When’s the last time you’ve been to an arcade? Doesn’t matter if it’s a big place like Dave & Busters, or the small corner of your movie theatre.
Arcades used to be a pretty big thing and you could always find a few arcade games in places like bars, movie theatres, bowling alleys, and so on. The games would just sit there unmonitored, minding it’s own business. If someone was interested or wanted to kill a few minutes, they would just drop in a loonie (sorry, I’m Canadian), and play a game or two.
While arcade games were usually seen as a casual activity, there were countless tournaments for games like Pong, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Dance Dance Revolution, and Tetris. Regular players would also have a sort of community by seeing the same people around certain machines, and may even challenge each other.
Point is, arcades was one a big phenomenone! Slowly but surely, however, arcades are shutting down and games are dissappearing from the sketchy dusty corner of establishments.
What happened? Why are they dying? Let’s investigate!
I’ll be sharing my experiences and observations as someone who has sought out arcades over the last decade, followed by how Japan’s arcades are doing, and 10 reasons why I believe real gaming arcades are dying.
My History & Observations For Arcades
I’m a 90s kid, born and raised in Toronto, ON, so I’m aware that I was born after arcades were at their highest. However, I do recall seeing quite a few arcades and arcade games around, and I was always interested in playing them, though to be fair, what kid wouldn’t be?
Sadly for me, my parents never gave me money to try them. Every time we’d pass by a movie theatre that had an arcade and I’d see the bright lights and other kids playing, I would look at them with wonder and jealousy.
I did grow up playing video games. My parents had the NES, and I owned a Nintendo SP and DS Lite, so I was a gamer girl in a sense. The family also had an Xbox and PS2, but there was just something about those big machines. I wanted to race with an actual wheel, and stomp on those buttons. Sadly, the closest I got in my youth was Space Cadets Pinball on our family computer (good times, good times!).
In high school, around 2009, I was allowed to go out with just my friends. Yorkdale was the closest real mall to us, and I was sooo excited to try DDR for the first time as we waited for our movie. And I was super prepared for it.
Why? Well, I found out around 2006 that my favourite childhood shows were actually animes from Japan. I was exposed to the original theme songs for those shows and fell in love. That same school year, a classmate let me copy their Stepmania game (this was my favourite song) onto my own USB, and not having internet much, it was something I could play anytime. I probably only played beginner once, and immediately got into light, and sometimes standard leveled songs, as seen above.
In 2011, I got to go to Pacific Mall for the first time with my Kpop loving friends. If you don’t know, it’s one of the biggest Asian malls not just in the city, but in all of North America. It was only 2 buses away, but it was still out of the way, so my mom didn’t want me going there. I begged after hearing my friends talk highly about it, and she finally said okay.
This mall had everything Asian: Kpop CDs, bootleg DVDS, anime plushies, kawaii accessories, bubble tea, mecha figures, circle contacts, and of course, a huge arcade in the center of their second floor. While my friends were fawning over the hottest boy group and checking out CDs, that’s where you would find me.
Now this arcade was a paradise. They had many classic/retro joystick games, mostly fighting games, but they also featured many Japanese music games like Dance Dance Revolution (Extreme and Supernova!), Drummania, Guitar Freaks, Keyboard Freaks, Pop n’ Music, Crackin’ DJ, and my personal favourite, Para Para Paradise. If you’ve ever watched the comic Youtuber Domics, this was the mall he was referring to in his video.
Due to the trip and how hard it was the plan an outing with friends, I only got to see this arcade at it’s prime about 3 times. I spent most of those visits playing Para Para Paradise. I learned the dances at home and just loved putting them to the test on the machine which…no one else really played it though (good for me!) .
By my 4th visit, I was in for a shock. They renovated the whole place into a ‘Fun Time’ Playdium, replacing most of the games with tickets games and incorporating a prize counter. If I knew that would have happened, trust me, I would have spent more time trying out the other music games. Now, I was only left with 1 DDR machine and Drummania…which I loved too, but damn!
[Update: I actually found their Facebook page, and it looks like they ‘upgraded’ again in 2019……and it’s just….*holds in barf*….it’s downgraded to a Chuck E’ Cheese, with no adult games in sight. It’s a place truly meant for kids….I don’t even see the DDR or DrumMania Machine anymore ;_____; There’s nothing left for me…]
In 2015, I visited Chuck E’ Cheese’s. I only recall going once as a kid to someone’s party. For my birthday that year, I just really wanted to visit an arcade and my friend recommend we go there.
