How many years does arcade gaming have left?

[cagey]

Most of the arcade community (as far as I can tell) is made up of people who, at a young age were familiar with arcade machines and the games. Considering that this generation could be something like 50 years old to maybe 25 years old it seems unlikely that the arcade community will last forever.

I am not certain of the plight of arcade gaming especially considering I am a 16 year old soon to buy my first arcade machine. Even so, I will never be able to feel the same nostalgia of playing an arcade machine that I played when I was young.

How many people do you know who have left the BYOAC community because they felt they were too old for it (Or maybe that will only begin to happen for another decade or so) and how many BYOACers are post arcade-classics generation?

Possibly the community will continue to develop as people buy old TimeZone machines (Not sure if this modern equivalent of an arcade is anywhere other than Australia), but the classics will only be around for so long.

Cagey.

[CheffoJeffo]

How many people do you know who have left the BYOAC community because they felt they were too old for it (Or maybe that will only begin to happen for another decade or so) and how many BYOACers are post arcade-classics generation?

In my experience, it doesn't happen  ... "you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave" ...

 

Cheers.

[Hurray Banana]

I've been playing arcade games since pong was out, I can't ever imagine a time when I won't be playing these games.

It's in the blood, it was a big part of me growing up, seeing the evolution, the new concepts and ideas.

[More Cowbell]

Everything goes in cycles. You know the saying, "Everything old is new again." Generation X-ers will be looking to relive their younger days throughout their lives. Also, there will always be a link to the classics as video games get more and more advanced. Just look at the popularity of old movies, old music, etc. It can be appreciated by more than just the generation that created it.

[SirPoonga]

Everything goes in cycles. You know the saying, "Everything old is new again."

Exactly, look at all these tv games and led game remakes!

[GGKoul]

I've been playing arcade games since pong was out, I can't ever imagine a time when I won't be playing these games.

It's in the blood, it was a big part of me growing up, seeing the evolution, the new concepts and ideas.

I'm with him..

[fredster]

It will evolve into computer camps.

There won't be stand up arcade machines. Just flatscreens on walls and headsets.

People paid for Pacman when they couldn't play it at home. They will still pay for a gaming experience they can't get in their house now.

Simulation and 3-D surround will replace the standard Jamma rig.

Games like Beatmania and golf simulators will get more complex and diversified. Driving simulators and more advanced gun games will emerge.

[Wetworks]

And in ten or so years time some guy will be trying to restore his street fighter/mortal kombat machine and end up starting a forum like this!!!

[SuperGunGuru]

And in ten or so years time some guy will be trying to restore his street fighter/mortal kombat machine and end up starting a forum like this!!!

I agree with you on that. I actually grew up playing a lot of MK and SF2, though my collection is 90% classics. It seems to me that the price of some common JAMMA boards like the MK and SF2 games has gone up when you browse ebay.

[grantspain]

hope arcades go on a bit longer or im out of a job ,but there again someone said the same in 1990 and im still here

[fredster]

Nice Gameroom SuperGunGuru!

[CheffoJeffo]

Nice Gameroom SuperGunGuru!

Agreed ... this is an official request for SGG to create a thread in AM with pics of the gameroom ... wanna see more of that CC cabinet ...

/end hijack

Cheers.

[SuperGunGuru]

Nice Gameroom SuperGunGuru!

Agreed ... this is an official request for SGG to create a thread in AM with pics of the gameroom ... wanna see more of that CC cabinet ...

/end hijack

Cheers.

Hehe I have my buddy Tony to thank for the pic of my gameroom. I have a digital camera but it simply sucks. He did take a few other pics of room

[Wetworks]

And in ten or so years time some guy will be trying to restore his street fighter/mortal kombat machine and end up starting a forum like this!!!

I agree with you on that. I actually grew up playing a lot of MK and SF2, though my collection is 90% classics. It seems to me that the price of some common JAMMA boards like the MK and SF2 games has gone up when you browse eBay.

When I went to buy my first dedicated cab back in 2001 I was so gutted that they were either converted or unrecognizable.. i ended up buying a complete original MK2 .. I was a tad disappointed that I was not coming home with a Galaxian or Asteroids cab but was relieved when i could plug in a PC and play all my Mame games on it. Now its been a few years people actually like the cab and say it reminds them of being young! They all reckon its a classic! Its 13 years old now which Pacman was in 1994 a year after MK2 was released! Anyway its what you dig!!!

Can't wait for the Mr Driller generation to start buying cabs!! he he

Anyone got a Galaxian Control panel!

[Mark70]

   ...I am a 16 year old soon to buy my first arcade machine. Even so, I will never be able to feel the same nostalgia of playing an arcade machine that I played when I was young...

My god.  You are young.  You are the age that most of us 30 year olds are being nostalgic about.

I think, as time goes on you will see fewer people who spent their youth in video game arcades.  Home consoles weren't really all that great in the hayday of arcades.  People went to arcades because that's where the high end gaming was.  Now it's on your PC or in your living room.

