The Stealth Rebirth of American Arcades


Photo: Sky Island/Flickr

The reports of arcade's death are greatly exaggerated. Sure, the arcade industry is far from its heyday of the 80's, but it is actually experiencing a bit of a revival. And it's all thanks to geeks!

Kyle Orland of Ars Technica clues us in on the stealth rebirth of the American arcade:

"I guarantee you're going to see at least two or three [arcades] in every city in this country within the next 10 to 15 years," said Chris Laporte, founder of Las Vegas arcade Insert Coin(s), which recently announced an expansion to a second location in downtown Minneapolis. "That's because the geeks have inherited the earth. People who grew up on this stuff have now grown up, but they're not really grown-ups, you know what I mean?"

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I went to Vegas on vacation this year, and the "Hidden Gems" section of our Vegas travel app sent us to Insert Coin(s). It's awesome!

There were cup holders on every machine so you could use both hands to play the machines, and there were couches you could rent with your choice of video game console and game to play on a big TV with your friends.

I definitely recommend it to anyone going to Vegas.
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Arcades were my most desired destination as a kid, especially with the advent of multiplayer games like Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat.

It saddened me when I realized arcades were a thing of the past, and it fills me with joy to imagine that future generations might have a chance to enjoy them.
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In 1982-83, I lived across the street from a new arcade in town, and the owner let me play free because I was a local deejay (just like the poolroom did). Even though I thought I was a bit old for that sort of thing, it became a hangout and I still have fond memories of playing Q-bert, Joust, and Centipede for hours.
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