| casm |
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Cinematronics > *
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Growing Up in Arcades: 1979 - 1989
#253164 - 04/28/11 05:31 PM
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| Hizzout |
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70's baby, early 80's child
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Reged: 02/05/04
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Very nice
[Re: casm]
#253166 - 04/28/11 06:33 PM
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Reminds me of my childhood. I wish there were more videos of arcades from the 80's but everyone didn't have cameras the way they do now.
My favorite arcade was a "TIME OUT" in one of the local malls next to the theater (remember when malls had theaters in them?) . The arcade was pretty big, and it always had rock music blasting (Led Zepplin, Rush, Van Halen, Iron Maiden, etc) and had black light activated floors.
It was loud, dark, crowded, smelled like B.O. and pop-corn from the theater next door, and it was awesome.
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| DMala |
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Sleep is overrated
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Re: Growing Up in Arcades: 1979 - 1989
[Re: casm]
#253168 - 04/28/11 07:16 PM
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| Gyrovision |
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so many more levels...
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Re: Growing Up in Arcades: 1979 - 1989
[Re: casm]
#253171 - 04/28/11 07:23 PM
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O.
M.
G.
This is a personal "best of times" for me, the site has pictures of one of my all-time favorite arcades in the mid 80's I used to go to weekly... Sam's Town in El Dorado Hills California. I played on that very Xybots machine all the time, that was the only place I ever saw Xybots. Took many-a-girlfriends there. God I love seeing this arcade again, it is exactly the way I remembered it. It was huge. They had ALL the great games, wish they took more pics inside...
Sam's Town today
Thanks casm for posting this! 
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Re: Very nice
[Re: Hizzout]
#253173 - 04/28/11 07:42 PM
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Truck World in Hubbard, Ohio just on the Ohio side from PA on interstate 80 is where I spent most of my arcade youth. When I was old enough to drive I went there all the time. It was not a big or fancy arcade, being a truck stop arcade, but it was the best I had access to.
I lost blood to an arcade game in that arcade ... Street Fighter II in summer 1991, after a night of delivering pizzas I was there at about 1 a.m. letting off some steam on SF2. Unfortunately a bunch of rednecks came in and didn't like that I was beating them consistently and before I knew it I saw weird motion out of the corner of my eye (in the middle of a game) - it was a fist headed for my face. I was sucker punched and stunned. Had no idea what to do so I wrestled the guy to the ground and tried to reason with him. Reasoning with a redneck at 1 a.m. in a truck stop is not really possible as you might expect. Left the place and went straight to the emergency room for 6 stitches above my eye.
Also I still remember making my girlfriend at the time wait 40 minutes while I played a game of Assault just to show her how cool it was. Of course she was not impressed.
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| Moose |
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Don't make me assume my ultimate form!
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Re: Very nice
[Re: Bryan Ischo]
#253189 - 04/28/11 09:48 PM
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> Also I still remember making my girlfriend at the time wait 40 minutes while I played
> a game of Assault just to show her how cool it was. Of course she was not impressed.
LOL ! That's one thing missing from the arcade ambiance sound tracks - the pissed off girlfriends (and mum's) outside yelling out "are you finished yet ?" and "can we go now ?".
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Moose
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| Quantum Leaper |
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OCRer and Monkey Typist for Galaxy Game
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Re: Growing Up in Arcades: 1979 - 1989
[Re: casm]
#253363 - 04/30/11 08:50 PM
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Thank you for being back memories of being a teenager, I used to have 4 arcades I could go too, 3 at indoor malls and one on a small strip mall. I still remember coming in 3rd at the Tron arcade game contest at Aladdin's Castle, I got $10 or $20 worth of tokens, a poster and something else. Star Rider contest at Aladdin's Castle was the easiest since I won that one and I received some tokens and a record (Electric Dreams) for winning. I think the worst experience was playing Qbert for the first time and dieing, I think I jumped 6 feet when the knocker went off, since I was the only one in the arcade at the time.
