Amusement arcade
This emphasis on the gameplay explains why many of these games continue to be enjoyed today, despite the progress made by modern computing technology.
Designers experimented with a wide variety of game genres, while developers still had to work within strict limits of available processor-power and memory.
The era saw the rapid spread of video arcades across North America, Western Europe and Japan.
[6] Beginning with Space Invaders, video arcade games also started to appear in supermarkets, restaurants, liquor stores, filling stations and many other retail establishments looking for extra income.
[8] On November 30, 1982, Jerry Parker, the Mayor of Ottumwa, Iowa, declared his city the "Video Game Capital of the World".
Playing a central role in arcade history, Ottumwa saw the birth of the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard and the U.S. National Video Game Team, two organizations that still exist today.
Other firsts that happened in the Video Game Capital of the World included: High game-turnover in Japanese arcades required quick game-design, leading to the adoption of standardized systems like JAMMA, Neo-Geo and CPS-2.
This allowed easier development and replacement of games, but it also discouraged the hardware innovation necessary to stay ahead of the technology curve.
[14] The rise of the fighting game genre with games such as Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat, combined with the release of popular sports titles such as NBA Jam and NFL Blitz, led to a brief resurgence in the popularity of video arcades, with new locations opening in shopping malls and strip malls throughout the country in the early 90s.
Barcode was a 'games bar' with the latest arcade games, the classics, pool tables, air hockey and pinball machines which players could play while consuming alcohol.
A Barcode opened in Times Square, New York in May 2000 and was very popular, with the launch featuring on an episode of TV series Sex and the City.
[17][18] In the mid-2000s, Madrid businessman Enrique Martínez updated the video arcade for the new generation by creating a "hybrid movie theater with...fog, black light, flashing green lasers, high-definition digital projectors, vibrating seats, game pads and dozens of 17-inch screens attached to individual chairs."
At the Yelmo Cineplex in Spain, $390,000 was spent refitting a theater into a "high-tech video gaming hall seating about 50 people."
At the same time as these innovations, a small resurgence in the interest of classic video games and arcades grew with the opening of Barcade in Brooklyn, New York in 2004.
Customers insert coins or tokens into the machines (or, in newer models, use credit cards or mobile devices[36]) and stand in front of them to play the game.
Pinball machines have a tilted, glass-covered play area in which the player uses mechanical flippers to direct a heavy metal ball towards lighted targets.
The prizes are usually displayed behind a counter or in a glass showcase, and an arcade employee gives the items to players after counting their tickets.
Merchandiser games reward winners with prizes such as stuffed toys, CDs, DVDs, or candy which are dispensed directly from the machine.