After dinner with my fam, me, her and my lil sis took the bus ride across the city to the Sheppard East and Victoria Park location. 3 buses, mind you. I think we heard that adults can’t go in without kids, so we allowed my sis to come just to be safe haha [Their site says “anyone is allowed”, but people have been turned away].
I can’t recall the kinds of games they had…the usual ball throw and basketball games, Guitar Hero (which I loved), and some machine that flips you around that we got tired of waiting for. We did go around and played whatever, made the most of it. Always a fun time with friends.
I think within the next year, I had one date with a guy and he took me to Playtime Bowl & Entertainment just off of Orfus road…it was cold and quite a hassle to get to. The arcade area was quite small. It required a card and did have a ticket counter as well.
We played a handful of games, the few non-prize games like a shooting and horror game, not much caught our eyes. No one else was really playing there either, but what’s new? We spent most of the time playing laser tag and eating. I think we wanted to bowl, but the lanes were full and the wait would have been long.
Years later, 2019 and early 2020, my lil sis took an interest in Dave & Busters but needed an adult, so she convinced the family to go with her. My mom didn’t really care to go, but me and my cousin were just under 25, and my lil sis could only go in with someone over 25. I never thought about going there as it was outside Toronto/TTC bounds, which is really inconvenient (different systems, double bus fare, foreign territory), but my cousin had a car.
On my first visit, nothing much appealed to me. Most games were prize games and I didn’t really care about prizes, especially the ones they had. Even if I did, I knew it’d be cheaper to just buy them than just try to win it. But hey, there’s a few classics like basketball, Mario Kart, and shooting games. I also played Deal or No Deal, Connect 4 etc, ya know, games that actually take up some time or have some strategy. There was some jump rope game too which was interesting, some Kung Fu Panda punching game etc…
But eventually, I found myself behind a Guitar Hero game. While Guitar Hero was and still is a pretty popular arcade game, I could easily play 4-5 songs before someone lines up behind me. I wasn’t surprised though…you couldn’t win tickets with this game. My sis was one of those kids who didn’t care for it just for that reason.
Now, don’t think she was bad or intimidated by it…I owned the damn game. (Ironically, I first tried Guitar Hero at Yorkdale’s arcade as they had it for a short time. After a few tries, I decided to buy one used for my Wii. After playing that for a while, I decided to learn the real instrument, which is what led to me starting a rookie band and creating this blog 😛 So I owe Guitar Hero a lot honestly!) But she was only focused on winning prizes. Regardless, my fam always knew where to find me.
I did try a few other games, like “Pump It Up”. it was like DDR, but it had a 5 step-pad setup instead, which was a bit more awkward imo. It was also a Korean game, which didn’t have the same hard and consistent beat like the Japanese Eurobeat songs on DDR, so I wasn’t really a fan. I do like Kpop so there were songs I knew well, but I would rather learn real dance routines.
All in all, not many games appealed to me. I think I just prefer music/rhythm/dancing games. Even on my Wii at home, Just Dance, Zumba, and Rhythm Heaven are what I’m usually playing.
I liked something casual, but still fun and challenging. Where I can see my old scores and aim to do better than last time. Some games will kill you so fast and you’d keep paying to continue. At least for Guitar Hero, I was guaranteed a full song, and sometimes earned bonus songs for free. Those who I came with would fly through game tokens so fast, and they’d be shocked that I had so much left. $10 could get me almost an hours worth of songs.
But on that note, what better place to find rhythm games than in Japan? Backtracking a little bit, I planned a solo trip to Japan in 2018, and arcades were definitely on the itinerary. I figured, the land that created the majority of these games, especially the musical ones that I miss from Pacific Mall, would have them up and running. I was also really hoping to get to play Para Para Paradise one more time.
Sadly, the arcades I went to didn’t have PPP, so I had to settle for something else. I did try a Love Live game, but wasn’t feeling it. I also played Taiko no Tatsujin a few times. I had the game on my DS, but I thought it’d be more fun using real drumsticks instead of styluses where i have to be fast and precise on a small touch screen.
But one new game that I really enjoyed was MaiMai. It was essentially DDR for your hands and it had a lot more recent songs, including some anime songs. These two games were also available at the Onsen and Indoor VR park I went to.
