Restoring some faith in arcades.

[jer7583]

I haven't been to a real arcade since I was a Michigan State Student and freqented "pinball pete's" almost weekly to play MvC2, Capcom vs SNK2, SF:Third Strike, and Metal Slug 2..

Then I go to this bar/restaurant called The Mineshaft in Hartford, Wisconsin, with my girl and one of her friends. I heard the place was really cool, went in to check out the bar, but then my girlfriend tells me there's an arcade upstairs(cause she knows i love games), so I'm thinking, a few old ms.pac-man machines and junk.

Wow. Time Crisis 3. House of the Dead 3. Mo-Cap Boxing. A wall of full cockpit sega racers. Classic games. Ticket redemption games. And the game that turned me into an excited 7 year old seeing NBA Jam for the first time again.. F-Zero AX.

I was so impressed by this game, the cockpit moves along with the game and its even faster than the GC version.. It was $1.50 a play but I played twice. My girlfriend thought my excitement over this place was kinda funny, but she enjoyed the ticket redeption games even. I have to reccomend you check this place out if you live nearby, its one of the best arcades Ive seen in a long, long time, and I hope I see more arcades appear.

Are there still any good Arcades near you?

[Neo]

Yes, Jillian's in the Mall of America is pretty good. I live about 20 minutes away.

[snakeeyez101]

nope

[darkmere]

dave & buster's is alright...it's about 30 minutes away

andretti speed lab is kinda cool, but not a big arcade selection

there's a jillian's, but it's across town so i never go there...

my favorite game is the police 911 mocap series...cool as hell shooting at criminals and having to dodge bullets by ducking and moving...i'm sure people look and laugh, but i say it's fun as hell

[CaseyRyback]

what is Jillian's like?

I have never been. Are there any kind of age restriction, and what type of games are at yours

also what type of prices do they have on games?

[captainfrizo]

There's an arcade in the mall which we all refer to as the "ghetto." Other than that I don't know of any arcades near me.

[crazytalkx]

My arcade used to be good......till they took out DDR and Guilty Gear XX

[Mospeada_21]

I live in the middle of Silicon Valley, Bay Area, CA.

You'd think with all the nearby developers and publishers (Capcom, Namco, Midway, Sony, EA, UbiSoft, and Sega, etc.) we would have great arcades nearby; Nope!

There's Golfland, thumbs down. Dave and Buster's, it's okay, not great, caters to a different crowd. I think the Nickel City's got taken out too.

There's a Tilt at the NewPark Mall, okay. Small one downstairs at SJSU; kinda rundown.

Back to the home consoles. It's where it's at; online gaming is a great way to go too (but monthly service fees are not).

Wished I could check out that place in Hartford, Wisconsin though. Aaaah, the great old arcade days will stay as great memories. (Remember when 7-Eleven had great machines, too?)

[epobirs]

Arcades are pretty much dead for me. The only value they offer is the occasional ancient machine that has no good console version available. If the controls are still in good shape I can be tempted into dropping a few quarters.

But $1.50 for a single go on a fancy rig? Not likely until I become wealthy. I'll stay with the higher value of home gaming.

[CaseyRyback]

I hate playing fighting games and games that are meant for the arcade at home. I much prefer to go to the arcade, throw in one quarter and play me some third strike or CAPCOM vs. SNK.

[1SwtDeception]

Yes, Jillian's in the Mall of America is pretty good. I live about 20 minutes away.

the moa arcades are pretty good but i havent gone into it in the summer yet.. has there been any new games there? and around lakewood i guess the regency is good?

[Dok Diamond]

they opened this new place games n'at right down the street, and they have some light gun games, racers, and some oldschool acade machines but other than that there isnt anything. Theres a dave and busters by the mall but ive never been inside.

[Sarang01]

what is Jillian's like?

I have never been. Are there any kind of age restriction, and what type of games are at yours

also what type of prices do they have on games?

