The Arcade Era

Whilst visiting my hometown in the UK two weeks ago, I walked past what used to be the old games hall – a glorious building once chock-a-block with arcade and pinball machines.

The flashing lights would entice you in and once inside you’d be spoilt for choice as to where to spend your hand-earned pocket money. The likes of Street Fighter II, NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat and Terminator 2 were all firm favourites. Then you had the classics such as Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Space Invaders. I dread to think just how much cash and how many hours I spent there…

However, today the building lies dormant. With almost everybody owning smartphones, the ability to play such games is literally only the touch of a button away. Don’t get me wrong, these devices are great and have improved our lives drastically. But one can’t help feel that people are now missing out on the buzz that visiting an arcade hall with their mates used to bring.