think that was the only thing that killed it off. Although once 3-D games started getting popular, and the PS One came out, that was probably the beginning of the end. The mainstreamization of the Internet also has made staying at home for entertainment even more common.

Shameless plug for California Extreme, August 11-12, 2007, Parkside Hall, San Jose, California

Hundreds of coin-op machines (video games and pinball), everything from your favorites to some prototypes that never saw the light of day beyond Atari's labs and a few test locations, all on free play.  CAX is the closest thing you'll ever get to those 80s arcade days.

Today is a sad day for me. i go to the centre of the city(Santiago de Chile), the entire comercial world in my childhood at the eigthies. Always, as a tradition, when i go to that location i play a few coins in the arcades of Diana, name of the greatest and latest place of the Arcades in chile. when i go to complete my tradition, i canot believe: there is no Diana anymore. they are closed. Too many memories come to me and a tear roll down my face. So a vagabond that rest in the front of the closed doors says to me "another that cries for that place" or something like that.

its all. Arcade days are gone to me and never be back. so i think is time to a new tradition, maybe give the vagabond the coins that i ussualy use to play....

Today is a sad day for me. i go to the centre of the city(Santiago de Chile), the entire comercial world in my childhood at the eigthies. Always, as a tradition, when i go to that location i play a few coins in the arcades of Diana, name of the greatest and latest place of the Arcades in chile. when i go to complete my tradition, i canot believe: there is no Diana anymore. they are closed. Too many memories come to me and a tear roll down my face. So a vagabond that rest in the front of the closed doors says to me "another that cries for that place" or something like that.

its all. Arcade days are gone to me and never be back. so i think is time to a new tradition, maybe give the vagabond the coins that i ussualy use to play....
I experienced the same thing in the mid 90's when I moved back to California. I went to the mall to check out the old arcade I went to as a child, and it was going out of business.

Sad when the location of great memories can be erased like that. I think examples such as this really show how fragile and brief our lives really are.

You do something as a child you think will last forever, and in the blink of an eye, the place ceases to exist.

I sooooooooo miss those days!

The last time I was in an arcade was in '94.
"Scandia" in Scaramento, CA.

In addition to the arcade, they had go-karts, bumper boats w/water cannons, batting cages and they were talking about adding a "Laser Tag"-style game.

Where did those fun times go???


  to the consoles. but hey, if you want arcades, move on over to japan. i here they haven't quite died out over there yet.

  to the consoles. but hey, if you want arcades, move on over to japan. i here they haven't quite died out over there yet.


Don't know if I could handle that image:

"You make-a movie? Arcade hava yes!"

"You wanna sushi? Beano hava no!"

"Donkey Kong hava no, but Kung Fu Fry Swattel hava yes!" :D

The closet nearby is the Playdium, in Mississauga, Ont.  It's not chep, but it's a fun place to go to.

http://www.playdium.com/

While we were on vacation, I took Julie & her friend minature golfing up at Lake Tahoe last week and as they did that, I ventured into the Arcade and dropped some quarters into some old favorites; Pole Position & Ms. Pac Man and got the high score on Ms. Pac Man and did pretty good on PP. I haven't played those in eons. after that I racked up a replay on a pinball machine. I love those old games.  :)

While we were on vacation, I took Julie & her friend minature golfing up at Lake Tahoe last week and as they did that, I ventured into the Arcade and dropped some quarters into some old favorites; Pole Position & Ms. Pac Man and got the high score on Ms. Pac Man and did pretty good on PP. I haven't played those in eons. after that I racked up a replay on a pinball machine. I love those old games.  :)


I suppose you know about the 'Mame' emulator? I downloaded that years ago, as well as a bunch of 'Roms' for the classic games. So I can play 'Pacman'; Galaxians; Galaga; Space Invaders; Phoenix; Qix; etc; etc; whenever I feel like it at home (no need to go online). Don't think it's strictly ...uhm .. legal .... but haven't had any agents busting down my door just yet.  :)

