Wanting to play a video game in the 80s meant that you had to physically leave your house and go somewhere dedicated to playing them. It wasn't anything like the way we play games now, where all we have to do is turn on the TV or even just look at our phones. Back then, we had to grab all the quarters we could find and bike down to the local arcade and then wait patiently for our turn.
Obviously times have changed, but the excitement of going to the arcade is something we still remember. Sure, there are still a few old-school arcades nowadays, but the experience will just never be the same.
Take a look at these old pictures of the arcades of the past that'll make you wish you could jump back in time!
1. Whether you wanted a driving game, a shooting game, or anything else, there was nothing that these simple buttons and joysticks couldn't help us do
2. Sure, there might have been a bar next door, but who cares about that when you can play Pac-Man for three hours straight?
3. Even if you were trying to act like a professional businessman, you know you were spending your lunch breaks at the arcade
4. Going to the arcade was fun for the whole family
5. And was the ultimate hangout when you were sick of the mall
6. Dance Dance Revolution's predecessor used to look a little bit different, but man, was it ever fun!
7. You always needed someone there to support you, because when you died there was no save points to just restart. It was all or nothing.
We all had so many more memories from the arcade...
8. Space Invaders was such an important game at the time, and honestly, it holds up to this day
9. Arcades were where you wanted to spend all your time no matter how old you were
10. It's such a good place to see all the latest fashions
11. The whole gang was there to make sure you could tackle that high score. Hey, do you see the little mustachioed-man on the machine to the right? Who does that look like to you?
12. The amount of time it must have taken to make these machines is insane. Crazy to think that now you can just buy one little box and play hundreds of games on it
13. Oh, what we would give to go back and hangout for just one afternoon
How many hours did you spend at your local arcade?
Video games in the 80s were completely different than they are now. Now we can all play our games on the go, but in the 80s you had to go to a specific building if you wanted to enjoy some kind of electronic fun. As time went on and home units became the norm, these magical buildings we all knew and loved started to fade away. We didn't need the arcades anymore, we could play our games on our own TVs, but there was never the same community feeling. We used to all gather around the machine because someone was
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