Why the games arcade is having a rebirth
- Thread starter Spanky
- Start date
Social hives? Maybe for some but I remember the early days ( 12 or 13 years old) of being very careful not to stick 10p on the wrong machine. If it was a wrong un playing on it the best you might get is a certain look or possibly get fag ash flicked at you and your 10p chucked onto the floor. Bomb Jack for example used to have a row of dole big 10Ps lined up and I never got to play it in my local arcade.
Who the fuck writes these articles? Arcades were dark dingy places back in the day with the odd bit of neon to light the way.
Who the fuck writes these articles? Arcades were dark dingy places back in the day with the odd bit of neon to light the way.
hahaha!
You can always trust The Grauniad (and I say this without reading it, yet) to make boring or difficult that which is potentially interesting or easy ! 😅
... edit ... well ... this one is perhaps an exception to the rule (still too long!) ... not three bad!
You can always trust The Grauniad (and I say this without reading it, yet) to make boring or difficult that which is potentially interesting or easy ! 😅
... edit ... well ... this one is perhaps an exception to the rule (still too long!) ... not three bad!
John Bennett
Senior Member
I'd thought enough folk had attempted it by now to let everyone else realise it's incredibly fucking hard to have a "sustainable business model" for a long list of reasons.
And for the poorer like myself watching the attract mode was what I did mostly and having the odd go in many cases
Maybe it was a different experience in say Oxford or USA he's probably looked at
Then again it's the Guardian Lefty Libs/Labour Paper so everything is rosy while they lie to your face and if you don't believe every word of it they'd like to lock you up
John Bennett
Senior Member
That got political quickly.
They're all pay on the door now as well with cabs on free play rather than sticking coins in. I don't think they'd last if people had to put coins in. I think the main reason is people of a certain age haven't got really any interest in all the overly polished stuff that comes out now. I know i'm not. I've not played anything that's come out in probably the last 15 or so years. Newest console i've got is an XBox (original one), and that never really gets used! I more often play stuff like games in ZX Spectrum, Mame and other emulators, and various wads that are being and have been produced for Doom 2 which I use via GZDoom.
Keep the political shite on Facebook please
That line of yours takes me back.
Indeed, if my Mum or Nan gave me 50p or £1 to play a game, it went one of two ways; Either I saw Outrun, Time Crisis or SEGA Rally and went running over as I was too excited or as I got older, I walked around the Arcade watching the Attract Modes till I could work out what I wanted to spend my 1 go on.
When I was a lot younger, I remember sitting on a machine and pretending to play, almost willing the flashing "0 Credit/s" text to spark into life and give me 1 Credit! 😅
In my younger (before teens / early teens) years I distinctly remember far fewer of, and enjoyed far less whilst inside, the 'dark' arcades (I say 'dungeon' - not necessarily an 'underground' location) which I en the 'brighter' arcades.
My enduring arcade memories of arcades are *always* the more light filled affairs, of which I attended far more, and far more often ... as they were simply more enjoyable as I could have more fun.
Sure, these were often around the sea-side ... but I do remember 🤔 one on the river in London, some in local high streets, and great many camp-site, 'brighter' arcades. Either way, these more naturally lit venues felt far more accessible, which (in turn) made *me* have a lot more more fun ... and I was able to stay longer, too. 🙂
My enduring arcade memories of arcades are *always* the more light filled affairs, of which I attended far more, and far more often ... as they were simply more enjoyable as I could have more fun.
Sure, these were often around the sea-side ... but I do remember 🤔 one on the river in London, some in local high streets, and great many camp-site, 'brighter' arcades. Either way, these more naturally lit venues felt far more accessible, which (in turn) made *me* have a lot more more fun ... and I was able to stay longer, too. 🙂
Plus ... they invariably smelled nicer!
😏 🌫 😷 🌫 😏
😏 🌫 😷 🌫 😏
... I was also far more relaxed whilst I was there, especially if alone. I suppose a lot of this would have been the clientele, because there would have been more casual attendees, just in off the promenade marvelling at stuff and/or leaving their kids there whilst they nipped next door for a coffee/beer/breather. 😏 Far less competitive jerks, bullies, or just ... y'know ... people that were lovely, but stank. 😏
These venues felt *alive* to me in a way that the dungeons could not ever really approach, because they were simply more inclusive by their very nature! Plus, there was never an issue with sunlight ruining the enjoyment of machines as they were always arranged in a way as that such issues were moot.