... and yes ... those old games were/are very loveable!  :-* ;D 8)

I suppose you know about the 'Mame' emulator? I downloaded that years ago, as well as a bunch of 'Roms' for the classic games. So I can play 'Pacman'; Galaxians; Galaga; Space Invaders; Phoenix; Qix; etc; etc; whenever I feel like it at home (no need to go online). Don't think it's strictly ...uhm .. legal .... but haven't had any agents busting down my door just yet.  :)

... and yes ... those old games were/are very loveable!  :-* ;D 8)


I'm not familiar with that Mame emulator and if it involves playing the games while using the keyboard then I wouldn't like it. I need to have a joystick to manuever with, which reminds me, Julie has original Playstation and one of the games is loaded with old arcade games. i may need to break that out this weekend.

^
Mike ... these days I prefer to use the keyboards .... but there is a joystick option for most of the games. Well, it's free, and you'd soon find the softwared by typing in 'mame emulator' into google. Turns your PC into an arcade player whilst it's loaded.

You can use a joystick with the MAME.  I have one with tons of games that nearly overload my computer.  Downloading a MAME is legal, but downloading the ROMS isn't unless you own the actual arcade, which I doubt anyone actually does lol

However, downloading MP3s, peeing in a park, and eating the produce while you are in a supermarket are all illegal, but that's never stopped me ;D

up at Lake Tahoe last week


If you, or anyone else, is within 12 hours driving of San Jose, get thee to California Extreme next weekend.  August 11-12, 2007.  500+ vintage pinballs and video games, all on free play.  Prototypes that are available outside of ex-Atari employees' basements for only two days a year.  Gaming goes to midnight (or later) on Saturday.  Sane hours on Sunday, if only because everyone's too tired to keep playing. 

You can use a joystick with the MAME.  I have one with tons of games that nearly overload my computer.  Downloading a MAME is legal, but downloading the ROMS isn't unless you own the actual arcade, which I doubt anyone actually does lol

However, downloading MP3s, peeing in a park, and eating the produce while you are in a supermarket are all illegal, but that's never stopped me ;D


and eating the produce while you are in a supermarket are all illegal, but that's never stopped me ;D


^ You destroy the evidence before you get to the check-out counter?    :o ... Must be a relief to your 'bank manager'  ;D

Hey check-out girls .... 'man the x-ray machine'... I'm sure Whistledog has  just  polished off an apple or two!  ;D :D

Hey! I KNEW  that wasn't an 'Adam's Apple in his throat!'  :D

^
Mike ... these days I prefer to use the keyboards .... but there is a joystick option for most of the games. Well, it's free, and you'd soon find the softwared by typing in 'mame emulator' into google. Turns your PC into an arcade player whilst it's loaded.
I have a friend works in the arcade business in Las Vegas & he's told me he can get me almost any upright arcade game I want if i want to pay & he'd give me a good discount. I wish i had room for some games.

If you, or anyone else, is within 12 hours driving of San Jose, get thee to California Extreme next weekend.  August 11-12, 2007.  500+ vintage pinballs and video games, all on free play.  Prototypes that are available outside of ex-Atari employees' basements for only two days a year.  Gaming goes to midnight (or later) on Saturday.  Sane hours on Sunday, if only because everyone's too tired to keep playing. 
wow!  I'd love to. If by some chance I'm able to, and if you're there I'll make sure to say "hi Foo Bar"  My kid starts San Jose Stae College in August but not that weekend. I'm gonna have to locate that place. thanks for the intel

If you, or anyone else, is within 12 hours driving of San Jose, get thee to California Extreme next weekend.  August 11-12, 2007.  500+ vintage pinballs and video games, all on free play.  Prototypes that are available outside of ex-Atari employees' basements for only two days a year.  Gaming goes to midnight (or later) on Saturday.  Sane hours on Sunday, if only because everyone's too tired to keep playing. 


That sounds like a blast!
If I weren't on such a financial stretch, I'd sooooooooooooo be there!

