Excellent Chicago Tribune article about the almost-dead arcade biz.

[BydoEmpire]

That was a sad article to read. I used to go to Dennis' every time I got off at the Belmot El stop - I had no idea it had closed down (I moved out of Chicago years ago). I wish I knew about some of the other Chicago-area classic arcades when I lived there, because I definitely would have gone. There's nothing like that around here (Orlando) that I know of. DisneyQuest used to have a room full of classic games, but I haven't been there in 8 years. Fun Spot might. I wish these places would advertise exactly what games they offer on their web sites, so I'd know if it's worth making the trip.

[Aussie2B]

Excellent article, but talk about pulling on the heartstrings. It's not surprising that arcades that only offer classics are struggling, though. I don't mind seeing some modern games and ticket redemption machines as long as they mix in a decent amount of the older stuff. There's a pretty good arcade still in my hometown's mall. It actually seems surprisingly active with DDR and such pulling in small crowds. I think they're doing it right because they offer a nice variety of everything from the classics of the 80s, to the beat-em-ups, shooters, and fighters of the 90s, to the dancing, racing and light gun games of recent years.

[Graham Mitchell]

That was a sad article to read. I used to go to Dennis' every time I got off at the Belmot El stop - I had no idea it had closed down (I moved out of Chicago years ago).

Me too! I lived there until last year. Dennis's was pretty scarry, though. There was some shady characters in there, definitely. And their Ms. Pac-Man cocktail was busted to hell.

Nickel City is a place I went to a lot, though. Northbrook was halfway between my house in Evanston and my med school in North Chicago. And the article is wrong about one thing...EVERYBODY plays the free games. They're awesome there, and they work. For the most part, that is. Some of the monitors have a lot of burn in, (particularly Rastan) but all the buttons and sticks work.

Diversions was another place that was pretty close to my house. It was just off some main drag...can't remember the location. It was okay, though. When I finished 2nd year of medical school I spent 5 hours there playing centipede and Strider, celebrating.