Seventeen years ago today, an intrepid creator in the arcade industry known as “PointyThing” created this site, Arcade Heroes. He did so as at the time, there was very little reporting being done to promote arcades to the wider world, beyond industry trade magazines. Giant game news websites and general gaming magazines basically ignored them. Blogs were just becoming popular and so he found a few other enthusiasts and this site was born.
Speaking as Adam the Arcadehero now, I discovered the site and started sending in tips back in January of 2007. I was pumped to see a site reporting on the industry like this was doing. I joined as a writer in April of that year, first writing about the game Gone Fishin’ from Tsunami. PointyThing then gave me ownership of the site in May 2010 and I’ve been working it ever since.
I am very grateful for the opportunities this site has given me over the years. Much of that has come in the way of forging new friendships and connections; It has allowed me to express my thoughts and feelings on the games and the business. I won’t proclaim to “know it all” nor that my takes are wholly right. But I hope that what we do here and on YouTube is able to reach new audiences and keep the arcade spirit alive.
A New Logo For Arcade Heroes
It feels like it is time for a new logo and site motto. While I still use tokens at my location, so many now use card systems, to the point where I regularly have customers who are shocked to see a location still using coins. I will switch to cards at some point too. To better encompass what Arcade Heroes does, I’m changing the slogan “The Saviors of Coin-op” to “The Defenders of Amusement.” We’re still trying to save arcades but the logo I’ve had up for the past seven years wasn’t always in service. Yes, that’s also a nod to Williams’ classic, Defender.
As a note, I might make some small changes to this in the future, but for now, it should be good.
Your Favorite Arcade Game?
We’re usually talking shop here so let’s instead talk favorites. There are fans of every brand and genre out there – if you’d like to comment, which arcade game is your main go-to and why?
Mine would currently be Enter The Gungeon: House of the Gundead. After resolving some hardware & software issues, the game has been playing very well and its fun. Perhaps I’ll do another video of it here sometime soon. I also enjoyed a few games at IAAPA but I need to play some of them in an arcade environment more than a tradeshow one to see how they go.
my favorite game is wacky gators
We operate a video arcade in Maine and all of our machines are tokens and we get a lot of positive feedback about that from clients. We are all told that card systems increase earnings but it’s not the card system it’s being able to accept credit/debit cards that increases earnings. Just buy an AC-6007 token changer that accepts cash and cards and have a POS w/ credit card reader at the staff counter to sell tokens with credit/debit and you get all the benefits of card readers but still give the customer that nostalgic feeling of tokens that many of them love. Tokens are still a great solution if you are a video arcade. If you are doing redemption then yes a card system makes sense because you’re also replacing the physical ticket process/expense as well. Just my two cents for what it’s worth.