Went to a retro arcade place recently... Nightmarish noise and heat! Is this normal?

[WokiBakoki]

I've never been to a proper old-school arcade. I went to a convention years ago with a lot of old consoles and machines but that's it. So when a nearby mall had a retro arcade/pub thingy. I had to check it out. The machines were cool, but holy shit! It was just screaming at me the entire time. Like, I cannot hear the machine I'm even playing because 40 other machines and people are blarring all at once. No exaggeration. I got to the front desk to pay to get in (It's a pay once type of place) and when the guy first spoke to me I didn't hear a word. I shouted "Whaaaat!?" which made my girlfriend laugh. But it was nesessary I'm telling ya!

Even with my headphones on the entire time I needed more than one break outside just to breathe. Speaking of, the heat was monsterous. It was a really hot day outside, a few fans next to the DDR machine isn't gonna cut it guys. I was suffocating. The whole experience was just spoiled by those two things. It wasn't ALL bad, I had a lotta fun with an Initial-D machine. But it would of been nicer if I could enjoy the music coming from it. Thank God the demo song on the Guitar Hero machine across the room was a decent one, got to hear that loop about 10 times... Grating. That machine was definetly the loudest.

So, you more experienced arcade goers. Is brutal noise just a normal thing? If so, I'll happily discard any romantisied ideas of the arcade, because fuck that! I know I'm pretty sensitive to sound but my God. Near unenjoyable experience for me.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

The noise definitely is (I used to say that you didn't really go to an arcade if you didn't end up half-deaf) but the heat is news to me... places were usually pretty cool to protect their machines. No idea what was going on there.

 

[RanmyakuIchi's icon RanmyakuIchi RanmyakuIchi]

Arcades can be extremely loud, yes. There was a bit of a "noise war" with arcade games in the 90s too, as cabs were made louder and louder in the hopes of grabbing attention from the others.

 

[G.L.a.D.O.S.]

Probably just some not so stellar ventilation and airflow issues on the arcade’s side.
Not like they bother to set the machines to direct the heat toward the building’s exhaust or anything. Classic. Most arcades I’ve visited, and like @RanmyakuIchi and @Waffles said yes were loud, sure, but at least they managed to keep it relatively cool and comfortable.

Guess they skipped that part here. Typical.

 

[stoicvampirepig]

When you say nightmarish you mean fucking awesome don't you?

:) I loved arcades so much...a big bit of me still longs to hear that sound...a bit of Ghosts n Goblins, a bit of Jailbreak...Outrun, Space Harrier.

 

[Stingy Perry Stingy Perry]

It loud and it’s what that place kinda lively and you can really feel the energy of that place. As for the heat it’s probably some ventilation issues but still I get sweaty in well ventilated joint if someone’s really giving me an ass whooping in Garou.

 

[Sir Auriel of Lionel]

If the DDR machine isn't lit up or not screaming out for you to " SHOW ME YOUR MOVES" then you're in the wrong place. Heat is bad unless you can explain it as an old building with AC problems or multiple parties are at the place but generally the old school arcade corner like Galaga or Joust at my place is usually a safe bet of "quiet" but everything newer past the 2000s is loud and flashy to grab your money.

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

I've been to a big arcade in a metropolitan city, and in that sense I get what you mean. Way too loud & crowded.
The one in my hometown is technically more of a bowling alley with like 3-4 arcade machines off to the side, and that is a much more enjoyable atmosphere.

 

[WokiBakoki]

Thanks everyone for jumping in quick with some more info and thoughts. Interesting stuff. I guess my particular place was obnoxiously loud, and while it usually isn't that bad, it's always gonna be pretty intense. The heat is on them though, no need for that kinda stuffiness. It's in a British mall, so it likely suffers the same fate as our houses in the summer. Working as designed, holding onto heat. Bummer.