Heck, I even remember (from my early teens when I could venture out on the tube) that the Debenhams in Harrow had a few cabs upstairs near the window. They had the first Virtua Fighter 2 that I'd seen (it blew me away!) and there was an older lad holding court on the machine. However, far from it being a negative experience, they weren't lording it, playing hard, or being a dick ... they were just having fun like all the other kids there. Thing was ... they were A-MAZE-ING. Like, there was one fight that I *swear* I saw them win one round by *only* using Pai's range of punch and kick grabbing throws (like this yt example - on timestamp) and no-one was getting salty or anything ... it was just ... fun! ... But, yeah ... that person was genuinely insane. 😲
On the other hand, I didn't have as much fun in the 'dungeon' arcades because the ensuant atmosphere did not encourage a more genial approach by many in attendance ... mainly because, one would assume, they could hide their tossery in the dark. Obviously that wasn't everyone ... and it was not *always* the case ... but ... I dunno ... it was just all often more adversarial and unfun. Plus, I just felt more depressed in those places.
I think another rung in the reason why I was probably even *allowed* to go to these more bright arcades, was that (I am assuming) my parents thought there'd be less threat, as I'd be more visible to anyone working there ... I dunno ... but I'd imagine that this played a part in that freedom as a younger nipper.
Either way, I distinctly remember far more body odour in the darker arcades than the lighter ones, too. 🤷 😅
The most significant 'dungeon' arcades I vividly recall from my youth were The Trocadero and the South Ruislip Laser Tag (which had both SEGA Holo games at different periods) and whilst the Troc was an event for anyone ... it was also just a little 'meh' at times.
Counter that with playing games at RUDA holiday park all day ... man ... I wouldn't swap it for anything!
These venues felt *alive* to me in a way that the dungeons could not ever really approach, because they were simply more inclusive by their very nature! Plus, there was never an issue with sunlight ruining the enjoyment of machines as they were always arranged in a way as that such issues were moot.
Heck, I even remember (from my early teens when I could venture out on the tube) that the Debenhams in Harrow had a few cabs upstairs near the window. They had the first Virtua Fighter 2 that I'd seen (it blew me away!) and there was an older lad holding court on the machine. However, far from it being a negative experience, they weren't lording it, playing hard, or being a dick ... they were just having fun like all the other kids there. Thing was ... they were A-MAZE-ING. Like, there was one fight that I *swear* I saw them win one round by *only* using Pai's range of punch and kick grabbing throws (like this yt example - on timestamp) and no-one was getting salty or anything ... it was just ... fun! ... But, yeah ... that person was genuinely insane. 😲
On the other hand, I didn't have as much fun in the 'dungeon' arcades because the ensuant atmosphere did not encourage a more genial approach by many in attendance ... mainly because, one would assume, they could hide their tossery in the dark. Obviously that wasn't everyone ... and it was not *always* the case ... but ... I dunno ... it was just all often more adversarial and unfun. Plus, I just felt more depressed in those places.
I think another rung in the reason why I was probably even *allowed* to go to these more bright arcades, was that (I am assuming) my parents thought there'd be less threat, as I'd be more visible to anyone working there ... I dunno ... but I'd imagine that this played a part in that freedom as a younger nipper.
Either way, I distinctly remember far more body odour in the darker arcades than the lighter ones, too. 🤷 😅
The most significant 'dungeon' arcades I vividly recall from my youth were The Trocadero and the South Ruislip Laser Tag (which had both SEGA Holo games at different periods) and whilst the Troc was an event for anyone ... it was also just a little 'meh' at times.
Counter that with playing games at RUDA holiday park all day ... man ... I wouldn't swap it for anything!
Apologies All
I've been trying to get on with this driving machine which has been slow this week because ive done something to my left eye, no idea what and it's even worse today as I didn't get much sleep last night, I'm struggling to do anything so i was just lying down listening to things on youtube with government stuff so that was in my head
Sorry for bringing it here, I did think myself why did I put that while lying down and was going to edit it but I fell sleep and just woke up, I won't again as it's depressing and I'll find better things to listen too
John Bennett
Senior Member
Was just a bit full-on. You can tell there's a variety of lives and views we all have outside arcade stuff, but UKVAC is one of the nicest, most agreeable places and groups of people I've encountered on the internet.