As for the actual arcade, it wasn’t too busy. Since I did my trip in May and did most of my activities midday, not many places were crowded, so I didn’t think much of it. If anything, I personally prefer emptier places over crowded ones.
I read reviews that people who went to Joypolis, Tokyo’s biggest VR park, would be waiting an hour for most rides, but I went on a Wednesday evening and it rained that day, so my waits were 30 minutes or less. This place also had quite a few arcade games (It’s apparently owned by Sega), but only me and a couple others were playing them.
All in all, I was and still am a big fan of arcades. I’m sure I’ve visited some other one offs, like an arcade in a mall on a USA trip, or a pop up arcade at the Exhibition that runs a couple weeks at the end of summer in my city, but overall, they are disappearing.
On this website that showed all of Torontos arcades around or before 2010, the majority are gone. I thought some, like the one at Jane and Finch (the real closest mall to me) was just a childhood dream, but no, that one was around for a year or so, but it closed down ages ago. I thought for sure arcades would live on in Japan since they were the creators of most of these games, but…
How Are Arcades Doing In Japan?
More recently, Sega’s huge and iconic arcade made headlines when they decided to shut down after 50 years in operations. Yes, THE SEGA. The one who has made and still makes many video games….THEY closed down THEIR arcade.
While I did pass by 2 of their Akihabara locations on my trip, I didn’t go inside either. I didn’t even know they were arcades, just thought it was a HQ building. The buildings definitely catch your eye so I couldn’t help but take photos of them. The Joypolis VR park that I mentioned earlier is owned by SEGA, but they are still open, so don’t worry about that!
Now, don’t think that Sega was exactly struggling or losing money from these buildings. If they were, they definitely would have closed down years back. They definitely still had some regular customers that allowed the place to operate. But you can consider the pandemic a sort of wake up call for them.
According to TheGamer.com, in 1986, Japan had well over 26,000 arcades! But by 2019, they have slimmed down to just over 4,000. I’m sure Sega realized that their arcades won’t be profitable forever. Having to close down operation during the pandemic while still paying the cost of the building may have given them to push to say ‘it’s time’. Better to be ahead of the trend.
While writing my article about my Nostalgic Digimon Trip in Tokyo, Japan, I found out that many pretty big and popular places, like Ooedo Onsen Monogatari, and their colourful Ferris wheel were also shutting down during the pandemic for varying reasons. A week ago, I saw a video by Abroad In Japan/Chris that their Capsule Tower was coming down, so Japan is making a lot of changes.
I really enjoyed this documentary by Tokyo Lens as the establishment was closing. You can see just how much the building means to workers and visitors alike. Also check out the video by Arcade Heroes who clarifies that Sega isn’t ‘exiting’ the arcade business, they are still developing games, just not operating centres hosting games.
You still have to wonder though, if a big established company like Sega decides that hosting an arcade isn’t worth the risk, then what hope is there for smaller or independent arcades where that is their only income?
On my trip, I spent an evening at Tokyo Leisureland as you can see in the photo. They appear to only have 2 locations. I found this video posted a month ago (March 2022), and it appears to be quite lively, so I’m happy the pandemic hasn’t forced them to close.
The creator of the video mentions that it’s not as frequented compared to other arcades, especially on the weekend, so that implies other arcades are still quite busy as well, thus there is hope! People could have gotten used to playing games at home, but they would rather go out and play at arcades.
For those who live there, people usually have small homes and don’t have guests over, so establishments like arcade where people could hang with friends, compete with others, and just blow off steam is still favored.
That’s not to say other arcades won’t decide to follow Sega’s lead and close down before they lose profits, but if they do, their regulars will simply find another arcade to frequent, thus increasing their profits.
On a final note, I will say that while arcade games are dying, other gambling machines are hot and getting hotter it seems. Crane games or “UFO catcher” are taking up half the space of some local arcades, and of course Pachinko Bars, which are essentially casinos filled with pinball machines to play, still fill up daily.
Similar to ticket games in the West, I guess people only care to play and ‘have fun’ if there is a possibility they can get something in return…but that’s how gambling addiction starts. When you start to lose your initial investment, you are tempted to keep playing until you get a prize or at least some of your money back. Thus, these kinds of games are definitely more profitable than the average arcade game, and more enticing to arcade owners.
