Whatever Happened To Arcade Games In Restaurants?

Gen Xers like to talk about how great childhood was in the 1980s and '90s, but honestly, there were some really cool things that went beyond drinking from the garden hose. There were merry-go-rounds that went way too fast, video rental stores, and a legendary mall culture that included Karmelkorn, an old-school food court favorite. But we can't talk about those times without praising the concept of arcade games in restaurants. You were pretty much guaranteed to find them in Pizza Huts, but many diners and other eateries came equipped with a game or two. Before 1989, you might find them close to the cigarette vending machine. (Hey, we also had candy cigarettes, which was pretty bad.)

I'm sure the abundance of quarters the restaurants collected was a fun little bonus to restaurant profits, but it's likely that the reason these places installed arcade games was so parents could dismiss their fidgety children while they waited for their food. After all, this was way before tablets and smart phones came along to babysit youngsters. It's difficult to say if businesses began to slowly remove these games, but suddenly, the machines were mostly gone.

One probable reason for the disappearance of something that helped define an era was the rise of home computers and personal gaming consoles. Kids (and the young at heart) were increasingly able to shoot down alien spacecraft and save fantasy worlds from impending doom in the comfort of their own homes, where they could play for hours instead of in between the appetizers and arrival of the main course. Once kids stopped relying on arcade games to get their technology fix, restaurants likely found the bulky machines to be costly to maintain and a waste of good space.

Despite the disappearance of arcade games in many restaurants, the concept of gaming and dining hasn't really gone anywhere. Large corporations like Chuck E. Cheese and Dave & Buster's have relied on the combination to draw in customers for decades, but also consider things like the rising popularity of trivia nights in bars and restaurants. Just as pizzerias and pubs once hosted video game competitions (my older brother won a "Pac-Man" contest in 1983 when he was 4 years old. Yes, 4!), people now jump at the chance to participate in quiz nights over wings and beers. Similarly, board games are becoming increasingly popular in some restaurants and bars.

And for those who miss standing up and playing a fierce round of "Street Fighter" or going head-to-head with flying barrels in "Donkey Kong," businesses called "barcades" are on the rise. Part bar, part arcade, barcades also often serve food, but the  games are the real draw. Old-school pinball machines are commo, as well as nostalgic video games such as "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Galaga," and "Asteroids."

Still, it isn't quite the same as crowding around the sole arcade game in a restaurant and waiting for your turn to play while mom and dad wait for the check to arrive. But it's pretty close — and many of us are thrilled to get the chance just to play these classics again.