A rare pic of my cab when I was a kid...

[cicada88]

ShowBiz Pizza Place

[GaijinPunch]

Dangit, I thought the zoom rancor posted was you!
-ud

No... I was a horribly unattractive child starting somewhere around age 5 or 6. I'm doing everyone a favor.

ShowBiz Pizza Place

I think we're going to need PCEFX to chime in on this one, but wasn't there a time when they co-existed, and then maybe joined forces to amplify ADHD in children nation-wide?

[cicada88]

Dangit, I thought the zoom rancor posted was you!
-ud

No... I was a horribly unattractive child starting somewhere around age 5 or 6. I'm doing everyone a favor.

ShowBiz Pizza Place

I think we're going to need PCEFX to chime in on this one, but wasn't there a time when they co-existed, and then maybe joined forces to amplify ADHD in children nation-wide?

According to wikipedia they were competitors and eventually Chuck E. Cheese's bought them out. Your pic just reminded me of my local ShowBiz—a place and name I hadn't thought of in ages.

[GaijinPunch]

According to wikipedia they were competitors and eventually Chuck E. Cheese's bought them out. Your pic just reminded me of my local ShowBiz—a place and name I hadn't thought of in ages.

Yeah, we had a few places around town. I think ours was first Showbiz, then became Chuck E Cheese. I didn't give a shit, I just wanted to play video games and occasionally grab Skeet Balls and run up the side of the machine and throw them in the 100 slot.

Not a huge fan of The Hangover series, but I thought that line was classic where he said, "I'm not allowed within 100 yards of a school... or a Chuck E Cheese." Haha. Less is more.

[cicada88]

occasionally grab Skeet Balls and run up the side of the machine and throw them in the 100 slot.

"skeet" balls? you sure we are talking about the same place?

[rancor]

SKEET SKEET SKEET SKEET!

[GaijinPunch]

Freudian Typo.

EDIT: Or Not...

[brentsg]

Freudian Typo.

EDIT: Or Not...

Wow

[GaijinPunch]

We know what's on the menu at your place tonight...

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Yep, both Chuck E. Cheese & Showbiz Pizza Place were competing franchises during the early 1980s. In fact, both such businesses co-existed at one time in Modesto, CA indeed. Eventually, the Showbiz one shut down and the CEC one flourished.

That ol' school game of rolling the ball into the various holes to try to score the perfect 300 point score to win the maximum allowed prize redemption tickets to redeem at Jasper's Country General Store for some cool swag and whatnot. If you didn't have enough prize tickets, good ol' fashioned cash could be used to pay the difference if it needed be to get the swag so desired.

Those were the days of CEC during the early 1980s era.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Aleksei]

Where was this Chuck E Cheese located?

[GaijinPunch]

Garland I'm sure, but I can't say for certain which neighborhood. The only one I know of now is what used to be Showbiz... I think this photo is from when they were battling it out.

[rancor]

Crystals in Irving on Airport Frwy was only for the hardcore.



Is that place even there anymore? Do they still have a shitload of arcade games? That was the first place I played Castlevania.

edit: NOPE!

[GaijinPunch]

Crystals in Irving on Airport Frwy was only for the hardcore.

True dat yo.

Is that place even there anymore? Do they still have a shitload of arcade games? That was the first place I played Castlevania.

That was a big deal on my FB page when it closed down. I'm not sure if he owned it until the bitter end, but I went to high school w/ the kids of the guy who started it. Small school... everyone knew everyone. Other pieces of my childhood that came to be from his war chest: Taco Bueno, Burger Street, Wet 'n Wild. The Taco Bueno near my house had Q-Bert, Tempest, Pole Position, and Stargate. Good times.

Edit: Looks like at least Crystals (there were 4) and Taco Bueno were sold to Black Eyed Pea in the mid-90's. Probably not a bad time to bail Dallas seems like a hard place to do business. When I was home recently I was asking my moms about what neighborhoods are thriving and which one sare in the shitter. I know you're from Grapevine, which was a dirt field when I grew up. Lake Highlands was quite affluent. He owned a building there at the corner of Skillman and Abrams. Apparently he would only allow clients he deemed worthy in there. It was pretty swank, even though it was just an office building. American Airlines had a reservation desk. Anywho, after 9/11 all the airlines started closing their brick and mortar offices. He sold, and the place totally went to shit. I think there's a huge dollar store in there now. :-/

Don't get me going on my old neighborhood... In fact, the Chuck E Cheese I was mentioning above might be the last thing in that shopping center... right next to an empty grocery store and an empty Target.

[Khan]

such a throwback cool pics man must have been pretty rich to own all them in those days

[Aleksei]

http://goo.gl/AbpGSN

its point B right?

I live near Richland college and once a year I go to Nicklerama in Garland because they have a machine with Truxton 2 on it, there are some pretty high scores on it as well, last time I played I was 11th or something like that.

I'm going to visit that place to see if they held on to any classic machines over the thanksgiving break, unless you think its not worth even trying.

