The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Arcade Collecting => Miscellaneous Arcade Talk => Topic started by: 3dmacman on August 29, 2005, 11:05:01 am
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There is a new arcade in my town of Springfield, Mo called 1984. It has classic arcade games from the 80's with an 80's theme to the entire place. They only charge $5 at the door and you can play as long as you want. Here is their website, www.1984arcade.com. I for one am glad to see a place to showcase classic games at a reasonable price, in a friendly environment and no alcohol involved. I partake in the alcoholic beverage from time to time. But I know that many people cannot handle their liquor. And all the troubles that ensue. Any way it is nice to have a place to bring the kids to downtown to. I am no way involved with this arcade. Admins move this to where you think its appropriate
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http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=38646.0
;) ;)
Went for the third time Friday night. They were having a grand opening with single play tournaments and prizes for high score of the day on certain games. I won a bag of chips for setting Gyruss HS for the night :D
By 7:45 the place was jam-packed with folks. You had to wait in line to play :-[ I spent some time talking to Devin (one of the owners) and he said they were doing great. Looks like the college age group has really embraced their concept, which surprised the owners somewhat.
It has become a regular bi-weekly stop of mine and some co-workers. Always a fantastic time!
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I haven't actually got to go yet, just found out about it last friday. I will go this week. I stopped by and took a peek inside. I was so giddy. I misinterepted the times they were open and thought they opened at 11:00. Had to much stuff going on this weekend, and broke, to go. Can't believe I missed that topic. I am on this forum five days a week, for eight hours each day, slow days. Wouldn't mind bumping into a couple of mamers. Seems like everybody is in the east or west coast. I will probably see you this friday if you go.
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Someone should talk to the manager about making them some cabinets for the games that are conversions....like ms pac man... I mean thats what we do here, build our own cabinets, and thats sad seeeing a ms pac in a converted cab. See if theyll hire someone to do it. Would make the place look a lot nicer if it were all dedicated cabs.
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WTF? That Ms. pac has one of those Jakks hanhelds in it :P
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WTF? That Ms. pac has one of those Jakks hanhelds in it :P
Might be a Nes and the Ms. Pac cart?
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The Ms Pac seems to be the only game like this. I was a bit disappointed in this move, but I suspect that a real one might show up at some point in the future. My guess is that they decided to do this so they would have more $$ to put into other games.
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I really wish I could visit this place.
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galaga is also in a conversion cab. one of the few dissapointments i've had there.
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Is it a Jakks as well? I've actually not paid much attention to galaga in there.
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They have Smash TV, a game from 1990. They call it "One of the best of the late 80's arcade games". Hardly 1984. ::)
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According to the owner, the Smash TV is a "place holder" until they find a suitable Robotron2084. They have a "2084 tip jar" at the counter, collecting funds for that particular title.
Smash TV is one of my most played games when I go (especially with friends). We usually have a running game going, that the players alternate on and off until the game is finished. Darned hard game to finish withhout pumping in about $80 worth of credits :P
I'm sure that "technically" it is a late 80's game. It was probably developed in the 80's anyway ;)
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Hi there, this is Devin, this is the owner of 1984. I saw the discussion and I thought I would spend some time clarifying things, especially since you guys are savvy enough to understand what I am talking about and actually know the difference between the real thing and a Jakks Pacific game.
I thought I'd run down every game we have (including a few you haven't seen on the floor yet) and tell you exactly what is going on with each and why.
In no particular order:
Golden Axe. Original innards and is in a converted Atari "Relief Pitcher" JAMMA cab, which is where the funky tri-buttons came from. Relief Pitcher was very dead when we got it, dead PS, dead board, the monitor had a broken neck.
Space Duel. Original innards and original cab.
Asteroids. Original innards and original cab.
Elevator Action. Original innards and original cab.
Time Pilot '84. Original innards and is in a converted "Berserk" cab. Conversion was not done by us. If possible Berserk will be put back into that cab and Time Pilot will be moved to a generic cab.
Bosconian. Original innards and original cab.
Vindicators. Original innards and original cab.
Scramble. Original innards and original cab.
Xybots. Original innards and original cab.
Tron. Original innards and original cab.
Xevious. Original innards and original cab.
Smash TV. Original innards and in a converted Defender cab. We are keeping Smash TV around because it gets a TON of play and it is the closest thing we have to Robotron at the moment. And yes I know it is a copyright 1990.
Galaga. Original innards and in a converted Bally Sente cab. Just last week we got the correct cab for Galaga. It will take a LOT of work, it is pretty beat up, but Galaga will soon live in the right cab.
Asteroids Deluxe. Original innards and original cab.
Rampage. Original innards and original cab.
GORF. Original innards and original cab.
Spy Hunter. Original innards and original cab.
