When I think back to my earliest experiences with video games, I remember a time when arcades ruled the world. Mario Bros. might have been the first game I ever fondled (at the tender age of three, no less), but it was arcades that lifted my love for gaming to sublimity.
I remember when kids used to frequent bowling alleys and Chuck E. Cheese ‘mdash; not to bowl or watch the animatronics, but to unload pockets full of quarters on the newest two-coin cabinets. Back then, they’d line up to play Street Fighter, hoping for the chance to publically dethrone the king of the hill, that kid who’d been defeating Velcro-sneakered chumps for up to an hour now.
I remember waiting for a turn to play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or The Simpsons ‘mdash; where that obnoxious fifth grader in line next to me would end up being my most trusted partner in virtual crime ‘mdash; for a chance to quest from one end of the screen to the next. Whatever happened to the good ol’ days? It’s a known fact that the barbaric ancestors of today’s consoles all but killed the North American arcade industry. But if I had to pinpoint the demise to date, truthfully, I wouldn’t know where to begin.
Theoretically, it might have started when the U.S. gaming industry as a whole suffered a crash in 1983. But then again, it may have begun with the inception of NES ‘mdash; when Nintendo successfully ported Donkey Kong to plug-in consoles, in all its eight-bit glory. I mean, think about how enraptured the average child was when his or her favorite arcade game first hit home consoles.: You’re telling me that I can play the same game from the arcade any time I want, in the comfort of my own living room? And I get to keep my quarters?
Of course, despite the the Nintendo console’s growing popularity, there was always a place for arcade gaming, and arcades themselves were still in high demand. When Space Invaders initiated the Golden Age of gaming in ’78, it wasn’t because the graphics were quirky or the play was fun ‘mdash; it was because Space Invaders was the first game to implement a high-score system, the first game to open up a space for bragging rights. Whenever a kid slam-blasted his way to the top of the charts, his score became the talk of the town. And when his score rose above six digits, that same kid became a damn-near legend.
No doubt gaming companies became aware of the phenomenon, and over the’ years were quick to capitalize on it. While today’s games are designed to be immersive experiences, games back in the day were devised from the ground up to eat away at your pockets.The absurd difficulty of Metal Slug? Yeah, that was intentional. But the thing is, aside from their blatant pursuit of parental purses, the quality of games’ was in turn consistently outstanding.
Still, arcades were slowly dying. As they began the transition from eight-bit to 64-bit, so did the consoles, where arcade favorites like Street Fighter could gain even bigger following ‘mdash;
and additional revenue. It was only a matter of time, then, before the kids simply stopped showing up.
Though I’m among those partly to blame ‘mdash; I adored my SNES like a brother, and the thought of having Ninja Turtles come to life in my bedroom was like living a dream ‘mdash; it’s a sad day now that arcade culture has all but died out.
Ultimately, the arcades were a testament to youth. Though the introduction of newer consoles was revolutionary, they can never mimic the kind of environment an arcade parlor summons. The local joints were places to hang out, to share moments with friends while you voyaged through different worlds. They were the only places where you could actually survive an onslaught of gangs while trying to rescue some flirty blonde, where you could engage in fist fights without the bruises of an actual altercation and where you could race cars without risking a James Dean death. Above all, they were places to call your own ‘mdash; with a guaranteed meeting of new people with common interests.
I admit that the gaming industry today is stronger than ever and that, in the end, I’m just another cronie bitching about his wonder years. I mean, we have it so good now, I should know better than to complain ‘mdash; if anything, arcades were a sacrifice on a now forlorn altar that sat gaming atop its current pedestal. But when it comes down to it, what I still remember most fondly is playing with my friends next to me, pockets bulging and line teeming, and how fucking awesome that was.
And while I’m thankful that games like Rock Band, Gears of War and Left 4 Dead are repopularizing cooperative gaming, they don’t come close to replicating the same kind of environment that the arcades once produced.
I guess all I’m trying to say is this: As gamers, we should appreciate what we have ‘mdash; and more importantly, respect what we lost to have it.