Arcade games

On Sun, Nov 30, 2008 at 10:35 PM, Philip Belben <philip at axeside.co.uk> wrote: Indeed, though plenty of games (Space Invaders included, ISTR) can be set to require multiple quarters per credit. The "problem" is that so many games were one-coin-per-credit for so long that it's rather etched into the expectations of paying customers, no matter the purchase power difference between $0.25 in 1978 and 2008. Some games were $0.50 per play from day one; "Dragon's Lair" comes to mind. I know that one can be set for 3 credits for 5 coins or similar odd payment schemes meant to maximize revenue, but these days, the effect monetary inflation has had is to encourage large operators ("Dave and Busters" and other adult arcades) to go with swipe cards - that way they can have certain hours cost certain amounts or make it easy to play $20 because you don't feel the quarters going into the machine (taking the sting out of paying $0.75 for a game of pinball). Indeed. I did notice on my first trip to Europe (in 1985) that everywhere I went, video games cost substantially more to play than they did in the US. I would say that 5 games a day for a year wouldn't be attractive for an operator. Entirely coincidentally, since this thread started, I've started staying with a friend in NZ who happens to repair arcade games in Christchurch. His boss is the classic stingy operator ("it's all about the money, not the love"). I asked him about older games - he said they don't pay for the floor space. His clientele is mostly teenagers, not "aging hipsters", and largely Asian, given where in town the arcades are. A completely different demographic than a Dave and Busters in the States. He didn't have exact numbers to share with me, but my impression is that if a game isn't playing a lot more than 5 paid games an hour, it's pulled and something else is dropped in its place. Ah... good point. That hasn't happened in the US. At auction, machines with coin mechs sell more than ones without, but that's because the acceptance mech is a module that drops in - you can get mechs for US quarters, presumably Canadian quarters (high steel content, so the magnetic diverter has to be different), and several styles of tokens - popular at one point, but now supplanted largely by swipe cards. FWIW, my Gorf and Xenophobe cabinets have US quarter mechs. You can also buy these on the aftermarket for your MAME cabinet or for "real" games for your basement for that authentic feel - they are not cheap. Yes. Several of these games I'm interested in are the B&W tube with colored gels or half-silvered mirrors and painted artwork to spruce up the blocky mono graphics. In 1978, B&W was still common. By 1979 or 1981 at the latest, I'd think, color was more common. There are plenty of arcade machine sites on the web with timelines and dates, so it shouldn't be hard to find the transition using real-world examples. You bet. There are plenty of others here who know lots more, so they are free to amend or supplant anything I've said from their own experiences, but I think what I've said covers a number of aspects of this genre. -ethan