Amusement arcade
An amusement arcade, also known as a video arcade, amusements, arcade, or penny arcade (an older term), is a venue where people play
Video games were introduced in amusement arcades in the late 1970s and were most popular during the golden age of arcade video games, the early 1980s.
History
Penny arcade
A penny arcade can be any type of venue for
- billiardsand non-electrical pinball,
- early forms of non-electrical pinball machines,
- fortune-telling machinery,
- slot machines,
- coin-operated Amberolas
- peep show machines (in the original, non-pornographic, usage of the term), which allowed the viewer to see various objects and pictures
- Mutoscopes
- love tester machines.
- coin-operated gun games
Between the 1940s and 1960s, mechanical
1970s and 1980s
Video game arcades began to gain momentum in the late 1970s with games such as
During the late 1970s video-arcade game technology had become sophisticated enough to offer good-quality graphics and sounds, but it remained fairly basic (realistic images and
The
On November 30, 1982, Jerry Parker, the Mayor of Ottumwa, Iowa, declared his city the "Video Game Capital of the World". This initiative resulted in many firsts in video game history. Playing a central role in arcade history, Ottumwa saw the birth of the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard and the U.S. National Video Game Team, two organizations that still exist today. Other firsts that happened in the Video Game Capital of the World included:
- the first video-game-themed parade (Jan. 8, 1983)[9]
- the first video game world championship (Jan. 8–9, 1983)[10]
- the first study of the brain waves of video-game champions (July 12, 1983)[11]
- the first billion-point video-game performance (Jan. 16, 1984)[12]
- the first official day to honor a video-game player (Jan. 28, 1984)[13]
High game-turnover in Japanese arcades required quick game-design, leading to the adoption of standardized systems like
Most US arcades didn't see the intended benefit of this practice since many games weren't exported to the US, and if they were, distributors generally refused to release them as simply a ROM, preferring to sell the entire ROM, console, and sometimes the cabinet as a package. In fact, several arcade systems such as Sega's
Other problems were that many arcades focused on quantity more than quality, and that games showed a rising difficulty curve, making them increasingly inaccessible to casual players and more expensive for the skilled players.[14]
1990s
The rise of the fighting game genre with games such as Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat, combined with the release of popular sports titles such as NBA Jam and NFL Blitz, led to a brief resurgence in the popularity of video arcades, with new locations opening in shopping malls and strip malls throughout the country in the early 90s.
The arcade industry entered a major slump in mid-1994.
The main reason for the slump was increasing competition from console ports. During the 1980s it typically took several years for an arcade game to be released on a home console, and the port usually differed greatly from the arcade version; during the mid-1990s it became common for a game publisher to release a highly accurate port of an arcade game that had yet to peak in popularity, thus severely cutting into arcade owners' profits.[15]
2000s and beyond
In the late 1990s, a bar opened in the new
In the mid-2000s,
Manufacturers started adding innovative features to games in the 2000s.
At the same time as these innovations, a small resurgence in the interest of classic video games and arcades grew with the opening of Barcade in Brooklyn, New York in 2004. Barcade combined a video arcade and a full bar, with a strict focus on classic machines from the 1970s and 1980s, known as the golden age of arcade video games.[22] The idea proved popular and Barcade received recognition as a good place to play classic video game cabinets, because it is "one of the few places where classic arcade games can still be found in public, and in good working order."[23][24] Barcade's success influenced other similarly themed businesses which opened across the country.[25][26] Other arcades, like Ground Kontrol in Portland, Oregon, began including full bars in their arcades.[27] Even regular bars added classic arcade games to their venues.[28]
As the trend grew, the industry and press looked for ways to classify these arcade bar hybrids, with the DNA Association branding them "social-tainment" and also referring to them as "game bars".[29] Many of these newer game bars proved to be popular and expansion continued.[30]
In the UK, classic arcades such as Casino and Trocadero, both located in London, closed, with some of the games from Trocadero finding their way to a new arcade, Heart of Gaming in North Acton.[31] The newer Loading Soho Gaming Cafe features arcade machines manufactured by Bespoke Arcades for its customers to use.[32] The UK is also home to the largest arcade in Europe, Arcade Club, located in Bury, Greater Manchester. Home to over 400 original arcade machines, it is recognised as the largest collection in Europe.[33] In May 2019 Arcade Club opened a second venue in Leeds [34] with a third announced for Blackpool opening in 2020.[35]
Types of games
Video games
The
Some machines, such as
Some arcade games, such as racing games, are designed to be sat in or on. These types of games are sometimes referred to as sit-down games. Sega and Namco are two of the largest manufacturers of these types of arcade games.
Other games
Other games include pinball machines, redemption games and merchandiser games. Pinball machines have a tilted, glass-covered play area in which the player uses mechanical flippers to direct a heavy metal ball towards lighted targets. Redemption games reward winners with tickets that can be redeemed for prizes such as toys or novelty items. The prizes are usually displayed behind a counter or in a glass showcase, and an arcade employee gives the items to players after counting their tickets. Merchandiser games reward winners with prizes such as stuffed toys, CDs, DVDs, or candy which are dispensed directly from the machine.
