What is it about vintage arcade machines that attracts us exactly?

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burrows
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What is it about vintage arcade machines that attracts us exactly?

Post by burrows »

This a question that has occurred to me over and over, I just love them. The modern machines simply doesn't do it for me. I put it down to the old penny arcades simply having a unique charm of their own with the many attractive and ingenious machines/devices to play on and to explore.

For me, they hold many happy memories as a child of summer holidays at the seaside, playing on them trying to understand how I could possibly win something, knowing there was very little chance of winning anything unless I could walk away while I was on top. I tried this many times but the lure of the arcade soon had me back playing on them until my pockets were empty.

Here l am, decades later, collecting them and still fascinated by them and the many ingenious ideas of these early engineers to capture our interest and take our money. Some people appreciate paintings by great artists and many others have unusual collections too for similar reasons to us and our passion for these machines.
What is it for you the 'Vintage Amusement Machine Collector', that captures your interest/passion..?? !PUZZLED!
I'm interested to know and to hear your tales/views on the subject..??
-o0O0o- !!MEXWAVE!!
aristomatic
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Re: What is it about vintage arcade machines that attracts us exactly.??

Post by aristomatic »

Childhood fascination...

My parents didn't drive and so I had many train journeys to/from Manchester with my Father. The giddy excitement of knowing he would be taking me into the large arcade in Piccadilly as a treat with all the noise and lights...

Five hours on the Isle of Man ferry playing two Jennings just to keep the sea sickness at bay. Many, many other memories of the fascination and excitement, however, now I wish I had been fascinated by stamps... So much easier to store and move..!
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alan57
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Re: What is it about vintage arcade machines that attracts us exactly.??

Post by alan57 »

But if you included the stamp vender, not so easy to move. This one is 38kg! !OMFG!
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ddstoys
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Re: What is it about vintage arcade machines that attracts us exactly?

Post by ddstoys »

I never played one as a kid but I do have a memory of them mounted to a wall (I’m told I was only a baby and couldn’t possibly remember them). That place shut down a few years after I was born. There’s only one place I know of in Australia that you can even play them and I didn't find that until my mid to late '20s.

My fascination was with their mechanics. Working on EM pinballs, I started searching for other mechanical games and found the Melwrights website and fell in love and started buying whatever I could find in hope to one day start up a small arcade for people to enjoy (pipedream).
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burrows
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Re: What is it about vintage arcade machines that attracts us exactly?

Post by burrows »

Thank you guys for your responses. lt seems to be that our childhood memories or inquisitive interest for an earlier period is the true fascination for us.

It's interesting what ddstoys said about:"never having played them but can recall seeing them from an early age"..!! It's something he must have felt he missed out on and later went back to find.

I don't feel I missed it but it's definitely something I wanted to experience more of and to show my children.

I feel that many of the early entrepreneur/businessmen were prolific in their quest to make money. They employed the skills and talents of many different people; designers, engineers, tool workers and others to produce what we still value today. Techniques and processes of foundry workers (metal casting), chrome platers, graphic artwork all playing their part in developing and producing these beauties.

We all know from extensive research of people like our Stuart and the historians we are all familiar with, where it all began and the pioneers that drove advances forward from basic forms.
There's so many aspects to this development that have had an impact, we as individuals tend to focus and appreciate on some areas more than others but overall we have the same passion.

I feel lucky to have such an interest and thankful to all you slotties for taking care of these classic machines and restoring many that would have been otherwise lost forever. Many people remember and still hold them dear for the same reason as we do.

After many years I went along to an arcade expecting to see what I used to see and play on but I was horrified to see nothing of the old machines. :!: :shock:
For me, that was the point at which I decided to buy a vintage slot machine should I ever find one worth buying.
I couldn't find what I wanted to see until I found images on the internet. BRILLIANT.!! There they was.!!YABBADABBA!!

Eventually, I found one I could afford, bought it and since then managed to find others.
I now feel l've become one of you guys. !LOOK!
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treefrog
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Re: What is it about vintage arcade machines that attracts us exactly?

Post by treefrog »

I am afraid gambling for me, which is why I have mostly had an attraction to machines you can win something on. My gambling days were long ago, but having an addictive personality, now collect the machines instead. Was not allowed to go into arcades as a kid even though I lived on a seaside area, but occasionally slipped in. My era really was the first electronic types and faves were the early JPM machines. Always wanted one and now very collectible.

Earliest memory in playing mechanical machines was a travelling circus in Southern Ireland probably about 1972, just post decimal, rough old machines in a tent. Only kids were playing them, no restrictions there.
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moonriver
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Re: What is it about vintage arcade machines that attracts us exactly?

Post by moonriver »

treefrog wrote: Sat Dec 30, 2017 11:28 am...early JPM machines.
MK 1 Nudge Double UP , MK 1 Each Way Nudger, Lucky 2's, Nudge Gambler and Double Shuffle are now all equally as collectable for the early processor machine collectors as the mechanical machine collectors. All of these models are much the same price as a high end Allwin. More common JPM models, Lite-A-Nudge, Nudge Double Up deluxe, Each Way Shuffle slightly less but still appreciate over time. 1980'S JPM Frog Hop, Fruit Snappa, Fruit Chaser and Road Runner all £1,500 and upwards!

Just as some like one manufacturer or another's machines, it usually depends on what you recall playing on and liking. Interestingly ALL gambles, (double/ nothing) flashing awards were predetermined with these early programmes, and required no skill at all, but cleverly made to look like they were. Happy Days!
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dickywink
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Re: What is it about vintage arcade machines that attracts us exactly?

Post by dickywink »

Myself, a lover of all things coin op... I enjoy the mechanical era very much, but also also the electro-mechanical stuff, including pinballs and the old Bell Fruit and Maygay fruit machines, but as an electronics engineer I also love the early JPM Barcrest fruit machine era as well... but the big difference is the longevity of these eras. The mechanical and electro-mechanical machines will be around for many generations to come, I expect for many hundreds of years if well looked after. The electro-mechanical machines can always be repaired, relay and solenoid coils can be rewound or rebuilt, contacts can be cleaned, replaced or remade, lamps can be substituted with LED equivalents, so they could also be around for a very long time.

But .... the micro processor coin operated machines will fade into obscurity and eventually disappear. Most of the CPUs and components from these early machines have now become obsolete. It's now difficult to find the parts to get machines working again and I think this is what is pushing up the price of these electronic machines like Lite a Nudge and Exchanges Unlimited.

Electronic Pinball of the same era has had a slight reprieve, due to some clever chappies developing a multi game PCB that can fit in any old Bally / Gottlieb type Electronic pinball. It is pre programmed with 100s of game ROMs and you just set the dip switches on the PCB to the game it is fitted to and it will run like the original PCB, but using new technology. This preserves the game for a few more years, but when the components become obsolete on the multigame board the owner then faces the same problem over again.

So in my mind if you want to collect machines (especially as an investment and to be enjoyed for many generations to come) the mechanical machine is the only way to go, but every one sees something different in these machines and is usually triggered by childhood memories (well in my case it is) so to everyone who collects all types of coin op... enjoy and have a happy new year

all the best ... Dicky
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