First arcade you ever played

[rhoelsch]

Pac-Man. Pizza Hut. I was seven, and remember feeling bad that I wasted my dad's quarter because I lasted only like 30 seconds. We ate out as a family there quite often on weekends, and they had a cabinet that changed out every so often for as long as I can remember right at the "Please Wait to be Seated" section. Later on, I got my first glimpse of a Spy Hunter there, pumping it's Peter Gunn theme during the attract mode. Coolest thing ever, man, especially with the controls. Also remember a Pole Position and a Ms. Pac there later on. To this day, I walk into a Pizza Hut and waves of nostalgia wash over me. Even tho most have been remodeled and are way less "atmospheric", the smell still gets me.

[JeepMonkey]

I would have been nine in 1986 and my dad had a friend that was never married, so he always had the coolest stuff.  At the time he had a brand new corvette which was really cool, but even more cool was the fact that he had a real arcade machine in his house, GORF.  This was the first time I had ever played an arcade machine, and all of the games were free!  He ended up buying another machine, but I do not remember what it was.  I played a lot of games on that GORF machine.

[shardian]

I remember playing a Jungle King at a store in Wisconsin as a wee lad. That is the only game that really jumps out at me for an early age. I always had the nintendo red tent and Ms. Pac cocktail at my mom's pizza hut, so they might have also been my earliest.

[AtomSmasher]

I don't know the first one I ever played, but the earliest ones I remember playing are centipede and joust at chuck e cheese when I was really young.

Also my dentist growing up had a popeye machine with free replays that I played a lot of.

[ahofle]

It's pretty sad that I also can't remember the first one I actually played.  I do vividly remember watching the attract modes over and over again in awe though.  One of those earliest memories was watching the Space Invaders attract mode (where the invader would come out and shoot the extra 'C' in 'CCOIN').  That was at Pipe Organ Pizza in Houston -- they also had a Sprint and Boot Hill.

[Ginsu Victim]

Before it was Scooby Doo's?
I went to that one in the very early 80s when it was Scooby Doo's Pipe Organ Pizza. (I'm originally from Channelview)

[slider2732]

There was something about owning dead flesh keyboarded computers that helped with Defender, I know that. With the ZX81 or ZX Spectrum, you had a quirky set of controls as it was for games and no joystick unless you bought a plug on addition. Had to figure out up/down/left/right in a line across for one thing and that seemed to help with the Defender controls.
So the first memorable one for myself was indeed Defender. But, someone had told me about the use of an electronic lighter to gain free credits on fruit machines and arcade games. I tried it on a fairground Defender and *cough* it reset, the rug pattern appeared and it wouldn't go past that. I'll never know if they got it running again, because that was the last night of the fairground in our area for the year. Not exactly proud of that, but it made a memory.

[SavannahLion]

Realistically, it's probably between Tempest or Pong. Tempest was a regular. I watched my brother play some flying dog fight game (which never worked when I had quarters to play), Pong, Four player Pong, and Atari Football. Since I didn't understand how football was played and I could never get the dog fighting game running, It was down to Pong or Tempest.

[ahofle]

Before it was Scooby Doo's?
I went to that one in the very early 80s when it was Scooby Doo's Pipe Organ Pizza. (I'm originally from Channelview)

Hmmm, I don't recall anything about Scooby Doo.  It was the one at Memorial City mall.  I just searched though and saw that they did add Scooby Doo to the name -- bizarre.  I'm amazed at how little I can find out about that place on google.

[Ginsu Victim]

Before it was Scooby Doo's?
I went to that one in the very early 80s when it was Scooby Doo's Pipe Organ Pizza. (I'm originally from Channelview)

Hmmm, I don't recall anything about Scooby Doo.  It was the one at Memorial City mall.  I just searched though and saw that they did add Scooby Doo to the name -- bizarre.  I'm amazed at how little I can find out about that place on google.

This was a stand-alone location. I don't recall exactly where. I was VERY young. Maybe four (1981-1982)

[CheffoJeffo]

Will all of you kids who had single-digit ages in the 80's kindly get the hell off of my lawn ? 

I think the first vid  (which is a very different thing from an 'arcade' ... whippersnappers!) played was Night Driver

[Ginsu Victim]

Will all of you kids who had single-digit ages in the 80's kindly get the hell off of my lawn ? 