[GaijinPunch]

such a throwback cool pics man must have been pretty rich to own all them in those days

We only owned the one in the first pic, and it was a prize. We were lower middle class... you can tell by the slide film my Dad bought. Horribly red now. Photoshop helped quite a bit though. He was never a big spender, and quite content without the best. Wish I got a little more of that trait.

http://goo.gl/AbpGSN

its point B right?

Actually, no. That's North Garland -- still a pretty nice area. I'm from South Garland. The area in question is at the intersection of LBJ & Centerville.

Growing up, I think I had it relatively easy for games. Garland kind of sucked until I was in High School and a bowling alley within walking distance got an Arcade. Before you needed a bullet proof vest to go to Town East in Mesquite, I went there all the time. It had two arcades (Alladin's castle and Tilt). Tilt is where I saw and fell in love w/ System 24 greats Crack Down and Gain Ground. Only place I saw them (until I came to Japan). Alladin's Castle memories include Operation Thunderbolt and Golden Axe.

On the other side of the highway, there was a Fun Factory, and a Putt Putt Golf which had a club deal every Saturday where you got unlimited Golf until 2 and 35 tokens for like $5. There was a Toys 'R Us as well.

Both areas had 2 movie theaters each, at least, which all had games. If I'm not mistaken, all 4 of those theaters are gone.

[Aleksei]

Crap, there is literally nothing left.

[GaijinPunch]

End of an era.

[xavierjesus]

I'll raise you mine son!





#themshoes
#nostalgiathread
#vertloveforlifeson

Anyone any idea what that game is though - I have no fucking idea whatsoever!

[Bloodreign]

Looks like either Gun.Smoke or Commando from what I could make out of that picture.

This thread makes me miss old arcades with all the best arcade titles from the days of old.

[xavierjesus]

This thread makes me miss old arcades

This x ∞ !

Funny how I have NO recollection of playing either of those titles at that age. Maybe, 10yo mid-eighties?

Maybe 90s rave scene had a lot to do with that...

[GaijinPunch]

Haha. Yeah, I was in the rave scene too. Too bad it didn't mix w/ the arcades. Or anything other than sleep... and lack of sleep.

[rancor]

Haha. Yeah, I was in the rave scene too. Too bad it didn't mix w/ the arcades. Or anything other than sleep... and lack of sleep.

I'm thinking we may have run in very similar circles back home. I still have a shoebox full of flyers from all of the parties I went to between '92 and say.... '97. Nice stroll down memory lane. Wish I could find more of my EDGEclub tapes that I religiously made every saturday night. But yeah - I used to hit all of the arcades as well. Tilt in North East Mall, Aladdins Castle in North Hills Mall, Putt-Putt off of Airport Frwy and 820, Crystals of course, then there was that Neo-Geo only arcade that was in one of the malls for a bit. I'm pretty sure that the dude that owned the Aladdins Castle chain is the guy that runs Tornado Terrys Arcade in Keller now. I bought a candy cab there back in '01, and he was telling me all of the arcades he used to own. Impressive.

[GaijinPunch]

Yeah, I remember a few of them around town. Pretty sure Tilt was a re-used name across the nation. That arcade was a little too clean and a little too spread out. They had good games, but there was nothing intimate about it.

I think I got rid of all my flyers, but I had quite a few of them at one time. On one of my trips home recently I found a tape from Austin's weekly club radio show which was done on UT's student radio. Need to find a device to digitize it.

[undamned]

Pretty sure Tilt was a re-used name across the nation. That arcade was a little too clean and a little too spread out. They had good games, but there was nothing intimate about it.

When my local Tilt was closing they were blowing out their cabs for cheap. Got my World Warrior cab there for $200. Pretty sure that's the best $200 I've spent in my whole life. So much enjoyment. Gave that cab to my Nephew last year, with a Hyper Fighting PCB in it. Hope he can beat me someday
-ud

[GaijinPunch]

Sounds like you got a good deal. What I wouldn't give to go back to those days... or at least like 7 years ago when a shmups argument didn't feel like a grown adult versus a junior high student.

[drauch]

I missed my chances with a few local Tilts. Came across some really good deals when I was hard on cash and not too serious with the hobby. Some local bastard snagged a Neo Geo, a Street Fighter II, and a handful of random others and shoved goddamn MAME boards in them, welded cup holders onto the front, gave them awful MSPaint marquees (HD Remix Blanka next to a cut and off-center SFII logo), and stuck them in the worst barcade I've ever had the misfortune of going to. Full of MAME multi boards of Golden Age stuff with inadequate joystick interfaces, the aforementioned butchery, and a few later year light gun games. Shove all of that into a downtown college environment, an obnoxious DJ, and little to no walkway between a tiny bar and the cabinets. It's free to play and free to get in, but all the booze in the world can't save that abortion.

[GaijinPunch]

welded cup holders onto the front, gave them awful MSPaint marquees

So far beyond facepalm.

[xavierjesus]

What I wouldn't give to go back to those days...