Video games arcades (80's - 90's games) in the UK

Been around Akihabara myself I am 99% sure the place in that video is called Super Potato, only downside to it was it was damn costly compared to the standard arcades in the area! Good fun though. Same shop sells classic consoles and games too, I was able to have a go on a virtual boy in the shop all setup to play. If I had more space I'd have bought a SNES when out there as they were only going for £25 for the console and a controller.

I also miss how you don't get decent fighting games in arcades in the UK, in Tokyo you got PvP floors with just a single game (Persona 4 Arena was the rage when I was there).
 
saitrix said:
Been around Akihabara myself I am 99% sure the place in that video is called Super Potato, only downside to it was it was damn costly compared to the standard arcades in the area! Good fun though. Same shop sells classic consoles and games too, I was able to have a go on a virtual boy in the shop all setup to play. If I had more space I'd have bought a SNES when out there as they were only going for £25 for the console and a controller.

I also miss how you don't get decent fighting games in arcades in the UK, in Tokyo you got PvP floors with just a single game (Persona 4 Arena was the rage when I was there).
Click to expand...


I was in Akihabara a few weeks back when I was in Japan. Dangerous place for me to be....lol. I couldn't help myself but I spent over £60 on retro games. would have spent more and brought a SNES Jr if I had the room.

The arcade seen its still alive over there and it was great to see 2D games still ruling in the country. Plenty of people playing Persona 4 Arena, BlazBlue and 2D shoot em ups.

Amazing place to be, will be going back in 2015 but with an empty suitcase.
 
Went to Ryde on the Isle of Wight a couple of weeks ago, and found an arcade there that had Out Run, Operation Thunderbolt, Asteroids, a really really oldskool wooden machine called "The Peeping Butler" that you put 50p in to see antique pictures of scantilly-clad 20s ladies through a visor ( :D ), and a whole bunch of others
 
I miss real arcades, so to get some nostalgia back I designed this little gadget.

Seems to have introduced a few kids to what an arcade machine is, when all they know are their fancy pants smartphones.

Even better now that MAME has been ported to support it.

There is an arcade on the end of the Brighton pier, bit nothing like they used to be.

I also made a little working OutRun cab, from some MDF and an old GameBoy Advance.

CIMG3042.JPG


Build details http://www.epictoys.net/gbacade/?Dir=/GBA-OutRun&page=0
 
Last edited:
MetaStable said:
Everywhere at Blackpool seems to just have slot machines these days.

Somewhere like this would be cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b31Ef4OspG0
Click to expand...

I honestly didn't know. I haven't been to Blackpool since 90/91. The pier was so loud all you heard was the arcades. The dodge-em cars near the opening part at the end of the pier before you step outside with no roof.

Youstolemyname said:
I guess the fact that you can have something more powerful at home than you can in arcade pretty much killed the video game arcade stone dead. The big deal used to be going to play on something with amazing graphics and gameplay and you would wait months for the 'arcade conversion' to come to your C64/Speccy or Amiga/ST.

Kids now would turn their noses up at Dragon Ninja or Shinobi because they have better in their pockets! In my childhood finding an arcade with Star Wars or Battlezone would have made my day. Going to the arcade was like peering in to the future. Now it's like peering in to a desperate £7 jackpot world.
Click to expand...

Memory lane. Terminator.

Craig1981 said:
EDIT: ^^ Thanks :)

Remember when you used to go on holiday with your parents and the hotel was pretty much guaranteed to have at least one, usually two or three different arcade games? And you could easily go into different hotels even if you weren't staying there, cause they had different games to the ones in your hotel. And there were usually a good few arcades around if it was a tourist resort. So many different games you could play in a short space of time. Good times...
Click to expand...

I remember the St Ive's hotel next to the Blackpool pier having several arcades, a arcade room and foosball table next to the swimming pool.

http://www.thestiveshotel.co.uk/the-hotel/gallery/gallery-the-hotel

MOOGLEYS said:
I liked Afterburner in the full 360 motion sim. Always a big queue at Sega World for that one.
Click to expand...

I can't remember where I was for that one but there was always a crazy cue as you said. I think it was one of the big gaming centres at Centre Parcs. Longleat... 94/95.
 