It's like D&B but their credit prices suck compared to them. At least D&B gives you a gold card after you spend so much to get a discount.

[fifthcore]

The arcade by my house is pretty tight it has like F-Zero AX tons of fighting games, the newest Initial D game and tons of other stuff like DDR, and Guitar Freaks but the only reason this one is good is because its less than one year old. I heard that there is a site called www.ArcadeFinder.com which should be working soon hopefully, its suppose to help you find Arcades or a certain game at a certain arcade or something looks kinda cool, would be better if it was actually working right now...

[jer7583]

Arcades are pretty much dead for me. The only value they offer is the occasional ancient machine that has no good console version available. If the controls are still in good shape I can be tempted into dropping a few quarters.

But $1.50 for a single go on a fancy rig? Not likely until I become wealthy. I'll stay with the higher value of home gaming.

I figured it was worth it, since finding and playing a F-Zero AX machine is probably a once in a lifetime thing for someone in the midwest.. I never thought I'd actually see one of those machines, unless I made a trip out to the east or west coast, since they're pretty rare and very expensive.

If you get a chance, you really have to experience it. The races last a good 5-6 min if you're good at the GC version, so its better than some racers that might give you 3 1 min laps if you're lucky. The sense of speed is just so incredible, the cockpit moves to about a 30-40 degree angle each way, and the same forward and backward. its understandable why theres a seat belt.

Maybe I'm an arcade fanboy.. I grew up around them, My grandma owned a mini-golf/driving range and I worked at the arcade(after doing landscaping stuff in the day) and saw the arcade market slowly deteriorate over the years. It's very exciting to see a brand new, huge top of the line arcade open..

[ykryptonite13]

I live in the middle of Silicon Valley, Bay Area, CA.

You'd think with all the nearby developers and publishers (Capcom, Namco, Midway, Sony, EA, UbiSoft, and Sega, etc.) we would have great arcades nearby; Nope!

There's Golfland, thumbs down. Dave and Buster's, it's okay, not great, caters to a different crowd. I think the Nickel City's got taken out too.

There's a Tilt at the NewPark Mall, okay. Small one downstairs at SJSU; kinda rundown.

Back to the home consoles. It's where it's at; online gaming is a great way to go too (but monthly service fees are not).

Wished I could check out that place in Hartford, Wisconsin though. Aaaah, the great old arcade days will stay as great memories. (Remember when 7-Eleven had great machines, too?)
Oh my oh my. one does not appreciate what one has access to. I'm from the Bay Area too so I know what you're referring to. I don't know how you don't like Golfland, they basically have everything you need there, unless you don't like fighters or something (I'm assuming you're referring to Milpitas). And to say that Tilt at Newpark is okay? That's crack talking there. Dave and Buster's is Chuck E Cheese with alcohol and so you mostly get your racing and shooting games there. SJSU is not big but it has pretty current games in there and good players show up (John Choi, Ricky Ortiz). Sunnyvale Golfland is the Norcal Mecca of SF and get's games from Japan pretty quickly and is a great arcade.

The arcade at my school (UC Davis) is pretty good: Initial D Ver. 3, Police 911 2, CvS 1 & 2, MvC 1 & 2, GGXX, Third Strike, even the crap that is known as SVC Chaos, among other games I don't care to mention. The arcades at Berkeley and UCLA are supposed to be good too.

[mmn]

People still go to arcades? Whoa.

[Stargun007]

No good arcades near me. There are 2 really small ones at the local mall, but they don't have anything good. There's also a Dave & Buster's in the mall, but I can't get in, so it's worthless. The best arcade ever was near my house in southern California. Every Tuesday, you would pay $10 to get in and then all of the games would be free. I spent some of the best days of the summer there.

[bignick]

There is a Hartford, WI????? ha ha ha thats too funny. I guess there are the same towns in every state.

