The Evolution of Arcade Games

[tthurman]

M&P Amusement put together a nice arcade timeline dating all the way back to original skee-ball.

Check it out!

 

[hansolo77]

Yeah.... looking at that, the fall of arcades started when they ran out of ideas and started to flood the market with fighting games.  Then they just began rehashing home console games into an arcade box.  That 4D game at the end is in my bowling alley, and looks so stupid I don't want to even try it.  That, and it's a 3D game, and the 3D glasses were missing (typical for my neighborhood).  I'm surprised they didn't say anything about the Star Wars BattlePods.  But that might be newer than their 2013 cut off.  I was actually surprised that there was a 20 year gap between the introduction of flipper style pinball and the introduction of the first VIDEO game.  Good stuff!

[stigzler]

I'm sorry, but I stopped at "Skeeball - the original arcade game invented by ... in Philadelphia." Don't think that site does you stand up american guys justice - it kinda stinks of "America invented everything!"

Bagatelle anyone?

[Draco1962]

Seriously? It's skeeball. Boring.

[tthurman]

Come on man, not like it's curling!  Go out, burgers and beers, roll some balls!  No thought processes really involved, but it ends with a good time that everyone including the girls enjoy.  Think about it.....how can this be bad?

[stigzler]

No problem with skeeball. Looks like donkey darby. Its staking claim to the invention of arcade games. What next, america invented air? No offence to our american cousins in here.

[Draco1962]

We did! 

[nullPointer]

20 hours ago, Draco1962 said:

Seriously? It's skeeball. Boring.

Those that think skeeball is boring are probably just terrible at skeeball. 

(Please note that I think golf is probably more boring than being dead)

[Draco1962]

Next to graveyards, golf courses are the biggest wastes of beautiful realestate. I am terrible at skeeball because I don't play skeeball. If I were great at skeeball, I would cement the fact that I have no life. For now, I am keeping some people guessing. 

[stigzler]

Just to be clear - the Scottish invented golf. The English invented snooker, which isn't boring at all in the slightest. As isn't bridge or croquet. 

We also invented water. And happiness.

And, as we did, in fact, invent the English language, we have special dispensation for starting our sentences with "and." Because we can (this dispensation also applies to "because").

[hansolo77]

Oh yeah?  Well.. we invented Football.  (note the capital F)   And no, I'm not talking about Soccer (although Soccer is an American term for football lol).  I wonder who invented bowling?  And for that matter.. I'm sure somebody French invented tennis, but some American dude probably invented the miniskirts the girls wear.  <3

[tthurman]

8 hours ago, Draco1962 said:

Next to graveyards, golf courses are the biggest wastes of beautiful realestate. 

I look at it this way, it's a good reason to save land that would otherwise become something completely useless.  Strip mall, people of Walmart breeding ground,  parking lot....fast food joint (not like we don't already have enough, right)

3 hours ago, hansolo77 said:

I wonder who invented bowling? 

I think perhaps it was invented by balls, who for some strange reason didn't care for skee-ball, but where sick of golf because they always found themselves in the water traps.

FTR, I've never played skee-ball;  okay perhaps once, but I wouldn't swear to it!  Why are we hating on it?  I'm starting to think stigz has some dark secret here he's not sharing with us

 

[stigzler]

English Skeeball (aka Donkey Derby). 

Note the subtextual misery that permeates ever pore of this photograph. 

I'm just being a misery - I love donkey derby secretly. It's just associated with faded seaside glamour here in the UK. As are arcades for that matter:

[Draco1962]

Arcades closing shop, Drive-in movies leveled and replaced with Walmarts. I know nothing lasts forever,  but these were the simple entertainments from a time when most of us were encouraged to use our imaginations to fill in the missing pixels and add our own naratives which were fueled by the bright colored box art, side panels, and marquees. My kids got to experience some of this. My grandkids will only know of it by some stories and brief visits to G-Pa's house.

[tthurman]

Just look at this picture of Silcock's Funland, people are still playing it over there.  You Brits know a good time!