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As you all know, Chuck E. Cheese is now a germ-infested, messy, unhealthy, redemption-game-and-kiddie-ride-filled little kids' romp. But back in the 1980s, it was arcade paradise. Except I've never seen those days. So, I wanna know, what was Chuck E. Cheese like back in the early 1980s? The only things I've seen are commercials, a quick video from 1983 (You've got one of those camera things!), and Skee-Ball footage from 1985. From the '83 video I know they had Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Popeye, Donkey Kong, Pole Position, Moon Patrol, etc. but there might be more rare, obscure games like Cheeky Mouse, Mouse Trap, Mappy (see how I'm listing all the mice games?) and others. I also know it opened up in 1977. What was this first California location like? I've seen a commercial for it, and Chuck E. was a rat back then. From what I've read, they had Puppy Pong on tables when you waited for your food. I wanna know what other games they had. And you can share your late '70s-early '80s CEC memories here, too! Have fun!

Here's my list of recommended 1980s arcade video games (with Gauntlet marking the halfway point in the decade): TRON Centipede Defender Space Fury Galaga Tempest Missile Command Battle Zone Donkey Kong Pac-Man Mr. Do! Gaplus Mr Do's Castle Burger Time Ms. Pac-Man Robotron Crystal Castles Moon Cresta Dragons Lair Stargate Frogger Phonix Gorf Jungle King Pengo Pole Position Elevator Action Pole Position II Tapper Punch-Out!! Spy Hunter Bag Man Tutankham Time Pilot Krull Venture Satan's Hollow Zaxxon Black Widow Sinistar Tac/Scan Zektor Turbo Armor Attack Food Fight Space Wars Subroc 3D Star Castle Super Pac-Man Firefox Donkey Kong Jr. Millipede Jr. Pac-Man Time Pilot '84 The Glob Mappy Regulus Paperboy Super Cobra Carnival Mouse Trap Star Jacker Mega Zone Space Odyssey Bump 'n' Jump Orbit Blaster Popeye I Robot Roc'n Rope Scion Track & Field Vulgus War of the Worlds Space Dungeon Phoenix Bosconian Pooyan Future Spy Wizard of Wor Rampage Marble Madness Starforce Eliminator Kangaroo Gyruss Scramble 1942 Two Tigers Dig Dug Juno First Star Wars Joust Moon Patrol Qix Turtles Front Line Strong X Berserk Exerion Cosmic Avenger Gravitar Discs of TRON Astro Blaster Frenzy Star Trek Omega Race Asteroids Rally-X Q*Bert Congo Bongo Q*Bert Cubes Asteroids II Star Force Vanguard Vanguard II Major Havoc Xevious Gauntlet Gauntlet II Armored Scrum Object The Empire Strikes Back Ghosts 'n Goblins Green Beret Metal Soldier Isaac II Gradius/Nemesis Section Z Space Harrier Terra Cresta Bubble Bobble Darius Gladiator Ikari Warriors Outrun Rampage Rolling Thunder Rygar Side Arms Spelunker Victory Road 1943 Ajax Alien Syndrome Bionic Commando Black Tiger Blazer Contra Double Dragon Galaga 88 Heavy Barrel Karnov Pacmania R-Type Shinobi Terra Force The Ninja Warriors Time Soldiers Tiger Road Twin Cobra Xenophobe Xybots Altered Beast Assault Cabal Operation Wolf Cobra-Command Double Dragon II Ghouls'n Ghosts Image Fight Last Duel Mirai Ninja Raimais Scramble Spirits Shadow Warriors Silk Worm Sky Soldiers Super Contra The New Zealand Story Truxton Turtle Ship Twin Eagle Vindicators Vulcan Vunture Act Fancer Arbalester Blast Off Burning Force Dangerous Seed Darius Darius II Dyger Escape from the planet of robot monsters Galaxy Gunners Gigandes Golden Axe Gradius II Gradius III Hellfire Ikari III Klax Legend of Hero Tonma R-Type II S.T.U.N. Runner Saint Dragon Search and Rescue Shadow Dancer Strider The Astyanax The Next Space U.N. Squadron Volified Night Striker Omega Fighter Pang Plus Alpha Top Gunner/Jackal Rambo III Arkanoid E-SWAT Battle Shark Tetris Ninja Spirit Fighting Hawk Forgotten Worlds Chelnov - The Atomic Runner Armed Formation Rainbow Islands Gemini Wing Afterburner Afterburner II Xain'd Sleena Tiger Heli TwinBee MX 5000 Blasteroids

