The surprising, stealth rebirth of the American arcade

[Draco1962]

Article on ARSTechnica about the "The surprising, stealth rebirth of the American arcade." I think they kinda missed the mark a little. When I see the economy as it is within the U.S., it is very reminiscent of the uncertainty regarding the state of the economy and politics during the early 80's. I love the idea of the classics having a rebirth.

[nullPointer]

Cool article Draco, Thanks for passing it along!

On the one hand, it’s great to see this sort of resurgence. I know Thomas Wolfe said, “You can never go home again,” but I have to admit walking into one of these places would sure bring back a lot of good memories. This also serves to bring new blood into our little scene, which is also very exciting.

On the other hand, sometimes I think of our scene in terms of la cosa nostra; literally, “this thing of ours.” There’s a certain mystique in belonging to an ‘underground scene’ as it were. Seeing my cool little hobby becoming mainstream is both exhilarating and frustrating. This is a bit of the latter:

I'm buying refurbished machines for $1,500 to $2,000 a pop. New machines with new technology, you're looking at eight to 12 grand

All I can think is, “great, there goes my chance of ever finding a decent old arcade cabinet for a reasonable price.”

This is absolutely brilliant though:

Instead of quarters, ZAP charges customers a $5 door fee that grants unlimited play for the entire day, along with $15 monthly memberships that Darling compared to "going to the gym." The idea is to give parents a place they can feel comfortable leaving their children while they go out and do something on their own. "I don't necessarily want to be a babysitter, but... you can trust kids to be safe here, and they can stay and play."

Wish they had a system like that when I was a kid!

[Draco1962]

Me too... that was my weeks allowance when I was 15.