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 Jascony
Location: Southeast Texas
flattest thing since sliced bread
 |  |  | Where arcade games go to die
< on 10/11/2006 6:32 PM >
|  | | | there's a certain warehouse in my town owned by a vending company.
in the back of the building, a small storage room was built out of wood, which happens to have a hole in it now for some reason.
the owners seemed to recognize the problem, but someone was too lazy to lock the door when they left. being a huge fan of classic arcade machines, what I found inside blew me away. the interior was dimly lit by holes in the ceiling, but I exposed the photos long enough that it appears more well-lit than it really was :0
Is that a Galaga machine I see back there?? actually, I think it was Phoenix. but still, it was like striking gold.
original yellow Pac-Man machines fetch big money, and it broke my heart to see all these classics wasting away in this damp building.
some vandal who beat me to the warehouse smashed this Star Wars pinball game.
heat and age had melted all the bounce bals in this machine together.
Jungle Hunt! I loved this game when I was little. at the skating rink where I played it, if you kicked the cash box with skates on then it would give you a free credit.
THE GAUNTLET
there were all kinds of things besides videogames, including coin-op horse rides, cigarrette machines like you used to see in stores, and bowling alley benches. this had alot of old, voided checks in the drawer.
found on the floor. I wonder why someone took a polaroid of just a convenience store front. I've never seen this place in town so(assuming the photo was taken in town) the photo must have been pretty ancient.
the urge to grab a screwdriver from a toolbox nearby and unscrew a few PCBs for my old machine back home was almost unbearable, but ethics won out in the end.
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what
    
Location: Texas
Gender: Male
RE - Rural Exploration
| | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 1 on 10/11/2006 7:38 PM >
| | | | ok, that is just awesome!
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Tek-69
Location: Philly 'burbs
Gender: Male
| | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 2 on 10/11/2006 8:11 PM >
| | | | What a great trip down memory lane. I remember begging mom for quarters every time I went by one of these machines when I was a kid. Excellent work man.
---==Keep-Hope-Alive==--- |
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argonian
Location: Toronto, ON
Gender: Female
"Now with added cats!"
| | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 3 on 10/11/2006 8:21 PM >
| | | | I am so jealous. I still go to play Galaga on my lunch breaks. When it comes to Galaga, I am awesome.
Que pasa, baby? |
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Duncantx
Location: Tulsa, OK
Gender: Male
| | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 4 on 10/11/2006 8:34 PM >
| | | | theres some place like that in North Richland Hills, TX behind the mountasia by the paintball field, but its all out in the open under a pavilion. just exposed to the elements.
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seesaw
| | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 5 on 10/11/2006 8:37 PM >
| | | | twitch - drool - Ikari Warriors! Man, that place would push my ethics to their limits...
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Mellon_Collie
Location: Utah'ish
Gender: Male
Chingblot.
| |  |  | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 6 on 10/11/2006 11:30 PM >
| | | | Very nice pictures. I rather like the ones with the shallow depth of field.
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minusonebit
Location: Oklahoma City, OK, United States
Gender: Male
Will Explore for Food
| |  |  | | | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 7 on 10/12/2006 12:25 AM >
| | | | Why not find the people who own the place and see if they'd sell it off? You never know, some of the people that have places like this either dont know what they are sitting on dont care to deal with it. If you could buy the contents cheap enough, you could make a killing on eBay. There is a guy down in San Antonio that I know who pays $5K to $7K each for these machines fully restored.
Commit a Random Act of Exploration. |
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Jascony
Location: Southeast Texas
flattest thing since sliced bread
| | | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 8 on 10/12/2006 1:06 AM >
| | | | much obliged, guys.. it really was my dream location as far as UE goes.
seesaw- no kidding. at the back of the warehouse are double doors for bringing the machines in/out.. it would be no problem to get a couple guys and a truck back there and open it from the inside  not that I would, ocourse.
minusonebit - well, it's remotely possible..I actually called the company that owns these a couple years ago and asked if they would outright sell a machine to me, and they very curtly said 'no'. then again, I never see their machines around town anymore(the few arcade games left that haven't been replaced by fucking video-poker machines are distributed by a company called Sugarloaf) so they may be interested in liquidating their stock. I might give them a call again sometime, thanks for the tip.
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brandnewteeth
 
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Gender: Male
Carry the torch that's never lit.
| | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 9 on 10/12/2006 1:59 AM >
| | | | Damn, that is too cool.
mutantMandias: You're everywhere. You're the wind. You're the air. You're the bnt. brandnewteeth is like the Cyrus of Marietta gangs. CAN YOU DIG IT?
dsankt: BNT rocks shiny penny loafers. I heard he explores in them cos it puts a spring in his step for the laddies.
Contagion: I still think BrandNewTeeth is a prick, no matter what. Bitch ate all of my thanksgiving leftovers! |
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dsankt
Location: live and in the fresh
| | | | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 10 on 10/12/2006 3:10 AM >
| | | | That's nothing... I found this cool place while I was booting around. It's off the main highway a bit though, think it was called "Jeff's Pachinko and Games Palour". Noone was around I just crawled in through a lil hole in the back corner.
[last edit 10/12/2006 3:12 AM by dsankt - edited 1 times]
sleepycity.net: watch out for the third rail baby, that shit is high voltage. urbex and urban exploration photography |
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Explorer Zero
| | | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 11 on 10/12/2006 3:23 AM >
| | | | Posted by dsankt
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daaang...thats a classic!
the PONG games I played were mostly in bars and they were always horizontal table style affairs
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propcycle
Location: NJ+MN
Gender: Male
| | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 12 on 10/12/2006 3:30 AM >
| | | | awesome, but I'll pour out a 40 for all my dead arcade homies.  great find Jascony!
and while I'm at it, I'll toss a couple throwing stars at dsankt for finding such a killer location as well, that place must have been tough!