Last edited:
Used to hit Southend sea Front in Essex as a Kid. Whole days entertainment for ten quid at 10p a go.

I remember seeing a Neogeo and everyone oohing and ahhing.

1942/3 classics I remember a hotel lobby in Newquay with it, begging my dad for 10p lol

The thrill of seeing Operation Wolf with that big Uzi on it....was that one of the first games to use that control method ??

Playing arcade games that i had ports of on my spec/Amiga always gave me a rush too lol

completing double dragon on 10p's worth of "pure elbow"

Star wars vector graphics :P

Asteroids with the dial, Missile command and the trackball.

4 player cabinets like TMNT. i was always Donatello lol

Kids these days dunno what they missed....
 
Last edited:
Heck no, those shooting games go waaay back.

Remember those games from the 70's with the rifle plonked in front of a machine with the metal chains attached to the front:o

I might be wrong, but you're probabaly right about it being the first in a long time to do it on a video game.. Op wolf sure did rock:)

My secret shame would be when i first started work... per time i would start to deliberately 'miss the bus' home, thus giving me an hour in the local arcade before being expected home.

In the end i gave up pulling that trick and push biked to work, giving me 2hrs instead:)

Droped on the retro event down at wolverhamton last week, playing on arcade cabs loses nothing, i was as hooked as i was 20/30 plus years ago.
 
Wrestlefest was amazing!

I still remember the commentator to this day..."He's going to the top rope" :D

Simpsons, Asterix, TMNT etc etc etc were all simply tremendous arcades.

I even remember the Glasgow Debenhams years ago actually had an arcade at the back of the 5th floor.
 
I remember Sega world, my mum and dad had broken up and every time I saw my dad we would go there. He hated the arcades but knew I loved it and took me.

I also remember going to a live WWF event, I was back stage and they had one of the arcade machines was a 4 player game or 8 I can't remember and the kids weren't interested in meeting the wrestlers too busy playing the game :D
 
Lucifurr said:
The only arcade I can think of is Casino next to Goodge Street Tube station in London. It has some classics and newer arcade machines like Super Street Fighter 4 AE.

Edit: Just seen it closed down in March :(
Click to expand...

Under a refit is it not? So i expect it to be open again in a couple of months. I walk past it on the way to work so i'll let you know when it does
 
Youstolemyname said:
I guess the fact that you can have something more powerful at home than you can in arcade pretty much killed the video game arcade stone dead. The big deal used to be going to play on something with amazing graphics and gameplay and you would wait months for the 'arcade conversion' to come to your C64/Speccy or Amiga/ST.
Click to expand...

Pretty much this.

The gap between NES/Master system/SNES/MD/Amiga and the arcade machines that were out at the same time as each of those consoles was quite a big and important one. There were few acrade conversions that were almost as good as the arcade. Toki on the Amiga was very good. Street Fighter 2 on the SNES was amazing at the time but it's surprising how much worse than the Arcade version it looks side by side.

oh one other good one was Turtles in Time on the SNES. I much later found out that Turltes in time (didn't dare use its initials!) was Turtles the arcade 2 in every region except for Europe. I thought it was just a SNES game

there's been a few threads on here by people wanting to start an arcade using PS3/Xbox360s and to charge per game or per hour but it always boils down to people saying, why not just play them at home?
 
Last edited:
i used to love the Rotunda in folkestone when i lived there as a kid.. loads of classic arcade games but i still spent 99% of my funds on the fruitys :D
 
They're always in bowling alleys, they ALWAYS have one of these - pacman, outrun or mortal kombat.

Also I keep seeing a shmup arcade cabinet in the cafe in Eastenders.
 
Eames said:
They're always in bowling alleys, they ALWAYS have one of these - pacman, outrun or mortal kombat.

Also I keep seeing a shmup arcade cabinet in the cafe in Eastenders.
Click to expand...
Bowling alleys all also without fail have a Time Crisis 2 machine where the recoils are broken on the guns and the calibration is about 6 inches off!
 
Eames said:
They're always in bowling alleys, they ALWAYS have one of these - pacman, outrun or mortal kombat.
Click to expand...

the last time I was in the bowling alley here, it had a Mario Kart arcade!! that was probably 3-4 years ago.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom