(Image sources, from top to bottom: Emu Paradise, mamedb.com, Killer List of Video Games (KLOV), Pinball Rebel, Pinball Rebel, Emu Paradise, The Arcade Flyer Archive, The Arcade Flyer Archive)
Archive for the 'Video Games' Category
Arcade Cabinets: Arabian (Atari, 1983)
Published November 21, 2012 Arcade Cabinets/Coin-Ops , Video Games Leave a CommentThe Life and Death of the Video Arcade
Published November 20, 2012 Moral Panic , Video Arcades , Video Games Leave a Comment
Big Daddy’s Amusement Center, Pinellas Park, Florida, 1983. (Weaver Tripp/St. Petersburg Times)
Once upon a time, Big Daddy’s “set no particular hours” and was often found open at 3:00am, thank you very much.
But in 1983 the wicked City Council, “upset about youngsters who loitered and caused trouble near the game arcade,” cast a surly spell over all the neighborhood kids in the form of an 11:00pm curfew.
Then, in 1986, a judge threw out 21 counts of curfew violation because prosecutors could not prove owner Bruce Houghton was in “direct control of the premises” when the citations were issued. Houghton, exiting the courthouse with a smirk, declared the curfew unconstitutional and vowed to continue breaking it.
Skip to 1998. Upon spying what was once Big Daddy’s, entrepreneur Ken Schwartz exclaimed, “The building is really a dump.” But he knew the area was ripe for redevelopment, so he bought the dump and “gutted Big Daddy’s to create the futuristically styled headquarters for his food service consulting company.”
Skip to 2006. What was once “a rather tacky strip that sported rundown mobile home parks, used-car dealerships and pawnshops with stuffed, costumed gorillas out front”—not to mention video arcades driven to extinction—is now “a throughway featuring national chains and upgraded commercial properties with high-end condominiums tucked behind.”
The End
(Image via Coots Imagery)
Arcade Cabinets: Satan’s Hollow (1982)
Published October 29, 2012 Arcade Cabinets/Coin-Ops , Video Games 2 Comments
(Image sources, from top to bottom: Emdkay, Killer List of Video Games (KLOV), KLOV forums, Games Database, Video Games Masters Club)
The Magnavox Odyssey was “the world’s first commercial home video game console. It was first demonstrated in April 1972 and released in August of that year, predating the Atari Pong home consoles by three years.”
This thing is a trip. There was no sound whatsoever, and the only graphics to speak of were plastic overlays you put over your TV screen. Check out the commercial.
I like how every game is essentially the same. It’s also interesting that there are no kids in this spot.
(Image source: Kyma Labs)
(Video source: ohbutyes/YouTube)
April 28, 1982. (The Denver Post)
December, 1982. (Glen Martin/The Denver Post)
(Source: Lexibell Vintage Photos)
Donkey Kong Jr. Game & Watch (1982)
Published October 12, 2012 Electronic Handhelds , Nintendo , Rich Kids Suck , Video Games 3 Comments
I envied the kids who had these.
Toy Aisle Zen (1980)
Published October 5, 2012 Electronic Handhelds , Toy Stores/Toy Aisles/Toy Departments Leave a Comment
December 19, 1980. (John J. Sunderland/Denver Post)
The lads are ogling Tomy’s Atomic Arcade Pinball. See a demo below via Classic Game Room.
(Image source: Big Ole Photos)
Video Game Cabinet Art: Phoenix (1980)
Published October 3, 2012 Arcade Cabinets/Coin-Ops , Video Games Leave a Comment
(Image sources, from top to bottom: www.gameongrafix.com, www.centuri.net, www.gameongrafix.com, KLOV forums, www.centuri.net)
Arcade Zen (1981 – 1982)
Published September 14, 2012 '80s Decor/Design/Fashion , Video Arcades , Video Games 1 Comment
July 4, 1982. (Eric Luse/SF Chronicle)
Greenbrae Bowl, August 21, 1981. (Susan Gilbert/SF Chronicle)
March 16, 1982. (Steve Ringman/SF Chronicle)
Pier 39, August 3, 1982. (Eric Luse/SF Chronicle)
Star Castle rules. So do those bell-bottoms.
(Image sources: San Francisco Chronicle)
Boy’s Room, Circa 1980
Published September 10, 2012 Electronic Handhelds , Found Photos , Godzilla , Shogun Warriors , What Our Rooms Looked Like 10 Comments
I don’t know the exact year, but the Dukes of Hazzard poster puts us between 1979 and 1985. In the first photo (click to enlarge), there’s not too much I can make out. The Bela Lugosi head, obviously, a weird koala bear pillow, some Matchbox cars. There’s a signed black and white photo on the wall, but I can’t identify the figures.
The second photo is a gold mine. Godzilla, Shogun Warriors, one of those safes with the combination lock that most of us had, a Boba Fett doll. That’s Tomy’s Digital Derby in one of the yellow cubes, and a better shot of the black and white photo. Is it the Three Stooges?
And is that the back of Galaxian 2 on the top shelf of the bookcases?
2 Warps to Neptune 