I Miss Arcades

by James Parr, COMMUNITY WRITER

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Editor's Note: James isn't the only one who misses arcades. In fact, I have many fond memories of visitng arcades as a wee youth. Get this: I had my big sis's friend's brother take me to a local arcade to teach me how to play Street Fighter II (no joke!). How silly does that sound now? Actually, I can't believe I just admitted that. Ahem, anyway -- arcades are awesome. -Michael

I do. After spending the last week in Japan (and a good deal of that time in arcades in Shibuya, Shinjuku and Akihabara), I know two things, one: those crane games totally cheat, and two: I miss good, old-fashioned arcades where people played amazing games that were miles better than anything you could play at home.

All the Sega arcades and Taito game stations were a nice reminder of my youth when I could go to pizza parlors and play Street Fighter II, or go to the 7-11 to sip on a Slurpee while dismembering limbs in Mortal Kombat 3. Or even the local Wonderland, where I could pay the admission, get the tokens, and spend an hour playing 5 cent games on a kid's birthday.

Today, no one wants to do that. No one wants to go to an arcade when they have 50-inch TVs and Xbox 360s in their living rooms. Maybe it's a sign that I'm old, but I miss the almost ironic social atmosphere of nerd-filled arcades, where you quartered-up and lost in one go to a guy who mastered Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting instead of calculus.

I get why no one wants to go arcades nowadays. The home stuff caught up. It's nice to sit on your couch and it's infinitely cheaper to pay for the game once (albeit more expensive, obviously) rather than pumping in change every time you lose. But there's something great about being in an arcade, surrounded by gamers. It's not so lonely. Sure, you've got Xbox Live and voice chat, but it's not the same. There used to be a time before broadband when we had to go places to see people and play games together. As much as I lament over this lost time, there are those who cry over lost split-screen multiplayer for much the same reason.

Arcades in Japan aren't even what they once were, but they still exist. Maybe it's partly because of the culture there: small spaces, large population, and no one has home theater rooms like they do in America. Plus, people still get out to play games.

Hell, I saw light-gun shooters there I'd never heard of, including a Half-Life 2 arcade machine. Amazing. But I love firing a fake plastic gun at some aliens. And I love shredding to some GuitarFreaks while an audience watches. But that's the thing. In America, you can make your living room into the arcade with social games like Rock Band; you can experience a little bit of this every night.

Still, it's not the same. While in Tokyo, I played my share of Street Fighter IV and Tekken 6 and it brought back memories, but it still wasn't the same. The price was much higher and the selection wasn't as good. Not like the days where you could find a decade's worth of titles in one room. No, Japan's arcades still exist, but they're not as diverse as they once were.

I'm old. I know it. And arcades are mostly a thing of the past and that's sad. It's an important part of gaming culture and history and it needs to be remembered, if for nothing more than to remember greasy pizza hands, joysticks, and quarters.

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Andrew Wilson

May 13, 2009

I, too, miss arcades, and although great fighting franchises like Virtua Fighter and Soulcalibur have finally made it to the online sphere and I enjoy them greatly, it doesn't really make up for the loss of the arcade scene. I enjoyed the energy of the arcade scene, and making friends there. I enjoyed the variety the arcades used to have: the classics like Donkey Kong and Pac-Man, side-scrolling multi-player brawlers like TMNT, The Simpsons, and Double Dragon, light-gun games. I used to hang out at arcades all the time when I was a teenager. I remember when arcade games doubled as proving grounds for new gaming technologies. Pong started out in the arcades. Color graphics started there. Many people's first exposure to the 3-D polygon graphics that make up games came from Virtua Fighter and Tekken. Game systems used to live or die by the home versions of popular arcade games their manufacturers were able to license for them. I will say that having your competition in the same room with you at an arcade certainly removed the temptation to spout the kind of racial or sexual slurs you hear on Live.

