A video arcade (known as an amusement arcade in the United Kingdom) is a place where people play arcade video games. Traditionally, customers of these establishments were overwhelmingly teen males. However presently families are the largest arcade constituent, mainly because the lack of standard new games being released in arcades (arcades now are comprised mostly of deluxe games which are more popular with families). Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... A separate article is about the punk band called The Adolescents. ... Male is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces sperm. ...

Video arcades typically have subdued lighting to inhibit glare and enhance the viewing of the game's video display. This atmosphere has added to the stores' sometimes negative reputation in the United States, as well as in other countries. In Japan, however, male and female teens and adults can often be found enjoying arcades, typically on dates. The cathode ray tube or CRT, invented by Karl Ferdinand Braun, is the display device used in most computer displays, video monitors, televisions and oscilloscopes. ...

With the increase of Internet cafes opening (which also provide gaming services), the need for video arcades and such arcade games are reduced, and many have been shut down or merged with the cafes as a result. An Internet cafe or cybercafe is a place where one can use a computer with Internet access for a fee, usually per hour or minute; sometimes one can have unmetered access with a pass for a day or month, etc. ...

Types of games

The video games are typically in arcade cabinets. The most common kind are uprights, tall boxes with a monitor and controls in front. Customers insert coins or tokens into the machines (or use magnetic cards) and stand in front of them to play the game. These traditionally were the most popular arcade format, although presently American arcades make much more money off deluxe driving games and ticket redemption games. Japanese arcades, while also heavily featuring deluxe games, continue to do well with traditional JAMMA arcade video games. A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... This arcade cabinet, containing Centipede, is an upright. ... 1¢ euro coin A coin is generally a piece of hard material, generally metal and usually in the shape of a disc, which is used as a form of money. ... A game is a recreational activity involving one or more players. ... JAMMA is an acronym, standing for Japanese Amusement Machine Manufacturers Association. ...

Some machines, such as Ms. Pac Man and Joust, are occasionally in smaller boxes with a flat, clear glass or plexiglass top; the player sits at the machine playing it, looking down. This style of arcade game is known as a cocktail-style arcade game table, since they were first popularlized in bars. Ms. ... This article is about the 1982 arcade game. ... The materials definition of a glass is a uniform amorphous solid material, usually produced when a suitably viscous molten material cools very rapidly, thereby not giving enough time for a regular crystal lattice to form. ... Structure of PMMA: (C5O2H8)n Structure of methyl methacrylate Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or polymethyl-2-methylpropanoate is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... A public house, usually known as a pub, is a drinking establishment found mainly in the Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries influenced by British cultural heritage. ...

Some arcade games, such as racing games, are designed to be sat in or on. These types of games are sometimes referred to as sit-down games. Sega is one of the largest manufacturers of these types of arcade games. A racing game is any game that involves competing in races through a surrogate playing piece or vehicle, either getting it from one point to another or completing a number of circuits in the shortest time. ... This article is about the video game company. ...

Arcades are not limited to video games only, though. Pinball machines and redemption games such as skee ball are also common in many arcades. There may be a counter where players can redeem the tickets earned at the latter for prizes ranging from cheap toys to dolls and jewelry. Pinball is a type of coin-operated arcade game where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass case. ... Redemption games are typically arcade games of skill that reward the player proportionally to their score in the game. ... The object is to collect as many points as possible by rolling balls into the holes. ...

Other kinds of machines can also be seen at video arcades, like gambling machines such as slot machines and pachinko machines, or even vending machines. Large toys and rides usually seen in amusement parks are also common on certain video arcades. Gambling (or betting) is any behavior involving risking money or valuables (making a wager or placing a stake) on the outcome of a game, contest, or other event in which the outcome of that activity depends partially or totally upon chance or upon ones ability to do something. ... Slot machines in the Trump Taj Mahal A slot machine (American English), poker machine (Australian English), or fruit machine (British English) is a certain type of gambling machine. ... Pachinko parlor Pachinko players Pachinko (パチンコ) is a device used for gambling and is related to pinball machines. ... Soda pop and snack machines A vending machine is a machine that dispenses merchandise when a customer deposits money, validated by a currency detector, sufficient to purchase the desired item (as opposed to a shop, where the presence of personnel is required for every purchase). ... Six Flags New England, an amusement park in Springfield, Massachusetts. ...

