So about two weeks ago I went to the new arcade bar in Raleigh and lost money pretty quickly and realized how little desire I have to go to an arcade. With online gaming and the fact that everyone has a console of some kind, what is the point of putting coins in a machine? It's sort of like pay phones now. Most people have a cell phone now and if they don't most businesses will let them use the phone, if there is an emergency.

1/5/2015 11:54:40 PM

We have a retro one here. The games are only a quarter and you play for nostalgia. It cost me lik 5 bux for a few hours.

1/6/2015 12:06:56 AM

wat

1/6/2015 12:07:05 AM

I enjoyed playing pinball when I went, but all of the other things I can play for free at home. I guess it is still worth going, if an arcade has bubble hockey, foosball, air hockey, pool, and pinball. Most people don't have those things at home.

1/6/2015 12:09:33 AM

Is the Tilt at Southsquare still open?

1/6/2015 12:09:40 AM

Went to this place called The Lost Ark in Greensboro last week. In the front it's a used game store with tons of shelves of stuff from NES to PS2. In the back you pay $5 and they give you a wristband that lets you play tons of retro arcade and pinball machines as much as you want.

All in all it was total nerd heaven. Even sold 16 ounce cans of Surge.

1/6/2015 12:13:02 AM

Quote :

"Went to this place called The Lost Ark in Greensboro last week. In the front it's a used game store with tons of shelves of stuff from NES to PS2. In the back you pay $5 and they give you a wristband that lets you play tons of retro arcade and pinball machines as much as you want. All in all it was total nerd heaven. Even sold 16 ounce cans of Surge."

I guess "all you can play" isn't a bad deal, but things still just seem different. Back in the day you would go to an arcade and play against other people. Now you just need an internet connection and you can find a game of some kind to play against other people.

[Edited on January 6, 2015 at 12:20 AM. Reason : .]

1/6/2015 12:17:43 AM

Lost Ark is a pretty cool place. I'm really into pinball, and have had about a dozen different pins at my house. Currently down to one, a crane game, and a two player arcade bartop.

1/6/2015 12:26:08 AM

sorry there aren't a ton of girls at the arcade for you to take creepy photos of while they play.


and if you aren't social enough to enjoy your time in a barcade and just want to go home and play on your PC emulator then by all means do. i don't need your clammy hands sweating all over the joysticks.

1/6/2015 9:26:04 AM

Do you also cook a perfect steak at home so you'll never order one while dining out?

[Edited on January 6, 2015 at 9:36 AM. Reason : ^^ Which pinball game do you have now? Favorite you've owned?]

1/6/2015 9:35:49 AM

All of the beercades here in Chicago offer free games. Seems like a better business model

1/6/2015 9:40:29 AM

Damnit...came in here to say exactly what Jeepin' just said.

1/6/2015 9:40:57 AM

i might go to an arcade if it had cool simulators that moved (flight or racing) or maybe for VR when there is more content for VR

1/6/2015 9:54:51 AM

Arcades have been increasingly irrelevant since at least the late 90s. It used to be that arcade machines were much more powerful than consoles. The SNES and Genesis versions of Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat had worse sound, smaller characters, and missing animations. Unless your parents were ballers it was the only place to play Neo Geo games.

Nowadays you get online play, graphics that are just as good, and a ton of bonus features in console games. The only experience you can get at an arcade that you can't get at home are these set-ups for racing games where sit in an actual car seat with pedals, a steering wheel, etc. It's also fun to go to 'arcade bar', grab a beer, and blast a few aliens.

1/6/2015 10:35:12 AM

2 things:

1)

Quote :

"It's sort of like pay phones now. Most people have a cell phone now and if they don't most businesses will let them use the phone, if there is an emergency."

nearly poetic

and

2) it's almost as if this made him realize that it's 2015 and it's possible to live in the present

1/6/2015 11:47:54 AM

i can just see him walking into the store, lifting up his pizza hut sunglasses, and instantly having his dreams crushed

1/6/2015 11:55:07 AM

Quote :

"Southsquare"

:'(

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

1/6/2015 12:07:55 PM

There is an awesome one in Colorado Springs, but I can't remember the name of it. Brooklyn has Barcade which I've heard is good, but limited in games. And while it's not an arcade in the sense that it has video games, Fat Cat at Christopher St. and 7th Ave. in Manhattan is absolutely awesome. Can be described best as a hipster arcade - has live jazz, shuffleboard, foozeball, ping pong, pool, board games like scrabble, chess, checkers, card games, etc.

