It's like a really expensive bowl of plastic fruit.
 

I think Pac-Man is more a decoration than a game for an arcade. If Pac-Man isn't there people are like, "Man, what? You don't even have Pac-Man?" but if it's not they just look at it for a second then realize they can play at home for free.

But it's still just comforting to have it there.

Phil_, sometimes a grown man wants a toy space-ranger gun or a giant inflatable bat, and that is this hypothetical man's private buisness. Is that so wrong?

Also seriously I would blow tons of money to play Astroids, Burger-Time, Pac-Man and the Ms variant, or any of the tons of old awesome games that really worked best in the arcade machine format.

Arcade cabinets are the only thing that triggers my aggressive, play-to-win, if-you're-not-playing-to-win-you-suck video game instincts. Usually, I'm very relaxed towards games. I still haven't gotten past Rathalos and Lagiacrus in Monster Hunter Tri and I'm still in two-star online, but I'm cool with that. I play games to relax and fart around. But, when I'm standing in front of a joystick and big, candy buttons, something in me snaps and I have to become really good. I have to have the high score. I have to have all the high scores. I have to be able to rock through the game without taking a hit and make it look easy. That same thing triggers when I see other adults in the same position. There are more buttons than the grenade button. Quit pumping the accelerator; those flames don't make you go faster. Quit holding down the fire button; you have to tap it for rapid fire; holding it is how you bomb. You only need one joystick; grabbing both makes you look stupid. SHOOT OFF SCREEN TO RELOAD; IT'S RIGHT THERE IN BIG LETTERS FLASHING IN FRONT OF YOU! I'm not sure why I feel that way, but I do.

Now, I can watch kids do all these things and I'm fine. Little kid wants to run over all the signs in a Lamborghini, more power to him. But adults should know better. Adults should know that, once you drop those quarters, it's time to buckle down and win. I hope this has been enlightening.

Maybe people like you are why there aren't arcades!
 

Metal Slug X. Dare you to beat that without losing a life. ;)

I couldn't. I could easily get through to the third boss without getting hit, but from there it was kinda hit-or-miss. And then the guy who owns our machines took it out and I couldn't play anymore.

I had all the high scores, though.

I miss that game ;_;. I just don't think it would be the same playing it on a console, or I'd have Metal Slug Collection.

Oh, and I guess I should mention that I've never hit the heights that I aim for. It's just that I only aim so high when it's an arcade cabinet. I mean, I wrote down my high score in Mars Matrix because the machine was set up to go back to defaults when it was powered off.

Another edit (that last paragraph was an edit): Oh, oh, I've come up with a good response for synk! I didn't ask to be this way, it's just the way I was born. Can't you accept me for who I am, arcade-based flaws and all?

That's totally me (as far as playing to get prizes). There was this one arcade that had this one game where you'd have to stop the wheel on the magical "WIN" section ten times in a row without fail to win the jackpot. Apparently it was hard. For some reason my superpower in life was being able to win that game. I seriously visited the arcade one time and won the jackpot eight times (other people tried and couldn't even win once) and the jackpot was always in the realm of 100/200 tickets, so I got the fancy (still cheap) prizes instead of the cheapo 2-ticket trinkets (or maybe it wasn't hard and that's why it disappeared one day.). I was pretty good at this one too.

Otherwise, I spent all of my money on DDR and a few shooting games.

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Let's hug it out, bro.

If I ever get the money, I fully intend to build my own personal arcade, by obtaining cheap PC's capable of emulation, constructing fascimile arcade cabinets, and going to town.

Including a Stepmania machine.

It's great how much you guys Respect each other