I Miss Video Game Arcades

Hello, CyberNinjas. If you were born anywhere between the 70's to 90's, you have an idea of what kind of video game arcade I'm talking about. The ones that didn't have alcoholic drinks, were filled wall-to-wall with arcade cabinets, and kids and teens. If you were a kid or teen, you could hang out with the other kids and play some arcade games and have fun. Those kind of arcades are a thing of the past unfortunately, only living on in the form of family fun centers, GameWorks, and Dave and Busters.

I was lucky enough to be born in the late 80's. Street Fighter II was my first arcade game I would ever play. Sure, I played Super Mario Bros. on the NES console at my friends house, but that's completely different in comparison to playing an arcade game. So many games became popular because of the arcade scene. It was where the really good players showed off their skills and create high scores for other players to beat. That's what made video game arcades so fun to me. Checking out the high scores of the previous players and playing to either beat their score, or put your own score on the leader boards.

I remember when I was in high school I would play Dance Dance Revolution and eventually 5-key Beatmania at a movie theater that was near my school. Me and whomever was playing with me would attract a crowd whenever we played. Some songs I knew the step chart so well I could do them without looking at the screen. I was able to create a high score in one of the nonstop mode courses. it was quickly beaten though. I made a lot of friends there too. It was a bit weird though, since I only saw them whenever I was at the arcade.

I miss all of the social interactions you could have at an arcade. It was a meeting place for friends, a place to hang our and kill time at and not get in trouble. Best of all, your parents knew where you were and didn't have to worry about you. Now, I'm not trying to make acrades like this magical place where you're just safe and you don't have to worry about child predators. I think that's something you'll always have to worry about. I'm just saying that kids and teens had a place of their own to hang at. It's much different than being on Xbox Live or PSN and chatting with your friends or folks you game with being that at an arcade, you're physically interacting with them while online, you're just a voice in their ear.

Often times I look at Japan and grow envious of their booming arcade scene. It's not a hate-filled jealousy, more like a "MAN I wish America was like you guys" envy. It's like America killed off its arcade scene and forced us to embrace our gaming consoles. Japan is able to do both with little to no issue. The only place you'll see a sea of arcade machines in America, is at a family fun center, Dave and Busters, or a GameWorks (If they're still around... Are they around still?) I guess it's me having a "member when...?" moment and wishing that memory was a reality.

Til next time, CyberNinjas.