[epobirs]

Arcades are pretty much dead for me. The only value they offer is the occasional ancient machine that has no good console version available. If the controls are still in good shape I can be tempted into dropping a few quarters.

But $1.50 for a single go on a fancy rig? Not likely until I become wealthy. I'll stay with the higher value of home gaming.

I figured it was worth it, since finding and playing a F-Zero AX machine is probably a once in a lifetime thing for someone in the midwest.. I never thought I'd actually see one of those machines, unless I made a trip out to the east or west coast, since they're pretty rare and very expensive.

If you get a chance, you really have to experience it. The races last a good 5-6 min if you're good at the GC version, so its better than some racers that might give you 3 1 min laps if you're lucky. The sense of speed is just so incredible, the cockpit moves to about a 30-40 degree angle each way, and the same forward and backward. its understandable why theres a seat belt.

Maybe I'm an arcade fanboy.. I grew up around them, My grandma owned a mini-golf/driving range and I worked at the arcade(after doing landscaping stuff in the day) and saw the arcade market slowly deteriorate over the years. It's very exciting to see a brand new, huge top of the line arcade open..

I've seen it. I live in Los Angeles and frequently work in Las Vegas so I come across most LBE equipment along the way. There's plenty of stuff I might stop and give a try if itweren't so expensive. After the umpteenth reactive cockpit game that in of itself stops meaning much compared to knowing just how quickly the money goes away.

I'm the same way with movies. If I buy a DVD it costs little more than seeing the movie in the theater but I can sell the DVD if I find it has no lasting value and I can extend its value by inviting friends over to watch it as well. Likewise with games, especially at CAG prices. If I don't like any of the $10 titles I got at CC a couple days ago chances are I can at least break even on selling them. In the arcade the investment is simply gone *poof* and all you've got to show for it is a memory. The memory may be somewhat superior to what your home setup delivers for that fleeting moment but I find that to be an expensive thrill. I shudder to think how many hundreds of dollars I dropped down the gullet of arcade machines in my youth only to be annoyed later I didn't have the money to afford as nice of a computer as I would have preferred.

It's like having a high maintenance girlfriend who expects you to support her because of her looks. A few dates is fine but marrying that sort is guaranteed misery later.

[BigDirty]

I luck out when it comes to arcades, since Jersey Shore towns can be gotten to in 1/2 hour or so from home, and the boardwalk of Seaside Heights is just packed with them, only problem is the overcrowding in the summer, and some being closed in the winter. They can be somewhat expensive ($1.00 for 3 songs DDR, still $1.00 for Top Skater), and some are in poor repair, but still tons of games, but no FZero AX

[Wshakspear]

Other than Gameworks in Great Lakes Crossings (auburn hills), i go to Marvelous Marvins Mechanical Museum. They have everything from F-Zero AX (need to figure out the mem card stuff..) to the insanely old types, of which i cant even describe (torture theatre?)

[Zmonkay]

My arcade sucks. The most recent game it got was MVC2.

[daikaiju]

IMO, arcades need to focus less on all the giant cockpit stuff / specialty hardware. Bring back the standard cabinet, look more towards the old JAMMA standard, make games FUN again, and as a result maybe -*JUST MAYBE*- have less overhead and bring the cost to play back down. I know that when $2.00 allowed me to play for a while, I most certainly did. I can appreciate arcade ops wanting to milk all they can from a machine, but when it's gotten to the point that it just doesn't pay to play anymore - the magic disappears.

[Wshakspear]

IMO, arcades need to focus less on all the giant cockpit stuff / specialty hardware. Bring back the standard cabinet, look more towards the old JAMMA standard, make games FUN again, and as a result maybe -*JUST MAYBE*- have less overhead and bring the cost to play back down. I know that when $2.00 allowed me to play for a while, I most certainly did. I can appreciate arcade ops wanting to milk all they can from a machine, but when it's gotten to the point that it just doesn't pay to play anymore - the magic disappears.