I think the first vid  (which is a very different thing from an 'arcade' ... whippersnappers!) played was Night Driver

Get ready to feel even older. Check out today's poll at GameFAQs

[vidmouse]

My bowling alley had
Space Invaders
Asteroids
Galaxian (one I spent the most on)
Battlezone
Space Shuttle Pinball
Missile Command (but I never played it, as the big kids were always on it)

and later they got
Star Trek
Star Wars (cockpit -- spent a lot of time there)
Star Fire

[Zero_Hour]

First coin-op machine I ever played was PONG, Christmas eve 1974, in a Hotel lobby in suburban Pittsburgh. Well, not right in the lobby, it was off the lobby right next to the cigarette vending machine, and bank of pay phones.

[NiN^_^NiN]

I think my first one was at age 5 at the local roller rink it was a Super Sprint cab double standup one

Altho that was the 1st one i really remember and loved to play was a Bad Dudes Vs Dragon Ninja cab that was in a local movieland video store use to love that thing cause i was a Bad dude back then 

[pzler]

none,

i always wanted to but wasn't allowed  and now that i'm an adult there aren't any arcades that i know of, just photoplay cabs in bars. so i'm building one to compensate for what i missed out on during childhood.

sad isn't it

[GAJoe]

My earliest memories of arcade video games are of playing Pac-Man at the Super Dollar Store and playing a Donkey Kong cabaret at a Dollar General.

[tk_42_1]

First Arcade I remember seeing and actually plays in was the one at the Toledo Airport back in the early 80's (circa 81/82.)  Pac-man and Space Invaders, man was I hooked ever since.

[Daniel270]

For me, the first two I recall being around was Crazy Climber and Galaxian at the local skating rink ... Pac and Ms Pac came much later.  As far as I know, the machines were there until they tore the rink down in the mid 90's....

[TOK]

Will all of you kids who had single-digit ages in the 80's kindly get the hell off of my lawn ? 

I think the first vid  (which is a very different thing from an 'arcade' ... whippersnappers!) played was Night Driver

Get ready to feel even older. Check out today's poll at GameFAQs

I wouldn't feel too bad. If you asked the same people what country they'd most like to visit along with 6 choices, you'd get pretty much the same result. Unfortunately there is no shortage of dummies that are into gaming. 

Fist game I played was Atari Stunt Cycle at a local convenience store.

[RTSDaddy2]

Somewhere on this board, lost in the dust, was my request about the first game I ever played, and now I can't remember the name of it again.  It was a "shark attack" styled game in that you shot at the shark by aiming your harpoon gun....but the shark was done to look like an actual shark coming towards you....dad gum, wish I could remember the name.  At any rate, someone on here found it for me at one of the websites housing arcade antiques (it was circa 1976 -77).

Asteroids and Space Invaders soon made their apperance in the Gold Mine at Northlake Mall in Tucker Georga....I spent many happy hours in there. 

[Mauzy]

Im pretty sure the first vid I played was Galaga. This was about 11 years ago, so the game was already a classic and simple for my 5 year old motor skills...

[TOK]

Somewhere on this board, lost in the dust, was my request about the first game I ever played, and now I can't remember the name of it again.  It was a "shark attack" styled game in that you shot at the shark by aiming your harpoon gun....but the shark was done to look like an actual shark coming towards you....dad gum, wish I could remember the name.  At any rate, someone on here found it for me at one of the websites housing arcade antiques (it was circa 1976 -77).

Asteroids and Space Invaders soon made their apperance in the Gold Mine at Northlake Mall in Tucker Georga....I spent many happy hours in there. 

Probably Killer Shark. It was made in around 72. I played a similar one with a manta ray, I think it was called Devil Fish.
Department store my mom went to had a few electro mechanical games, including the manta one, Haunted House (gun game, not the pinball) and the one where you bomb scrolling terrain. It was like a big drum inside that went around and you fired at ground targets with a flight  yoke.

[ark_ader]

First arcade (if you could call it an arcade) was Shakey's Pizza back in 1976 or so in Downey Ca.

They had a Pong game I liked to play on.

The other proper arcade was in 1979 on a 14 day cruise to the med, they had two Space Invaders at 10p a pop, as it was a Fred Olsen Cruise Liner.  I was on that sucker every day.

My gaming habit drew me to the states where I played at Bobo's Arcade, Sega Center and Golf n Stuff in Downey Ca.

My Dad liked to take me to amusement parks every Sunday.  When it rained it was Movieland Waxwork Museum and they had a cool arcade too.  I went to Disneyland and Knotts so much, I just headed to the arcades, as the rides were boring.

