How Arcades Became So Popular in the U.S.
Here at Spare Time Entertainment, we’re proud to have East Lansing’s best arcade! Our 7,000 square foot arcade is packed with over 50 of the top arcade games, where players from all around Lansing come to claim their reward at the top of the leaderboard.
There’s just something so unique about an arcade that our team at Spare Time loves. The energy of the games, the community of players, and the promise of cashing in tickets for rewards create this feeling that you can only find in an arcade. That said, some of us at Spare Time remember a time before the rise of arcades—and it used to be very different.
Today, we’re discussing the history of arcades in the U.S. and how they became so popular.
The (Surprisingly Controversial) Early History of Arcade Games
As far back as the 1920s, people have been enjoying arcades in the United States. You read that right—arcades pre-date early video games like Pong by 50+ years! But how was this possible?
Back in the day, arcade games were mechanical, meaning that they used levers, gears, and other physical components instead of digital tools like circuits and programming. As a result, arcade games in the 1920s were much bulkier and slower than the arcade games we play today. Even so, many these machines are timeless—you may even recognize some of them.
Two popular arcade machines from the early 20th century are:
Skee-Ball. An absolute classic, Skee-Ball was invented in 1907 by a man named Joseph Simpson. Skee-Ball was one of the first “redemption games,” meaning that it helped pioneer the idea of performance-based rewards for players. So, every time you win a prize at an arcade like ours, you’re taking part in a tradition that spans over 100 years!
Pinball. Coin-operated pinball was invented in 1931, and it quickly became a staple of arcades everywhere. However, early pinball was missing one key component that we expect of it today: player-controlled flippers! That’s right—way back in the day, players had no way of pushing the pinball back up the slope except through a tilting mechanism.
Despite these machines seeming “old-school” to us today, they were actually incredibly controversial at the time. Arcade games were almost exclusively played by younger people, creating a huge generation gap in America. In fact, some older folks believed games like Skee-Ball and pinball were evil, since children would spend all their allowance and free time playing arcade games with friends. As a result, many arcade games were banned until the 1960s and 1970s.
You have to remember—back then, arcade games weren’t as well-developed as they are today, and many of them were games of chance with opportunities for prizes. Essentially, older folks felt that they were too close to gambling for comfort. Luckily, that all changed in 1978, when one game ushered in a new Golden Age.
The Golden Age of Arcade Games
In 1978, the Taito Corporation of Japan released a game that would change arcades forever: Space Invaders.
Space Invaders instantly changed the arcade scene. Upon its release, a new passion for arcades took the world by storm, and Taito sold over 60,000 machines to the U.S. in only two years. But what made Space Invaders so special? Well, it’s beautifully simple: high scores.
Space Invaders introduced a persistent high score tracker. For the first time, players could get their initials displayed on their high score, which sparked a sense of competition across America. This renewed interest in arcade games mixed perfectly with the burgeoning field of software development, which ultimately led to an arcade renaissance. In the three years following Space Invaders’ release, unforgettable arcade classics took the world by storm, such as:
- Asteroids (1979)
- Pac-Man (1980)
- Frogger (1981)
- Galaga (1981)
What happened after that? Well, the rest is history.
Play East Lansing Arcade Games at Spare Time
Today, we at Spare Time Entertainment Center contribute to the history of arcade games by offering over 50 of the most popular, cutting-edge games available. Stop by the Spare Time arcade today to be a part of that history in action.