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meggaman
Location: victoria
Gender: Male
Hmmm,,what does this button do,,
| | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 13 on 10/12/2006 3:40 AM >
| | | | this thread rules,,
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RobertB
Location: Skeeterville, TX
Gender: Male
Maybe I shouldn't be using my real name...
| | | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 14 on 10/12/2006 3:15 PM >
| | | | Posted by Jascony
much obliged, guys.. it really was my dream location as far as UE goes.
minusonebit - well, it's remotely possible..I actually called the company that owns these a couple years ago and asked if they would outright sell a machine to me, and they very curtly said 'no'. then again, I never see their machines around town anymore(the few arcade games left that haven't been replaced by fucking video-poker machines are distributed by a company called Sugarloaf) so they may be interested in liquidating their stock. I might give them a call again sometime, thanks for the tip.
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There's an arcade in the tiny town of Seven Points -- southeast of Dallas near Cedar Creek Lake -- that has a great selection of vintage games (including the cherriest Asteroids I've ever seen -- and I still can't play for crap). If the warehouse owners won't talk to you, I wonder if they'll talk to them? The arcade will be expanding into new digs soon, and maybe they'll slobber over these games as much as a child of the '80s like myself does.
On the other hand, the owner says he already has a bunch more games in a warehouse somewhere... It would be oddly circular if someone were to call him up and ask if he'd be interested in calling himself about buying his own video games.
FWIW, the arcade name is "Whatz Up". Yeah, with a Z. A Google search will get you within about a mile of the actual location. Despite the lame name (and goofy chihuahua mascot), it's great -- especially for those of us who remember standalone arcades in the days before seven-liners. It's also got DDR, if you want to practice your moves without the mallrats watching.
J'ai toujours fait une prière à Dieu, qui est fort courte.
La voici: "Mon Dieu, rendez nos ennemis bien ridicules!"
Dieu m'a exaucé. |
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Jascony
Location: Southeast Texas
flattest thing since sliced bread
| | | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 15 on 10/12/2006 5:16 PM >
| | | | | There's an arcade in the tiny town of Seven Points... |
heheh, that would be hard to explain myself if I called em about their own games. in my experience though, distributors(vendors) don't usually get into the arcade racket, usually selling or renting them out to private business owners or stores. this distributor is based in Beaumont(about 5 hours from Dallas) so I doubt they're related.. if Whatz Up was closer it'd be awesome for them to liberate these games so I could actually play the arcades I grew up with..for some reason there's a large number of Mr. Do and Tron games at the warehouse. thanks to everyone who commented.
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RobertB
Location: Skeeterville, TX
Gender: Male
Maybe I shouldn't be using my real name...
| | | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 16 on 10/12/2006 5:30 PM >
| | | | Posted by Jascony
heheh, that would be hard to explain myself if I called em about their own games. in my experience though, distributors(vendors) don't usually get into the arcade racket, usually selling or renting them out to private business owners or stores. this distributor is based in Beaumont(about 5 hours from Dallas) so I doubt they're related.. if Whatz Up was closer it'd be awesome for them to liberate these games so I could actually play the arcades I grew up with..for some reason there's a large number of Mr. Do and Tron games at the warehouse. thanks to everyone who commented.
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Oh. my. gawd. I absolutely LOVE Mr. Do. I didn't dare even ask if there was one of those there, because I knew I'd either be crushed if it weren't, or ready to commit a felony if it were. The closest thing to a Mr. Do I've found in about 20 years is the Ultracade (multi-game box) at the Cici's in Terrell, with its suboptimal joystick and intermittent sound.
If you would PM me the owner's info, I'll pass it on to the owner of Whatz Up, and see if he's interested... or maybe he and I can go in halfsies on a Mr. Do in return for some free credits.
Dare I ask if you saw Bump 'n Jump?
J'ai toujours fait une prière à Dieu, qui est fort courte.
La voici: "Mon Dieu, rendez nos ennemis bien ridicules!"
Dieu m'a exaucé. |
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Jascony
Location: Southeast Texas
flattest thing since sliced bread
| | | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 17 on 10/12/2006 7:11 PM >
| | | | heh! there's one part of the warehouse I dubbed "mr. do town" because it's an entire row almost completely made up of Mr. Do cabs. the last time I got to play it was when I was about 8, and there was one in a local place called Phil's Flying Pizza(Phil, incidentally, had to go to jail and the place went under). for some reason I despise those Ultracade machines.
that Bump 'n Jump cabinet is pretty classy. unfortunately I didn't see one but I'll be heading back up there sometime and I'll keep an eye out. I'll PM you the info of the distributor's office.
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jhota
Location: Burlington, KY
Gender: Female
| | | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 18 on 10/20/2006 4:16 AM >
| | | | this thread is amazing and makes me way too happy and sad all at once. good work to both of you!
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bke520
| | | Re: Where arcade games go to die
<Reply # 19 on 10/24/2006 3:13 AM >
| | | | that classic yellow pong game is worth thousands if it works. This is a cool thread but I know if I owned one of those places I could have all that crap sold so fast and have a TON of money unless they are storing them to sell in another 10 years when they are worth even more.
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