Arcade Memories Relived

 

Rekindling the spirit of the arcade is not an easy task

The sounds of blasting lasers, dragon punches, and tokens dropping have long since vanished from public places. These quarter-hungry cabinets found their seemingly final resting places in basements, barns, dumps, and warehouses. Rows of dark, burned screens, ruined cabinets, and quickly fading memories of what was once a major cultural touchstone in America, Japan, and numerous other places worldwide were all that was left of the meteoric rise and fall of arcade video gaming.

Electric Paradise

The games themselves are important, but beyond that, we must ask what makes the feeling of video arcades and game centers of the past such a difficult thing to replicate today? At NEON Retrofest, we attempt to answer that question by transporting you back in time to experience these behemoths as they were in their golden age.

Our video arcade is comprised of all-original maintained cabinets, all running the same hardware they ran in 1981—or in 1994, since we adore both major epochs of the arcade boom. At NEON 2018, attendees enjoyed playing rare titles like Darius, RipOff, and Red Baron—who knows what 2023 will bring?

Oh, and you can keep those quarters in your pocket.  Everything is on free play.

Interested in bringing your working arcade game or pinball machine to the show for others to play? We can offer comped tickets to those who help make the NEON Retrofest arcade even larger with games we don't already have. Apply here:

Bring an Arcade Game

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