Editor's note: If you're planning a trip to San Francisco, make time to visit the Musee Mecanique. You not only get a glimpse of gaming's past, but you also get a chance to learn a little about San Francisco in the old days. -Jason
Not to brag, but gamers in the Bay Area have it pretty good.
We have community meet-ups; massive, Brigadoon-like arcades; a PlayStation store (at least for the moment); pinball museums; beach boardwalks; a world-class convention; the largest concentration of game developers and press in the country; and, located just west of the schlocky shenanigans of Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf, the fantastic Musee Mecanique.
The Musee Mecanique packs 100 years of arcade history into an old shipping warehouse on Pier 45. The machines inside run the gamut from old mechanical nickelodeons offering to show you what goes on in the "Opium Den" and stereoscopes promising a peek at what a belly dancer does on her day off to modern electronic games like Centipede and Sunset Riders. Most of the machines cost only a quarter or two; you could easily spend hours there on a scant 10 bucks.
Whenever guests visit me, I try to work in an excursion to the museum. This July I played tour guide twice -- and yup, I took both groups to the Musee Mecanique. While I was there, I shot these photos for your viewing pleasure.
(And hey, if you like what you see, come visit! California could use your tourist dollars.)
Simply looking at the entrance transports you back 100 years.
Laffing Sal greets visitors and then gives them lasting nightmares.
Mrs. Bally's second-grade class made these ballplayers.
Bitmobbers Jeff Grubb (left) and Derek Lavigne engage in a little co-op gaming.
This game is incredibly difficult.
Madden 10....1910, that is.
Yup, yesteryear's nickelodeons were just as violent (and a lot less politically correct) as today's games.
After-hours in the opium den.
Creepy dolls? Suggestive phrases? It's fun for the whole family!
An especially elaborate mechanical fair.
"Squeeze and let go." That's what...ah, nevermind. It's too easy.
*SPOILER* She drops the kids off at school and then paints her toenails while watching The People's Court.
In the sultan's harem, women dance in fruit bowls.
Claw games have been around since the dawn of arcades.
Something about the note to "shoot slowly" really tickles me.
The French: known for mimes, pretentious people, and executions.
If you think swinging a Wii-mote is tiring, wait until you play this.
Amusement parks past.
With cabinet art this bad-ass, surely the game itself is totally sweet.
Bust! 1970s technology, you've let me down.
Everything about this cabinet art screams awesome.
Sunset Riders was one of my favorite arcade games growing up.
Sure, the picture's blurry, but Moon Patrol is so damn fun that I included it anyway.
Bonus Shot: Later that day, we took a boat to Alcatraz but ended up in Silent Hill. Creepy!
Follow me at twitter.com/bbretterson.
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