I think that kids from urban centers will be less likely to turn into the nostalgic arcade builders.  You may still have people like me who are nostalgic about certain games and pinballs because they spent their summers going to the trailer park on the lake and it had two or three games that you played the hell out of because you were a bored teen and there's no game console in the cottage/trailer etc.

[cagey]

My god.  You are young.  You are the age that most of us 30 year olds are being nostalgic about.

I just love all the classic arcade games. They're nothing like the modern generic FPSs and even though I have been to an arcade less than five times in my life yet I'd still love to build a machine. We all know there is no better way to play.

I think, as time goes on you will see fewer people who spent their youth in video game arcades.  Home consoles weren't really all that great in the hayday of arcades.  People went to arcades because that's where the high end gaming was.  Now it's on your PC or in your living room.

Well there will most likely always be games like DDR and light gun games in arcades because that type of thing is expensive and/or difficult to set up at your home. It seems that many people go to the arcade as a social thing aswell especially for games like 8 player daytona.

[97thruhiker]

Basically Mark70 relayed my own thoughts.  I'm 35 and my youth was spent (when I could get there) at the arcade playing all those classics.  Its a very stong pull of emotion for me to play DK Jr, Time Pilot, Dragon's Lair, etc.  The dimly lit arcade glowing with all those machines, having your friends around, hoping to pick up that girl playing Ms. Pacman all led to an experience thats just not around today (its around just in other places / activities).  Speaking for myself, and probably for most here, building a cabinet gives us a chance to capture a bit of our youths.  To be brought back to a time not much younger then you are now.  These machines will always be around but I doubt that after this generation to a great extent.  Mostly the hardcore collecter of electronics / games (As example how prevelent are all those mechcanical machines that could be found in the penny arcades of the early 1900's today?)  I'm sure people still collect them and play them but not to the exent of say 50 years ago when they were only 20 years old.

[SlyDog]

I agree with most of the posts here.    Just a way to relive our happy days when the only thing we worried about is where is my next quarter coming from.   I feel these will never get "old" everyone has their item to help rebuild the past..   My Father is rebuilding is 55 Studebaker to remember his... grandpa is making homemade fishing poles to remember his.   I am playing games to remember mine.  I can see in years to come people will be modifying there VR gear to play halo or socom games.   I admit not everyone loves games I am 30 i love the classics.  My friend from high school loved playing guitar so he has his 80's guitar collection.   It just boils down on taste and what makes you happy.    Ironically a couple years back i thought i was getting too old for this so i left the seen a bit.   And now coming back i couldn't be happier (of course hours seem shorter).

[ArcadeNoob]

Im 16, as well.




I have two arcade games, local finds.  Right now Im mostly into the arcade thing because a)  Its the most fun way to play games, and b)  I would love to learn the mechanics of repair. 



But, unlike yourself, I have been to an arcade many times....I go to this kickass local one that specializes in classic games.  Its 5 dollars an hour, or 10 dollars for the whole day..........and usually, I am the only person in there when I go(which is why I go at least once a week).

Good times

[rackoon]

I agree that eventually the retro arcade scene will mostly die off as the memory of arcades die.

   YET! There will always be a hand full of people building cabs and playing the classics because modern games are drastically different playing experience.
 
   Example: tempest, centipede, pac-man, donky kong, they are simple, fast paced and can only truly be appreciated when played on a cab. You just don't get the same gaming experience with the new system games.

FINAL EXAMPLE: Some folks still play Chess, Checkers, Dominos, Monopoly Etc.

                               NEED I SAY MORE

[aumameman]

I Think commerically Arcade games are dying as a direct result of ps2, xbox, xbox 360, etc...

How hard is it to find a brand new original arcade cabinet?? Theyre mostly all generic, except for your Driving and Shooter, which have pretty much stayed dedicated cabs.

I know that its hard for us to think about, but the Arcade as we know it probably wont exist in as little as 5, maybe 10 years, which is why MAME exists and why people like us are building and/or restoring Arcade machines.

Yes it does go in cycles, like movies or fashion, but everytime the cycle happens something is "better", or in our terms "LOST".

[RayB]

I know that its hard for us to think about, but the Arcade as we know it probably wont exist in as little as 5, maybe 10 years,

I guess it depends on what generation you're talking to. Arcades as *I* knew them DO NOT exist in every city anymore. It used to be that every city and town would have at least one video arcade in the town center, or mall. Or at least a billiards/arcade shared location.

Arcades as I knew them were found in most malls and city centers. In the small city (population 75,000) I lived in during my teens, we had 4 arcades within a 4 block stretch of the main downtown core. When I moved to Montreal (1987) my friends and I would "arcade hop" along the main downtown artery. We'd hit 5 to 7 arcades along about a half-mile stretch.

Now I live in a city of over 100,000 people and the closest thing to an "arcade" is Chuck E Cheese or Sportsworld in the next city over. (The "arcade" there, if you can call it that, is lousy. Half the machines are defective in some manner. You can tell their main business is the golf driving range, go karts and mini-golf).

