Our Arcade Video Game Collection
I was a teenager during the glory years of the video arcade. From about 1982 to 1984 my brother Mike and I and our buddies Rick, Chris and Frank were obsessed with the Williams game Robotron:2084. Robotron was simply the greatest standup arcade game of all time. Sadly, none of the places that we played are still in existence. No surprise, really, since that was eighteen years ago. Some of the names that have come and gone are Nickelodeon at the Merle Hay Mall, Granny's, and others.
In 1999 my wife ambitiously searched for a Robotron machine for me. Her dedication paid off when she found an arcade in Omaha, Nebraska that was the original owner of one. I couldn't believe that they would sell it to us, but they did. It was in very decent condition and warranted the $700 she paid for it.
The old Robotron gang has since gathered for occasional
matches to garner the Robotron King trophy which Rick created.
Losers earn the distinction of being labeled "The Goat."
Next we bought a cocktail Crystal Castles machine, then a Pac-Man in which we installed a multi-game chipset. Then came a Popeye, a Joust, and a standup Crystal Castles. We find our games through ads in the Des Moines Register,the quarterly video auction at the Fairgrounds, and of course eBay.
An excellent source of information about classic video arcade games
is KLOV.
There is a dedicated group of owners and collectors at VAPS.