Amusement Centre

The Incredible Arcade Warehouse in Japan

December 29, 2017 By ausretrogamer

Oh My Gosh! Micah Moore, the cool peep that explores the strange and wonderful as part of his Legend of Micah Facebook page has done exactly that – explored the strange, wonderful and incredible arcade in Kawasaki, Japan, modelled after the Kowloon Walled City – an infamous slum in Hong Kong. The Amusement Game Park Kawasaki (Anata No) Warehouse has narrow alleys, flickering lights and the sounds of an underground marketplace that create a maze filled with 80’s and 90’s arcade games.

Taishiro Hoshino, an art designer for kabuki theatre, painstakingly reproduced signs and posters from the real Kowloon Walled City, which was demolished in the early 90’s. This arcade is going on the bucket list immediately!

Big thanks to Skooota for letting us know about this one!

source: Legend of Micah – Facebook

SKYCURSER Is Coming Soon To Shoot Up Your Arcade

April 17, 2017 By ausretrogamer

Who says that the arcade is dead? If you are sick of seeing redemption machines at your local amusement centre, then perhaps the new horizontal shoot’em up, SKYCURSER will draw you back for some good old fashion blasting!

Griffin Aerotech’s SKYCURSER takes players through some gorgeously drawn worlds in which they must battle mutant hordes to save the planet. SKYCURSER has a total of four missions with a reward scoring system that keeps things quite competitive.

The game runs on a platform called Airframe and its creators have also promised free game updates. A year ago, the Griffin Aerotech team expressed hopes that the open-source nature of Airframe would attract other independent designers to create games for arcade cabinets and controls. This means that operators could potentially swap several games on the same Airframe using only a USB stick, which brings back memories of swapping those good old Neo Geo MVS cartridges.

There’s a Pro (USD$700) and Deluxe (USD$1,200) version of the kitted game, each coming with necessary software and hardware while the Deluxe has additional conversion art. The game is also available in a dedicated arcade cabinet ready to hit the floor (USD$3,499). Conversion kits are expected to ship by June 2017. For information on purchasing the game in a dedicated cabinet, click here.

The arcade industry needs more of these good old fashioned arcade games, like SKYCURSER, to draw back the 80s and 90s kids (now adults) into arcade centres for them to have fun while introducing their own children to the kind of games they played at their age many moons ago.

image source: Griffin Aerotech

Timezone Plans Expansion: Bringing Back The Arcade Parlour

February 3, 2017 By ausretrogamer

Pew pew, remember chucking coins in arcade machines and having a blast at your local Timezone? We do. Then came the PlayStation and Xbox era, and everyone decided to get their gaming entertainment at home.

Well, time has come where people are again seeking gaming entertainment outside of the home. With this demand, Timezone’s announcement that they will be expanding their amusement centre network in Australia is absolutely perfect timing.

We have always loved visiting Timezone centres around Melbourne and also on the Gold Coast, so this expansion news is great for all those seeking some great child and adult-friendly gaming entertainment. It’s going to feel like the ’80s and ’90s once again. Go Timezone!

Jump in one of the Ferraris!

Yours truly enjoying some After Burner Climax!

Yahoo! Mario Kart 2!

Let’s get shoot’n

Oh man, can’t wait for some head-to-head Daytona USA action!

We love flippin’ at Timezone!

images by: Alex Boz and Ms. Ausretrogamer

Arcade Machine Graveyards

June 18, 2014 By ausretrogamer

Old school arcade machines may be enjoying a resurgence thank you to the success of barcades, but in their native land of Japan, some are left in haikyo (廃墟) – amusement centre graveyards.

These are just some of the shocking pictures from arcade graveyards where machines and their surroundings have been left in ruin. My heart breaks at seeing these majestic machines left in such disarray. If only they could all be saved!

image source: Haikyo.org

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Arcade Machine Preservation Society [AMPS]
Taking action to save and protect our classic arcade machines from damage and decay.

Follow AMPS on Twitter

Inheriting An Old Japanese Games Centre

June 1, 2014 By ausretrogamer

Some people are just lucky. Imagine if you will, your girlfriend’s grandmother (Ed: so not even your own blood relative?) buys an old building and then finds that there are two floors brimming with arcade machines and game boards dating back 20 years and she leaves them all to you! This is a true story and the lucky son of a gun is Keisuke999.

The machines were left to him to do as he wishes. So what does he do – he puts them up for sale, of course! If you are keen to see what is on offer, take a peek at Keisuke999’s thread on NeoGAF.