Gaming Arcades shaped a whole generation of modern-day gamers. Often located in shopping malls near food courts, arcades provided kids with something to do whilst their mom did grocery shopping.<\/p>\n
Pinball machines in the 1930s set the arcade trend in motion, and by the late \u201960s, games had become more graphically advanced and interactive.<\/p>\n
In 1971, Computer Space <\/em><\/a>was the first commercially sold, coin-operated video game and set the foundations of the industry.<\/p>\n At the low cost of 20c<\/a>, kids and adults alike were introduced to gaming through games such as Pacman, Crazy Climbers and Donkey Kong.<\/p>\n The \u201cGolden Age\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n Between the late 1970s and 1980s, arcades were going through a golden age. In South Africa, arcades like \u201cMagic Company\u201d and \u201cWonderland\u201d saw a vast increase in players.<\/p>\n This was primarily due to the accessibility of gaming arcades. Low to middle-income families could engage with video games for the first time.<\/p>\n If you could not afford an NES, you could still enjoy games with friends.<\/p>\n The legendary octopus floor of Cape Town’s Wonderland<\/p><\/div>\n Cape Towns N1 City Mall Wonderland<\/a> was a hallmark of arcade gaming in South Africa, with two floors filled with 100s of different games.<\/p>\n Each area had a different theme, from underwater, space and castle themed interiors.<\/p>\n Communities of like-minded fans gathered to arcades like Wonderland and developed a fan club around specific games.<\/p>\n Communities formed around dancing games, platforming speed-runners and fighting games.<\/p>\n One of the most significant groups was founded around games such as Mortal Kombat, King of Fighters and Capcom\u2019s Street Fighter 2.<\/p>\n The turning point<\/strong><\/p>\n The introduction of home entertainment systems affected gaming arcades quite significantly.<\/p>\n This, paired with South Africa being late to the party when new arcade titles were released, reduced the number of visitors to gaming arcades.<\/p>\n The South African Fighting Game Community (FGC) is an excellent example of how arcade gaming slowly started to drop off.<\/p>\n The FGC missed out on major fighting titles like Street Fighter 3, King of Fighters XI and Tekken 6. This put the FGC in a corner, and they had to continue to play on either consoles or emulators.<\/p>\n The current state<\/strong><\/p>\n In South Africa, arcade gaming is still hanging on.<\/p>\n The Fun Company<\/a> continues to have 13 branches, primarily across Gauteng and secondly KZN. Plus, the Magic Company<\/a> has 17 branches, often located at or near casinos.<\/p>\n The Fun Company now offers laser tag, bowling, bumper cards, 4D-experieinces, trampoline parks and arcade games. The price to paly an arcade game at the Fun Company ranges between R5 to R25 depending on the title you want to play.<\/p>\n The Magic Company offers very similar services but arcade games are not even mentioned on their website.<\/p>\n From personal experience, it is more often the bowling alley or bumper cars that makes me want to visit an arcade, and I think many people share this sentiment.<\/p>\n I can assume that we are spoilt for choice with Steam and Xbox Game Pass, but if I were from a different generation, I would rest easy knowing that I could go to a local mall and find myself in a dark, carpeted room playing games that take me back to my childhood.<\/p>\n A home bar-top Street Fighter 2 arcade system<\/p><\/div>\n On a side note, there continues to be a community of avid arcade fans who collect arcade machines or play through emulators. South African websites like Home of Arcadia<\/a>, Arcade Blaster<\/a> and Game Over<\/a> continue to sell classic video arcade machines.<\/p>\n _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/32073933_1774972962561580_8231057844984610816_n-640x360.jpg\")
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