Author Topic: 1984 arcade (Blatant ad) (Read 24070 times)

3dmacman · « **on:** August 29, 2005, 11:05:01 am »

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

nostrebor · « **Reply #1 on:** August 29, 2005, 11:28:11 am »

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

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!

3dmacman · « **Reply #2 on:** August 29, 2005, 12:00:05 pm »

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.

the3eyedblindman · « **Reply #3 on:** August 29, 2005, 05:41:22 pm »

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.

Q*Bert_OP · « **Reply #4 on:** August 29, 2005, 07:39:51 pm »

WTF? That Ms. pac has one of those Jakks hanhelds in it

paigeoliver · « **Reply #5 on:** August 30, 2005, 12:09:07 am »

Quote from: qbert247 on August 29, 2005, 07:39:51 pm

WTF? That Ms. pac has one of those Jakks hanhelds in it

Might be a Nes and the Ms. Pac cart?

nostrebor · « **Reply #6 on:** August 31, 2005, 10:15:12 am »

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.

ChadTower · « **Reply #7 on:** August 31, 2005, 10:21:14 am »

I really wish I could visit this place.

crsdawg · « **Reply #8 on:** September 02, 2005, 11:59:22 pm »

galaga is also in a conversion cab. one of the few dissapointments i've had there.

nostrebor · « **Reply #9 on:** September 03, 2005, 04:22:16 pm »

Is it a Jakks as well? I've actually not paid much attention to galaga in there.

tristan · « **Reply #10 on:** September 03, 2005, 09:39:59 pm »

They have Smash TV, a game from 1990. They call it "One of the best of the late 80's arcade games". Hardly 1984.

nostrebor · « **Reply #11 on:** September 06, 2005, 02:30:23 pm »

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

I'm sure that "technically" it is a late 80's game. It was probably developed in the 80's anyway

1984arcade · « **Reply #12 on:** October 04, 2005, 02:05:34 pm »

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.

ChadTower · « **Reply #13 on:** October 04, 2005, 02:12:53 pm »

First, great to see you here. Welcome.

Second, you bastard, you need to be in New England.

1984arcade · « **Reply #14 on:** October 04, 2005, 02:48:40 pm »

I forgot one:

Star Trek: Original innards and original cab. BLOWS DOGS and has been repaired about a zillion freaking times. Sega games SUCK.

ChadTower · « **Reply #15 on:** October 04, 2005, 02:52:43 pm »

Don't let it burn the place down.

Havok · « **Reply #16 on:** October 04, 2005, 03:10:22 pm »

Quote from: ChadTower on October 04, 2005, 02:12:53 pm

First, great to see you here.

1984arcade · « **Reply #17 on:** October 04, 2005, 05:57:25 pm »

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.

RayB · « **Reply #18 on:** October 04, 2005, 09:26:10 pm »

Quote from: 1984arcade on October 04, 2005, 05:57:25 pm

And we installed a fire extinguisher next to the Star Trek and I am not kidding.

DarkKobold · « **Reply #19 on:** October 04, 2005, 09:30:04 pm »

How much floor space is left? Running out of room yet?

GameOver · « **Reply #20 on:** October 04, 2005, 10:33:41 pm »

So how's business?

the3eyedblindman · « **Reply #21 on:** October 04, 2005, 11:04:29 pm »

I dont know if this was stated already, but are you having people insert money into the jakks machine and the mame machine

1984arcade · « **Reply #22 on:** October 05, 2005, 12:06:12 am »

Absolutely not. We charge 5 bucks at the door and all the games are set on free play or some equivalent.

Good question though.

1984arcade · « **Reply #23 on:** October 05, 2005, 12:17:10 am »

Quote from: DarkKobold on October 04, 2005, 09:30:04 pm

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.

1984arcade · « **Reply #24 on:** October 05, 2005, 12:18:48 am »

Quote from: RayB on October 04, 2005, 09:26:10 pm

Quote from: 1984arcade on October 04, 2005, 05:57:25 pm
And we installed a fire extinguisher next to the Star Trek and I am not kidding.

Hoagie_one · « **Reply #25 on:** October 05, 2005, 01:18:07 pm »

need to franchise this idea.

Get one in every major city.

1984arcade · « **Reply #26 on:** October 05, 2005, 03:31:03 pm »

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.

Hoagie_one · « **Reply #27 on:** October 05, 2005, 04:01:39 pm »

Goodluck. If I'm ever anywhere outside of michigan, ill stop by.

lol

RayB · « **Reply #28 on:** October 05, 2005, 06:03:22 pm »

Quote from: 1984arcade on October 05, 2005, 03:31:03 pm

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.

1984arcade · « **Reply #29 on:** October 05, 2005, 07:16:52 pm »

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.

ChadTower · « **Reply #30 on:** October 05, 2005, 07:56:42 pm »

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.

Havok · « **Reply #31 on:** October 06, 2005, 11:58:30 am »

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!

1984arcade · « **Reply #32 on:** October 06, 2005, 03:08:38 pm »

Quote from: ChadTower on October 05, 2005, 07:56:42 pm

At this point, it's not even possible.

ChadTower · « **Reply #33 on:** October 06, 2005, 03:15:58 pm »

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.

Hoagie_one · « **Reply #34 on:** October 06, 2005, 03:17:22 pm »

put a basketball \ skate park next door and sell admission to that too

ChadTower · « **Reply #35 on:** October 06, 2005, 03:17:52 pm »

He'd have to get million dollar liability insurance. There's no way that would fly.

1984arcade · « **Reply #36 on:** October 06, 2005, 08:34:43 pm »

Quote from: ChadTower on October 06, 2005, 03:15:58 pm

You're a freeplay arcade, right?

RayB · « **Reply #37 on:** October 06, 2005, 08:56:45 pm »

See, you guys. They know what they are doing.

ChadTower · « **Reply #38 on:** October 07, 2005, 09:09:51 am »

Quote from: 1984arcade on October 06, 2005, 08:34:43 pm

We allow no one under 18 without a parent/guardian with them.

GGKoul · « **Reply #39 on:** October 07, 2005, 10:53:13 am »

Awesome concept!! I hope you expand to Canada..

Just wondering, do you own all the units or are you renting them from other collectors?


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