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Malls still have theatres in them...at least out in the west.....
[Re: Hizzout]
#253386 - 05/01/11 01:59 AM
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The arcades are in the theatres.
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Consider it high comedy....sincere tragedy....whatever...don't take it personally.
The Culture
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| DMala |
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Sleep is overrated
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Re: Malls still have theatres in them...at least out in the west.....
[Re: mogli]
#253414 - 05/01/11 05:58 AM
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That's funny, come to think of it. There are malls around here that have theaters, but they are all older malls, mostly built in the '70s-'80s. The newest one I can think of with a theater was build around 1992. None of the newer ones have theaters in the mall itself.
I haven't seen anything that could be called a proper arcade in a mall in at least 10 years, maybe closer to 15.
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Re: Malls still have theatres in them...at least out in the west.....
[Re: DMala]
#253438 - 05/01/11 10:12 AM
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Where I live in Australia, most of the movie theaters are in (or right next to) big shopping complexes. And some of them do have video arcades nearby (and/or machines in the lobby of the theater)
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Re: Growing Up in Arcades: 1979 - 1989
[Re: Gyrovision]
#253451 - 05/01/11 07:37 PM
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What's with the 20 year olds on the kiddie rides though? I didn't see much of that in the south at all, on account of the fact that they aren't fun past age 7 or so. The guy on the horse especially, wow. I guess they had some good weed?
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| Gyrovision |
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so many more levels...
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Re: Growing Up in Arcades: 1979 - 1989
[Re: Smitdogg]
#253454 - 05/01/11 08:16 PM
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> What's with the 20 year olds on the kiddie rides though? I didn't see much of that in
> the south at all, on account of the fact that they aren't fun past age 7 or so. The
> guy on the horse especially, wow. I guess they had some good weed?
Yeah, definitely some good weed. I know we always made sure we had some every time we went there. That arcade had some good gregf nostalgia too, mechanical shooting galleries and stuff. Such a trip to see an old favorite arcade again...
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Re: Growing Up in Arcades: 1979 - 1989
[Re: Smitdogg]
#253457 - 05/01/11 09:13 PM
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> What's with the 20 year olds on the kiddie rides though? I didn't see much of that in
> the south at all, on account of the fact that they aren't fun past age 7 or so. The
> guy on the horse especially, wow. I guess they had some good weed?
I think they're just fucking around for the camera. All I see in the "arcades" now are stupid redemption games.
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Re: Growing Up in Arcades: 1979 - 1989
[Re: DMala]
#253483 - 05/02/11 03:41 AM
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Well before my time, I was in prep grade in 1989. 1996 would have been the first time I stepped foot into a video arcade.
> Also, what was with the short-shorts on guys?
Welcome to 2011. 
Can anyone *not* born in the 1990s tell me why it's suddenly fashionable to wear stuff that would make their girlfriend jealous? In 1993, you would not be seen alive in public if you wore a pink t-shirt/singlet and already-short denim shorts rolled up half way. Well, maybe alive, but probably in an ambulance. Same with the 'Bieber cut'. The only people who seemed to have this hair style in the 1990s usually had Down Syndrome or were a clingy momma's boy complete with a knitted jumper (one of those families who apparently lived under a rock for 30 years, the only pieces of electronics in the house being a 1959 rounded edge fridge and a woodgrain-trimmed TV from 1978).
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Re: Malls still have theatres in them...at least out in the west.....
[Re: jonwil]
#253486 - 05/02/11 03:49 AM
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> Where I live in Australia, most of the movie theaters are in (or right next to) big
> shopping complexes. And some of them do have video arcades nearby (and/or machines in
> the lobby of the theater)
Our arcades weren't in the same density as seen in those US photos though. I think our version of the video arcade evolved into the (18+) poker machine venue. You'll struggle to find a game older than 2005 these days (in fact, you'll probably struggle to find a video arcade at all, but in Melbourne there's a Tatts Pokies or Tabaret on nearly every street corner!).