Why I Think Arcades Are Dying
As a fan of arcades, even if I don’t frequent them as often as others, I’ve been to them enough to still see some change over the years. I’m sure there are many reasons why arcades are dying, but here’s my top 5 suspects:
1. Better (And More Convenient) Alternatives
Let’s just put the obvious first. At one point, arcades may have been the only way to play certain games, but with consoles, computers, and emulators, you can always play that at home. In the Groove is nice, but so is Just Dance. Tetris? There’s a free phone app.
Of course, gaming as a whole isn’t dead, not even close! There are probably more gamers and streamers than ever before thanks to the pandemic. Stats say there are over 2.7 Billion gamers and the industry is now worth over $300 Billion!
Unlike past simple games that won’t even save your progress, you can now immerse yourself in a whole new online world and play with your best friends from the comfort of your own home. Save yourself a trip, and play as late as you’d like to.
Ooor, better yet, if you want to play games with your friends in person, there are video game cafes now. Cleaner, more comfortable, old and new games, food available, definitely more appealing. They also usually have many other things to do there as well, like board games or karaoke.
2. Owners & Potential Customers Want To Save Money
For the owners of these machines, they could have been a decent source of side income in the past. But similar to those candy and toy vending machines, people aren’t using them anymore. Arcades don’t attract teens anymore and kids have been exposed to more exciting things like computer games. Arcades also take up a lot of space, add to the electricity bill, and sometimes need repairs. Plug it out, and it’s just there looking old and collecting dust.
As for potential players, while $1 or $2 may not seem like much for a moment of fun, there’s just many other things one can do for entertainment. Some may carry their portable devices like their PSPs, DSs and Switches around for boring moments like a bus ride. And of course, the most popular entertaining device these days are in people’s pockets…
3. Smart Phones
On that note, smart phones are probably another reason as well. One thing that made movie theatre and bowling alley arcades profitable was that, people were waiting around and had nothing else to do. The arcade was right there, it was only a couple quarters, why not challenge your friend to a race, or let your child play something in the meantime?
However, starting with the iPhone that had many classic games like Cut the Rope, Angry Birds, Doodle Jump and Tap Tap, smart phones have become a constant means of entertainment. If you’re waiting in line, on the bus, or in some other situation where you have nothing else to do, you can pull out these gadgets and keep yourself occupied. I know parents as well would rather buy their kid a tablet than have them in the mall arcade unoccupied as they do their shopping.
4. Arcades Are Intimidating To Newbies
Arcades have always been intimidating for those who are new to them. There’s no one there to assist or instruct you, so if you didn’t get a chance to play when you were younger and braver, it’s only going to be more embarrassing trying as an adult. Adults usually see arcades as something for kids, so it’s even more awkward or embarrassing to try them and be bad at them.
At the movie theatre, I have seen parents try to get a game going for their child and just giving up and walking away (I’d help but I was in the middle of a game). There’s also been times I was waiting behind a parent and child for DDR. I’ll help them set it up and get the kid going. After 1 song, the kid is satisfied and starts walking away. I told the parent they got 2 more songs, and they say ‘it’s fine’. I encourage them to play, but they’re like ‘oh, no no!!’ and they tell me to continue in their place.
I get it. Playing a new game publicly, where others can see you try and fail is also embarrassing. Not everyone grew up with games so they don’t know what’s going on. Once you drop your coins in, the machines can get really loud (especially for “DDR!!!!!!”), calling attention to the player.
And back to the smart phone point, unlike a decade or two ago, everyone now has convenient cameras on them that they could pull out and record strangers. There’s always the risk of being captured, posted to the social media, and globally humiliated. No one really wants to put themselves out there anymore.
5. Arcades Are Always In The Background
As I mentioned in my little history with arcades, Yorkdale used to have a pretty big arcade space that could not be missed, and it was quite roomy as well. After their renovation, they crammed a handful of games into a small dark corner that you may barely catch a glimpse of as you head in to watch your movie.
No one is standing nearby encouraging others to play or showing them what to do, like those people at carnival games. Thus, only those who are curious or want to play will step in…sometimes. Other times, they may want to, but no one else is playing in the arcade, or the games are plugged out. It can seem kind of creepy, especially for those who always saw arcades as seedy places.
