We need more people like this in the world! This guy knows what he enjoys and pursues that. If I were to choose someone to emulate-it would be this arcade owner.
Something about being in an arcade when you're a kid is hard to quantify. Darkness, movie-like glow-in-the-dark carpet, the neon lights and mash-up of sounds... I can only describe it as "magic". I spent many hours of my youth in Bally's Aladdin's Castle, which was themed to be like a cave-like tavern. Too bad arcades are dying out. So big UPS to Peter Hirschberg for preserving the legacy of the arcade. I raise a beer in your, honor, sir.
At least this can now sort of be re-created with the Arcade 1Up machines, even if they're still not quite the real deal though. Bummer this place has been gone for a decade now too.
This man has more insight and spirit then the POPE and all the leaders of our country!!! He is very insightful and expressed perfectly what I felt inside but could not express. I can completly and 100% relate to every thing he said! he is an inspiration.. I had to part with old things due to lack of money and knowledge of things. :(
This guy went to Computer Learning Center after high school, man I went to Institute of Computer Technology down the street after high school. I wonder how old he is? I'm 42, I went to ICT in 1985. Like him I'm a video gamer of the late '70s and early '80s. I miss those days. I applaud him for putting together an arcade of vintage '80s and late '70s games. These vintage games have character the newer games don't have.
Go Peter! Cool guy doing what he wants, with a different perspective. Doesn't even want to make a business out of it (yet), and up front about his history in arcades of not feeling comfortable with the annoying people looking over his shoulder back in the day (you're not alone on that)... hilarious and honest dude. Fascinating.
I always loved those places,with many people and you have only a few quarters..searching for the best games...and when you don´t have any quarters left,you just watch those intros for hours :)
Isn't it funny how all of us old gamers remember the same aspects of that early 80s Arcade experiance. I grew up in Sydney. on George st in the CBD back then we had 6 arcades and 3 movie theatres all within a 2block spread, no where else in Australia were kids this lucky. sadly these days the same area has 1 arcade and 1 theatre.
I really love these arcade games! I'm almost 18 but my lifelong goal is to have my own home arcade. I'm going into the computer field and after college i'm sure I can have a great job making enough money to afford lots of great games :)
No, it's all over for him. Let his story serve as a lesson to others on the dangers of signing away your life through marriage to a female. It's a story that is all too common.
I heard that once thhe x,y color monitors( ie Star Wars, Star Trek ,Tempest) break down, you cannot get parts for repair. That there are only a limited number of these monitors in existence. If this is true, these type of games will become exceedingly rare, and probably incredibly valuable.
Man you have a Tron arcade and a 2600? I'm in! There are a lot of places you can go to play gold age classics, you just need to google them from town to town to see where they are. You'd be surprised! Arcades/museums and bars are the main venues now. If you're lucky you might even find an old Atari Centipede in a laundromat like I did once. If you are a gamer then it's important to have some hands-on experience with the original stuff to. We did it because it was the beginning of the computer age for the public and we were excited to get our hands on whatever we could before the pc's revolution hit the market full-time.
Fucking A! I just stubbled upon this video and it is one of the top personal arcade collections in the world, no doubt about it! Really sad to see it get dismantled because of a divorce.
Precipitation, just get one game at a time. You can usually find one local for cheap... I've got 3 games now that were pretty much completely free. Crazy Kong and Tron were free, and Robotron cost me $60. 3 games, and only MAYBE a couple hundred bucks after I fixed/replaced what needed to be done. Just keep an eye on on the local classifieds or Craig's List. Building a building like that... that'll be a little expensive... but start with filling up a spare room in the house, then go from there.
He's right. Playing it your PC just isn't the same. It's like diet/fat free VS real. I have MAME (Multi Arcade Machine Emulator) on my PC. MAME uses the actual ROMs from video games, so it looks/sounds nearly identical to the real game. You can even import screen bezels & what not, but again,...it's not the same. It's better than nothing, but I sure with i had the real thing. Peter Hirschberg is a really cool guy. He was nice enough to creat "LEDhead", a classic Mattel handheld electronic game emulator. (thanks for that!)
I have probably 42,000 ROMS on my MAME and it is nowhere near the same. Can't wait to start my own home arcade after collecting cabinets over the next few years.
cj397 I have close to that many in my MAME ROM folder. I also have Goodsets/Fullsets for practically EVERY emulator up to (but excluding) Play Station 1. All Nintendo, Sega, Atari, Commodore, etc. In total, well over 100,000 ROMS. If I were wealthy, I'd definitely build a vintage arcade, or even 2. A 1980's retro video game arcade, & a 1960's arcade, with electromechanical arcade games & very early video games. (post 1977) But I am not wealthy & I have another expensive hobby. (modern & vintage synthesizers) At the very least, I would like a MAME Cabinet. Sometimes I put my monitor & X-Arcade Dual Tank Stick controller up on a table/counter, so I have to actually stand while playing,...but it's not the same. (& there is simply no way to recreate the feeling of being encapsulated in a "sit down" game like Pole Position, Turbo, Star Wars, etc.) Thanks for mentioning Hepburn Family Retro Arcade Gameroom & Exidy's hideout arcade. They're very cool & produced links to other private arcades llike Starbase Alpha Retro Video Arcade, Home Arcade,Mancave, Ultimate Gameroom, Video game,Pinball, etc. PS: Do you ever play MAMEppk online with other people?
No always had just buddies and friends, didn't even know you could play online!! Will put mine into an empty cabinet at some point. Will try to buy a 4 player arcade joystick/button set as well as 2 guns for the cabinet. Can't wait!!
Awesome room man. I like your choices for the floor and the walls ! Made me want a slice of pizza :) Here is my 3 game choices. Track and Field , 720 is a must ! , and street fighter 2 . Don't invite me if you have the terminator pinball machine because Me and that machine have unfinished business because last time we played I got kicked out and that dam machine took my money lol.. I miss the 80s
I agree with him 100% @ 0:58... except the greater masses can't afford nor have the time to maintain 50 arcade machines in a 2,500sq ft section of a house.
I remember after school while I was in high school (1981-1985) we'd go to Jim's Burger near school and there were two games at a time. Donkey Kong and Asteroids come to mind and all us kids would be playing. Those waiting in line would put their quarter down to send a message they were reserving the next game play. How one would distinguish their coin from someone else's? I can only guess by standing in line each quarter represented the respective person in line. Today I would not do that.
i agree totally and i would love to play one of those games! they give you a feeling that nothing other can give you. but im only 14, is something wrong with me?
3 people ran out of quarters! :D Sorry to read that the guy got kicked out of this home and his wonderful arcade. Thats really sad :( When I die I hope heaven has a room like that, with limitless quarters to feed the machines LOL
Im 14. and I love these RETRO games that are dieing. I am a hardcore gamer who loves halo, but I wish I could go to arcades like this. Now there dead, and kids my age these days just want to play games like COD where you just kill each other a millon times. The Xbox 360 is getting a free game room like this where you create your own arcade. But you buy ever game when you walk around your arcade. hope I can make mine like this. Cant wait to play some retro games :D
Only in America man, you work hard then you can actually BUY homes with a bit of space (and then you can defend the place too!) - in Europe we're squirming all over each other and paying though the nose for the privilage!
