About Me
I have loved video games for as long as I can remember. As a young lad playing Atari, I never dreamed that I would one day own an Arcade Game, let alone over a dozen of them. I sure have fond memories of the old Atari Arcade in Crestwood Plaza and playing games like Pole Position, Spy Hunter and others.
I began collecting home console games when I basically "inherited" that first Atari 2600 from my older siblings. They outgrew video games, but I never did. Nintendo was the next big thing and everyone I knew either sold off their old and dusty Atari's or simply threw them in a closet and forgot about them. Not me. I had an NES and still played the good ole Atari every now and then. Then came Sega Genesis and Super NES. Once again, everyone I knew sold off their NES games to make way. I even bought some of their old games, even though I owned a Super Nintendo. I still kept all my old games and played them just as much as the new ones. Today I am still collecting the classics.
Arcade games started making their way into my collection around the turn of the new millennium. It all started with a gutted Pole Position game that I bought for $50. All I was thinking was "Wow, an actual arcade game, and its one of my childhood favorites too". It was missing a monitor, boardset and power supply, among other things. Long story short, it spent 2 years in my apartment (I was a young bachelor at the time), and finding working components to complete it was nearly impossible. I never did finish that game, but it started a trend of buying and selling arcade games. This resulted in several MAME conversions and numerous games, none of real "classic" status. I did end up with a working Pole Position eventually, but it also has since been sold away.
At the time, true "classics" like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong were still selling for $1000 or higher, even at auctions. I never thought I would find one I could afford. My priorites started to change. I got married in 2005 and moved into a new town less than a year later. Only 2 arcade games made the move with us, one of which was again sold off a short time later. Arcade collecting became less of a priority for a short time, and I was focusing on home console gaming once again. Then one day, it happened...
While surfing Craigslist and browsing thru video games, I saw an ad that really put a smile on my face. Someone had just listed a Ms. Pac-Man arcade game, and put a $200 price tag on it. I immediately thought to myself "Surely, this must be a joke, or its broken or gutted", but the ad states it as a working game. I came across it late one night, too late to call the seller. I was excited and frantic at the same time. I just knew someone was going to beat me to this deal if I didnt jump on it. Sleep was sacrificed that night and I made the call first thing in the morning. I made my "score", and from that moment on I was hooked once again.
It has been several years since that day. One game lead to another, and then another, and another, and so on. A few have been sold off, but mostly keepers. I never thought classic arcade games would ever be within my financial reach, let alone that I could easily find them lurking around on, mostly on Craigslist.
Today's generation is known as the "X-Box generation". Console games have evolved to a level far superior to coin-operated games, and the "arcade" scene has passed on as a result. While it's sad to think that arcade's are pretty much "done for", it does open a world of opportunities for private collectors like myself. I loved going to the arcade's during the 80's and 90's and always dreamed of owning an arcade game. I never imagined I would experience the same "ambience" in my own basement some 20 years later. To me, theres nothing more satisfying than finding a piece of arcade history (a dead piece on many occasions), bringing it back to life and being able to say "its mine". It's a great feeling to be able to turn on a row of games and relive childhood memories. It's just like stepping into the past, a simple time before cell phones and internet computers, when arcade games were king.
Thanks for reading my story, and happy gaming!
Keith
I began collecting home console games when I basically "inherited" that first Atari 2600 from my older siblings. They outgrew video games, but I never did. Nintendo was the next big thing and everyone I knew either sold off their old and dusty Atari's or simply threw them in a closet and forgot about them. Not me. I had an NES and still played the good ole Atari every now and then. Then came Sega Genesis and Super NES. Once again, everyone I knew sold off their NES games to make way. I even bought some of their old games, even though I owned a Super Nintendo. I still kept all my old games and played them just as much as the new ones. Today I am still collecting the classics.
Arcade games started making their way into my collection around the turn of the new millennium. It all started with a gutted Pole Position game that I bought for $50. All I was thinking was "Wow, an actual arcade game, and its one of my childhood favorites too". It was missing a monitor, boardset and power supply, among other things. Long story short, it spent 2 years in my apartment (I was a young bachelor at the time), and finding working components to complete it was nearly impossible. I never did finish that game, but it started a trend of buying and selling arcade games. This resulted in several MAME conversions and numerous games, none of real "classic" status. I did end up with a working Pole Position eventually, but it also has since been sold away.
At the time, true "classics" like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong were still selling for $1000 or higher, even at auctions. I never thought I would find one I could afford. My priorites started to change. I got married in 2005 and moved into a new town less than a year later. Only 2 arcade games made the move with us, one of which was again sold off a short time later. Arcade collecting became less of a priority for a short time, and I was focusing on home console gaming once again. Then one day, it happened...
While surfing Craigslist and browsing thru video games, I saw an ad that really put a smile on my face. Someone had just listed a Ms. Pac-Man arcade game, and put a $200 price tag on it. I immediately thought to myself "Surely, this must be a joke, or its broken or gutted", but the ad states it as a working game. I came across it late one night, too late to call the seller. I was excited and frantic at the same time. I just knew someone was going to beat me to this deal if I didnt jump on it. Sleep was sacrificed that night and I made the call first thing in the morning. I made my "score", and from that moment on I was hooked once again.
It has been several years since that day. One game lead to another, and then another, and another, and so on. A few have been sold off, but mostly keepers. I never thought classic arcade games would ever be within my financial reach, let alone that I could easily find them lurking around on, mostly on Craigslist.
Today's generation is known as the "X-Box generation". Console games have evolved to a level far superior to coin-operated games, and the "arcade" scene has passed on as a result. While it's sad to think that arcade's are pretty much "done for", it does open a world of opportunities for private collectors like myself. I loved going to the arcade's during the 80's and 90's and always dreamed of owning an arcade game. I never imagined I would experience the same "ambience" in my own basement some 20 years later. To me, theres nothing more satisfying than finding a piece of arcade history (a dead piece on many occasions), bringing it back to life and being able to say "its mine". It's a great feeling to be able to turn on a row of games and relive childhood memories. It's just like stepping into the past, a simple time before cell phones and internet computers, when arcade games were king.
Thanks for reading my story, and happy gaming!
Keith
