Do you still visit gaming arcades?

[johnpierce]

During my high school years, I used to frequently visit these gaming arcades. At that time, their library of games included Fatal Fury, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Art of Fighting, Virtua Fighter, and other arcade hits which by now are playable under the MAME, or the arcade emulator. Also, these arcades have been frequently visited by school children even during the entire school week as well as out-of-school youth. Because of the influx of young visitors coming from various schools, these arcades during my time have been flourishing, as the income these facilities receive come from students. Nowadays, these arcades are not that full of people anymore, given the rise of next generation consoles which have taken a huge chunk of the income received by these arcades.

Do you still visit these gaming arcades, and how would you compare the arcades then and now?

[FireFog]

Growing up in a small village, the only times I went to arcades when I was younger was when they came with the fair. But I do remember them fondly, trying to beat House of the Dead 2 with my cousin or duking it out on fighting games (Marvel vs. Capcom mostly).

The small city where I moved in for the beginning of my post-high school studies didn't had any arcade so I was disappointed but started playing arcade games on MAME (I've had Internet quite late, even by today's standards ^^).

More recently, when I moved in a bigger city, the only "arcades" I could find had a very limited set of games and frankly, given the prices, they were out of price (like 2€ for a game). So for me it's mostly gaming on emulators ^^

[TheLastOutlaw]

I can't remember the last time I even saw an actual arcade.  I don't really count a bar or something with one or two machines an arcade.  Sadly they seem to be primarily a thing of the past.

[--Pappa Cricco--]

Closest thing I have to an arcade is the arcade machines at my local bowling alley

[Stan]

i usually can find a machine or two at my usual hangouts haha

[IronBrig4]

I know this is necroposting and most of the people here haven't been on the site for YEARS, but I wanted to share my memories of arcades.

When I was a kid, every shopping mall had a video arcade. The bigger malls had two arcades (one on each end). Our folks would just drop us off at the arcade with $5 in change while they went shopping. Those were the classic arcade games like Space Invaders and Pac-Man. In the '90s you started to see the side-scrolling fighting games (Turtles in Time, Simpsons, X-Men). Home consoles were becoming more popular but the arcade was an experience. Especially with those four-player games. You just couldn't do that at home until the N64.

There are some specialized arcades that have vintage games. Restaurants like Dave & Buster's have the newer arcade games. Of course both the vintage arcades and D&B are more like bars and restaurants for 30 and 40-something adults. Go to the typical arcade now and you'll see the usual racers and light gun games that cost at least $1 per credit. Why would people want to spend all that money playing a game that might not even work properly? Ever notice that the aim is usually off with those shooting games? That's because the drunks mess around with the gun and damage it. Or you can just play games with dozens of other people from the comfort of your own home.