-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
How much do you think you've spent on arcade machines in your lifetime?
- Thread starter Squarehard
- Start date
I was poor as a kid and lived far outside the city so arcades were a rare treat. Trust me, if I'd had money or opportunity to go, I would've spent a lot more. But it was maybe a couple bucks if I was lucky when we went to the movies (the one good arcade was next to it).
I did get to play games like VF, Killer Instinct, and MK2 when they were new but I didn't get to experience any kind of competitive arcade scene at all. It was just go there, get a couple rounds in and lose to the computer because it's not like I could practice those games. I was just there to marvel at the graphics a little.
I did get to play games like VF, Killer Instinct, and MK2 when they were new but I didn't get to experience any kind of competitive arcade scene at all. It was just go there, get a couple rounds in and lose to the computer because it's not like I could practice those games. I was just there to marvel at the graphics a little.
Thousands of dollars sadly lol (bought myself a couple of arcade machines and PCB boards). Although as far as playing games in the arcade probably spent over a thousand as well (over the course of like 30 years). I remember as a kid I'd save up my monies to play like MK2 spent like 50 bucks in one day solely on that machine, over all MK2 was the arcade game I spent the most money on playing.
Pretty much. I played DDR competitively in its heyday and also was pretty into fighting games as well. I was at the arcade almost daily.
I have played a LOT of dance games, basically every time I travel to a Round 1 (which has been about 10 times in the last 4 years) I spend around $50. Back in the day local arcades for DDR would usually average around $5-10 a visit biweekly. Really hard to say concretely, but would venture a guess around $2500-5000.
I used to spend my allowance, $5 a month at an arcade basically every month. The first time I went to the arcade in the Mall of America I think I saved up about $25 but given they exchanged cash for tokens, I didn't realize I didn't have enough time to spend all of it. Arcades are something I really miss, such a cool gaming experience.
I'd be surprised if it was more than 50 bucks. I always thought arcade halls were cool as hell tho. Just born too late to really enjoy them.
Probably over $1000 dollars, but not by much I don't think. Arcades were more of a treat/luxury than something I did on the regular after school or something. I'd spend a lot of time there on like vacation at the Pavilion but even then that was no more than 20-30 dollars a night for a week in the summer. This was back when you had a lot of 1 credit = 25 cents games so you could make it stretch longer. Outside of that I might spend a dollar a week at the grocery store, pizza hut, or trips to the mall, on average and at most.
I know it's at least over several hundred, as that's what I've spent at Round1 alone, but I bet it's just over 1k.
Too much. Every mall here had a Time-Out. I practically spent all of my free period time in school at the arcade.
I know some people didn't have access to good arcades, weren't around in the heyday, or weren't interested but I didn't expect those people to be almost half the votes. That explains why arcade topics here are so unpopular.
Hmm, might be pushing 5,000, maybe more, heh. A lot of arcade fighting game playing since the mid 90s on. And a lot of racing games, pushing 1$ or more a pop.
This was tough to vote on because it's probably somewhere in the like 300-800$ range but I have no idea where. I selected 100-500$ to be safe, but it could very well be in a higher category. It probably would be if you include redemption games I spent my excess tokens on.
The arcades I went to were fairly cheap though. They had stuff like Shadow Over Mystara on free play for some reason. Most of my time spent playing the arcade version of Soul Calibur III was at an arcade I went to on a vacation that accidentally left it on free play. Most of that was probably on DDR/PIU/ITG which were more expensive than everything else (and even the place Pump was at was super cheap, I think a round cost well under a dollar).
The arcades I went to were fairly cheap though. They had stuff like Shadow Over Mystara on free play for some reason. Most of my time spent playing the arcade version of Soul Calibur III was at an arcade I went to on a vacation that accidentally left it on free play. Most of that was probably on DDR/PIU/ITG which were more expensive than everything else (and even the place Pump was at was super cheap, I think a round cost well under a dollar).
$150 range, as the arcades in the Vancouver area are far and few between, & one of the "kid-safe" arcades at Metrotown Mall wasn't exactly accessible for 10 year old me at the time.
Then there's this place, which I've only went a couple of times but have stop going when I learned about its seedy history. Warning that the article is NSFW.
Then there's this place, which I've only went a couple of times but have stop going when I learned about its seedy history. Warning that the article is NSFW.
It's crazy how that arcade downtown has been around since before arcade video games.
Vancouver was once an excellent city for arcade games but that was probably before your time.
