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Arcade resurgence?


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This guy is among a few taking the plunge:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]133913[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]133914[/ATTACH]

 

He did a letterbox drop in the local area and has been going for a while now, surviving in an industrial area.

 

I went into this place a while back as I live around the area, it's been up for a few months. It is very small and tucked away in the back streets of an industrial area. Great place considering it is pretty much the only good arcade in the entire area, the last arcade here, mind you, closing nearly a decade ago. Got a genuine MT3 machine and Time Crisis 3, but the classic games in there are all on MAME machines. Far superior to the one in Warriewood Cinemas, which is a dilapidated dump, and Dee Why Zone Bowling has too few decent games.

 

A guy in Newtown I know runs one of those arcade/bar hybrids, its called 1989 and it's got a few retro machines, an original TMNT and NBA Jam are in there etc.

 

Going back to brookvale, with one of those new Iplays soon to be opening at Warringah Mall next door you'd hope that this little establishment would survive, but I don't see him staying in business for long after that opens up.

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I went into this place a while back as I live around the area, it's been up for a few months. It is very small and tucked away in the back streets of an industrial area. Great place considering it is pretty much the only good arcade in the entire area, the last arcade here, mind you, closing nearly a decade ago. Got a genuine MT3 machine and Time Crisis 3, but the classic games in there are all on MAME machines. Far superior to the one in Warriewood Cinemas, which is a dilapidated dump, and Dee Why Zone Bowling has too few decent games.

 

A guy in Newtown I know runs one of those arcade/bar hybrids, its called 1989 and it's got a few retro machines, an original TMNT and NBA Jam are in there etc.

 

Going back to brookvale, with one of those new Iplays soon to be opening at Warringah Mall next door you'd hope that this little establishment would survive, but I don't see him staying in business for long after that opens up.

 

Too right mate I can't see his business booming and both Dad and I take guesses on whether he won the lotto or something. Dad will often come through Brooky late at night and see all the lights blazing and people in there.

 

I've been meaning to make the trek to 1989 but living out in the central west it's a bit much to make it into Newtown.

 

The best arcade I remember in the area was the Dee Why laundromat off Oaks Ave. I'm not sure when it closed but I remember at least 20 machines in there with all the clothes driers and washing machines running and the old lady owner just sitting there with a lunch box full of gold coins waiting for a kid to come up and trade in his silver (or note) and have a crack at MK or street fighter. Great times for competitive play with people you'd never met before, some of whom could easily get the shits and roll you if you caned them too much.

 

Funnily enough it's all full circle stuff for Warringah Mall, they had a dedicated arcade next to Hoyts not too long ago and it didn't work out for them.

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

Will be interesting to see how this new retro arcade in Perth fares:

 

Those susceptible to nostalgia trips have been warned, this time warp will hit hard.

 

More than 100 retro gaming machines from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s will be dusted off and powered on when the Palace Arcade launches in Northbridge next month.

 

Among them will be classics including Donkey Kong, Mortal Kombat, Defender and Space Invaders, sitting proudly alongside dozens of other popular favourites and all available to play.

 

Owner Saran Bajaj said the “barcade”, which will also serve cocktails, craft beer and food, played on nostalgia.

 

“It’s paying tribute to a different time,” he said.

 

“It’s a time warp. I’m 32 and some of these machines are older than I am.

 

“Some kids don’t even realise there was a time before flat screens. They ask ‘how do I play online?’

 

“There really is beauty in simplicity. These machines didn’t need to have 10 buttons to be engaging.”

 

Daytona USA and Sega Rally.

Daytona USA and Sega Rally.Picture: The Palace Arcade

The music promoter bought his first classic machine - a Taito-manufactured Space Invaders - seven years ago.

 

He said he played arcade games as a kid and always wanted to buy one, enthralled by the art and creativity that went into making them.

 

Over the coming years Mr Bajaj continued to add to his collection.

 

“I had loads of people messaging me wanting to come and play them or have me host their birthday parties,” he said.

 

X-Men side-scroller.

X-Men side-scroller.Picture: The Palace Arcade

Twelve months ago he decided to turn his hobby into a business, partnering with his brother to open the new arcade.

 

He is now just waiting on the final paperwork before he would reveal the location and opening date.