Buena Park mall, La Mirada (the Arkade), Westminster Mall Sega Center was huge as was Torrence's Redondo Beach marina arcade and Old Towne Mall.

The best arcade at the time was in the Roaring Twenties part of Knotts Berry Farm.  Starcade at Dineyland was another favorite.

Both arcades were HUGE.  I got $20 a week pocket money just to play on the machines, thus my permanent addiction, which I blame my parents ever since.   

Well if I added all the money spent, I could have bought a machine.

[vizzinni]

I had a Pong (console) when it first came out.

My first arcade game was Tank, in a cocktail at a local pizza place.  Then Clowns and Space Invaders.



 

[rhoelsch]

Hey RTSDaddy2: here's that Shark Attack game recreated for PC (appeared briefly in the movie Jaws as "Killer Shark", I ran across it on a Jaws fan site last week)

http://www.daemonkeep.com/killershark.html

If that's the game, maybe it'll give you a bit of nostalgia...

[ahofle]

http://www.daemonkeep.com/killershark.html

If that's the game, maybe it'll give you a bit of nostalgia...

Thanks for that!
A friend of mine was looking for that game recently as a matter of fact!

[Jouster]

My parents had a Super Pong console!  But I think the first arcade I played was Pac-Man at a movie theater.  I put in 50 cents...and that was the beginning of my addiction I believe.

Jouster

[Ginsu Victim]

50 cents? I hope that was two plays...

[Blanka]

Tiger Heli

and Arkanoid

On a camping-site in Houstrup Denmark

[RTSDaddy2]

Hey RTSDaddy2: here's that Shark Attack game recreated for PC (appeared briefly in the movie Jaws as "Killer Shark", I ran across it on a Jaws fan site last week)

http://www.daemonkeep.com/killershark.html

If that's the game, maybe it'll give you a bit of nostalgia...

Boy does it ever - thanks for the link!  It's a little different, of course, being a PC replica, but that was exactly the general idea.  Very cool.

[shmokes]

Moon Patrol.  It may or may not have been the first game I ever played, but it's the one that made the first impression on me -- my earliest gaming memory.  Some friends of the family owned an arcade and we got to go there and play games when it was otherwise closed at least once.  This would have been when I was six or younger based on where I lived at the time.  All I know is that I thought Moon Patrol was the coolest thing I'd ever seen, and I've been obsessed with videogames pretty much ever since.  Also, I seem to remember that the games ran on dimes, not quarters.  This would have been somewhere between 1982 (the year Moon Patrol was released) and 1984 (the year I moved to another state).

[Donkey_Kong]

I think it was carnival at a place called junkworld when I was about 4 or some ridiculous young age like that. I was so young and the memory is so faint, it seems like playing the game could have been a dream maybe. I only visited the place like once or twice before it's demise. A couple things I remember is that it lived up to it's name "junkworld", other than the sweet video games like space invaders, carnival, sprint. It also had some old old penny arcades and that type of thing. It was in an ancient big old warehouse storage like building. I'm pretty sure the guy sold junk to...then it was just up and gone.

[gavkiwi]

Wow, I want to say it was 'Moon Patrol' at a Fish 'N' Chip shop at Ohope Beach, in New Zealand back in the mid 80s

[Thenasty]

somewhere in the back on my brain, its telling me that I have played NIGHT DRIVER back in 1977-1978. But the one I really remember (I guess this is when I brain started to remembering important stuff) playing Space Invaders, Asteroids.

[RyoriNoTetsujin]

The first coin-op I have a distinct memory of playing was Time Pilot.  It was at the local Safeway.  I was around 4 years old, and had to stand on a stool to play it.  The weekend grocery shopping run always ended with ONE quarter from my Mom, and one game of Time Pilot... which lasted all of maybe one minute. 

It wasn't until my first game of Joust, some time later, that I *understood* that I was addicted...

It's stories like this that influenced me to build my cab.  Every time I have someone of my generation over to play, something like this thread occurs.  "Oh man!  I played this in a Chuck E. Cheese..."  "I remember the roller-rink where we played this all the time!" "This is my... my LAUNDROMAT!"  (That last one is an actual quote!)

... Good stuff. 

[boykster]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Om84Zc4-KcQ

[RetroACTIVE]

Missile Command

[Jouster]

50 cents? I hope that was two plays...

Yeah, it was...the first quarter didn't do it...I died too quickly. But with the second one I lasted much longer, and that's when I was hooked.

Jouster

[ahofle]

HAHAHAH that was great!