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Goodbye to the Last Arcade: Chinatown Fair is closed.

gomidoggomidog
edited March 2011 in Everything Else
Goodnight, my sweet Arcade.

One of the last places in the city to play DDR and Initial D is gone. I will remember it fondly. We used to go there occasionally during lunch hour. It had a good variety, and it will be missed.
They are talking about moving it to Williamsburg, perhaps, so there is a ray of hope left for this classic arcade, but it will not be near work anymore.
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Comments

  • CremlianCremlian
    NoooooOOOOOOooooooOOOOOoooooOOOOOoooo
  • AprecheApreche
    I thought it wasn't actually gone, and was just rumored to be goING. Pics don't lie. It happened. Noooos!

    If anyone wins a lottery, we are opening a quality arcade, and keeping it open, even if it loses money hand over fist.
  • KapitänTimKapitänTim
    I thought it wasn't actually gone, and was just rumored to be goING. Pics don't lie. It happened. Noooos!

    If anyone wins a lottery, we are opening a quality arcade, and keeping it open, even if it loses money hand over fist.
    Can we open it in a big abandoned factory? And can we teach kids karate there too? And use these kids to run a crime syndicate?
  • TorontoKevTorontoKev
    Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.
  • ColdguyColdguy
    You can find other arcades. Whenever there is doubt the internet will provide you with an answer.
  • RymRym
    You can find other arcades. Whenever there is doubt the internet will provide you with an answer.
    In New York? The very few arcades that exist are small, sad, and mostly broken attachments to other amusements like bowling alleys. They're basically not worth even looking at.
  • MattMatt
    edited March 2011
    I played this game in Japan and it was downright glorious: http://arcadeheroes.com/2010/07/30/darius-burst-another-chronicle-cabinet-revealed/

    I need to find some American arcade that has this. It hasn't been released in the US but is rumored to be coming soon, however the lack of any arcade to actually play it in is disappointing. For those of you Jersey shore vacationers, this arcade in Keansburg is pretty much the best (aside from the kick-ass pinball museum in Asbury). Kind of a dump, but it's unique solely for the fact that it is not overrun with redemption machines. Haven't been in a few years (whoops, sorry arcades), so hopefully it hasn't changed much: http://www.thegameroomusa.com/ EDIT: Yeah just went to their website on my phone (blocked at work). That place looks like redemption-city now, totally fucked.
    Post edited by Matt on
  • gomidoggomidog
    You can find other arcades. Whenever there is doubt the internet will provide you with an answer.
    Actually, the only ones it really provided me with in the immediate area are
    1. Chinatown Fair (note the topic of this article)
    2. the one in the Port Authority Bus Terminal and the one by the skating, which aren't the same.
    3. Barcade, which is hip and cool, but super crowded, in Brooklyn.
    4. Gattiland, which is in New York, Kentucky

    So much for that.
  • MattMatt
    edited March 2011
    You can find other arcades
    4. Gattiland, which is in New York, Kentucky
    The spelling is slightly off, but the one in New York, NY is a gambino crime family & teamster themed amusement park. The kids LOVE IT.
    Post edited by Matt on
  • RymRym
    MAGFest had a better arcade than any arcade I've physically entered in almost a decade...
  • AprecheApreche
    MAGFest had a better arcade than any arcade I've physically entered in almost a decade...
    And it still could have easily been better.
  • ColdguyColdguy
    MAGFest had a better arcade than any arcade I've physically entered in almost a decade...
    And it still could have easily been better.
    You have not been to Iowa 80 or Funspot have you, check those places out if you head up Boston way.
  • RymRym
    You have not been to Iowa 80 or Funspot have you
    Funspot was OK, but many of the games were broken, and there weren't any modern games. Modern gaming is an important part of a good arcade.
  • trogdor9trogdor9
    Disney World actually has a pretty awesome arcade, or at least they had one 8 years ago. The problem is that it costs about $40 to get in (it's more than just an arcade), but everything's completely free once you're in there. They have both retro and modern games.

    DisneyQuest
  • AprecheApreche
    Disney World actually has a pretty awesome arcade, or at least they had one 8 years ago. The problem is that it costs about $40 to get in (it's more than just an arcade), but everything's completely free once you're in there. They have both retro and modern games.

    DisneyQuest
    I've been to that, but it was many many years ago. At the time they didn't have that many arcade cabinets. Mostly just come classic games while you waited in various lines. I do distinctly remember that the cabinets they did have were in frighteningly good condition. I have never seen a Missile Command so pristine.

