daniel lewis

What happened to the arcade?

What ever happened to arcades? I loved arcades, I remember Funland on Yonge street, it was a small, dark arcade but man was it awesome. They had great video games, pinball, air hockey, whack-a-mole, hoops and more. I remember playing NBA Jam with my brother and friends. That and the old Simpsons beat-'em-up game.

It's a shame that most arcades are gone, what with people sitting in their living and bedrooms all day playing Call of Duty or Halo. Why go out for entertainment when it's right there at home? Arcades are more about getting together with friends and doing something out of the house. i miss the smoky air, dim lighting and the noises of the games.

But there are still a few arcade machines around in various places. Malls, internet cafes and movie theaters. And don't forget about Playdium. Playdium is great, it has new and classic arcade games, pinball, a restaurant and i think they have rock climbing and go-karts. I could spend a whole day there. It's too bad its so far away from my house though.

There are also places I've heard of called Barcade thats well, a bar and arcade in one. It would be awesome to have a place like that in Toronto.

Something that has been really pissing me off...

Stickers on used game cases. Stop it. Every time I go to EB Games or Blockbuster and buy a used game there are always tons of stickers on the damn case. I mean I can understand putting a price tag on the product. Fine. But just stacking 4 or 5 price stickers on the case when the price gets lowered is stupid. The one at the bottom gets dried out and when I try to remove the stickers when I get home, The white residue is always on the case, ever after using steam or a blow drier to warm it up. But what bothers me even more is when they stick stickers over the UPC code, not even on the plastic cover outside, but on the damn paper insert that is the cover art. Only EB and Blockbuster do this, why? They could easily stick the sticker on the plastic case outside or just use the damn UPC code printed right on the insert. Game Shack, a fantastic game store, is probably the only game store around that doesn't do this. They use those little price tags that you would see on chocolate bars on their used games and they apply very lightly so you can take the sticker off easily when you buy it. They have the games behind glass counters so I guess that allows them to do that. I know I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill but I like to have my video games look nice, EB and Blockbuster are a big hindrance.