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James Parr

May 13, 2009

I do think people behave a little bit better when their opponent is in the room. Another thing I noticed in Tokyo was how nice the arcade cabinets have gotten. The ones for SF 4 were basically 20 inch HDTVs and each was designed for one person only. That way each player has his or her own screen. Plus they're low, so you can sit and play. Really, playing on an arcade machine like these is way better than a crappy old SDTV like most people still have.

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Andrew Wilson

May 13, 2009

I own an HDTV myself. But yeah, I wish we had the arcade scene that Japan does, even if Japanese arcades are somewhat diminished. It doesn't help me any that I live in the middle of nowhere. If I go somewhere like Dallas, Phoenix, or L.A., I can usually find an arcade that has at least a few kinda-new games. Here in Oklahoma... the few arcades left are almost entirely given over to crane games. The best arcade experience to be had is in a hot dog shop whose owner bought a bunch of old arcade cabinets, and set them all to free play. It has Donkey Kong, which is my favorite arcade game in history.

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Daniel Feit

May 14, 2009

I always preferred arcades growing up and I still dig them, but I must admit that the home console scene is simply better at this point. Having games that run the gamut from PixelJunk Eden or Braid to Bioshock or Street Fighter IV at my fingertips is simply wonderful. I'm happy to live here in Japan and have the arcade option from time to time, but I know the explosion of the home console has offered me more games than any amount of quarters (or 100 Yen coins) could provide.

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Demian Linn

May 14, 2009

Little known fact, but Shoe and I went to the University of Michigan at the same time - he worked at the big arcade in town, Pinball Pete's, which I was at all the time, but we never officially met.

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James Parr

May 14, 2009

Pinball Pete's? Wow, now I miss pinball machines as well. While I do miss the experience of an arcade, I do agree that the games we get on consoles now would never have been possible with the old arcade first-home second model. My thing I just wish a home experience and an arcade experience could co-exist. Unfortunately, arcades just aren't terribly profitable these days.

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Jazz English

May 14, 2009

I'm still relatively young (15) and I only have memories of one arcade, and sadly that arcade had closed up shop a month after I discovered it. However, I did happen to get a glimpse into the greatness that is arcades. I can indeed see why it is a shame that they for the most part are but a fading memory these days, but at least they have a successor other then the home theater system. The way I see it, the closest thing resembling arcades now a a day would be gaming centers: a somewhat small area, filled with lots of games, and nerds who get together to play them in the mini-masses, while snacking on junk food. Maybe its not just a successor of the arcade but more of a evolution. Now that I think about it a game center is basically the same thing as a arcade, only the games are more up to date (graphically speaking) and it cost a hell of a lot less when you don't have to pump the quarter slots.

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Todd Cambio

May 14, 2009

The Warwick Mall and the Rhode Island Mall (both in Warwick, Rhode Island) were within biking distance. Aladdin's Castle in the Rhode Island Mall eventually shut down but that was my place to get Metal Slug and DDR (for two quarters not four!). Tilt in the Warwick Mall is still open but I don't find it ~worthy~ enough to go to frequently. Every once in a while I go for some Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (or even Marvel vs. Capcom if I want) but the clientele seems to gravitate to DDR (or the DDR clone) and whatever Tekken is out.

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Daniel Rogers

May 14, 2009

Pinball Pete's, now that does bring back some memories, while I didn't attend U of M myself, me and several friends would go up several weekends throughout the year for Anime conventions at the MLB, hangin' out with friends, and PP. Good times : )

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Demian Linn

May 14, 2009

My friends and I would drive an hour or so to Lansing just so we could go to the BIG Pinball Pete's and play 5-player linked Final Lap.

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Brett Bates

May 14, 2009

Great article, James. I've been thinking a lot about growing up around arcades lately, too. I understand why they're nearly dead at this point, but it's still a shame that people like Jazz English won't get that experience, because arcades were some of the formative places of my youth. Online gaming is fun and new in its own right, but it'll never take the place of kids hunkered around a great arcade cabinet, its speakers blooping and bleeping with life.