Well, when your playing $2.00 for an experience, i say its worth it. In MMMM they also have an ultracade, wihch is only .50 for any one of about 50-100 games.

[Stargun007]

Back in CA there was also a nickel arcade. Dozens of old school games for 5 cents. But I think you also had to pay a fee to get in (not too expensive, just a few bucks). Pretty good stuff, too. It was a good place to go to if you want to see the classics.

[YoshiFan1]

Arcades near me (Philadelphia area) are dead. There are 6 malls in my area. All had arcades at one point, now only 1 has an arcade.

The only arcades in the area are those stupid family fun center places with games not worth playing.

I used to go to the arcade at least once a week but now I go maybe once a month because there are no good arcades left in my area.

I am really into DDR and other Bemani games (Guitar Freaks, Beatmania, Pop N Music, Keyboard Mania etc.) but none of the arcades in my area have any of those games. If a local arcade got DDR and 1 or 2 of those other Bemani games I would be there at least 2 - 3 times a week.

[Lizard Axe]

There's an arcade near here called 'Smiles'. They used to host fighting game tournaments and there was even some competition.

Now it's mostly kids there during the day for ticket games and teenagers there at night to 'hang out'(loiter).

I haven't been there in months so I don't know what the place is like now.

[Xevious]

What about Chuck-E-Cheeses? Do they still have games there? I'm too old for that place now..

[BigDirty]

Arcades near me (Philadelphia area) are dead. There are 6 malls in my area. All had arcades at one point, now only 1 has an arcade.


What part of Philadelphia? I know Franklin Mills has a Time Out and a Jillian's, with the Time Out having DDR Extreme (however it appears to be a bootleg board from the info I can gather) and the Deptford Mall had an Arcade by the Ruby Tuesdays that was still thriving last time I was down there (about a year). There's also the gameworks studio on Deleware Ave by the United Artists near Washington Blvd/Rd and of course Dave and Busters as well.....

[TemplePilot]

A couple. Tilt, the arcade that was open in the basement of my local mall when I was a wee lad is still open. I also have a GameWorks about 15 minutes away. All this summer for 15 bucks you can buy two hour unlimited gameplay cards. Great deal.

[Indiana]

We have Jillian's and Gameworks in Downtown Indianapolis. Gameworks is better they have better games and they have not been broken by all the drunks like Jillian's.

[Indiana]

What about Chuck-E-Cheeses? Do they still have games there? I'm too old for that place now..

We just took a child there yesterday and that place is dead. They really do not have much for videogames anymore. Everything they have is way dated.

[RisingZan]

The arcade at my school (UC Davis) is pretty good: Initial D Ver. 3, Police 911 2, CvS 1 & 2, MvC 1 & 2, GGXX, Third Strike, even the crap that is known as SVC Chaos, among other games I don't care to mention. The arcades at Berkeley and UCLA are supposed to be good too.

Speaking of the UC Davis arcade...have you seen the sorry excuse for DDR they put in there yesterday. What the shit is that thing.....and how dare you not mention Metal Slug 4 or Star Wars Trilogy Arcade, shame on you. :P

Anyone from Sacramento remember Aladdin's Castle at the Arden Mall? That place was the textbook definition of "ghetto". In fact, didn't someone get stabbed or shot there? :shock: ....heh, sac-town.

[D4rkewolfe]

Well the arcades here aren't too bad, just expensive. We got D&B they had some ok stuff, and also have Gameworks, same deal, decent...I remember it being better 2 years ago.

I have yet to go to Mall of Americas since I came back to Miami, I wonder how the arcade is holding up. Usually I'd go there and play a little Marvel Superheroes or some of the Vs. series games.

Hey you other CAGs in Miami, how is the arcade in Mall of America?

[RisingZan]

That reminds me...