I expect full reports, Foo Bar & Mike!

Video arcades, at least in a miniaturized way, still exist in almost any movie theatre. Especially Cinaplexes. This makes sense, because they'd get enough draws from people killing time before a movie starts, or getting in a few games when it's over. I guess in a way, they've kept at least one pre-1997 tradition alive. ;)

Video arcades, at least in a miniaturized way, still exist in almost any movie theatre. Especially Cinaplexes. This makes sense, because they'd get enough draws from people killing time before a movie starts, or getting in a few games when it's over. I guess in a way, they've kept at least one pre-1997 tradition alive. ;)


There's this small theater (used to be a Carmike theater..back in the day, before they made those HUGE multiplex ones) that we go to...they have bargain movies. Anyways, they have a few video games there.

^I always do the driving/road ones. 8)

There are still some arcade's around here, but not nearly as many as there were 10-15 years ago. I can recall arcade's dying down pretty quickly in the late '90s around here anyway. I liked going to arcade's alot when I was younger, even if by the early/mid '90s there popularity had died down a bit from there '80s peak.

There's this website I found, that has free '80s games that can be downloaded to one's computer.

When I get a bigger hard drive (only have 20 GB right now), I plan to download a few.
Also does Commodore games.

I expect full reports, Foo Bar & Mike!


CAX was fantastic.  As usual, the games were the star of the show.  More rarities than I could list.  The pictures are all over flickr, and speak for themselves.  Unlike the usual, the associated film festival was beyond amazing.  Among the films aired:

King of Kong (the ongoing battle between Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe for the all-time Donkey Kong record):
http://www.billyvssteve.com/

Chasing Ghosts (the story of Walter Day, Twin Galaxies book of records, and the early-80s video game superstars):
http://www.chasingghoststhemovie.com/

Tilt - The Battle to Save Pinball: (Whatever happened to Williams Pinball?)
http://www.tilt-movie.com/

High Score (an attempt to get the Missile Command record of 80,000,000.  60 hours?  No pause button?  Bring it on.):
http://www.highscoremovie.com/about-synopsis.html

A little googling will reveal that there's probably a theater in your area where you can see King of Kong and Chasing Ghosts.  You'll never understand the 80s arcade culture unless you see both.

from 1979 thru the early 1980's, Berkeley, Ca. had several arcades with a lot of pinball and video games. Our favorite was an upstairs hole in the wall called "The Silver Ball".  and a couple blocks away, UC Berkeley had the students union with a large arcade that used to be open to the public. our 2 favorite games were Gorf and Star Wars

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0Je5mniuctGZGYBDkKjzbkF/SIG=12vavskvm/EXP=1187842914/**http%3A//crabtreee.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/gorf.jpg  http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0Je5x7HustGtTUA8AajzbkF/SIG=12k8u3gjo/EXP=1187843143/**http%3A//www.pinballrebel.com/arcade/atari/starwars/starwars_i.jpg

Excellent report, gentlemen.

Upon being able to Autocrat such an event in my area, you are cordially invited.

Do you guys remember the arcade rooms called, "Aladdin's Castle"....wasn't this one that was popular in the 80's and 90's? I just recently visited my sister..she lives near Chambersburg, Pa. Anyway, they have an older mall there (one floor, contains older stores, etc)...and they have an Aladdin's Castle arcade!! They even have birthday parties there! Does anyone remember that place?

Do you guys remember the arcade rooms called, "Aladdin's Castle"....wasn't this one that was popular in the 80's and 90's? I just recently visited my sister..she lives near Chambersburg, Pa. Anyway, they have an older mall there (one floor, contains older stores, etc)...and they have an Aladdin's Castle arcade!! They even have birthday parties there! Does anyone remember that place?


There used to be one in Phoenix, AZ.

I remember this place from when I was in 1st Grade.
It was at a mall I lived near.
Used to go there most every Saturday.
They would also occasionally host a show called "Wallace and Ladmo".