I could drive 1 hr to Toronto and play in one of those expensive "entertainment centers" such as Playdium or Dave & Busters. But those are not arcades as I knew them. Those are all-in-1 entertainment centers (restaurant, pool, shuffleboard, bar, redemption, and, oh yes, over-priced video games).

There is one traditional arcade left in Toronto's downtown core, and last time I was there, a portion of their space had been re-allocated to a new business next door. In 1996 there were 4 arcades along the main shopping street, but 3 of them closed down before 2000. There might be a couple more spread out through Toronto, but it speaks volumes that I would have to drive an hour to a major mega-city just to find what used to be in every town.

If arcades as I knew them are not dead, they certainly are an endangered species.

[ChadTower]

Small city of 75,000?  Dude, I grew up in a town of 40.   The town I live in now is about 8000.

[RayB]

Small city of 75,000?  Dude, I grew up in a town of 40.   The town I live in now is about 8000.

Notice how you used the term "town" rather than "city"?

[ChadTower]

There aren't many "cities" over 75000 in most of New England if that is better.

[RayB]

I'm still left wondering what your point is. You havent added anything of value to this thread.
 

[ChadTower]

It's true.

[tetsu96]

I think, as time goes on you will see fewer people who spent their youth in video game arcades.  Home consoles weren't really all that great in the hayday of arcades.  People went to arcades because that's where the high end gaming was.  Now it's on your PC or in your living room.

Heh, I just had a scary thought - does anyone else here think that in 20 years people that grew up playing today's games is going to be nostalgic for the simple yet engaging replay they had with their xbox / ps2 / etc?

[Hurray Banana]

When I was growing up, the arcades I liked the best were the little ones where people had converted small shops into mini arcades with a couple of coktails and 5 or 6 standups.

Even the little newsagents and video shops and a couple of arcade machines.

I never liked the big commercial places, always had too many slot machines.

Now your lucky if you can find a couple of arcade machines (usually big dedicated cabs) among the slot machines, very sad

[Havok]

I think, as time goes on you will see fewer people who spent their youth in video game arcades.  Home consoles weren't really all that great in the hayday of arcades.  People went to arcades because that's where the high end gaming was.  Now it's on your PC or in your living room.

Heh, I just had a scary thought - does anyone else here think that in 20 years people that grew up playing today's games is going to be nostalgic for the simple yet engaging replay they had with their xbox / ps2 / etc?

Maybe that will be the Flashback 10.0?

[WaRpEd]

I grew up playing asteroids and donkey kong which were new technology then I'm 41 my son and I still play the (old) classics and enjoy the time together. I guess as long as people game together either in an arcade or at home. the games will live on.
I hope.

[Dave_K.]

Check out Akihabara Japan if you want to see the latest in real arcade games.  Its still very much alive.

[RayB]

Check out Akihabara Japan if you want to see the latest in real arcade games.  Its still very much alive.

Yeah ok.
Let me see, where did I park my private jet...?

[ChadTower]

I sit and play stuff like Namco Museum with my kids all the time.  My 4 year old is a Galaxian nut and the older one loves Mr Do.

If you want to get your kids to love the classics you just have to start them before they care what their friends think and before "cool" is defined.

[RayB]

If you want to get your kids to love the classics you just have to start them before they care what their friends think and before "cool" is defined.

You mean UNTIL they care what their friends think. Just watch. When that time comes, those games will be "those baby games I used to play". 

[spocktwin]

   Hey I am one of the oldy moldy who marveled at Pong when I first saw it and actually played Space Race when it was around.  I believe the home entertainment explosion is just starting.  These cabs will always be a curiosity and people will want them.  Just like people who collect old toys or baseball cards something just go on.  I will be 46 this Tuesday and a good friend of mine brought over his 14 year old and two of his buddies and they stayed and hung out with the old men and we never got near my cab.  They loved it and they want Dad to bulld one.  If anything I felt vindicated in my pursuit.
Regards,
Spock  (one of the few people older then me)

[whatzcrackn]

Man it is not going anywhere!!! 

I have been playing games since Pacman was Black and White and did not even turn.  Yeah............push up and he would go up without turning. Push back and he would eat from the  back of his head.  And that unforgetable munching sound.......womp womp womp.  (those were the days)

And being that games are forever looking better, keeps me and the kids going..........

Man it is like the Energizer Bunny....................... It will keep goin and goin and goin.

[RayB]

So we've gone to discussing how long ARCADE gaming has left to how long VIDEO GAMING in general has?

[flashiv]

Both of my nephews (age 10 & 17) want me to build each of them an arcade cab.  The 10 y/o loves Dig Dug and the 17 y/o actually holds 2nd place on Sky Diver on MAME at Twin Galaxies.  So no I don't think the sun has set on arcade gaming just yet.

/Shameless plug/ Course their uncle holds the World's Record for Space Zap on MAME at TG. /End Shameless Plug/ 

[eclipso]

Lots of great thoughts that I agree with, too many to quote. Seeing how I will be 34 in a few days I obviously share the sentiment of us "older" folks.