HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!
So the new year definitely has to start with a very enthusiastic post. For this, I present an age-old obsession of mine - VIDEO GAMES.
When was the last time you went to a video game arcade? Ever since Xbox, Playstation and Wii became common household items, I've actually never been to one, and man times have changed...
Anyone who watched Wreck-it Ralph and played video games as a kid will understand the nostalgia behind re-visiting arcades: it's a fantastic movie, drawing from 1980s 8-bit games, 1990s racing games and modern first person shooters. Not only are they extremely true to the periods and genres of the games, you also get to see many of your favorite video game characters growing up - Sonic, Street Fighter, Pacman, Q*bert, Super Mario... the list goes on.
If you haven't watched it, you need to drop everything and GO WATCH IT RIGHT NOW. After all, who can resist such an adorable little winner? =D
As part of the movie promo, Timezone has installed an actual Fix-it Felix Jr. video game console in the atrium of Bugis Junction (now moved to Bugis+, but I believe it's out of order...) for passersby to play for free! It's the kind of console that no longer exists in normal arcades anymore, but can still be bought from dealers for your own home use for a couple of thousand dollars, if you ever felt so rich.
It's slightly sad that none of the old games are around anymore, and even 'traditional' games like whack-a-mole are all new-fangled and touch screen. Seriously you don't need a touch screen to whack stuff, that's just abuse of technology. Today's arcades don't feel a whole lot different from LAN shops because you're just surrounded by flat screens - even Street Fighter, which I've always associated with clunky sit-down consoles and bright green joysticks and buttons, is on a flat-screen monitor now with understated little black buttons. Nevertheless, the setting of an arcade still offers a greater variety of game play than your typical Xbox, particularly for racing, FPS and music/dance. Arcadia also has a very hilarious pogo stick game which you hop your way through a virtual racecourse... if it wasn't so large, it would probably make a great new form of workout!
Anyhow, back to topic. This isn't so much a review post as it is a massive list of arcade locations in Singapore and the games that they have. Google doesn't seem to turn up a nice list for me - their lists either include LAN shops / bowling / pool / darts / toy-grabbing machines (which I don't consider arcades), or they have tonnes of repeat entries of the same arcade, making it seem like there are more than there actually are. If you think I've missed any place out, please drop me a comment!
The outlets with links are the ones that I've visited over the past week, and clicking on it will give you a list of all their arcade games (no fishing/trading card/toy machines listed), in case specific games influenced which arcade you'd choose to go to. So here goes:
Timezone (18 outlets)
Changi City Point
Tampines Mall
Tampines 1
Bedok Point
I12 Katong
Parkway Parade
Compass Point
Hougang Mall
City Square Mall
Great World City
Vivocity
Anchor Point
West Mall
Bukit Panjang Plaza
Causeway Point
Sembawang Shopping Centre
Northpoint
TKA Amusement - Virtualand & Star Factory (12 outlets)
Century Square
Serangoon Mall
Kallang Leisure
Bugis Junction
Suntec City
AMK Big Mac Centre
Sun Plaza
Tiong Bahru Plaza
CitiVibe
Jurong Point
Zone X (9 outlets)
E!Hub
AMK Hub
Jurong Point
JCube
Lot 1
Terminal 3
Eastpoint Mall
Dhoby Ghaut MRT
White Sands
Super Funworld (3 outlets)
Superbowl Hougang
Superbowl Jurong
Marina Square
Arcadia (1 outlet)
No budget this time guys, I'm sure y'all know how arcades work. And go watch Wreck-it Ralph if you haven't!!
Have a great 2013 everyone!
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