[Edited on January 6, 2015 at 12:22 PM. Reason : asdf]

1/6/2015 12:22:00 PM

if its got skee-ball count me in

1/6/2015 12:32:31 PM

it's been almost 3 years since the last time I went, but the Barcade in Brooklyn had nearly every game anyone would care to play

the majority of the games were from the 80's, though

1/6/2015 12:36:41 PM

Boxcar in Raleigh uses MAME cabinets that only have 4-way joysticks, so a lot of the games are unplayable. It's bunk.

The Baxter in CH has real machines and is awesome. There's also a place on Salisbury in Raleigh called Level Up that will have real machines and serve food.

1/6/2015 12:42:15 PM

I can see how kids may not want or need a standalone arcade in every mall when they have an internet connected XBox One or PS4 at home, but I don't see the industry dying completely anytime soon. If you go to a place like Frankies Fun Park or Adventure Landing on a busy night it's apparent that kids still love pouring money into arcade machines. The industry seems to have adapted to the times.

[Edited on January 6, 2015 at 1:04 PM. Reason : l]

1/6/2015 12:59:57 PM

Lost Ark sucks compared to the old place. They would have 10+ pinball machines then..now like 5.

1/6/2015 2:56:50 PM

Dave & Busters usually draws a decent crowd to the arcade part still.

1/6/2015 3:25:19 PM

Lost Ark is also like $2 to play for the last hour or 2...

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

1/6/2015 4:49:05 PM

i dont know what the solution is, but its in japan. tokyo's arcade scene seems to be as vibrant as ever.

1/6/2015 4:58:05 PM

> visits a new arcade located in downtown raleigh

> creates thread asking if arcades are a thing of the past

1/6/2015 5:01:33 PM

OBVIOUSLY NOT

YOU CAN PLAY "SIMON" ON A PAIR OF SHOES

1/6/2015 6:36:32 PM

Let me summarize every Big4Country thread:

1996 is not the same as 20thisyear

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

1/6/2015 6:40:39 PM

Quote :

"I went to the new arcade bar in Raleigh and lost money pretty quickly "

you realize it's not a casino, right?

1/6/2015 7:32:08 PM

Quote :

"Which pinball game do you have now? Favorite you've owned?"

I've got a Starship Troopers right now. Favorite so far was probably Spider-Man.

This was my favorite lineup:

1/6/2015 7:46:48 PM

Very cool! What's maintenance like on those things?

1/6/2015 7:52:26 PM

You mean you have to use your hands? That's like a baby's toy

1/6/2015 8:03:52 PM

Quote :

"Very cool! What's maintenance like on those things?"

Something seems like it's always broken with a pinball machine. I really enjoy working on them as well, so I enjoy the maintenance.

It's not complicated, just seems like there is always something that could be tweaked or fixed. I'll get them to run fine for weeks, then all of a sudden a solenoid will quit or a switch will stop registering. The number of mechanical and electronic assemblies in them is pretty amazing.

1/6/2015 8:17:27 PM

Quote :

"and if you aren't social enough to enjoy your time in a barcade and just want to go home and play on your PC emulator then by all means do. i don't need your clammy hands sweating all over the joysticks."

I enjoyed the social part of the arcade when I was hanging out with other people by the pinball machines, but I just didn't feel like putting coins in games I already have. I guess I am no different than I ever was though. When I was younger I would never play games that I had at home when I would go to an arcade. Now there is a higher percentage of those games available at home for free because of the internet.

Oh and the people at boxcar said you can request a game and they'll try to get it in there at some point. The bartender told me I was about the 8th person who asked for air hockey. I also said they need a bubble hockey table and foosball table. The bartender then went to his manager and told her what I said and I heard her say something like, "I don't want anyone getting hurt." Then he explained to her that he was talking about bubble hockey and not air hockey and there is a bubble over the playing surface so no one will get hurt.

Also, what games do they have at Dave and Busters?

[Edited on January 6, 2015 at 10:44 PM. Reason : .]

1/6/2015 10:43:53 PM

Arcades were already dead when I was a kid.

The only time anyone I knew went to one was when they went to the beach.

1/6/2015 10:46:23 PM

I used to spend $20 at Aladdin's Castle every time I went to Hanes Mall in Winston as a kid.

Quote :

"I just didn't feel like putting coins in games I already have."