For context, I'm 31 years old, and that wouldn't surprise me Vancouver would've been a hotspot for the arcade scene. Before the pandemic, I saw 3rd Strike veterans playing at the MovieLand Arcade on the regular.
Around the time you were born, there were at least seven good sized arcades in Burnaby alone: two at Metrotown, three in the Lougheed Mall area including Chuck E. Cheese's, one at Brentwood Mall, and one on Hastings near McGill library. In retrospect, it was a lot.
arcade machines ?
I'll cheat, since i bought (and rented of course) pinballs and arcade PCBs / carts, so way over 5000.
My friends came play the arcades at my home, they pitched in for some of the PCBs.
On location, it's probably about 1000 to 2500, on rythm games mostly, fighting games and shmups i had at home.
I'll cheat, since i bought (and rented of course) pinballs and arcade PCBs / carts, so way over 5000.
My friends came play the arcades at my home, they pitched in for some of the PCBs.
On location, it's probably about 1000 to 2500, on rythm games mostly, fighting games and shmups i had at home.
Dang, poll results seem to indicate how much young(er) this message board leans, but it sounds like there are other factors based on some of the replies, which makes sense. I voted $2500-5000, but I wouldn't be surprised if I was in the upper category. Been going to arcades since the late-'70s, so I'm sure it's added up to something rather substantial. What an interesting measure that would have been if I'd had the forethought to track it all. :)
In the $100-$500 range I'd say. There weren't any huge arcade locations where I grew up. Lots of trips to Chuck E's or Peter Piper though. Sometimes the mall or the movie theater would have some fun cabinets. Played mostly racing, fighting, and light gun games.
I played a lot of MK3 in arcades in the 90s. It was pretty incredible. The game was riddled with secrets and secret moves. And the game was being updated on a regular basis by Midway (they'd send ROMs to arcades). They added enormous amounts of content to the game. It was unheard of in arcades. With every release, there was a rush to find what new content was added. Lots of activity on Usenet to document the new stuff. I'd print out the FAQ with 8 pages per sheet of paper on a laser printer at my co-op job. It was still like 5 printed pages. I'd head to the arcade and bring the FAQ and share the new stuff. I was playing so much that my arm ended up hurting. I'd take ibuprofen BEFORE I went to the arcade to play it. 50 cents a pop in most arcades. But still just a quarter in some.
You'd put your quarter on the machine to say you were playing next. There was usually a crowd.
Great times, and they're gone forever. :-(
Who knows how much I spent, but it's definitely 4 digits.
You'd put your quarter on the machine to say you were playing next. There was usually a crowd.
Great times, and they're gone forever. :-(
Who knows how much I spent, but it's definitely 4 digits.
I doubt I've spent a thousand at arcades, but I've spent a couple hundred dollars, easily.
Mostly during my teen years when I would hang out on the boardwalk and at all malls.
But once the pandemic is under control, I went to have a night out at Round 1 and play the shit out of some arcade games.
Mostly during my teen years when I would hang out on the boardwalk and at all malls.
But once the pandemic is under control, I went to have a night out at Round 1 and play the shit out of some arcade games.
Between 500-1000. Despite growing up with several arcades in my area during what seemed like their prime (by local standards), I only ever had a strong passion for Time Crisis 1 and 2 and DDR. I maybe spent around $600 on weekly trips to the arcade to play DDR with friends and the other local hangout groups to both practice and compete. I was never ever near the top of that scene but I did hang with it for a solid year.
And then beyond that, I've driven out of town to spend around $50 on day-long visits to a Round One in my state specifically on my arcade token card. It's roughly a 2 hour drive from where I live to get there. It doesn't come from a place of particular passion for arcades or anything, it's just a real fun way to kill some time that adds an interesting perspective to my existing video game interests... At least, it's fun when there's not a pandemic on. I love the arcade versions of Theatrhythm and Groove Coaster and bought a user ID card to keep my progress in both of those. I went twice in both 2017 and 2018 and once in 2019 and haven't been since pandemic times began but would like to if we start to normalize again.
And then beyond that, I've driven out of town to spend around $50 on day-long visits to a Round One in my state specifically on my arcade token card. It's roughly a 2 hour drive from where I live to get there. It doesn't come from a place of particular passion for arcades or anything, it's just a real fun way to kill some time that adds an interesting perspective to my existing video game interests... At least, it's fun when there's not a pandemic on. I love the arcade versions of Theatrhythm and Groove Coaster and bought a user ID card to keep my progress in both of those. I went twice in both 2017 and 2018 and once in 2019 and haven't been since pandemic times began but would like to if we start to normalize again.
