I was just curious as to what sort of insight some of you might have into what has caused the the decline of the arcade. I'm not talking within the last couple years, I'm talking about it's decline from it's heyday in the 80's. I know that one of the obvious answers is that home consoles caught up technologically...but I personally think it's something deeper than that. One of my theories is the introduction in the late 80's of "the quarter muncher". Games of this type (Gauntlet for example) would require you to shovel coin after coin to advance significantly in the game. Now, I may be dating myself here, but I can recall a time when games could be played for extended periods of time on a single quarter because of SKILL - no time limits, no constantly declining health, etc. Crowds would circle to watch a good Dragon's Lair or Defender player - it was a testament to their gaming ability, not how deep their pockets were. I think when this element went by the wayside, it was the beginning of the end for most arcades in the US. Please don't misunderstand, as I have deep love for lots of the new gen games - but when it became mandatory to pay to play, arcades started to lose their shine. Perhaps that's why the small rebound in the 90's with fighting games - ability came back into the equation. Anyone else have any thoughts?