Ms. Pac Mac. Jakks Pacific innards and is in a converted Karate Champ cab. We had a Ms. Pac lined up but the guy backed out immediately before we opened, this was an emergency measure that was only intended to be temporary. I personally find it annoying that VIRTUALLY NO ONE has noticed that this is not the real thing. I have even had a couple of people come to me and say "I like that you have one of the original ones with the scores on the side". The intention is to get a real Ms. Pac but we keep spending our money on other games, it will happen eventually. Note: The Karate Champ cab was spray painted black and was completely stripped before we got it. Personally I'd rather have Karate Champ over Ms. Pac.
Donkey Kong Jr. Original innards and original cab.
Centipede. Original innards and original cab.
Tempest. Original innards and original cab.
Gyruss. Original innards and original cab.
Gauntlet. Original innards and original cab.
P.O.W. Original innards and original cab.
Space Invaders. Original innards and original cab.
Sinistar. Original innards and original cab.
Dig Dug. Original innards and original cab.
Defender. Mame innards and original cab with rebuilt controls. Nostrebor just brought us a correct joystick, so that is another piece of the Defender puzzle in place. We have about 70% of an actual Defender board/PS/wiring harness and once I round up all the pieces we will be taking this game to a full blown Defender.
Pole Position. Original innards and original cab.
Gravitar. Original innards and original cab.
Winner IV. Original innards and original cab.
Turbo. Original innards and original cab.
Frogger. Original innards and original cab.
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First, great to see you here. Welcome.
Second, you bastard, you need to be in New England.
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I forgot one:
Star Trek: Original innards and original cab. BLOWS DOGS and has been repaired about a zillion freaking times. Sega games SUCK.
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Don't let it burn the place down. :)
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First, great to see you here.
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Sorry, I have another addition. Just bought a Battlezone about an hour ago.
Battlezone: Original innards, original cab.
And we installed a fire extinguisher next to the Star Trek and I am not kidding. I know well the reputation of those machines, and after seeing the wiring job inside I believe it.
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And we installed a fire extinguisher next to the Star Trek and I am not kidding.
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How much floor space is left? Running out of room yet?
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So how's business?
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I dont know if this was stated already, but are you having people insert money into the jakks machine and the mame machine ???
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Absolutely not. We charge 5 bucks at the door and all the games are set on free play or some equivalent.
Good question though.
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How much floor space is left? Running out of room yet?
Floor space is a SERIOUS issue.
You stick 50 people in there and it is getting crowded.
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And we installed a fire extinguisher next to the Star Trek and I am not kidding.
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need to franchise this idea.
Get one in every major city.
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Don't think that isn't on the table.
But before we can even begin to consider the formal structure of the franchise, we need to first prove that the business is both profitable and duplicatable. That will take some time.
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Goodluck. If I'm ever anywhere outside of michigan, ill stop by.
lol
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Don't think that isn't on the table.
But before we can even begin to consider the formal structure of the franchise, we need to first prove that the business is both profitable and duplicatable.
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Actually at the moment I am waiting for the drop off to happen. We have been on a steady rise since we opened.
It WILL happen once the novelty wears off, the question is how long will that take and how much of a dip will ensue.
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At this point, it's not even possible. Until they prove they can operate without a fully volunteer labor pool, they can't really expect to be able to get a realistic picture of operating costs.
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If you open one up in Albany, NY - count me in, I will volunteer free time - as long as I get to play for free!
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At this point, it's not even possible.
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You're a freeplay arcade, right? What is the admission cost? And how much "free babysitting" are you getting, with parents just dropping their kids off, paying their admission, and saying they'll be back in 3 hours? That is a gigantic issue at the Chuck E Cheese here. I'll take my kids and there are 100 kids but only 14 adults, with no one keeping tabs on most of the kids because their parents have split.
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put a basketball \ skate park next door and sell admission to that too
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He'd have to get million dollar liability insurance. There's no way that would fly.
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You're a freeplay arcade, right?
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See, you guys. They know what they are doing.
:D
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We allow no one under 18 without a parent/guardian with them.
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Awesome concept!! I hope you expand to Canada.. :laugh:
Just wondering, do you own all the units or are you renting them from other collectors?
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What, are we going to kick the kids out of the theater without a parent?
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And how much "free babysitting" are you getting, with parents just dropping their kids off, paying their admission, and saying they'll be back in 3 hours?
My guess is that "location" has a lot to do with this phenomenon. If you're in a mall where parents are walking around with their kids, it's one thing. If you're on a downtown street, it seems like that's inherently less likely to happen. If you're out in the boonies (with nothing else within walking distance for the parents to wander off to) it seems even less likely.
Dropping your kids off "for a second, just while I go to the store next door" is much more common than dropping your kids off in some location where you wouldn't have your kids in the first place.