 

The rumour is that it will open at Dominion League’s Beaufort Street premises, which is shutting up shop on August 4.

 

The new gaming bar should open in the second or third week of August.

 

“People have stopped going out because all the entertainment is there on their phones,” Mr Bajaj said.

 

“The idea is for people to come here, play some games, have some food and a drink and have a good time.”

 

This place sounds like it will be awesome, let us know what it's like after you've been in!

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as someone who was an arcade junkie in the early 80s thru to the mid 90s i would say this. the 90s was only a fraction as big as the 80s in regards to the number of locations you could find arcade machines. George Street Sydney is a great example. in 1981-2 there was almost an arcade on every block. while the boom increased many of these single city arcades in less convenient locations had very short runs of 2 years or less. meanwhile the cinema strip arcades increased as they realized this was the prime location. by 86 the number of venues just on that facing block ( between Liverpool and Bathurst st ) had 8 venues to choose from. Pitt street had a 2 story TZ. Central station / Broadway had 3 along George street. Haymarket had 2 i can remember. The Milk bar Arcade phenomena also kicked of in the early 80s, it also hit it's peak around 85-86. fast forward 3-4 years and the number of these venues drops to like a 3rd. Many of those suburban milk bars also got rid of their machines by this time too. The so call 90s fighting boom didn't produce more arcades, Sega world the exception. After that 91-94 boom...when these poncy ticket games ( IMO those Dance machines also belong in that column...IMO ) arrived on mass, it telegraphed the end of Arcades IMO.
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as someone who was an arcade junkie in the early 80s thru to the mid 90s i would say this. the 90s was only a fraction as big as the 80s in regards to the number of locations you could find arcade machines. George Street Sydney is a great example. in 1981-2 there was almost an arcade on every block. while the boom increased many of these single city arcades in less convenient locations had very short runs of 2 years or less. meanwhile the cinema strip arcades increased as they realized this was the prime location. by 86 the number of venues just on that facing block ( between Liverpool and Bathurst st ) had 8 venues to choose from. Pitt street had a 2 story TZ. Central station / Broadway had 3 along George street. Haymarket had 2 i can remember. The Milk bar Arcade phenomena also kicked of in the early 80s, it also hit it's peak around 85-86. fast forward 3-4 years and the number of these venues drops to like a 3rd. Many of those suburban milk bars also got rid of their machines by this time too. The so call 90s fighting boom didn't produce more arcades, Sega world the exception. After that 91-94 boom...when these poncy ticket games ( IMO those Dance machines also belong in that column...IMO ) arrived on mass, it telegraphed the end of Arcades IMO.

 

Cheers mate. Good times.

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by 86 the number of venues just on that facing block ( between Liverpool and Bathurst st ) had 8 venues to choose from. Pitt street had a 2 story TZ.

 

I remember that two story Timezone on Pitt St. I spent most of my arcade gaming on George st Timezone and Galaxy World. They were full of fighters in the 90s, mostly dominated by asians who always seemed to kick ass especially on Tekken

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Aussie Arcade

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The so call 90s fighting boom didn't produce more arcades, Sega world the exception.

Let's not forget Intencity. Never went to one but they looked pretty cool in their day.

 

As I was born in 1997 I completely missed that era of arcade gaming. Do completely remember George Street Galaxy World though, went to that place a lot in high school (if your talking about the two story one opposite the Greater Union/Event complex). That place was massive and had some great fighting games, shame it bit the dust because apparently the owner couldn't pay the high rent. Apart from the ex-Galaxy World in Chinatown that place was the last bastion of good fighting games, the small Timezone across the road has SF4 machines that have seen better days, and the fighting game is basically extinct in the suburbs, I haven't seen one of them in suburban arcades in a long long time.

 

Also in high school I went to the old Galaxy World in warringah mall a lot - it was literally 5 minutes walk from my house. Can't remember much of it though, do remember they had skeeball and a basketball machine right up at the back corner though, they had bugger all in it anyway so I didn't care too much for it then. Now looking back there are no arcades around the area, and I do miss that Galaxy World a lot. Thankfully now all signs are pointing towards one of those Iplays opening up very close to where the old arcade used to be (there's literally text on wall saying that that will be opening soon). I'm indeed very hyped for this location, I play Maximum Tune a lot these days on top of my fighters and they seem to be common in arcades now.

