Quarter Dollar Gaming
The arcades were the end all and be all of gaming back in the late 80s to mid 90s. Many major franchises made their debuts in the arcades, such as Street Fighter, Donkey Kong, Double Dragon, Bionic Commando and others. Arcade gaming was the equivalent of the Monday Night Football game with your buddies, the only difference was that the arcade was open everyday. Even when the first home consoles came out they featured games that were watered down versions of arcade games. Arcade titles were top of the line in sound, speed, and graphics, it was also a very competitive place to be. People battled for top scores around the clock, day in and day out. When it came to fighting games people plunked down quarter
s to not only learn the game but also to prove their mettle as a gamer.
Do you remember the days when gaming consisted of a joystick and only the buttons you needed? When to get the best possible graphics you had to get out of your house? When you could make friends or meet a half decent woman while playing games? When you could cut school to play games and not get in trouble? If you don’t, we here at Gaming Vice do, and if you’ve been living under a rock for longer than I’ve been alive I’m talking about the arcades.
These games were a lot more personal too, when you lost, you didn’t just lose a game, you lost that quarter. These games were for pride as well, there weren’t internet thugs calling you a “noob” from fifteen states away, these were real people calling you a scrub to your face, and what could you say, everyone saw you lose. On the flipside if you were the best at your local arcade people saw you as a king among gamers. You could play as long as you wanted on that same quarter. It was a fun and exciting time. Something happened that rocked the boat though, home consoles started to rival the arcades, but that was no big deal at the time it just meant you could play games at the arcade and at home and have a good time all the time. Then it got bad, consoles became better than the arcades in the mid 90s, arcades across the United States began closing in rapid fashion.
Continue reading Quarter Dollar Gaming
Tags: Arcade, Dollar, Gaming, Quarter, revival
