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Return of the Space Invaders
pashdown writes "Get your two-liter bottles of Shasta and your all-Rush mixtapes ready! In honor of the 25th Anniversary of Space Invaders, Taito has commissioned Namco to remake the classic arcade game. The only thing not nostalgic is the price, increased from one quarter to two." We had a sneak peek of this cabinet as a Slashdot Games story a couple of weeks back.
yes there are LOTS of quarter games left. Many good arcades (the ones that are left) have entire rows for $0.25 a play.
Hell Just last month 3 friends and I scared the hell out of a bunch of kids at the arcade near me as we hogged the Gauntlet machine for 3 hours.
nothing like freaking out teens by seeing 4 35-37 years olds in their arcade screaming and yelling at each other playing a video-game.
only the asshat operators are charging more per play for the classic games.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Space Invaders reminds me of a time, a time that seems perfect to me.
For me, I was a youngster in NYC in late 70's thru early 80's. Penn Station was my playground. They had all the videogames you could think of down there. They even had those old football games with the rollers that you had to smack at with the palm of your hand, which would inevitably get pinched by rolling too far and falling into the small crevice next to the ball.
All games were 25 cents. All of them.
The Penn Station arcades are no longer there. It doesn't seem the same to me.
A NYC slice of pizza and a water down soda, invariably from one of the 50 "Original Rays" would sustain me for hours of game playing. The grease would run down your arm...but you didn't care. It was all about the game. Even now, the smell of a NYC slice takes me back to that time.
Most pizzerias back then had a couple of game machines. Most do not these days.
I remember a small videogame place named Simon's on 8th avenue between 17th and 18th st., if I remember correctly. I'd walk there from JHS 70 and play pacman and asteroids and missile command for hours. I'll never forget the time this guy was playing and left 50 cents in the game for me to play as he left. He was my hero that evening.
It's no longer there. Some hip new eatery has long ago replaced it.
But Space Invaders was my firs love. How I loved that game. Beautiful in its simplicity. When I run into a machine, I have to play at least one game. No matter where I am. It brings me back to fun days. Days not longed by worries about job and mortgages and terrorism. Kids need those days.
I hope this release of a classic will give kids of today memories like I have.
-- You see, there would be these conclusions that you could jump to
True story: So I wandered into Gameworks (Seattle) a few months back. Among the multi-player driving games and VR stuff, at the back in a corner was a row of classics.
There was a 13-year old shooting away on Galaga. I watched him for a moment, and in a pause he noticed me and said "Man, this is the most awesome game ever!"
Man did that restore faith in the youth of today.