Dead Tech ! We got the #1 Spot

[BUCKETHEAD]

We received the #1 Spot for Dead Tech on MSN.com


http://tech.msn.com/products/articlepcw.aspx?cp-documentid=21159559&GT1=40000

[Level42]

A few arcades survive, but the days of gamers lining up to toss quarters into "Street Fighter" or "Mortal Kombat" are long gone.

This line says enough about the guy who wrote it.  Too young to know what the ---fudgesicle--- he's talking about. Idiot.

[Aceldamor]

There are quite a few that are on that list that shows he is a jackass.

[Beretta]

idiot or not can anyone here refuit that public arcades are'nt dying? with a straight face and sincerity?

[Level42]

As a matter of fact.....yes I can.

I guess the boom wasn't as big as it was in the US in the 80's overhere. But the arcades that I used to know from that period are still alive and kicking here. They exist in touristic (often coast) places and seem to do fine still, if I judge the amount of money invested in them to look quality and clean.

What _has_ disappeared here are the single pinball and videogame machines in cafetaria's, cinema's etc. Now you often see Photoplay's (usually wit the plug out of the socket) in those places.

Also the "arcades" that were on camping sites etc. have disappeared or became only a handful of machines.

When I recently visited the arcade in Scheveningen (http://www.funland.nl/games.php) I asked if they had plans to let go of the Galaga/Ms. Pac reunion but I was kindly smiled at and told it was too good of an earner to let go. OK, the only other classic was 1941 there and the rest was all the modern stuff, but hey, arcade games have always changed. I believe there will always be a place for games like Outrun SP, sit down flying games, shooting games etc.  DDR machines are still very hot too.

Another great and very classy looking arcade I visited recently is the Carousel in Vlissingen (Flushings):
http://www.carrousel-amusement.nl/
I had a great time playing various machines and I liked that you were able to buy a card. It was "happy hour" on the sunday morning and all games were half price

Is it as big as it was ? No. Will it completely die out, I doubt it. As long as the games can offer something extra over playing at home (which has _always_ been the reason for people willing to play them, even in the 80's) there will be arcades.

Aside from that all, I was more targetting at his mention as SF and KI as games that people used to stand in line for.... Popular ? yes, but not a shadow of the real classics.

[Beretta]

well maybe they was'nt the most popular game.. had the longest lines.. something that would be hard to prove..

but i do remember being lines for mortal kombat, maybe not a dozen+ deep.. but it was'nt uncommon to have 3 or 4 people with their quarters/tokens up and the arcade i went to most had more then one MK cab, also terminator 2 when it first came out.. now that probably had the longest line i ever seen of any arcade game ever, the local news crew even did a story on it was so popular.


street fighter while popular was never really as popular as some people claim it is.
mortal kombat was actually a much larger attraction in my area, SF2 did ok and street fighter in general still earned good money but you seen more MK's then SF, and if there was both most people was playing the MK compared to the SF..

arcade i use to goto was pretty heavy on fighters, tekken, sf, mk, virtua fighter, wrestlemaina, wargods, primal rage, KOF, fatal fury, samurai showdown, world heros, etc etc hell they even had a bloodstorm, which i personally like very much.. but not many others did they ended up converting it.. something the arcade i went to rarely ever did most of there games was brand new dedicated cabs.

[RayB]

Level42: Youre saying theyve been reduced to tourist attractions. That's as close to dead as can be. Used to be EVERY small city had at least one arcade. Now you're lucky to find one in a large city.

[Ummon]

Level42: Youre saying theyve been reduced to tourist attractions. That's as close to dead as can be. Used to be EVERY small city had at least one arcade. Now you're lucky to find one in a large city.

Not only this, but in no more....and perhaps a bit less....than 20 years, full sensory gear will be available and, at least, affordable - meaning, even movie theatres will feel it.

[Spyridon]

I've never waited in line for Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, but I have waited in line for Atari Football, Dragon's Lair, and Tron.

[Nipedley]

I had the misfortune of growing up in the early -> mid 90's and arcades were starting to dwindle. I don't think I have ever seen a line for one. Living by the seaside there are a couple of arcades left here but not many..

Saying that, I don't think they will ever die out for good. A lot of people have memories of their childhood which will always bring them back, and it seems they will have a place in theme parks and coastal towns for some time to come. I hope so, anyway

[RayB]

Ahhh... the good old days of seeing a new game... craning your neck trying to glimpse the graphics -- that is if the guy playing didnt have 2-3 buddies crowding the sides, hiding the screen...  Adding your quarter to the row of quarters already lined up along the marquee or monitor glass... Ahh the anticipation! Only 6 more quarters until I get the privilege to try this colorful new game!  Sometimes, your quarter slips down between the glass and the control panel, lost forever! OH NO. Waiting, Waiting... How is this guy so good? The game just came out! Man this is taking forever... oh, one more player to go... my quarter's next... YES Game Over. OH the pressure! Slip in my quarter... hit start... What do I do? Huh. oH, damn, dead already... What is the goal of this game... oh, I think I got a bit further--Dead again. Hey no fair. Last man already, :-( ... I think I know how to beat those--UGH dead. Game over!!!  Um I guess I have to move away so someone else can play now.

... WOW THAT WAS COOL! I can't wait to play again!

[Spyridon]

Ahhh... the good old days of seeing a new game... craning your neck trying to glimpse the graphics -- that is if the guy playing didnt have 2-3 buddies crowding the sides, hiding the screen... 

You mean your arcade didn't have these...

Slip in my quarter... hit start... What do I do? Huh. oH, damn, dead already... What is the goal of this game... oh, I think I got a bit further--Dead again. Hey no fair. Last man already, :-( ... I think I know how to beat those--UGH dead. Game over!!!  Um I guess I have to move away so someone else can play now.

... WOW THAT WAS COOL! I can't wait to play again!

Reminds me of the first time I played pac-man.  I was real good at eating those ghosts.  I just didn't understand why the game ended after I ate the third one?

[Level42]

Haha, yeah, reminds me of my first Pac Man game. I actually thought that the ghosts would get you if they "caught you in the back" but if Pac Man was "eating" towards the ghosts I could swallow them.....I completely missed the point of the power pills when watching the guy before me.

Hey, I was a kid then !

Did anyone ever see a cab with those extra monitors installed ? It looks FUGLY !

[Spyridon]

Did anyone ever see a cab with those extra monitors installed ? It looks FUGLY !

The only game I remember seeing with the monitor on top was Dragon's Lair.

[Jack Burton]

Those monitors look like they would be perfect for a supergun setup.

[Beretta]

i only seen those monitors installed on one game.

it was at an Aladdin castle in the mall on a mortal kombat 2, dunno what was originally in the cab as it was a conversion.. actually that arcade had  nasty habit of doing conversions.

and yes they are pretty fugly, it's basicly a monitor with a wood (maybe plastic) enclosure mounted on top.

btw RayB, you forget the part where you talk trash to the game or the other player.. no arcade experience is complete with out some smack talk.

[goukisama]

Also as you can see here, Its pretty easy to own your OWN arcade machine in your home.

[Billy_Goatfeet]

  I remember those monitors on top, they were pretty cool back then.  Especially if you were younger and not as tall, you could still see what was happening.  I would be standing in line to play Tron and I would be 'patiently' waiting for the guy to lose!