Retro arcade games popular again

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Retro arcade games like Pac-Man and Space Invaders are back - and booming, writes Jason Hill.

BEFORE PlayStation and Xbox, gamers got their regular fix at the local amusement arcade with a pocketful of loose change.

Earning the right to put their initials on the high-score table of coin-operated games such as Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Galaga, Defender and Street Fighter II was a badge of honour that earnt the respect of their peers.

When the first home computer game consoles began appearing in the early '80s their rudimentary graphics could not compete with the offerings and dedicated controls of arcade machines.

Gaming at home also lacked the camaraderie and atmosphere of those noisy, dimly lit, smoky, electronic wonderlands.

But when the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation consoles appeared in the mid-1990s the gaming landscape changed forever.

The ever-increasing power, popularity and affordability of home consoles decimated the coin-operated market.

But the games themselves are refusing to die. Those "wayward" teens who once fed the insatiable coin-operated cabinets are now well into their 20s and 30s, and their nostalgia is fuelling a retro gaming boom.

Read the rest of the article, it's very interesting. I love to play some of the retro arcade games like Donkey Kong and Pac-Man. They're easy to play and don't require you to learn all the dozen or so controller functions like video games of today. That was what was great about the Atari, both young and old and everyone in between could play them without any fuss.