The Ultimate Early 80s Arcade Tribute

Enjoy 10 minutes of footage from the early 80s arcade boom and some arcade music along with it. Every scrap of this footage is from 1981-1983.

How many games in here can you recognize? Some famous locations to arcade history also shown in here, and some champion players, too.

Post who/what you spot in the comments section below.

[Buelligan]

I can recall the smell the arcades had back then... the aroma of heated circuitry and new carpet.  And the cacophony of sounds that never stopped, not just from the sound effects from the machines, but the sounds of levers and buttons and steering wheels being pulled, pushed, and twiddled.  Quarters were the only important form of currency for kids back then.  You always got your expendable money converted into quarters... I can remember my pockets being full of them.

[kepilee]

Born in 1970 so blessed to experience the 70s and 80s awesome decade's

[nmndza]

The whole 80’s aesthetic is just so legendary. What I wouldn’t give to be a teenager during the 80’s.

[brad]

Ahhh those were the days. I was young and my parents would drop me off at the arcade for a few hours while they shopped at the mall. That anxious feeling of adventure was amazing. Great video!!

[deathstrike]

This is why I converted one of my bedrooms into a functional arcade and classic toy room!!! I'm an 80s kid and I enjoyed the arcade era so much I wanted to share it with my sons. I have Battlezone, Gorf, Missile Command, Pac Man, Mario Bros, a converted Pleiades game into a 412 in one jamma game, 2 cocktail pinball machines (Allied Take Five and Gottlieb Night Moves) 2 slot machines and a video poker machine. It was just a great era with great memories, thank you for keeping it alive with videos like this!!!

[Baldmaxx]

Thank you so much for posting this. I'm 45 now, and this is how me and all my friends grew up, in a mall, at the arcades.

[padistedor]

I'll never forget walking into a Jersey shore arcade and seeing 20 PacMan machines in a row. Those were the days.

[archieriverdale]

Those were the days!!! The last great era that will never return. Im so privileged to have lived back in those days where life seem so simple compared to now. All the fashions, and the hype. The show's and movies that they are trying to remake now, we were there when all this started. People my age, please like if y'all agree.

[KevyB.]

I feel so sorry for those born after the 80's...they missed out on everything...clothes, tennis shoes, Boomboxes, Walkmans, Arcades, 80's Cartoons, TV shows, Music and Movies, shooting marbles, spinning tops, flying kites, building forts, Water wars(w/balloons and Super Soakers), playing video games with friends present and FRIENDS.

[JuicyPlayer]

I miss the 80s, I remember when you could walk into a 7-11, Circle K or a Video Store and it would have arcade machines. It was such a magical time!

[sirMAXX]

Man. I miss this era. I would love to just spend a day in the 80s again in an arcade, fill up on pizza and the snack bar and check out the girls with big hair.

[jetuber]

Great video compilation. I wish it preserved the original arcade sounds, though.

[JackTheGamer]

I may only be 15 but I am crazy for these arcade machines

[tomy.]

I stole so many quarters from my dad's dresser in the early 80's! I remember leaving a few in his pile of change hoping he wouldn't notice! Every once in a while he'd ask me and my brothers who was taking his money. Nothing better than a bunch of quarters! :) Great times!

[starshipcaptain]

In this video I saw games my 1981-1984 local arcade did not carry. My favorite days were 1977 with Star Wars, 1979 Atari 2600, 1980 Empire Strikes Back and then the best of the best my local arcade (Astro Sports in Tigard, OR) opened up from 81-84. Best years of my life!

[TheDarkMikado]

My first memory about video games was with my dad at a video store in my hometown that had 1942. I was 5 years old and too short to play it, so he'd lift me up by the waist, I'd pop a quarter in and see how far I could get. From there I was hooked. It was the game that got me started.

[WillScarlet]

So much great nostalgia :) - from the hair, to the clothes, and to the games themselves; thanks uploader :)

[wleon]

The whole ambience and feeling within arcades during the '80s was something that you can never really replicate now. I was lucky enough to grow up in the '80s where I played arcade games with a passion. My local arcade was called, 'Aladin's Palace, and I would often go there when I had nothing else to do. I used to spend literally HOURS in there playing my favourite arcades, like Mr Do, Donkey Kong, Berzerk, Gorf, Pole Position, Marble Madness, Galaxian, Galaga, Tron, and many others.

When you walked into an arcade, you were immediately hit with the different sounds, and colours and usually groups of lads stood looking over the shoulder of one particular player who was on a record high score. I think that arcades, back then, were absolutely great because they were not only places of entertainment, but it was were friendships were formed too. We will never again get those days back unfortunately.

[AchtungBaby]

Rather than being glued to our phones, we were glued to these monster arcades whilst having a soda, slice of pizza and a hearty laugh with friends and loved ones about who could get a higher score! What fun times they were!

[swolearcade]

I’m 26, born in ‘97. Arcades as they were known before redemption became the business model we know today, a place to play video games for the sake of fun alone, were all but dead when I came into the world. Today I privately own 20 original classic machines, many of which are seen in this awesome tribute. This is what I never knew but for some reason try to keep alive. There is no experience quite like standing at the cabinet playing the greatest games ever made.