I’ve seen my fair share of ‘out of order’ games. I can’t tell you how many times I showed up at Yorkdale with the sole intent of playing DDR, just for there to be an “OUT OF ORDER” sign on it. Other times, it’s working but one of the buttons aren’t responding well, thus requiring more stomping (energy), and increases my chances of failing. Games can easily be destroyed or neglected since they aren’t supervised.
6. Arcades Are Not Being Advertised
Since arcades are usually in the background, just placed there as some passive income for owners, obviously they don’t really care if people play or not. Once it pays for itself, it’s extra change. Their main source of income is whatever their business focuses on. Thus, they’re not going to advertise their small game corner.
As for other places like Chuck E Cheese and Dave & Busters that are dedicated arcades, these are advertised more as party places. Places that you’d go with a big group of people, spend a lot of money, and have fun every other year. Because it’s seen this way, there are very few casual or regular customers. They are big locations, often out of the way for other people, so it’s not somewhere people randomly if they just want to kill time.
Also, if you’ve seen any of their ads, they tend to push other things, like their food and drinks, their sports bar, their live entertainment…or ‘team building’ activities. So most parents will go as they can socialize with their friends and eat, watch the game, while their kids go crazy in the arcade. They may play a couple games if their kid asks, but the prizes won’t appeal to them to keep them playing.
7. Parents Are Needed To Enter Arcades Now
Piggybacking off the last point, age limitations get in the way of kids and teens experiencing the freedom and fun that used to come with arcades.
Arcade culture thrived on the fact that kids can go with their friends after school, spend their lunch money on a few games, and have fun for an hour before heading home. That’s not an option now when the few real arcades require kids to have someone 18+, or even 25+ to enter and have more staff (witnesses).
For TILT, a retro arcade in my city, their policy says “Minors are allowed on the premises until 8pm every evening when accompanied by a parent with a ratio of 1 parent for every 2 minors. We ask that accompanied children be supervised by the parent at all times during the visit. After 8pm, all patrons must be 19+ and provide valid government issued photo ID. Pictures of ID are not accepted.”
This presents a lot of issues for young people who may want to play in arcades:
- You rarely or may never get to go if your parents don’t care for it.
- With gambling games as the focus, kids can blow through $20 really fast at those establishments, so financially-conscious parents won’t want to bring their kid there often.
- For teens, It’s not fun having a parent hover over you, and for them to decide when it’s time to go.
- You won’t get to go often enough to build some kind of community or rivalry with other gamers.
- You can’t even plan an outing with your friends, as your parents will have their own schedules.
Could you imagine needing your parents approval every time you were to play a video game at home? They had to put it on and watch you throughout? Then decide when to turn it off? I don’t blame young people for finding other hobbies they could do freely.
8. Cards Replacing Coins/Tokens
Whether it’s Chuck E Cheese, Dave & Busters, or Playdium, they all work the same now. You need to go to a desk to have an attendant load your card, sometimes waiting 15+ minutes in line. You are encouraged to put on $25, $50, or even $100 to get the best bang for your buck. The more you buy in one transaction, the more free/bonus tokens you get.
Since the majority of their games focus on gambling for prizes, and since you’re using a card instead of physical coins, it’s quite easy to blow through your tokens. Same logic goes for cash versus credit cards. People who visit are aware of this and will buy more tokens at the start, thus, they will likely stay longer.
This is, of course. a great business model since people will more likely buy food or drinks during their stay. However, this turns an arcade into a scheduled event, one that requires scheduling and money like ice skating, so people will only come once every blue moon…or once in their lives.
But back then, arcades were meant to be a time killer while you wait for other things to start, a short activity/break on your shopping trip, something you can do after school for half an hour before heading home, or you see it as you’re walking by and you challenge your friend to a couple rounds.
You can drop a couple quarters into the arcade game itself, or use a nearby self-serve machine that quickly converts a coin or a bill to game tokens. I’ve seen it open a few times, and it’s usually just $1-$5 deposits. Once you finished your tokens, you can walk away, no strings attached. No worries about losing or misplacing your card with all your remaining tickets and tokens on it.
For those who just want to try an arcade game for the first time, coin tokens were not a financial risk. A non-gamer is more likely to see an arcade in a mall and be willing to give up $1 to give some games a try, than they are to take a chance with Dave & Busters which requires a trip to a foreign place and a $10 minimum on a card.