I got an Astro Wars cocktail cabnet for 250$ Canadian yesterday Its a clone of Galaxian , a very good clone. Never heard of this game might be rare i dont know. Im just excited to have my first arcade machine.

Aside from the neat cross-over between classic computers and synths with people like Bil Herd and Bob Yannes, I find it interesting to see how some of our favorite CPUs crop up here and there in the music industry. So I started making a list of synths and samplers that made use of various old-skool CPUs. To start things off, here's a list of what I've been able to find so far. Feel free to correct any errors you might spot: Roland Jupiter 8 Z80 Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 & 10 Z80 Sequential Circuits Prophet 600 Z80 Roland MC4 Z80 Ensoniq EPS-16 68000 E-mu 4060 Z80 Roland MSQ700 Z80 Oberheim OB-8 Z80 MemoryMoog Z80 Emulator I and II Z80 Akai 2700 Z80 E-mu SP-1200 Z80 E-mu Drumulator Z80 Sequential Circuits Drumtraks Z80 Fairlight CMI series II 6800 Fairlight CMI series IIx 6809 Oberheim Xpander 6809 Oberheim Matrix 6809 PPG Wave 2.x 6809 PPG Waverterm A 6809 Ensoniq SDP-1 6809 Ensoniq ESQ1 6809 Ensoniq SQ80 6809 Fairlight CMI series III 68000 and 6809 Quasar M8 6800

This software company that my company uses just posted a really cool article on their favourite 80's & 90's retro games, and even included how to play them on PC to this day which I thought was dope. Anyone else find a couple of their favourites on this list: https://bugherd.com/blog/how-to-play-classic-pc-games/? Got a huge nostalgia hit when I saw Starcraft lol ? Might have to play it tonight ...

Hello everybody, I'm new to this forum. I was born in Eastern Europe and lived there during the 80s: this is to say we hadn't much if at all 'electronic' games of any kind. Few of us had 'connections' and the chance to have one of those old Game & Watch handheld consoles - when that happened everybody would gather around for a quick game play. It was surely moments I will not forget. Anyhow, fast forward 'a few years', as many of you already know many these games are now available on various mobile platforms, Android, IOS, and also on the now forgotten Windows Mobile. These are emulations (is this term right?), I call them 'reproductions', many of them are surprisingly well done, some people have indeed spent time to reproduce sounds, graphics to the finest detail. On Android, many of these are free, while on Ios these cost a few dollars each. I enjoy playing these and I made a compilation of gameplaying, which can be found on my Retro game playlist on my channel - I hope it is ok to put the link here on the forum, please notice me if this goes against any of the forum rules. So here's the link, I should update and upload more games when I get time (or simply feel a little bored) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLl-l6yge4asvYiF6ZlVz59vf-Xf6mpo3B I hope this brings back old memories for you too people!