 

Haven't heard of the two level Timezone on Pitt St - when did that close down?

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Haven't heard of the two level Timezone on Pitt St - when did that close down?

Around 1999 I believe, no wonder you haven’t heard of it you would have only been 2 years old! It was next to greater union, here’s a pic

41_A805_D1-_C3_ED-4_AA9-_A783-_BEAB798_FC7_CF.jpg

 

Timezone on George st closed in 2002 and playtime 2005

D9_FF3_D3_B-6_DFA-4_FC3-_BBAB-4786_A803_EB68.jpg

 

Here’s an even older pic of Hoyts George st arcade/pinball section circa late 70s/early 80s

8_D5_D8_BFD-8979-4_EF2-_A7_F6-_E1525_FABBFD0.jpg

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Aussie Arcade

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  • 2 weeks later...
yeah that was my favorite time. playing in the first VF 2-3 competitions LONG LIVE SHUN DI lol. the Flagship TZ just up from Village cinema...I first stepped in there in 83, so many people on a friday - Sat night with their 20c coins lined up on the cabinet glass. the pool hall CRYSTAL PALACE on the upper floor was cool too. it then became a 2 floor TZ when the pool hall closed in 88. it was only 2 floors for a couple of years. Stand out memories - Disc of tron in the back. The punch machine in the early 90s on the landing down the end. Street Fighter 1 right at the front doors with those punch pads. That place mean't a lot to me. Strangely i went in 2000, i hadn't bothered to go in their for several years ( i had my first girlfriend at that time and sex beats games lol ) but i went in on some random night with nothing much on to find the place emptied of games. I was kind of in shock, walking round the empty blue capet place. still 2-3 games left down the back. I guess i must have turned up on the final nite when the trucks were moving the cabs out. Very sad when places that have really been a part of you end.
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Here’s an even older pic of Hoyts George st arcade/pinball section circa late 70s/early 80s

8_D5_D8_BFD-8979-4_EF2-_A7_F6-_E1525_FABBFD0.jpg

 

That picture would have to be mid 70s. By the late 70s we, (Goddard Amusements), had only system 1 Gottliebs, Bally SS and Williams system 3 and 4s in that exact location with about 20 of the same series machines up those stairs on the mezzanine level.

 

There were also a couple of the very last Gottlieb EMs up stairs as well like Jungle Queen, Vulcan, Royal Flush etc.

 

About the last machines we had in that location, ( before LAI bought out Goddards), the mix down stairs would have been machines like Gottlieb machines like Counter Force, Buck Rogers, Circus, Hulk and Torch.

 

Williams would have been Scorpion, FirePower, Blackout, Timewarp, Gorgar etc.

 

The videos would have been Space Invaders 1 and probably 2, Galaxian, Missile Command etc.

 

There would have been no EMs upstairs, it would have been the last of the series 1 Gottliebs like those with no chimes.

 

There was also a few of the table pinballs. I think it was HangTime we had.

 

Pretty sure I have that time line correct. All those mentioned machine did go through that site in the 2 years I worked as a tech for Goddards plus many more. It was by far our best site and machines were rotated quickly so as to not get stale.

 

Competition was big at that time but we pretty much had the opposition covered. LAI only have early Sterns and Hankins at that stage with there biggest competition being machines like Meteor, Quicksilver, Big Game and of coarse Orbiter One.

 

Hankins were the whole range like FJ, Orbit, Denis Lillee's Hows That, Shark etc but they were also quick to recognize the pinball era was over and were quickly taking on video machines.

 

They picked the change quicker than we did or were able to change faster anyway and the writing was on the wall and Goddards were finished forever. A sad day.

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Perth 31/08:

 

Get ready to take a step back in time as Palace Arcade opens its doors this weekend.

 

Housed in the venue that used to be the Dominion League, this adult-only arcade game bar will give punters a chance to play from a selection of about 150 retro gaming machines from the 70s, 80s and 90s.

 

Palace Arcade is the brainchild of Saran Bajaj, who has been collecting the games for about 15 years.

 

The Palace Arcade will house up to 50 games at any one time.

 

“It was always a passion of his,” Palace Arcade spokesperson Gaurav Bajaj said.

 

“He always loved the artwork, the integrity of the games, the programming.