In some countries, some types of video arcades are legally allowed to provide
Arcades typically have change machines to dispense tokens or quarters when bills are inserted, although larger chain arcades, such as Dave and Busters and Chuck E. Cheese are deviating towards a refillable card system.
See also
- List of arcade games
- Musée Mécanique
- Pinball
- Sega World
- Timeline of video arcade game history
- Video game arcade cabinet
References
- ^ ISBN 9780674356221. Archivedfrom the original on 2014-07-04. Retrieved 2013-05-30.
First use of the term [...] between 1905 and 1910
- ^ "Penny arcade definition and meaning". Collins English Dictionary. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ "Penny Arcade Machines". Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ISBN 978-0313338687.
- ISBN 978-0-313-33868-7. Archivedfrom the original on 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
- ISBN 0-201-84780-9. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ^ Edge Staff (2007-08-13). "The 30 Defining Moments in Gaming". Edge. Future plc. Archived from the original on 2011-10-29. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
- ^ Imagine Media. p. 29.
- ^ "Welcome to Twin Galaxies". 15 February 2009. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ "Welcome to Twin Galaxies". 21 February 2009. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ "Welcome to Twin Galaxies". 21 February 2009. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ "Welcome to Twin Galaxies". 15 February 2009. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ Tim McVey Day Poster, January 28, 1984
- ^ How Arcades Have Evolved To Survive - SUPERJUMP
- ^ Imagine Media. p. 22.
- ^ "Barcode". Barcode bar. Archived from the original on 2007-11-03.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Remembering Barcode: NYCs Failed Arcade Club". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ Porter, Ian (17 August 2006). "Barcode goes Indian as night-life dims at Crown". The Age. 17 August 2006. Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ Carvajal, Doreen (2007-02-26). "The New Video Arcade in Spain Might Be the Movie Theater". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ^ "Police 911 Videogame by Konami (2000) – The International Arcade Museum and the KLOV". Arcade-museum.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-15. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
- ^ "MoCap Boxing Videogame by Konami (2001) – The International Arcade Museum and the KLOV". Arcade-museum.com. Archived from the original on 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
- ^ Weiss, Jennifer (2011-04-22). "For Arcades, Survival now Hinges on Alcohol". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ^ June, Laura (2013-01-16). "For Amusement Only: The Life and Death of the American Arcade". theverge.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ^ Allen, Ted. "Best Bars: Barcade". Esquire. Archived from the original on 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ^ Wenzel, John (2011-05-01). "From LoDo to the Smithsonian, Video Games Get Their Due". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ^ Lande, Samantha (2012-02-14). "Emporium Arcade Bar Opening in March". Chicago Eater. Archived from the original on 2013-04-10. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ^ Hottle, Molly (2011-02-15). "Ground Kontrol Arcade to Reopen Thursday with Party". oregonlive.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ^ Petkovic, John (2013-04-25). "B Side Liquor Lounge in Cleveland Heights Adds Old-time Arcade Games". cleveland.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ^ K Williams (2013-05-20). "A Nascent Trend, the Rise of the Gamebar". dna-association.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ^ Ocean, Justin (2014-07-14). "Boozy Sleepovers and Booby Bounce Houses: Kids' Activities for Grownups". Yahoo! Travel. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ^ Parkin, Simon (2014-08-17). "The Last Arcade". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ^ Arcade Hero Staff (2013-05-03). "LOADING SOHO Gaming Cafe Added To The MADD Bar In London". Arcade Heroes. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ^ "We found the Biggest Arcade in Europe inside a Warehouse in the middle of Bury". Manchester’s Finest. 2019-05-26. Archived from the original on 2020-06-11. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
- ^ "Arcade Club Leeds – Everything you need to know". www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk. 13 July 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-06-11. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
- ^ "Arcade Club: Classic arcade with 250 games teased to open in Blackpool – here's everything we know so far". www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk. 4 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-06-11. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
- ^ "Mobile, credit and debit card payments for amusement and arcade machines". Archived from the original on 2020-02-26. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
- ^ "CEC Token Cards – Token Museum". www.showbizpizza.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-05. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
Bibliography
- Namerow, Wayne. The Pennyarcade Website. Retrieved 2004-02-06.
External links
- History of video games at Curlie
- Gameroom Show, Penny arcade related website
- PennyMachines.co.uk, British penny slot and amusement machine website
- Illustrations of various machines
- ArcadeTreasures.com Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine, Various penny arcade games with many pictures
- Aurcade.com, Arcade Games by location
- Classic Arcade Games Locations, Wiki list of classic arcade games by location
- The International Arcade Museum, Home of the Killer List of Videogames, International Arcade Museum Library and the Videogame and Arcade Preservation Society