I know this has been done to death, but I have to set the record straight. Numerous documentaries and books (even L. Herman's Phoenix) state that the video game crash of the early 80s was caused by too many games on the market. This is false. The second thing to address is the year of the crash. Some are quoting it as 1982. From the perspective of the consumer, this is also false. Perhaps some developers began to suspect the bubble was about to burst at the time. The truth is that the general consumer public didn't feel the effects of the crash until 1984. Reasons for the crash: Primary: Home consoles and arcades were slandered by the media. The focus shifted to computers. Video gaming never stopped. Instead of playing at the arcade or on a console, the majority of gamers played on their home or school computer systems. Secondary: The economic recession and rapidly rising interest rates. People were paying over and above 18% on their mortgages in the early to mid-80s. Consider how this and the energy crisis affected the amount of real disposable income (not to mention investor income). If you were going to spend money at that time, it was no longer enough to purchase an item purely for entertainment. Instead, it needed to serve more than one purpose. I.e. integrate home and office (generate income), educate (build a future), and finally -- entertain. Enter the rise of the home computer. Once the economy recovered and interest rates dropped, people could again begin to look at consoles. Hence the rise of the NES, Genesis, etc.... http://www.fedprimerate.com/wall_street_journal_prime_rate_history.htm

Woohoo! This takes me back: https://youtu.be/CPBE6rNh8QA?t=281 If anyone else finds video of retro games that they think are cool, feel free to post links here.