Popularity

Video arcades started springing up in the late 1970s and were most popular during the golden age of arcade games, the mid-1980s. This article provides extensive lists of events and significant personalities of the 1970s. ... In Space Invaders, the player controls the firing and horizontal position of the green cannon at the bottom, fending off constant attack by echelons of eponymous enemies. ... Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ...

During this time, arcades were so popular in the United States that school children could easily pass one or two on their way to or from school. This disturbed many parents who disapproved of the perceived seedy atmosphere of the arcades and of their children's use of money on the "frivolous" activity of video game playing. Some attempts were made to prohibit children's patronage of such establishments with varying degrees of success. Japanese secondary school students in uniform A school is most commonly a place designated for learning. ... Parenting comprises all the tasks involved in raising a child to an independent adult. ... Money is any marketable good or token used by a society as a store of value, a medium of exchange, or a unit of account. ...

Most opposition to such stores has evaporated with the decline of these businesses beginning in the mid-1990s. Some stores still exist in the US, but not in nearly the large numbers since the mid-1980s. This decline is due mainly to the fact that after 1994 arcade game companies failed to stay ahead of the technology curve and would release games that had graphics equal to or worse than the video game consoles of the time. Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but keeping the same mind-set. ... The Nintendo GameCube is an example of a video game console. ...

High game turnover in Japanese arcades required quick game design, leading to the adoption of standardized systems like the Neo-Geo and CPS-2. These systems were essentially arcade-only consoles where the video game ROM could be swapped easily to replace a game. This allowed easier development and replacement of games, but it also discouraged the hardware innovation necessary to stay ahead of the technology curve. The original Neo-Geo console was greatly advanced for its time. ... The CPS-2, or Capcom System 2 is an arcade system board that debuted in 1993 with the game Super Street Fighter 2. ...

Unfortunately, most US arcades didn't even see the intended benefit of this practice since many games weren't exported to the US, and if they were, distributors generally refused to release them as simply a ROM, preferring to sell the entire ROM, console, and sometimes cabinet as a package. In fact, several arcade systems such as Sega's NAOMI board are arcade versions of home systems. Naomi is the name of a character in the Biblical Book of Ruth. ...

Video arcades are still very popular in Japan, where large, sit-down games dominate. As mentioned above, Sega dominates the market for these types of games. However, Konami had dominated the Bemani types of games, which is becoming increasingly popular in Asian culture. Bemani (ビーマニ, biimani) is Konamis music video game division. ...

In the United Kingdom, arcades were particularly popular in seaside resorts where, until around 1994, a game would cost between 10UKp and 30p. The decline of the traditional arcade, however, did not occur in line with the stagnation in technology improvements. Indeed, it was the huge leap towards polygon 3D games in the mid-90s that caused the decline. With the improvements in technology came considerable price rises, often at £1 a game. This isolated the traditional teen male visitor and many of the businesses fell into decline. They were forced to accommodate more for their other traditional visitor group, the middle-aged male, which precipitated a shift towards a more gambling focussed businesses. As a result, many arcades in the UK today are comprised mostly of fruit machines. Seaside, the marine shoreline of a Sea, may refer to one of several communities, including: Seaside, Oregon Seaside, California Seaside, Florida This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... Above: A variety of coins considered to be lower-value, including an Irish 2p piece and many US pennies. ... The pound sterling, which strictly speaking refers to basic currency unit of sterling, now the pound, can generally refer to the currency of the United Kingdom (UK). ... Slot machines in the Trump Taj Mahal A slot machine (American English), poker machine (Australian English), or fruit machine (British English) is a certain type of gambling machine. ...

See also

• List of arcade games