I'm watching American Idol and getting beaten down by blind Scott and tattoo Megan. I'm seriously contemplating turning it off at this point. Ugh.
Anyway, I had a momentary thought about old school arcade games. I loved arcade games when I was a kid. I can remember dropping quarters into Pong and Space Invaders when they were first introduced, and we all know where it went from there.
Then I wondered what my top five might be. Should be pretty easy to figure that out. Then I took it a little further and wondered what the top 5 would be based on how much I spent on them. Why not? Couldn't be too hard to estimate, but it might be a little embarassing. Call it a cautionary tale for all young reality-escapists like me.
- Tempest: I loved this game. It was an after-school ritual for long long time. Let's say 4 days a week for 4 months, plus some weekends at 20 games a session. (4 * 4 * 20) = $320
- Dragon's Lair: What? A laserdisc video game? I pummeled this thing with quarters, but the attraction didn't last long thank goodness. 2 months, 5 days a week, let's say 30 games. $300
- Pac-Man: I played this as part of a group project with my Lake Country buddies. We got to some of the higer levels, but I personally never reached the pinnacle where all the wacky stuff started happening. Dollar amount is pretty low since you get a lot of play for a quarter. Let's say 10 games a day for a whole summer. That's 900 games, total: $225
- Galaga: Picked up this addiction in college. Another game that gave you a ton of play for a quarter. Sure beat studying. Let's say 20 games a week for couple of months. $160
- Donkey Kong: Not sure why this one appealed to me so much, but it was fun and convenient, right by the school. 2 months, 3 days a week, 20 games. $120
Honorable mentions: Popeye, Journey (wtf?), Pole Position, Joust, Xevious.
Not sure what to take away from this. I sure wish I had this $1130 back I could build a sweet M.A.M.E. machine. Maybe I'll do it anyway!
7 comments:
I really like this post. Not only do I wonder why I watch American Idol but I loved old school arcade games.
While I can't recall how much time I played any of these games. My top five were:
1. Yie Ar Kung Fu (I still play this on the DS)
2. Gauntlet - so much fun in multi-player
3. OutRun - selectable background music? - Splash Wave everytime
4. Star Wars - sat down with the vector graphics, down the death star trench was immense
5. Tron - poor game but such a good movie kept me going back for more
Cheers
Aaron
Oh crap Tron and Gauntlet. Is it too late to revise my figures? "Wizard needs food badly". LOL
Ms Pacman, Space Invaders, and Centipede were my arcade weakness. Then, the editon of Mario Bros on my first computer, couldn't get enough!
I'm with Susan. Space Invaders and Centipede. Wasn't close to an arcade growing up so I didn't lose a bundle. There was something nerve racking about Space Invaders....there getting closer..shoot faster ..there closer...faster, faster..awwh.
Asteroids was another good one. Those were the days, just to worry about having some quarters. Jamie.
Hello? You guys ok?
Hi!
We are great. Back in the states and loving it. I keep thinking we need to do a wrap-up post but it seems we don't have nearly the free time that we had in Abu Dhabi :)
Thanks for checking in!
John
Good to know that you are ok!
Have fun!
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