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Yes, not your problem.
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He'd have to get million dollar liability insurance. There's no way that would fly.
I would expect this to be more like 2 mil primary liability, 10mil umbrella. I personally am a bit surprised that their liability insurance is a cheap as it is for the current arcade, given the litigious climate that we now live in.
Quarterback has it nailed on the "kid drop off syndrome" Because of the location and the demographic in the area, random parents with kids in tow is less likely than at a mall or something. 1984's location is more suited to a college age to 30 something demographic. The downtown YMCA is across the street, so the word might get out in time. My experience there is that there are a few kids, but the parents seem as excited as the kids to be there.
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He wouldn't need much liability in terms of customers for an arcade, the risk of personal injury is tiny. He'd just have to make sure he had coverage in case a machine burned the place down or something.
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We allow no one under 18 without a parent/guardian with them.
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Next thing I expect is people here are going to post that you're probably using the wrong floor wax, elevating the risk of slips and falls.
And your lighting is too bright or too dark.
And in winter you'll probably have no heat and no one will come anymore.
And .. and... and...
;D
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All those monitors probably produce a lot of heat, so he's covered there.
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There's no lack of heat. ;)
The floors are laminate, so no wax is required. They are somewhat noisy, maybe they should do something about that :P
Oh, and my comment above on liability insurance was speaking to the skate park comment, not the arcade comment. I would imagine that it would be pretty hard to break your neck in the arcade. I do get bruising on my forehead from beating it aginst the DK jr. Marquee when I lose :-[ Wonder if I have a case there...
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Hi there, this is Devin, this is the owner of 1984.
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Hi there, this is Devin, this is the owner of 1984.
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Hi there, this is Devin, this is the owner of 1984.
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Ms Pac-Man is a ---stingray---..
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She'll sleep with anything that waks.
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She'll sleep with anything that waks.
...anything that waks
Best.
Pun.
Ever.
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;-) Thank you, it's a natural talent.
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that is impressive and means Success. not the money factor, the Maslow one. :)
one good thing or bonus would be that some of these multibillionaires of the 80's that made cash on Arcades would add funds or collector stuff to your place. players deserve it, we paid their fortunes ! (there are not many museums dedicated to gamers... shame on these business men who lost or forgot the real mean of success)
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Mr.1984,
I don't suppose I could interest you in placing an mp3 recorder somewhere on a shelf for about an hour during peak playing time?
;D 8)
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Mr.1984,
I don't suppose I could interest you in placing an mp3 recorder somewhere on a shelf for about an hour during peak playing time?
;D
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Mr.1984,
I don't suppose I could interest you in placing an mp3 recorder somewhere on a shelf for about an hour during peak playing time?
;D 8)
I was thinking the same thing
Yeah!!!
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Thinking about the sounds (great idea BTW) - I just had an epiphany.
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After a few (hundred) attempts to bum some change, you would undoubtedly end up looking over some poor sod's shoulder while HE played.
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After a few (hundred) attempts to bum some change, you would undoubtedly end up looking over some poor sod's shoulder while HE played.
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"hey, want to buy some pills? weed? ninja stars?"
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Dad, why does the art teacher smell like the office at the arcade?
====================================================
Ahhh Ninja stars....that takes me back.....
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1984arcade:
Have you considered sending your DK Jr. board to Mike's Arcade and having it modified to play both Donkey Kong AND DK Jr.? This way you would have another original game without giving up more floor space.
http://www.mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?sku=DDKBOARDSET
Congratulations, BTW. I wish I were close enough to come visit.
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well if you branch out to michigan I have a few games i'll donate for a partnership.. pacman cocktail,space invaders cocktail,robotron,wacko,burger time ,2 gottlieb pins...
deal?
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same offer for central tx.....
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Great Place! :) Any plans to add a pinball to your collection of games, I didn't see any pictured or mentioned.
I wouldn't blame you if you don't get a pin, they are a fortune to maintain. They are awesome though, and there were a lot in the 80's. Of coarse those are the worse to maintain.
Best of luck with your place. Wish you were closer to me. :'(
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they have 2 pins. BK2k and... well some other pin. ;)
Obviously, I mostly play the Black Knight.
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How is this place doing? I see teh web site has closed down, which bummed me out. I hope they are still open for buisness.
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I'm still waiting for the ninja suit to arrive so I can get them those pics, too.
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I hope they are still going also, but I remember saying 6 months back in October. Hope I'm wrong...
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I hope they are still going also, but I remember saying 6 months back in October. Hope I'm wrong...
You're wrong. All was just fine a week or two ago. Devin's complaint was more to the tune of "We are getting sick of working so much" with all of the special events and non-business hours rented time gigs. I drive by there probably 3 times a week, so I'll check in on him and post back later in the week.