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Re: Very nice
[Re: Moose]
#253488 - 05/02/11 03:57 AM
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> LOL ! That's one thing missing from the arcade ambiance sound tracks - the pissed off
> girlfriends (and mum's) outside yelling out "are you finished yet ?" and "can we go
> now ?".
That stopped happening with the invention of Puzzle Bobble, Magical Drop, PuchiCarat and Megatouch Diamond. Now the girlfriends are capable of spending even more time in arcades than most males, with the possible exception of DrumMania addicts who can sit and emulate a metronome for hours on end.
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| Quantum Leaper |
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Re: Malls still have theatres in them...at least out in the west.....
[Re: mogli]
#253540 - 05/02/11 05:39 PM
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> The arcades are in the theatres.
Also at mini putt places, one of the bigger arcades is only open during the summer and the big draw is the mini putt, not the arcade. I totally forgot about the place, until I went past there a day or so ago. The theater one I wouldn't call them arcades atleast around here, they may have 5 or 6 games and they tend to be bad games (cheap to buy). There is also a Nickel arcade but I have been to it for a long time and it's quite a distance way.
Edited by Quantum Leaper (05/02/11 05:43 PM)
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Re: Very nice
[Re: Matty_]
#253569 - 05/03/11 01:36 AM
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What no arcades by the beach?
You guys sound so sad.....
Santa Monica Pier arcade 1983.
Warm nights, Van Halen and Asteroids.
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You have to remember that most games these days are much bigger....
[Re: DMala]
#253589 - 05/03/11 05:22 AM
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So, five or six games equals about twice that many classic-size cabs. Plus they usually have a pin or three, as well as air hocky.
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Consider it high comedy....sincere tragedy....whatever...don't take it personally.
The Culture
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Re: Very nice
[Re: ]
#253743 - 05/05/11 12:14 AM
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What no arcades by the beach?
>
> You guys sound so sad.....
>
> Santa Monica Pier arcade 1983.
>
> Warm nights, Van Halen and Asteroids.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This. So freakin this.
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Re: Very nice
[Re: ]
#253755 - 05/05/11 02:51 AM
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> What no arcades by the beach?
>
> You guys sound so sad.....
>
> Santa Monica Pier arcade 1983.
>
> Warm nights, Van Halen and Asteroids.
In that picture it looks like there is a DDR machine or other dance pad game front and center. Are you sure this photo is from 1983?
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Re: Very nice
[Re: Bryan Ischo]
#253880 - 05/07/11 02:22 AM
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No but we had a very bad storm in the early eighties that took out most of the piers at Santa Monica, Redondo, Seal and Huntingdon.
Santa Monica Pier was pretty much trashed, yet the arcade is on the same site. I'll look around if I can find some vintage snaps I'll post them here.
The previous picture is definitely better looking as the old arcade was pretty grubby.
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| DMala |
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Sleep is overrated
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Re: Very nice
[Re: ]
#253882 - 05/07/11 03:01 AM
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> The previous picture is definitely better looking as the old arcade was pretty
> grubby.
As a proper arcade should be.
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Re: Very nice
[Re: ]
#253955 - 05/08/11 01:08 AM
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> No but we had a very bad storm in the early eighties that took out most of the piers
> at Santa Monica, Redondo, Seal and Huntingdon.
Hmmm. This must've been just before we went to Six Flags, and stopped in SM, in summer of '84.
> > The previous picture is definitely better looking as the old arcade was pretty
> > grubby.
>
> As a proper arcade should be.
Um, no. I bet you have some similarly interesting comments about a proper pub.
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Consider it high comedy....sincere tragedy....whatever...don't take it personally.
The Culture
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Index 
Threaded 
Growing Up in Arcades: 1979 - 1989
Reply
[Re: 
I probably had some, but I was only a little kid. I'm glad shorts tended towards long and baggy by the time I hit my teenage years.
