Tony's Arcade

This Donkey Kong is in great shape — the only thing that’s unfortunate is it’s missing the side art. Not a problem as my games are mostly sandwiched together in the limited space of my arcade. When I first plugged in the Donkey Kong, it played and the image on the monitor was dim and “blooming”. It looked like someone had done an extreme zoom on the monitor’s image. I figured the monitor needed its electrolytic capacitors replaced. I ordered the Deluxe Cap Kit for the Sanyo 20EZ (the Deluxe kit includes components for the audio board) from Bob Roberts.

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I was there.

Towards the end of the 2007 Summer, I went to Lake George again. I decided I’d make sure to find Gaslight Village this time around. I dug deep into my childhood memories of where Gaslight Village was. I have memories of seeing Gaslight from the back seat of the car, looking out the window. I remembered blurred, colorful images of families walking outside the black wrought iron fences that surrounded Gaslight. I also remembered seeing amusement rides towering above everyone in full motion, loaded with laughing and screaming people. If Gaslight was near the road, then in the present day I should see something if I looked hard enough. As I drove down Rte. 9 towards the Lake George Village, I looked to my right… and there it was.

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After restoring my first Pac-Man in Tony’s Arcade, I wished I had the side and front (aka “kick”) art. The stencils for reproducing the Pac-Man art are usually around US$300, if you can find them. That is too expensive for me — some collectors want their arcade games to be in almost-pristine condition. Other collectors, like yours truly, don’t weigh too much on the “mint” condition — just as long as it’s original and fixable. In a previous post, I was able to get a Donkey Kong and another Pac-Man for a great deal. That particular Pac-Man’s cabinet was a bit rough from being moved around a lot… but it had all the artwork. I decided it was time to sell my restored Pac-Man and fix this Pac-Man up!

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After many years of looking for the elusive Donkey Kong, one practically fell in my lap. Figuratively, anyway. A friend was out doing some heating work, and came upon a Pac-Man and Donkey Kong in good shape. Both machines appeared to work but had monitor troubles. After he told me about them, I called the owner who made me a deal I couldn’t refuse. Not only did the owner give me a great price, but the machines were only 15 minutes away! Also, the owner offered to drop them off at my house. It’s nice when you’re reminded that there are a lot of good people in the world.

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It’s about time I put online some pictures of my basement arcade! There’s the neon sign that Doug gave me as a “housewarming gift”. What an excellent gift indeed! In my arcade, I have a green chalkboard hanging from the ceiling titled, “Tony’s Arcade All-Time High Scores”. Granted, “all-time” is relatively short in the existence of my arcade but I had to add some prestige. After all, Tony’s Arcade is a place where you flex your arcade skills to once again reclaim that high score you had a long time ago (and possibly in a galaxy far, far away…)

When people walk down the stairs they feel transported back into the Golden Age of Videogames. As you walk in, the arcade games are laid out in a U-shape and are silhouetted by the blue and red neon glow of the “Tony’s Arcade” sign. There’s a TV hanging from the ceiling that’s playing non-stop 80s Pop and New Wave videos. Above everything, the sound effects from all the games fill the room and transport you back to being that nerdy kid again. The nerdy kid who could attain superstar status when holding the high score of Pac-Man, Star Wars, or Tempest.

Now for the all-time high scores and some photos of Tony’s Arcade…

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