 

“It used to occupy our houses, he used to fill rooms, repair them himself, and I remember one night, we were just sitting around drinking beers, eating pizza, playing games, and we thought it was a good business idea.”

 

People can play classics like Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble, Frogger and Donkey Kong for $1-2 a game.

 

They’ll house up to 50 games over two levels at any given time, with the plan to rotate the games to keep it fresh.

 

And Mack Daddy’s will be serving up New York-style pizza, while the old Dominion League bar team has stuck around to make the drinks.

 

Palace Arcade opens its doors on Beaufort Street, Northbridge on September 1.

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This guy is among a few taking the plunge:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]133913[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]133914[/ATTACH]

 

He did a letterbox drop in the local area and has been going for a while now, surviving in an industrial area.

 

Living in Frenchs Forest right now and didnt even know this existed. Had a look at the website https://www.brookvalearcademachines.com/ and wouldnt the one thing you want to see on the website is the list of games / machines on offer?

 

Going back to brookvale, with one of those new Iplays soon to be opening at Warringah Mall next door you'd hope that this little establishment would survive, but I don't see him staying in business for long after that opens up.

 

Do you know where abouts in the mall the Iplay will be located?

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Living in Frenchs Forest right now and didnt even know this existed. Had a look at the website https://www.brookvalearcademachines.com/ and wouldnt the one thing you want to see on the website is the list of games / machines on offer?

 

 

 

Do you know where abouts in the mall the Iplay will be located?

 

It would be upstairs next to Hoyts where the old one was I'd say.

 

He's got a couple of daytonas and a few of those midnight racers, 3 or 4 mame cabs and cocktails.

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Do you know where abouts in the mall the Iplay will be located?

 

The iplay is downstairs in the food court, right where the Glue store used to be, in between that escalator that takes you to the top level and the board games shop. Not too far from where the old Galaxy World was.

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  • 3 months later...

If any Sydney people are interested, the new Iplay is kind of a lackluster place. I went in on opening day, and it was a huge letdown. There aren't too many games in there, and 2/3 of them are ticket games. No DDR game which is a massive disappointment. They have a new Cruisin' Blast which is an OK game but not an enthusiast game. The Daytona 4 cab they have I swear was abandoned inside Galaxy World and removed from there a week out from opening. There is also an extension of the Iplay upstairs directly adjacent to the old Galaxy World where there is a few claw machines and a Nascar dual cab. And they have one and only one fighting game - a beat up Tekken 6 machine which has barely functional sticks.

 

Definitely inferior to the old Galaxy World that used to be next to the cinemas which had some solid games, and I can see that this is a low-budget venture. Like anything else in Warringah Mall.

 

The Playtime in Chatswood is a much better place, is at least 2-3 times larger and it isn't very far from where I live.

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I went to B.Lucky & Sons last Friday which is at the top of Melbourne Central (https://www.luckyandsons.com.au/locations/melbourne-central) Its like an arcade/bar

 

I was really disappointed. Given that its marketed towards adults it was like walking into a time zone. Card readers everywhere with ticket machines. You weren't allowed to take a drink to the arcade area either.

 

I still like Playtime at Highpoint. They have some Tekken 7 cabinets and SF4 although they have got rid of a lot of machines for newer stuff.

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Pacific Werribee is my local shopping center, and that Timezone is bloody small with no decent machine. 80% of them are ticket machines. It's such a letdown.

 

I've been toying with the idea of opening up my own "barcade" for the last 8 months now. I'm waiting for my new house to be finished before I consider it properly but I honestly don't know if I'd make the coin I'm expecting to make it worth while.

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I went to B.Lucky & Sons last Friday which is at the top of Melbourne Central (https://www.luckyandsons.com.au/locations/melbourne-central) Its like an arcade/bar

 

I was really disappointed. Given that its marketed towards adults it was like walking into a time zone. Card readers everywhere with ticket machines. You weren't allowed to take a drink to the arcade area either.

 

Went there a couple weeks ago and yeah it was pretty underwhelming. They have a Bishi Bashi, Daytona HD and Mario Kart HD but nothing else really noteworthy.

 

I still think there's a market for a Taito Station type arcade in Melbourne. Does anyone know if there is a Groove Coaster cab in VIC?

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  • 11 months later...

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