You probably have a few cans or bottles of beer in your fridge, and food in your pantry, so why go to a bar or restaurant?

[Edited on January 6, 2015 at 10:48 PM. Reason : ]

1/6/2015 10:47:16 PM

^Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy going to one when I do just to play games I don't have at home like pinball, foosball, bubble hockey, and air hockey, but I was just curious if arcades were no big deal to other people on here and society in general?

1/6/2015 10:52:49 PM

I love going to Vegas, to visit the pinball hall of fame. Always a great way to spend $10 in Vegas. Two weeks and counting.


That said, I want to get a new Star Trek Pinball machine. Thats a lot of fun.

1/6/2015 10:56:43 PM

^Boxcar actually has Rescue 911 which was one of my favorites growing up. I was also a big fan of South Park, T2, Stargate, and that motor cross one where you could hit the ball up into the scoreboard.

1/6/2015 10:59:45 PM

Quote :

"I love going to Vegas, to visit the pinball hall of fame. Always a great way to spend $10 in Vegas. Two weeks and counting."

I passed by the Pinball Hall of Fame when I was in Vegas, but it looked like such a crappy out of the way place I just laughed and kept driving. Only after I left did I start seeing that it was a really cool place to go.

1/6/2015 11:09:28 PM

haha! Yes, it looks shitty. I usually go to Del Taco before when I'm out that way. I feel less touristy when I do that.

1/6/2015 11:10:44 PM

Quote :

"Are Arcades a Thing of the Past?"

Yes. They are also things of the present and foreseeable future.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was a resurgence at some point when good VR shit comes out, like dtownral mentioned. Stuff too expensive/impractical for most to own but enough of a commodity that you could make money charging people to get it grimy.

1/6/2015 11:11:09 PM

Quote :

"Yes. They are also things of the present and foreseeable future. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a resurgence at some point when good VR shit comes out, like dtownral mentioned. Stuff too expensive/impractical for most to own but enough of a commodity that you could make money charging people to get it grimy."

Indeed. I think we're currently experiencing a resurgence, without the VR shit...which makes the reason for this thread look kinda silly.

1/7/2015 12:21:25 AM

You guys remember Jillian's with the $5 Wed all you can play shit?

*K&P Liam Neesons walk/dance

1/7/2015 12:40:18 AM

^They had all you can play night? Their system always pissed me off. You would put X amount of dollars on your card, but then you never had enough points to empty it, so you would have to go put more money on it just to attempt to empty it.

1/7/2015 1:38:09 AM

I never understood Jillian's

it was like:

Hey let's dance and drink

and play video games

yet it's a club

yet it's a gaming lounge?


Due to their business model, I was always suspicious always thinking that "clubbing" there would feel like having a dance party in my parent's basement while my little brother played video games nearby.

So rather than just choosing to either go "club" or go "gaming" there I did neither...

1/7/2015 2:15:26 AM

They got so fucking expensive. Games wanting you to put in $1.00, $1.50 to play and shit. Arcades were cool when $5 bought you an hour or more instead of ten minutes.

1/7/2015 6:35:35 AM

I never liked Jillians/D&B because the points to play seemed so arbitrary to the game.

Quote :

"Boxcar in Raleigh uses MAME cabinets that only have 4-way joysticks, so a lot of the games are unplayable. It's bunk."

explain this to me. Are you saying the game machines they have are not actually the original games in their original cabinets?

1/7/2015 8:39:12 AM

Yea I must second The Baxter out here in Chapel Hill. They have a decent selection of beer and great games that are originals and they have reconditioned. They have no kitchen, but you can pick food up from anywhere and bring it in with no problem.

I went with some coworkers a couple of weeks back and had a great time. We did a little bar crawling first then went to Baxter's and I picked up some food for us at Al's Burger Shack which is about 50 yards away. Even ran into some neighbors there who were having a good time as well. They have fun activities like showing The Walking Dead on Sunday on a projector screen as well as screening other movies and supply free pizza. They even allow kids in on Sunday's and now apparently during the week as well, as long as it isn't too late. I am definitely going back and will be taking my kids next time. Dave & Buster's is alright but I'd rather play the original classic games myself and support a local establishment. While its not the same as going to the arcade in the 80's and 90's because you could not get that technology at home, it is still a fun time.

[Edited on January 7, 2015 at 8:44 AM. Reason : ]

1/7/2015 8:43:56 AM