No frontin' dawg, but it wasn't until several years later that I realized one of my favorite arcade games, Victory Road - was Ikari 2.R-Type
Shinobi
Ikari Warriors
Operation Wolf
All at the local Marsh (grocery store)
+ Scud raceSam Sho 2
Virtua Fighter 2
I think most everyone who posts here has seen a neo geo in the arcade and in the 90s without a doubt.I’m sort of surprised, to be honest, that there are so many noobs here on a Neo Geo forum that rarely or ever saw a Neo Geo in an arcade. Yes arcades still exist, pre-pandemic they were on an upswing. Galloping Ghost and Pinball Pete’s are both still going...I think. Where did you learn about SNK, Youtube videos?
When I was a kid there was a bowling alley in my town called Circle Bowl. They had a mid-sized arcade which I started going to regularly in probably 1982. This was a “real” American arcade, IMO, meaning that it was indie and it wasn’t run by 16 year olds. It wasn’t in a mall or some place else you needed to ride to in your mom’s Dodge Caravan it was directly in the middle of town. All of its customers got themselves there and went home when they felt like it. The entire building was quite large because it had two bowling allies, the arcade, a bar, a pro shop, etc. Somewhat like a university “diag” you could walk right through the place from end to end to save time. It did this almost daily for probably 12-15 years until CVS bought it, tore it down, and now operate one of those damned pharmacies that never seems to have a single person in it.
Games I saw for the first time there when they were new:
Ikari
Ikari II
Ninja Gainden
Renegade
Dragon’s Lair
Super Mario Bros/Excite Bike/that stuff
Double Dragon
Spy Hunter
Street Fighter II
Off Road
Gauntlet
That turtles game all you Gogert chugging 90s kids are gushing over.
Many many many pins.
It was not the first place I saw a Neo but I certainly played them there.
The games I spent the most $$$ on were probably Ikari II and Ninja Gaiden. It’s impossible to convey how exciting those games were to a 12 year old back then. This was when Fist of the North Star was the biggest manga in Japan and all the games were similarly manly and mysterious and macho. Spy Hunter was also a major thrill because...well, you wanted to see what was up the road and the road never ends...
Indeed Scud Race/Super GT is my favorite driving game ever. In multiplayer with the machines set to 12 laps...such a good time.+ Scud race
Past about 1984 most new games in the US were $0.50. Dragon’s Lair was probably the first most people saw but I can assure you that by 1995 $1 a play was common with new machines. I played most of my fighting games at $0.50 and that was only because fighting games cost like $1300 and Virtual On or Ridge Racer was like $13,000. When you play for a quarter it’s because the price was reduced. Now many arcades are “flat rate” or by the hour so...much cheaper than ever."That's not a credit....
... that's a credit. "
Not much of a choice with Dragon's Lair since its lowest price setting was 50 cents. Missile Command when it first came out had a factory setting of 50 cents though many arcades most likely felt that was too big a shock for most players. Our usual game coinage in the game rooms I worked at were 1 coin for uprights and 2 coins for sitdown games. In the 90's, new games generally got the 2 coin method until they were either no longer popular or they got paid off. One of the old arcades I went to had a unique system: They sold 6 tokens for a dollar yet every new game they got were on quarters only. Popular games were 2 tokens (33 cents a game) and the typical game 1 token (17 cents). That was the same game room that offered a $100 prize to anyone that could break a million on Sinistar. After a year, no one came close so the offer came to an end. The following week, I broke the million with 14 ships remaining. The owner gave me $50 bucks stillPast about 1984 most new games in the US were $0.50. Dragon’s Lair was probably the first most people saw but I can assure you that by 1995 $1 a play was common with new machines. I played most of my fighting games at $0.50 and that was only because fighting games cost like $1300 and Virtual On or Ridge Racer was like $13,000. When you play for a quarter it’s because the price was reduced. Now many arcades are “flat rate” or by the hour so...much cheaper than ever.
All made good money. While most places had the 4 player X-Men and standard SF2, we had the giant dual screen 6 player X-Men and the original Street Fighter game with the giant pneumatic punch and kick buttons that was converted to a SF2 (minus the big buttons). Of course when available, our TMNT was converted to Turtles in Time. Another arcade I worked in got the first Mortal Kombat in the state and... it did not initially make much money, especially against SF2, Double Dragon and Bad Dudes...until players found out about the fatalities. Then it was raking in the $$$.Aside from TMNT and XMEN, Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat, and Mortal Kombat 2 were regular cabs youd find me stuck on. The early 90's were a great time for fighting games.
My hometown arcade amazingly had this in 2005. Aside from the hilarious voice acting what stands out the most was the smell. The gloves were absolutely rank. Years of sweaty hands from many different people wearing them forming together to create a smell that I still haven't forgotten. One of those really cool ideas that doesn't work if you don't do maintenance.My grail piece though is Fight Mania Hokuto No ken. Havent been able to see this here in the US. I think i only played it handful of times but i know i want it and want to own it one day.
I love that movie and own it on dvd. Watch it about once a year.Reading this thread makes me want to watch the movie Joysticks. Has anyone ever seen that one? Crazy early 80s movie that takes place in an arcade.