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Dan "Shoe" Hsu

May 14, 2009

Pinball Pete's wasn't actually a pinball place specifically, although it did have pinball games. I missed working there, and I miss old-school arcades...the dark dungeons of stale cigarette smoke and nerd stink. Great article!

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Daniel Nguyen

May 14, 2009

Great article. If you are ever in the Portland, Oregon area, definitely head to Ground Kontrol. This is a retro arcade in downtown Portland that specializes in games from the 90's and early 00's. It also doubles as a bar :D After 5pm, all the minors get locked out and the arcade turns into a mini club, with a DJ playing a different genre of music every night. Then you get a nice mixture of people who are buzzing and feeling good, having a good time playing coop with random people in TMNT. Or you get people who are kinda wasted and attempt to play DDR on Heavy like normal and fall down (which I did once.) You pinball heads will love the place as well. It's hailed as one of the best arcades in the country that isn't a major arcade, like Gameworks or Dave and Busters. [url]http://www.groundkontrol.com/[/url]

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Scott James

May 14, 2009

Down here in Australia we called them "Pinny Parlours", my favourite was a place called Flashback in melbourne i loved playing Discs of Tron in the stand inside cabinet.Unfortuanatly it is long gone...:(:(

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James Parr

May 15, 2009

Portland? While I'm not currently living there, I am from the Portland area and will definitely check out Ground Kontrol the next time I'm back in town.

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Josh Beitzel

May 15, 2009

I used to have an arcade where I lived when I was younger, but that place cleared out when I was about 13 or 14. I miss it. =/ On the other hand, I went to a Gameworks last night, so there is still a small glimmer of hope left in the arcade business, you just have to disguise it as a bar and grill. I'm not complaining though, at least I got to spend several hours in an arcade for once. :)

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Carlos Garcia

May 15, 2009

There aren't any good arcades left in my crappy city. I remember fondly going to some little place nearby home back in the late 90's, eager to see if that guy I couldn't beat up the last day would be there for a rematch. Waiting for the next Darkstalkers or Capcom's "VS" game to show up. Thanks for a nice trip down memory lane. :)

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Marko Stankovic

May 15, 2009

Since there never where any arcades here in Sweden I don't really know what I was missing. But the basic Idea of playing fighting games at a place crowded by a lot of people and with perfect controls (arcade stick) sure sounds appealing. Great article by the way.

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Paul Gale

May 15, 2009

You're right, you're not alone. I always use to go to 7-11 or Stop n' Go after my martial arts classes, and play whatever version of Street Fighter II they had. Those quick arcade fixes are gone, today, but fortunately for me, there's Family Fun Arcade, a HUGE SF and overall fighting game arcade. For those in Southern California, go check it out sometime. It's on Devonshire and Balboa for those that might have a chance at going with the interest of a new hangout. At least online gaming with smack talking fills in a small part of my side by side need to insult someone after fireballing them to hell. :)

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Kevin Crandall

May 15, 2009

NBA Jam Daytona USA House of the Dead Street Fighter II Sinistar "I LIVE!!" Back in grade school I would spend my allowance at the arcade every Saturday at the rec. center. I could have bowled there or played basketball, but it was the arcade for me. Then after I moved to Anchorage I would sell half my lunch every day to go to the Space Station. That was an awesome arcade. I was never the best at SFII but it was a lot of fun watching ppls who fell for the EGM April Fools Joke. College was about Daytona USA at the Mall of America. Good times, good times.

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Wilson Rosario

May 18, 2009

Man were those the best times. I remember going to a local candy store right around the corner where I lived and getting introduced to games like Battletoads, Samurai Showdown, Cow Boys of Moo Mesa, Street Fighter II, Marvel Superheros and so on. Then prices went up and suddenly the store was sold to someone else. Seems like the only arcades I can find nowadays are in movie theaters, and they're the same race car, time crisis, area 51, crane claw prize-y type of stuff. Nothing like before, plus they all cost $1! Are they crazy!!!