How To Bring The 1980s Video Arcade Experience Home…Literally
What’s the Latest Development?
Californians now have one more thing to gloat about: A new subscription service, All You Can Arcade, promises to deliver refurbished video arcade machines to homes and businesses for a mere 300 quarters — US$75 — per month. No additional quarters are necessary to play, since the machines are set to “free play.” Some of the titles available include “Ms. Pac Man,” “Donkey Kong,” and “Galaga,” the last of which was recently delivered to San Francisco advertising firm 11 Inc. to the delight of its employees. Its president, Rob Kabus, noted the equalizing factor these relatively low-tech games provide among different generations: “I feel relatively fearless challenging anybody here no matter what age.”
What’s the Big Idea?
The San Francisco-based company is run by brothers and longtime collectors Seth and Timothy Peterson, who search for old machines “anywhere we can find them,” pay about $150 to $200 per game, and fix them up so that they’re ready to be rented. They hope to bring their love of old-school arcades to the East Coast later this year.
Read it at Bloomberg Businessweek