I believe the saying that happiness is not always having what you want, but it is wanting what you have. With the Fall season taking hold, I find myself getting back into a nostalgic frame of mind. While I find it is not productive to live in the past, I find that some of the best memories actually help me appreciate what I have more. As I tossed the draw of nostalgia around in my head, I began to wonder if kids today will have the same opportunities. We live in the age of the microwave. We want things when we want them, and that is usually now. I guess one can argue that it has always been that way, but I it is truly a lot more attainable in today's age. Sometimes it makes me wonder if kids of today are missing out. Although I do not prefer them, the rough times in my life have been some of my best opportunities for growth. I am not going to go that deep. I am just talking about video games here, but I find it an interesting parallel, how many of times of want have become some of my most cherished memories. When I was writing this the first time (I accidentally tabbed out and pressed backspace.. gone), "I'll Wait", by Van Halen started playing in my headphones. In my mind, I was thrust back into the late 80's. I was inside the arcade/corner shop, which many would stop by, on the way to our Junior High School. As much as I didn't care for cigarette smoke, it was a small price to pay, because games were 2 credits for a quarter! in fact, I met my longest friend there. We used to play Mario Bros. Sometimes we would play as a team; other times, we would play competitively. We still talk about those times to this day. I was very fortunate to have my Atari 5200, because the Mario Bros version was better than other conversions of the time. In many ways, it even outshines the NES version in animation and competitive nuances. We would sit and play that game all night at times. As much fun as it was, it was still a treat to play the arcade version. Of course we wished we could have our own arcade machine, but that just wasn't realistic at the time. Those are some great memories. Who would have thought that wishing for arcade perfect (or even better than we had) would be just as great of a memory? Pac-Man is probably the game that changed my life. Just as there are memories of actually enjoying the 2600 Pac-Man, I have just as many fond memories drooling over the Sear's catalog, because the Atari 400/800 computers had a version with the same maze layout. The sounds were closer than I ever imagined a home version could be. When the 5200 was released, I was finally able to obtain that version. It was even better than the computer version, because the high score racked up during gameplay, and it had the intermission cut scenes. I was so enamored with it. However, I still longed for that crunchy "whacka", when I dropped a quarter into the actual arcade machine. It wasn't the same. Donkey Kong was another favorite. I had a friend with a ColecoVision. While I was very hung up on that version, it was very lacking. The graphics were very sharp, but it had very few on screen enemies, it was slow, and it was very glitchy. It was still fun. It was like an alternate. I couldn't afford to also own a ColecoVision, and I personally thought the 5200 conversions were more detail oriented. One day, I noticed Donkey Kong in an Atari Computer brochure. Could this be? The 5200 and A8s (Atari 8-bit computers) were just different arrangements of the same hardware. The version I saw had the missing "crazy barrels", "Springers", and the Conveyor level. I later found out that Atari had the computer rights, but they could not produce the video game system version. Now I had to pine after an Atari A8 if I wanted the best Donkey Kong home version. I can't count how much time I spent re-reading that catalog and looking at that still picture. It came to life in my imagination. One of the major retail catalogs later got another screen shot. It just all added to the image in my mind. Just when the 5200 was getting some unique games, such as Pengo and Space Dungeon, Atari announced the 7800. I was a little disappointed, because I felt the 5200 was just starting to see its potential. I had two articles on the 7800. The first was announcing the new system. It touted virtually unlimited sprites, with virtually unlimited colors. The pictures were crude drawing, as screenshots were not common back in the day. I wasn't sure how the game would actually look. I assumed they would be higher resolution, since the current A8/5200 fell a little short on detail at times. The extra colors sounded nice. I assumed the sound would be just as good, if not better. it was also backward compatible with the Atari 2600, which didn't seem like such a big deal in this generation. I was thankful that there would be a module to allow my 5200 to play 7800 games. I was hopeful that my deluxe 5200 TrakBall would be compatible. The second article I had stated that Atari had dropped the 7800. It was a sad article, stating what could have been. At that point, I figured I would never know what incredible capabilities this Atari system possessed. Even though, I can't even count the number of times I re-read those articles. I still fondly look back on how great I dreamed it would be. I still have the tattered magazines. When I look at them, I feel that same excitement, even though the actual system is in my current basement. I've seen how badly the 7800 missed the mark of my imagination, and I still enjoy the memory of wanting one. Around 1985/1986, Mom and Dad said I could get a new video game system. It was a gift for some achievement in school. I heard the 7800 was finally released. I was anxious to get to see how amazing this Maria chip is. I would finally get to see the system that would blow away my beloved 5200. They took me to Children's Palace. There were no systems in stock. I looked at the back of the game boxes. The games didn't really look much better than my 5200 versions. Ms Pac-Man looked almost the same. There weren't many games, and I began to wonder if it was as good as I had heard. They did have the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in stock. I took a look, and I saw graphics that were arcade realistic. Super Mario Bros looked incredible, and I couldn't tell the difference from the version at the local arcade. The pictures of my favorite classics, Donkey Kong and Mario Bros, looked spot on too. I took a chance and grabbed an NES. Man, did I dodge a bullet! I got the NES home, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing. The graphics were arcade perfect. The sound was incredible. It was unlike anything I ever thought would play on my television. I