Gonna keep reading anything else that shows up. Thanks again <3

 

[Morgana Veil]

I wouldn't say arcade unless six arcade machines at a grocery store count. But it's not loud by any means. I know for a fact Mortal Kombat II, Primal Rage, and Street Fighter II. The other three are just blank cabinets, they rotate boards out month to month. The owner of the store told me once that his wife wouldn't let him keep them at the house, which is why they are even there. So, may as well make money from them. And no, these aren't loud. Loud enough to hear, sure, but about what you would have your TV set to, you know.

Ages ago now, yeah, there was a full-on arcade here. It had around fifty machines, claw games, lots of overpriced junk food, and the works. It was like being at four metal band concerts at once, sound and loudness wise. But as for the heat thing, I don't remember it being overly hot unless you were standing directly behind one of the cabinets where the heat blew out. Most of the time, they are almost against the wall, so I would guess it's probably a bad AC unit.

 

[Turbo Kid]

Part of what made arcades special can't really be experienced today. Back in the late 80s and 90s arcade games looked and sounded waaaaay better than whatever you were playing at home. The 16-bit console generation started to bridge the gap a bit, but that only led to arcade machines improving their graphics even further. To get arcade perfect ports you had to buy an expensive Neo Geo and even then you were only getting access to SNK arcade games. The PS 1 couldn't even handle most of the fighting games Capcom had in the arcades. Several awesome arcade games never even made it to console, so arcades had a lot of exclusive experiences. To this day, you can't play most arcade games unless you run MAME on a PC.

There are some things in gaming that you had to be there to understand, which makes me feel bad for younger generations.

I would expect a certain amount of noise and crowds at an arcade. I'd be disappointed otherwise, that's part of the arcade experience. But I don't know, maybe where you went was unusually loud. It certainly sounds like that place was abnormally hot that's for sure.

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

Part of what made arcades special can't really be experienced today. Back in the late 80s and 90s arcade games looked and sounded waaaaay better than whatever you were playing at home. The 16-bit console generation started to bridge the gap a bit, but that only led to arcade machines improving their graphics even further. To get arcade perfect ports you had to buy an expensive Neo Geo and even then you were only getting access to SNK arcade games. The PS 1 couldn't even handle most of the fighting games Capcom had in the arcades. Several awesome arcade games never even made it to console, so arcades had a lot of exclusive experiences. To this day, you can't play most arcade games unless you run MAME on a PC.

There are some things in gaming that you had to be there to understand, which makes me feel bad for younger generations.

I would expect a certain amount of noise and crowds at an arcade. I'd be disappointed otherwise, that's part of the arcade experience. But I don't know, maybe where you went was unusually loud. It certainly sounds like that place was abnormally hot that's for sure.

That is a fair point. I didn't grow up with proper arcades, so the handful of times I went to one in a big city was kinda irritating.

 

[Morgana Veil]

There are some things in gaming that you had to be there to understand, which makes me feel bad for younger generations.

Absolutely well put. I know 100% what you mean. In my younger years, I would frequently said local arcade. The smells, the food, friends you made, and gaming rivals along with as you said, the games you just couldn't play at home made it basically a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

And now, even though they have arcades popping back up due to nostalgia selling as it does, it's really never going to be the same. Hell, ditching school, hanging out with some friends, and sneaking alcohol into an arcade on a Wednesday was something that was a hell of a fun time for me anyhow.
I'm glad I had that experience. Now, I don't know if it would be the same, most likely not.

Good times, good times.

 

[Segadude113]

it's the best place ever!

 

[diapered]

If the DDR machine isn't lit up or not screaming out for you to " SHOW ME YOUR MOVES" then you're in the wrong place.

I miss playing DDR so much 5th mix, so many memories

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

I miss playing DDR so much 5th mix, so many memories

I'd have been all about DDR I've never seen a cabinet for it in the wild though

 

[diapered]

I'd have been all about DDR I've never seen a cabinet for it in the wild though

A friend of mine took me to a D&B (also first time going to one) two years ago and I saw one there, so machines are out there. I wanted to play to see if I still had my old moves, but others were hogging it Also my friend wanted to play other games, but it was cool to see it is still popular. DDR is probably not retro, but posting more anyway

 

[WokiBakoki]

There are some things in gaming that you had to be there to understand, which makes me feel bad for younger generations.

