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23 Photos That Show What It Was Like Going To Arcades And Gaming In The 80s


Arcades became popular in the 80s, with crowds of kids and teens lining up to play classics like Pac-Man, Missile Command and Asteroids Deluxe. These spaces offered a unique experience for early gamers, which was filled with the thrill of competition, social interaction, and the addictive thrill to achieve the highest score in your favorite game..
The 1980s also marked the start of individual and "family" videogames to play at home, especially featuring consoles like the iconic Atari and Nintendo's Game Boy. As the rise of home consoles continued in the early 1990s, arcades' popularity dropped significantly, leaving only nostalgia and thousands of pictures behind.
Let's take a look at some rare photos showing what it was like living in the 1980s arcade gaming era.
Easter Egg from Atari’s Adventure in 1980 – found playing as a kid and was fired up!
(Source: Reddit)
In the early 1980s, video game magazines typically used photographic cameras to capture screenshots directly from the game screen to illustrate their reviews.
(Source: Reddit)
1980s "Defender" classic arcade game recognized as one of the best shoot-em-ups of all time
(Source: Reddit)