Blips, bloops and beeps emit from the room that houses the exhibit, where a dozen video-arcade games from the late 1970s and ’80s are lovingly arranged in chronological order, each lit with a single spotlight. Three free tokens, good for one game play each, are included with museum admission. Additional tokens may be purchased for 25 cents each.
Buy a bagful of those tokens, because these games are just as addictive as they were back in your misspent youth. —Michelle Delio
—When Space Invaders Ruled Earth (Wired)
From the online exhibit:
Back on store shelves, video-game companies are discovering what the music industry has known for a long time: the past can be mined for profit. The classics are being cloned, emulated, compiled, enhanced, and updated for a home market made up of children craving novelty and post-boomers binging on nostalgia. —Carl Goodman
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I suppose the fact that the old games typically still cost just a quarter probably has something to do with the problem... great from the player's perspective, not so great from that of the arcade owner... unless the console pulls in twice the traffic, which may be the thinking behind the two games in one package? I dunno.
While nostalgia is good for a quick buck, it won't keep the coin-op industry alive. The few remainging arcade giants are reissusing their early games like crazy. Namco recently released a combination "Class of 1981" cabinet, which can play either Ms Pacman of Galaga. They've also released a Missle command/Centipede/Millipede combination game. The problem is that they charge almost $3000 for these cabinets. The average "op" (someone who operates games for a living) can't afford that kind of outlay for a "new" game that will earn about the same amount as an older, beat-up version of the same game. Coin-op isn't dead yet, but the fat lady is in the wings warming up...