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| Maou 2042th Post
  
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
    
    
    
    
    
|  "In praise of NYC's Chinatown Fair Arcade" , posted Sat 7 Aug 13:49:  
I never thought I'd see the Chinatown Fair, the last true arcade I know of on the United States' East Coast, featured in the New York Times.
While people sure as hell don't go there for Ms. Pacman like the goofy sub-headline might suggest, and I don't think that the competitive scene is totally dominated by the internet (I hear of 10,000 plus registrations at EVO 2010), I think it's a pretty fun article that definitely might be interesting to show to people who haven't noticed American arcades since the 80's or so.
Bonus topic: talk about your favorite Game Centers. There's a multi-floor cluster I like in Shibuya, the Chinatown Fair is excellent as mentioned (though really narrow and smelly), and I think I first played SF Zero 3 in Tilt in Washington, DC when it existed and liked how it had two open walls, which made it less dreary than most American arcades.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は．．．
[this message was edited by Maou on Sat 7 Aug 14:32] |
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| Professor 2754th Post
MMCafe Owner
     
| "Re(1):In praise of NYC's Chinatown Fair Arcad" , posted Sat 7 Aug 15:02
quote:
I never thought I'd see the Chinatown Fair, the last true arcade I know of on the United States' East Coast, featured in the New York Times.
While people sure as hell don't go there for Ms. Pacman like the goofy sub-headline might suggest, and I don't think that the competitive scene is totally dominated by the internet (I hear of 10,000 plus registrations at EVO 2010), I think it's a pretty fun article that definitely might be interesting to show to people who haven't noticed American arcades since the 80's or so.
Bonus topic: talk about your favorite Game Centers. There's a multi-floor cluster I like in Shibuya, the Chinatown Fair is excellent as mentioned (though really narrow and smelly), and I think I first played SF Zero 3 in Tilt in Washington, DC when it existed and liked how it had two open walls, which made it less dreary than most American arcades.
That's a nice read, thanks. The photos makes the place look so big. Too bad they took out the Tic-Tac-Toe chicken, it was awfully inhumane but also kind of symbolic of that place. (They had a living chicken inside a huge tic-tac-toe machine.)
Arcade in Shibuya... the small but tall one?
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| Maou 2043th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(2):In praise of NYC's Chinatown Fair Arcad" , posted Sat 7 Aug 15:14:
quote:
Arcade in Shibuya... the small but tall one?
Just so! Super-narrow store front, starts on around 3F or so I believe. There might be a 雀荘 in the same building or next door...I just walked by twice in the past week or so and cannot remember, what is wrong with me?
Speaking of narrow, I like Chinatown Fair a lot, but it's hard to capture just how narrow it feels compared with that photo. The crummy Zero 3 machine in front may not have a working roundhouse, but at least it gives you free credits, or at least says 50 cents when it means 25. Japan is in good repair, but how is maintenance in other countries' arcades besides the US, I wonder?
Sentimental though it may sound, I also really really like the kids kissing in the background because it reminds me of an alternate-reality scenario where there's a happy neighborhood community in the arcade (and where girls actually showed up, for that matter) rather than the vaguely dangerous vibe I get in most American centers.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は．．．
[this message was edited by Maou on Sat 7 Aug 15:19] |
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"Re(5):In praise of NYC's Chinatown Fair Arcad" , posted Sat 7 Aug 18:21
