The Arcade

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Welcome to the Arcade

Can you imagine a time when you had to leave the house and go out, in order to play videogames?

In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, videogame arcades and arcade machines in places like shopping centres and pubs, were the main way most people could play videogames. Arcades were loud, lively entertainment centres, infamous for their bright patterned carpets and the crowds of players bunched around machines.

Playing arcade games usually required you to use coins, or buy tickets, to get to play. But here at the National Videogame Museum, none of our arcade games cost extra!

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Space Invaders (1978)

A Brief History

The 1970s saw the birth of videogame arcades, with the success of titles like Pong (1972) propelling this new medium into the limelight. 1978’s Space Invaders, arguably the game of the decade combined exciting gameplay with innovative graphics and technology while the game soundtrack increases in speed as the game progresses. This feature went on to influence the future of videogame music.

The 1980’s saw the golden age of arcade machines. They featured incredible technological advancements which became a big influence on 1980’s console videogame development. This decade saw the release of iconic games like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. The latter being one of our most popular cabinets which was the first game to feature Mario!

Despite the rise of popularity of home consoles in the early 1990’s, the arcade machine still had a lot of life left!

Games such as Virtua Fighter and Street Fighter (the third incarnation we have playable at the NVM) helped revitalise the industry through their popularity. Machines such as the Neo Geo Multi Video System also placed an emphasis on power and performance, something that wasn’t achievable in the home console market. Our Sailor Moon machine also shows how videogames began to appeal to women and girls, increasing videogame popularity into a wider audience.

The 2000s saw the emergence of more elaborate and novel arcade machines. To stay viable now home videogames consoles were more popular and affordable, arcade games had to increase their prices and offer unique gameplay experiences such as rhythm favourite Dancing Stage Fusion.

Dancing Stage Fusion

Share your Gaming Photographs

Contribute to videogame heritage preservation! We have an open-call to submit photographs online to our new digital collection, which aims to preserve people’s stories from their own gaming history.

You are invited to share photographs from your own collections, engaging with videogames. Whether it was setting high scores in an amusement arcade, playing Space Invaders in the local chippy or playing videogames at home, all of your game-playing photographs are of interest to the Museum.

Click the link to submit your gaming photographs to be part of our mission to preserve gaming memories and heritage.

Submit Your Photos

Experience the evolution of the arcade at the NVM

Book Your Visit

Experience the evolution of the arcade at the NVM

Book Your Visit