As a side note, many gamers are socially awkward and may prefer not to interact with people. There are also adults who may feel self conscious always going back to the counter to add more money to their card, thinking they’ll be judged. Arcades are no longer the casual, walk-in and walk-out situation that it used to be.
9. Gambling Preferred Over Casual Games
Honestly, while gambling games makes a lot of money for these businesses, gambling culture is certainly a killer of classic arcade games. The newer arcades are pretty much casinos for young people. They are no longer places to challenge yourself, face your friends, beat the high score, and just have fun. They are places to test your luck and keep gambling until you have earned something that you are satisfied with.
And because you have these cards with a balance or unredeemed tickets on them, it does encourage one to go back until they’ve raised up enough tickets to buy what they want, even if it means spending $1000 on tokens to earn a $300 Nintendo Switch.
Yeah, you could play Flappy Bird or Doodle Jump or Temple Run on your phone for free….but you could also go to the arcade and try to earn a prize. People get real adrenaline playing these games and winning gives them a rush of endorphins.
I totally understand and get the rush, especially when people before you have failed, but the prizes do not appeal to me. I know I could buy that same item for $10 instead of gambling $50 to earn it. I have never redeemed anything the 4 or 5 times I’ve been to D&B. I just want to play games that I can’t play at home, like DDR, and I’m sure many old arcade lovers feel the same.
As for this current generation of arcade visitors, they’re more likely going to become addicted to winning and earning tickets. They want to win prizes. I’ve had my sis and neighbours kids show lack of interest in Guitar Hero because they won’t earn anything in return, even though I know they like the game as I owned it 😛
Japan doesn’t seem to have this ticket reward system, so UFO catchers where they play to win a toy from the game itself is the equivalent. There are whole arcades and whole floors with just crane games there! They too are obsessed with gamble culture and the high of winning a physical prize as opposed to a digital trophy or a sense of achievement.
10. The Trend Has Simply Died
Sometimes, it’s just the end of an era. Frozen Yogurt, Yo-Yos, Common Sense…it is what it is. New things come in, old things die out. While arcade games were once hot and intrigued a lot of people, that’s just not the case anymore.
If you love arcade games, but don’t want to make a trip to play, there’s video games. Video games have more variety, and now you can face your friends from the comfort of your own home. You can stream and make money. You can even compete in competitions and get fame and money.
Those who still love arcades games may have their own basement arcade, and there is still a market for that, but otherwise, most people don’t seem to care or notice that arcades are fading into the abyss.
Conclusion
I don’t really know where I was going with this article. As someone who was only getting into as it was starting to die off, I’m personally sad.
Years back, I considered starting my own arcade that focused on Japanese music games, but arcade games are pricey. They’re at least $2000 each, some hitting $10,000 and more! And that’s not including the actual shipping fees or custom costs. Of course, I had to wonder if it would be profitable to break even, especially with the cost of rent in my city. It was too much of a risk, so I totally get why new arcades aren’t opening up.
But the thing is, people want to go out and hang with friends in entertaining places. Board Game Cafes, Escape Rooms, Karaoke Bars, Bowling Alleys and so on are still quite alive and active. Some may be died down a bit, and some establishments had to close down during the pandemic, but they are places the majority of young people know about, enjoy going to, and will gladly invite friends to.
Arcades though? Feels like no one has been talking about them. I don’t know if there was ever some kind of riot or protest against renovating the Pacific Mall arcade, but I guess they thought it was time for an upgrade or that they could make more money with prizes. I’m sure some simps didn’t mind as it was an opportunity to show off their skills and win prizes for their girlfriends…though, that kiddie upgrade…*barf*.
I will still hope for a revival though. I know it probably won’t happen. If there were to be a resurgence, it would have happened after Wreck It Ralph came out since it featured the arcade and many characters from games of the past. Nothing happened though. I’m sure many of us would love a comeback, even if it’s just for a couple months <3 Fingers crossed!
If you like arcade games or have played some Japanese rhythm games, definitely check out my ranking here. And if you like Japanese music, I have a lot of interesting reads on my Japanese Learning Resources page.
To end this off, I want to ask you readers some questions. What’s your fondest memory at an arcade? Are there any games you miss? Do you think they may have a revival one day? Feel free to leave a comment and tell me your own stories. I would love to read them!~<3