Pop Culture | Video Games | 90s | 80s | 70s

Arcade Photos That Bring Back So Much Nostalgia You'll Reach For Your Quarters

Caveman Circus

These days, when pretty much every video game ever created can be bought and downloaded in minutes, it's hard to believe we used to trudge down to the local arcade with rolls of quarters in our pockets.

Whether you lived near a full-blown arcade,

a bowling alley with a handful of games,

or a local pizza joint with one lonely arcade cabinet,

there was something magical about popping a quarter into one of these machines and playing until your luck ran out. It's an experience that most of us haven't had in years, which is a shame because it's very different from playing games at home by yourself.

There were so many rituals involved. Like putting a quarter on the cabinet to show you have "next."

And begging your parents for more quarters when you ran out of change. When a game was seriously challenging, you would save up until you had one of these bad boys to beat it.

You could go head to head with your best friend on a fighting game.

Remember being shocked by the blood in this game? Simpler times.Digital Spy

Or test your skills behind the wheel on one of these awesome rigs.

This model is a little rough, but sometimes they didn't look much better.Vintage Arcade Superstore

If those didn't strike your fancy, there were a lot more games to play...

Personally, I was obsessed with any arcade games that used light gun controllers.

Even though it was just a hunk of plastic, it really made you feel like you were in the game. And there were a lot of great titles that used these.

And most arcades had a mix of "classic" games too. Like the pinball machines we all wasted our money on.

And skeeball.

I was never lucky enough to hit the jackpot on these, but it looked pretty fun.

And every arcade had that one guy who could do this on the hoops machine.

Plus there were the absolute DDR freaks, who stayed until they mastered every song.

And the claw game, which was definitely rigged. No question about it.

I'll win that teddy bear...someday.NeoGaf

Heck, we would even settle for Golden Tee if it was the only game we could afford a play on.

But of course we preferred the serious quarter-eaters, the games that challenged and infuriated us so much we just had to keep playing.

Be honest: how many times did you play that first level?Wikia
Getting six friends together on this machine was chaotic but so, so fun.1.BP
I think I still have nightmares about this game.EMUParadise

So many quarters wasted on that one...

And of course, we all waited in line to try the newest fighting game, only to be destroyed by someone who already knew all of the killer combos.

"Okay time out, how do I switch my character? Hey wait, I said time out!"EMU Paradise

And how can we forget the arcade tokens! Of course we used every single one of these, but looking back I wish I saved a few, because they're such unique collector's items.

If you're lucky enough to still live near a working arcade, enjoy it while you can! For must of us these days are sadly gone for good.

Don't forget to share these memories, and tell us what your favorite arcade game was!

More Throwbacks

Video Games

Universal Studios Has Apparently Started Building The Nintendo Park And We're Screaming

While it's been known since 2015 that Nintendo was teaming up with Universal to create a park that would give all of us a chance to explore our dream worlds, it's been a long time before we got any news. But now, three years later, Universal has finally started building. I know, I'm screaming too. The best thing about this park is that while the first one is getting built in Japan, they aren't stopping at one. The Nintendo theme park will be coming to both Orlando AND Hollywood. That means we don't have to take these huge international trips

Video Games

Rumors Claim N64 Classic Console To Be Announced Soon, Here's What We Know So Far

Apparently the announcement of whether or not the N64 Classic will exist isn't what we need to be worried about, it's more of a when will it be coming out. Nintendo's just had a big showcase called Nintendo Direct that highlights all of their upcoming projects, and many sources claimed that it would be the day that the official details of the N64 classic would be released.Nintendo Direct is a big deal every year for gamers, and with this year's release of the new Super Smash Bros. game, fans have good reason to celebrate. But right now, people are

90s

Your Favorite 'Mario Kart 64' Character Reveals The Truth About Your Personality

Playing Mario Kart was one of the most important things that you could do as a child. It was how you were going to develop that mental acuity needed in your day-to-day life. Sure, you could learn some things at school, but Mario Kart taught us problem solving in ways that were actually fun. You learned how to wait until someone was going over the big jump in Wario's Stadium before you used your lightning power, you learned where the glitches and cheats were, and most importantly, you developed a bond with one of the characters.Anyone who has played

Video Games

Sony Is Bringing Back The Original PlayStation Just In Time For Christmas

It can't be easy to try and create a video game platform, especially one that people will continue coming back to for years. While we know people have gone completely bonkers over the Nintendo and Super Nintendo rereleases, apparently other old gaming systems have been keen to follow up. After a few years of watching their competition dominate the market, Sony has now decided to step into the ring and bring back their very first PlayStation console. PlayStation was first released in 1994, making it 23 years old this year. Thanks to games like Driver, Spyro the Dragon, and Twisted

Video Games

Duck Hunt "Secret" Is Going Viral Thanks To Seth Rogen

Duck Hunt is one of those games that managed to become an all-time favorite even though the premise was so simple. All you needed to do was shoot the ducks using that big ol' controller, but it was still super tricky. We all played it a lot though, whether it was because the game was actually fun or if it was because it was our only option, we can't ever be sure. The game may have come out in America in 1987, and was so popular it was actually added to more modern systems as a downloadable game. But there's

Pop Culture

The History of Roulette

Roulette is well-known as a classic casino game in both land-based and online casinos. It is based on the fundamentals of placing a bet to see where a ball will land once the wheel is spun. Offering a thrilling and elegant kind of entertainment, it has been popular for many years. But what are its origins, and how has it developed? Beginning of the Roulette WheelThere are various tales of where the Roulette wheel has its origins. The name itself points to where it was born; ‘roulette’ means ‘small wheel’ in French. Some sources date the formation of the game