Yeah I know my experience is not THE experience. Close enough to tell me what I need to know though. It's worth note, everyone where I went was in groups of 2 or 3. No interraction between non-friends. This social aspect people speak of, totally absent from my experience. On one hand, I get it. No one's into the same games, it's not like anything in there is the hot new game everyone wants to try. However, I was also kind of grateful. I wouldn't mind if someone wanted to watch or chat with me, but no one did and I was happy they didn't. I don't care what anyone else is doing. In my ideal arcade, I'm alone and every machine has a headphone jack.

The social aspect is lost on me as I'm pretty confidently introverted. Not rude of course but I'm not gonna wanna chat if I'm tryina kick Hwoarang's ass. Might just be my 20 years experience playing games quietly in a room by myself talking though. That whole experience just left me thinking it can't possibly of been as good as the boomers claim in its prime. I would of prefered to snuggle up in my room and master whatever handful of NES games I had.

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

Yeah I know my experience is not THE experience. Close enough to tell me what I need to know though. It's worth note, everyone where I went was in groups of 2 or 3. No interraction between non-friends. This social aspect people speak of, totally absent from my experience. On one hand, I get it. No one's into the same games, it's not like anything in there is the hot new game everyone wants to try. However, I was also kind of grateful. I wouldn't mind if someone wanted to watch or chat with me, but no one did and I was happy they didn't. I don't care what anyone else is doing. In my ideal arcade, I'm alone and every machine has a headphone jack.

The social aspect is lost on me as I'm pretty confidently introverted. Not rude of course but I'm not gonna wanna chat if I'm tryina kick Hwoarang's ass. Might just be my 20 years experience playing games quietly in a room by myself talking though. That whole experience just left me thinking it can't possibly of been as good as the boomers claim in its prime. I would of prefered to snuggle up in my room and master whatever handful of NES games I had.

You might prefer the Yakuza games. All of them have arcades you can go to in-game and are a solo experience. Basically, an excuse to play SEGA arcade ports as minigames within a larger game.

 

[CG4R12I4N]

Like already said above, the extremely loud noise coming from the machines is standard arcade experience. That's why only kids, teens and hardcore adult gamers tend to hang there frequently.
First timers would be initially overwhelmed but eventually you'll get used to all the buzz and easily differentiate the sound of your games from the rest.

But yeah, the arcade experience right now are so different compared to 90s-00s where arcades basically doubled as social place to hang out with. It was THE gacha place before online gacha games exist, but you actually have fun with others instead of staring angrily at your phone desperately trying not to throw it on the wall.

 

[SliperyHippo]

It really does give you a new admiration towards DDR players because they hear that machine dominating the soundspace and still choose to play on the machine that's impossible NOT to look at when you walk in.

 

[RetroFreax]

its normal thing. Noise + Old CRT heat/radiation. If You want to have total 90's vibe pull some cigarettes and smore two or three. and yeah.. full 90s arcade experience.. :)

 

[Ne0Griever]

I've never been to a proper old-school arcade.

And you never will sadly.

The arcades never used to be so crowded there were not much games to play, local arcade salons not much, Mall court arcades, YES very noisy

On the 90's Konami and SEGA Arcade imports it might have upped the noise factor, but the big but is, we were all kids, we did not give a flying fuck about sound, and you could not have enough of them.

But there is no definitive answer, since it would have varied from town to town or even country to country.

 

[bjork]

Loud yes, heat depends on the building and how cheap they are about air conditioning. I've never been in a COLD arcade, but they were always at least pleasant.

 

[JG5009]

Huh, funny, I actually went to one yesterday, it had some pretty cool stuff like a Virtual On, a Taiko (idk which one, it had a CRT so it was old, but it was so darn fun), a bunch of iconic beat em ups and fighting games and a Sega Time Traveler for novelty (the one with the funky holographic effect, the game's garbage though, it's a worse Dragon's Lair which was also there).

Pretty much all arcades tend to be noisy, the volume can be adjusted by the operators but that's not very common, AC should be a thing in every location without any kind of question though, it's a must have.