Can someone in Vegas explain to me what the hell happened to the Gameworks there? I come back two years later and Sega's Jurrasic Park is stilled marked as new?! :roll:

[Stargun007]

The Mall of America is in Miami? I thought it was in Minneapolis. Hell, I've been in Minneapolis and I was in The Mall of America. Are there two? I'm so horribly confused right now.

[epobirs]

Back in CA there was also a nickel arcade. Dozens of old school games for 5 cents. But I think you also had to pay a fee to get in (not too expensive, just a few bucks). Pretty good stuff, too. It was a good place to go to if you want to see the classics.

Do you mean te place in Anaheim? I'd probably go there once a month or so if it were less of a hike but thats a minimum of an 1.25 hours each ways from my current location.

The best serious arcade in reasonable distance is the Pac-mann arcade in Pasadena near Cal Tech. Very good spread of classics and new hardware at proper prices. It can be unpleasant since the sheer cacophony makes ear plugs a necessity and they allow smoking so just walking in for a minute makes you smell like a heavy smoker to everyone you meet the rest of the day.

I have to be seriously jonesing for some arcade action to go in there but no place else in the county comes close to offering the choices they do.

[sj41]

Nickelrama. It's huge and has alot of different games. It's been around for about 6 years and is alot of fun.

[Ericnmel99]

The chuckey cheese by me is cool because even though the games are outdated, every game is a quarter. Otherwise theirs Jillians where i'll pay approx. $1.675 per game. I hate their stupid points system. Its an easier way for them to charge you more for the games.

[cag1000]

Dave and Busters in Philly is nice(overpriced games that you will only find at their restaurant and never on a console)

But i'm lucky the Jersey shore is know for their boardwalks and every one has alott of arcades. Trust me its not cool, once in a while ok. But if you go alot its like crack. Bad crack too. Like crack with some heroin and dust sprinkled on top, while bustin lines of yayo and liquid draino. Make you poor and cracky like pookie.

[epobirs]

That reminds me...

Can someone in Vegas explain to me what the hell happened to the Gameworks there? I come back two years later and Sega's Jurrasic Park is stilled marked as new?! :roll:

It's called not giving a damn. The Vegas GameWorks never became the money maker they were hoping for but there hasn't been anyone willing to sink the capital into doing something else with the location. It's one of the remnants of the failed effort to recast Vegas as a family vacation spot. In recent years they've moved back to a more adult orientation with a lot more creatively sleazy nightclubs in the big hotels and suggestive PR campaigns like 'What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas' suggesting it is an ideal spot for things like extramarital affairs and other illicit activities. GameWorks, essentially a pricey arcade with booze, didn't offer any obvious means to make the transition. They could have brought in more of the R-rated arcade machines found in Japan but that would have meant further investment.

[Stargun007]

Back in CA there was also a nickel arcade. Dozens of old school games for 5 cents. But I think you also had to pay a fee to get in (not too expensive, just a few bucks). Pretty good stuff, too. It was a good place to go to if you want to see the classics.

Do you mean te place in Anaheim? I'd probably go there once a month or so if it were less of a hike but thats a minimum of an 1.25 hours each ways from my current location.

I've only been to this place once, but I think it was in Costa Mesa. It was only aroun 15 minutes from my house.

[hiccupleftovers]

i guess I'm pretty lucky since there is a Gameworks in my town, Jillian's, and tons of hotels/casinos that have aracades. most aren't tooo expensive, and almost all have new machines or when new ones come out. About 10 minutes from me there's an aracde that has F-zero AX, Initial D version 2, Police 911 2, a DDR knock off, and OutRun 2. There's another 1 5 minutes away that has Virtua Cop 3. Boy do I feel lucky now.

[Stargun007]

Where do you live, Hiccup? Vegas? Atlantic City? Reno?

[rajchakrabarti]

man, the arcade in my mall got turned into a subway.

[hiccupleftovers]

Stargun, City of Sin A.K.A Vegas.