couldn't wait to get Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. I didn't see a 7800 in person until about a year later. The sprites were multi color, but the resolution was low, the colors were washed out, and the game play was choppy. I was so disappointed. Worse than any of that was the sound. Unlike some, I can't enjoy a game fully without sound. With the 7800, it's hard for me to enjoy the games because of the sound. I already had an almost arcade mirror of Galaga for my NES. Here was a 7800 version that looked like a colorful 2600 version. It sounded like it too. Apparently, Maria takes up so much processing time, it's hard for the system to draw smooth curves. Similar issues were seen in Mario Bros, where Mario leaps off the ground, ending in a crude arch. In fairness to the 7800, I have seen some redeeming homebrews. Although the 320 mode is limited, it exists. One of my favorite redeeming games is Donkey Kong Pokey. Even with the lower resolution, it would have blown me away back in the day and justified the 7800 as a successor to the A8. My point here is that I own a 7800 now, and I think I sometimes enjoy the memory of WANTING a 7800 more than I do the system itself. I think I enjoy homebrews, because they kind validate the expectations of my fond memories. As for the NES, I was blown away by Super Mario Bros, Ghost & Goblins, and Galaga. However, I was not impressed with Donkey Kong, Mario Bros, Pac-Man, or even DK Jr. While they looked better than previous versions, but they lacked the charm and challenge of the arcade counterparts. Pac-Man didn't fit in the maze, the whacka was off, and it was sluggish. Donkey Kong was missing game elements, a whole level, and it was too easy. As much as I felt the NES could have handled a perfect conversion, I am kind of thankful that I still had something to want. The 16-bit generation changed it up a little. I actually started to get into fighters. I wasn't a big fan of the 16-bit era. Sonic was fun. The only thing I cared about was that they could handle almost arcade-perfect versions of SF2, MK, MK2, SF2 Turbo, etc... This was a very fun period, because arcades were still chugging along. I have played games online with friends. It's fun, but it's not like meeting strangers at the arcade fun. It was great to be able to go to the arcade with a few close friends. They were in your corner, you played, and you went home with your close friends. At home, you practiced with your close friends. The home versions were not arcade perfect, but they were great. There's a great memory to still having that superior version to look forward to. I have great memories of wishing I had the arcade version at home. When PS1 came out, I saw the writing on the wall. Ridge Racer, Tekken, and Namco Classics were all about as close to the arcade as I could tell. Memory restrictions were an obstacle for games like MK3, as were loading times, but they were still pretty good. I think this was the crossing point. After this, games at home were pretty much arcade quality. The arcade was dying. Fast forward to today. I caught myself in a nostalgic mood. I now own about every system I have ever owned or wanted. Every system has some sort of SD card to play ROMs, except the 7800, for which I made my own EPROM carts. I can play most games on my PC, phone, PSP, GP2X, etc., via emulation. I even bought a few of my favorite arcade cabinets. When it comes to video games, there's not much that I badly want, but yet I still felt something was missing. That didn't make sense to me. One day, I realized that I think I enjoy wanting as much as having. Some of my fondest memories are wanting. They were looking at still magazine pictures and imagining what it would be like to have all of those games at my disposal. It was using my imagination to dream about the day that I would have arcade quality games at home. Back then, it was only reserved for the elite, like Rick Shroeder. Could some of my fondest memories be of reading video game magazines and "wishbooks"? I think they might be. That explains why it's sometimes fun to just turn the arcade machines on and watch the attract mode. It's almost as fun to think back to the times I wished I had a quarter, as it is to actually play the game. Is that why I enjoy classic game shows so much? One of my friends once made a point that classic game shows don't really change; if you've seen one, you've seen them all. Aside from the fact that "classic" is relative and does change, there's something great about going back and remembering what it was like to WANT those childhood gems. Sometimes, it's seeing something in person that we only saw in a magazine. I then got to wondering if today's generation is missing out. Sure, they want the latest video game, but they are going to have that game when it's released. They do not have to use their imagination to make it fit the arcade counterpart. They don't have to worry about making their quarter last. There's nothing to lose. Maybe that's why I still prefer retro games. I downloaded Rayman3 the other day. The first part of the game was flying through a 3D environment. I needed to steer my character into the gems. It really felt like a lame combination of Pole Position and Pac-Man. It was lame, because there was no challenge. If I missed, I looped back through. if I am going to collect dots on a screen, I am fine doing that on my Pac-Man machine. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the modern games, even though they are just putting lipstick on a combination of our childhood pigs. It's just that I prefer the real thing! Strangely, my XBoxOne gets more Mortal Kombat X play than anything else. lol.

A song made entirely of sounds from the Q*Bert arcade machine:

I know this is not game related, but I thought maybe someone here at Atari Age would have what I'm looking for and be willing to help me out. I'm compiling DVD's (for personal use,m of course) of old TV shows, commercials, movies, specials, etc. from the 70s and the 80s (nothing from the 90s needed - I actually have a lot of tapes from the early 90s that my folks just gave me). I am looking for VHS tapes that contain these type of TV recordings (uneditied - I want the commercials in). I can pay for the shipping (media mail, of course) and ship them back to you (media mail at my cost) when I am finished if you would like the tapes back - or if you don't want them back just let me know. PM me if you have some old VHS tapes that you would like to get rid of or loan out for a while. Thanks, and again I apologize that this is not game related but I thought I'd ask. I put in a local CL ad and haven't received one response yet. Thank you! Jon