It's the weekend after midterm. I was under a great deal of pressure during the midterm week and was always busying in the study and thus have not found the time to digest everything that's happened. Thus, after suffering from the midterm blues, me and my friend decide to go somewhere different from our usual dating routine, which is Tom's World, the amusement arcade which was prevalent in the 1980s.

An amusement arcade is a venue where people play arcade games. According to the research, video games were introduced in amusement arcades in the late 1970s and were most popular during the golden age of arcade video games, the early 1980s.[1] 

We can see arcade video games, pinball machines, redemption games, electro-mechanical games, claw cranes, and coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables, the most common games in the amusement arcade. Besides, in some countries, some kinds of arcades are legally permitted to have gambling machines. 

Golden Age of Arcade Video Games

In the 80s Taiwan, this kind of electronic amusement park appears in high streets and back lanes of the cities. The classic games include Warriors of Fate, Street Fighter, Golden Axe, Space Invaders, Galaxian, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong. [2] The Z generation who was born between 1997 and 2015 might not have a chance to witness the prevalence of amusement arcades, but we can get a glimpse into the grand occasion from our parents and the elders. Moreover, the 2012 Walt Disney animated film, Wreck-It Ralph [2], which based on the game Rampage, portrays the eponymous arcade game villain is based on the game Rampage, who rebels against his "bad-guy" role and dreams of becoming a hero. We can see people used to wait in a long queue to enter the amusement arcade, and through the scenario, we get to understand what kind of video games were popular at that time.

       The Decline Of Amusement Arcade 

However, you may confuse why there is no such prevalence and even no such amusement arcade in Taiwan nowadays. According to statistics from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, there are currently about 2,200 domestic amusement arcades. But in the heyday of the 1990s, there were 30,000 amusement arcades in Taipei City alone. Since the 1980s, in addition to the games mentioned in the previous lines, many merchants introduced gambling slot machines such as 777 Slot, Little Mary, or even Pachinko, the little steel ball. That is, at that time, many amusement operators would place the arcade games for children in the frontcourt, whereas the backcourt was the "gambling video game" place for adults, and the problem lies in the backcourt. Because many operators deliberately mix "gambling video games" with the ordinary game machine, the jumbled areas in the venue have gradually become the origin of the chaos of public security. After the Chou Ginseng Scam, the largest corruption case in Taiwan, all the amusement arcades must be located at least 1,000 meters away from schools, hospitals, and libraries since then. However, according to the density in Taiwan, the amusement arcades almost went extinct.[3]

        As we stepped into Tom's World, which was located in the Wan Nian Building in Ximending, the atmosphere there really amazed us. The venue was filled with a variety of enclosed arcade cabinets, and the entire space was shined by colorful lights reflected from the various game machines on the basis of the pure black background. We got a precious opportunity to spend time playing lots of video games, riding game machines, dancing machines, and even capture our happy faces in the photo booth. Besides, playing the fighting games really help relieve the stress we had accumulated during the midterm. It is definitely a good day for us to get approach to the recreation in the 80s and also the best relaxing date!

Tom's World

Address: 5F., No. 70, Xining S. Rd., Wanhua Dist., Taipei City

Opening Hours:

Monday - Friday: 11:30~22:00

Saturday - Sunday: 11:00~22:00

Written by Ecco Wang

Reference:

pic:  https://reurl.cc/DgAObQ

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusement_arcade#Penny_arcade

[2] [3] https://3c.talk.tw/article.aspx?Article_ID=2587