    The thing is, most of the place is just crappy old VR-gimmicky shit from the '90s. I'm sure some of it has been polished or re-themed over the years, but I can't imagine it's that much better.
  • trogdor9trogdor9
    There are definitely more arcade cabinets than there were whenever you went, but the VR stuff is definitely crappy, old, and gimmicky. After reading the Wikipedia article, it looks like they haven't done any significant refurbishment or renovation since they opened. They closed the Cheesecake Factory and removed a few crappy attractions, but that's it. Disney needs to either refurbish the place entirely or lower the price.
  • AprecheApreche
    edited March 2011
    There are definitely more arcade cabinets than there were whenever you went, but the VR stuff is definitely crappy, old, and gimmicky. After reading the Wikipedia article, it looks like they haven't done any significant refurbishment or renovation since they opened. They closed the Cheesecake Factory and removed a few crappy attractions, but that's it. Disney needs to either refurbish the place entirely or lower the price.
    It was definitely the same place. Unless maybe there is one in CA and one in FL? I went to the FL one a very long time ago. It says it opened in '98, and I actually think I went there in '98.
    Post edited by Apreche on
  • George PatchesGeorge Patches
    Personal computers and gaming systems have killed the arcade in America. I'm not sure why you guys are sad when you have much more advanced and versatile systems in your living rooms already.
  • RymRym
    . I'm not sure why you guys are sad when you have much more advanced and versatile systems in your living rooms already.
    We by and large can't have the physical systems that arcades can have. Full-sized cockpits, jigantic bemani interfaces, physical pinball: these things are not within reach of the average person in an average home with average income.

    There's also the social factor. Playing a game with a stranger over a drink isn't the same when the drink is from your fridge and the stranger is on Xbox Live. Trash talk isn't the same over video chat.

    There is a future in arcades. Barcade. Social clubs with games.
  • AprecheApreche
    There is a future in arcades. Barcade. Social clubs with games.
    Spin
  • trogdor9trogdor9
    It was definitely the same place.
    Yes, same place, but they added more machines.
  • MattMatt
    I have not been to Spin yet, but these social clubs with games places have never really appealed to me. I am just not a big fan of going to bars, so when I walk into a place such as a Dave & Busters, more often than not it's me playing games surrounded by people who like hanging out in bars. If I'm going to be social, I want to be with my people.
  • TheWhaleSharkTheWhaleShark
    There is a future in arcades. Barcade. Social clubs with games.
    This is my long-term goal, once I acquire a house. I want to sink a brewery, but I'd like to put the brewhouse in the basement of an outbuilding, and have my "office" upstairs. The "office" will consist of a bar, pool table, and various games.
  • ChurbaChurba
    edited March 2011
    There is a future in arcades. Barcade. Social clubs with games.
    Mana Bar already does that - and since march last year, they're raking in money hand over fist. They're so successful, they're already opening another bar in Melbourne, and they've already hosted at least a half dozen exclusive preview events - Publishers fucking LOVE these guys, Game journalists LOVE these guys, and the public fucking love these guys.

    Side bonus - It's quite literally the safest bar in Brisbane - in fact, over the 12 months of operation, I'm pretty sure they've had exactly Zero violent incidents.
    Post edited by Churba on
  • George PatchesGeorge Patches
    There is a future in arcades. Barcade. Social clubs with games.
    This is a flaw with this plan, how will you get the younger generation into arcade games if they aren't of age to drink?
  • RymRym
    There is a future in arcades. Barcade. Social clubs with games.
    This is a flaw with this plan, how will you get the younger generation into arcade games if they aren't of age to drink?
    Not all arcades need to serve alcohol.
  • George PatchesGeorge Patches
    There is a future in arcades. Barcade. Social clubs with games.
    This is a flaw with this plan, how will you get the younger generation into arcade games if they aren't of age to drink?
    Not all arcades need to serve alcohol.
    A bar without alcohol will not last long.
  • RymRym
    A bar without alcohol will not last long.
    I actually spent a great deal of time at alcohol-free bar/clubs when I was a teenager. They did quite well for themselves.
  • TheWhaleSharkTheWhaleShark
    A bar without alcohol will not last long.
    I actually spent a great deal of time at alcohol-free bar/clubs when I was a teenager. They did quite well for themselves.
    How many of those are open today?
  • RochelleRochelle
    A bar without alcohol will not last long.
    I actually spent a great deal of time at alcohol-free bar/clubs when I was a teenager. They did quite well for themselves.
    That was over a decade ago. Times have changed. :P

    But the young kids need a place to hang out instead of just at the mall, so it could work.
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