I think that he took the site down because nobody had time to keep it updated. I'll find out.
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Good! I would really like to see these guys succeed and perhaps open a few more locations...
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Still hoping that somebody will record a chunk of real-life classic arcade game sounds from this place.
Mr.1984,
I don't suppose I could interest you in placing an mp3 recorder somewhere on a shelf for about an hour during peak playing time?
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Still hoping that somebody will record a chunk of real-life classic arcade game sounds from this place.
Mr.1984,
I don't suppose I could interest you in placing an mp3 recorder somewhere on a shelf for about an hour during peak playing time?
GameEx gives you the option of downloading and running an Arcade Ambiance mp3 file while in the frontend...
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Still hoping that somebody will record a chunk of real-life classic arcade game sounds from this place.
Mr.1984,
I don't suppose I could interest you in placing an mp3 recorder somewhere on a shelf for about an hour during peak playing time?
GameEx gives you the option of downloading and running an Arcade Ambiance mp3 file while in the frontend...
Yeah, but it's not "real". And considering ahofle (Mr. Arcade Ambience himself) posted the original request for real life recordings, I don't think I'm stepping on anybody's toes when I say that even though the Arcade Ambience is very cool, it isn't quite the same as an actual recording from a working classic arcade.
Just hoping :)
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You're wrong. All was just fine a week or two ago. Devin's complaint was more to the tune of "We are getting sick of working so much" with all of the special events and non-business hours rented time gigs. I drive by there probably 3 times a week, so I'll check in on him and post back later in the week.
That's when you hire someone to take your place.
I think that he took the site down because nobody had time to keep it updated. I'll find out.
Taking the site down is either a sign they will not stay open, or it was a dumb move. Alot of people rely on the net to look up phone numbers, addresses and other info about businesses. You don't need to keep a simple info site "updated". It makes no sense to take a site down completely, unless you plan on the brick n mortar business to disappear as well.
Of course, I'm opinionated and assumptuous, so what do I know. ;D
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Could it be as simple as the ISP had a problem? Or they are going to move the page?
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Stopped by the arcade today. No one was home but it's all still there, just like I left it. It looks like he may have more titles as well!
I'm moving this weekeknd, but plan to hit it next weekend. I'll ask the guys about the site and forum.
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As promised...
I suffered through a gruelling night at the 1984 arcade just so I could report back to you guys on it's status. ;D
They have added some new games. Robotron and Joust! They have a few under repair at the moment as well, getting fresh monitors, better sticks, and etc. Great strides have been made to get A-list games in the arcade, and improve play by freshening them up. I took my family (-my 8 month old son) on Saturday night. We had a great time!
The bottom line... the arcade is stronger than ever.
Talking to Devin revealed the reason that the site was down/gone. It was the target of numerous hacker attacks. He finally had to just pull it, and was working Saturday night to get a new and improved site up and running. He gave me a quick preview and I can report that yes, it does look like an arcade website :P I expect that he will be dropping by here at some point to expand on my report, and look for the new site to come up soon.
Dave.
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Get some pictures!
Also, you should get the guys to record the arcade "ambiance" and post it here somewhere...
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Hi.
I saw the beginning of the 1984 homepage with the construction pictures....especially the picture with the TRON Recognizer around the door was very impressive :)
But since then......nothing.
I'm from Germany so it's rather impossible for me to visit them :cry:
but I'd like to see some pictures of the games, the rooms and, of course, the (finished?) TRON recognizer !!!
So pleeeeease :notworthy: whoever can go there: ask Devin to post some pictures....here or on their homepage! Or make some pix on your own and post them (with Devin's permission)
Thanks :)
btw: Arcade-Hall Background Sounds : http://www.subscapeannex.com/arcade/sounds.html
Mixed with some music from the 80s.....GREAT !!!
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funny i didnt notice this thread way back when as having a retro arcade interests me. i noticed this bit from the news leader article:
"One of the games that will be inside 1984
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hello,
one of the "1984" investors here and i have known devin and his brother for a number of years.
As far as devin and having money to play with for the family owned tron.... the story goes like this. Devin worked at an arcade back in the 80s (i did as well) at his arcade the parent company would sell a machine for what its total profits were from previous year, so lets say an arcade had 4 or 5 tron machines and one of them was down for repairs for a while and that sat in a location where it didn't get much play like a dollar or two a day - well you could take that machine home for about the same cost as a ps2 and a couple of games. No big deal for a working man who has access to the numbers and wants to buy his brother the most killer f"/,#ing gift of all time!!!! By the way the arcade is still alive and cranking right along, if any of you guys ever come in say hello. ohhh almost forgot, check out http://www.highscoremovie.com/ he just sent us a goodie box... the arcade is alive and well in those of us who live to play. ltr, Lincoln