How Arcades Changed Gaming Forever

The arcades were a lot more influential than you might think.


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REFERENCES


00:16 (Timeline of Penny Arcades. Talks about boys standing on apple crates)

Nasaw, David. “Going Out: The Rise and Fall of Public Amusements.” Harvard University Press, 1993. p. 154-156. https://books.google.ca/books?id=P0eySLn7b6EC


00:20 (Terrible Penny Arcade comic)

Tycho. "She Might Have Struck A Nerve." Penny Arcade, Jul 16, 2004. https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/07/16/she-might-have-struck-a-nerve


1:28 (Early arcade history, including pinball)

June, Laura. “For Amusement Only: the life and death of the American arcade.” The Verge, Jan 16, 2013. https://www.theverge.com/2013/1/16/3740422/the-life-and-death-of-the-american-arcade-for-amusement-only


1:59 (Sega Rifleman cabinet teardown)

Keinart, Kevin. “Sega Rifleman 1968 Electromechanical Arcade Game - Complete Tear Down.” YouTube, Nov 25, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14QHAtLVmc4


2:11 (Arcade footage)

Vampire Robot. “Just another day at the arcade in 1982.” YouTube, Jan 14, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUT2onjhAdI


2:26 (Detailed timeline of Computer Space)

Smith, Alexander. “Worldly Wednesdays: A Timeline of Computer Space.” They Create Worlds, May 12, 2021. https://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com/2021/05/12/worldly-wednesdays-a-timeline-of-computer-space/


2:30 (Spacewar footage)

Video Game History Project. “Spacewar! (1962).” YouTube, Apr 1, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZxSaXIHy_o


4:52 (History of american shopping malls)

Hartmans, Avery. “The rise and fall of the American shopping mall.” Business Insider, Jan 6, 2023. https://www.businessinsider.com/shopping-mall-rise-fall-timeline-1950s-to-today-2023-1


5:04 (Mall footage)

Vampire Robot. “Going to the mall in 1978.” YouTube, Mar 28, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CTTopmxK14


5:27 (Footage of arcades on department stores from Jin-Roh)

Okiura, Hiroyuki. “Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade.” Bandai Visual, 1999.


5:34 (Evolution of Japanese arcade buildings)

Ashcraft, Brian. “The Birth Of Japanese Arcades.” Kotaku, Oct 25, 2018. https://kotaku.com/the-birth-of-japanese-arcades-1794067285


6:32 (Arcade footage)

Vampire Robot. “Hanging out at the arcade in 1981: Part II." YouTube, Apr 6, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSL_aorgmLQ


7:08 (Arcade footage)

Vampire Robot. “Hanging out with your best friends at the arcade in 1982.” YouTube, Mar 17, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zCqIGsDTK0


8:07 (Arcade footage)

Vampire Robot. “Just another day at the arcade in 1982.” YouTube, Jan 14, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUT2onjhAdI


9:23 (Arcade movie footage)

Cameron, James. “Terminator 2: Judgement Day.” TriStar Pictures, 1991.


10:11 (Fighting game renaissance)

June, Laura. “For Amusement Only: the life and death of the American arcade.” The Verge, Jan 16, 2013. https://www.theverge.com/2013/1/16/3740422/the-life-and-death-of-the-american-arcade-for-amusement-only


10:41 (Arcade footage)

Vampire Robot. “Hanging out at the arcade in 1981." YouTube, Feb 16, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIj6Zvv205A


10:49 (Arcade footage)

Vampire Robot. “Hanging out inside the arcade at a mall in 1998.” YouTube, Sep 24, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoRahZldY0g


12:07 (The death of arcades due to home console competition)

Donovan, Tristan. “Replay: The History of Video Games.” Yellow Ant, 2010. p. 283. https://archive.org/details/replayhistoryofv0000dono/mode/2up


15:35 (Number of Japanese arcades shrinking)

Robinson, Andy. “The number of Japan arcades ‘has declined by 8,000 in 10 years’.” Video Games Chronicle, Apr 8, 2024. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/the-number-of-japan-arcades-has-declined-by-8000-in-10-years/


15:47 (Sega’s arcade building closes)

Robinson, Andy. “After 50 years, Sega arcades are officially set to disappear from Japan.” Jan 28, 2022. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/after-50-years-sega-arcades-are-officially-set-to-disappear-from-japan/


21:58 (Arcade footage)

Vampire Robot. “Hanging out inside the arcade at a mall in 1998.” YouTube, Sep 24, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoRahZldY0g


23:18 (PC bang / internet cafe)

Shevchenko, Kate. “PC Bang: A Guide to Korean Internet Cafes.” Medium, Sep 20, 2022. https://medium.com/@SENET-software/pc-bang-a-guide-to-korean-internet-cafes-1601b1ac607f


23:29 (PC bangs making more than ever)

“Sales revenue of PC bangs in South Korea from 2015 to 2022.” Statista, Mar 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/827738/south-korea-pc-bang-sales-revenue/