Inside the dark room, street fighters, an angry ape and even Michael Jackson beckon your quarters with flashing lights, noisy beeps and a hint of nostalgia.
Would you rather watch the Super Bowl from home or be there, asked gamer Eugene Johnson II, a 31-year-old security guard, as he wrapped up a bout on Street Fighter 4 .
"That's what it's like," he said. "Being here is more exciting than playing at home."
But the video arcade business, much like Pac-Man , is down to its last power pellet.
In Nashville, Game Galaxy at Hickory Hollow Mall is the only traditional arcade left that's not coupled with a restaurant, bowling alley, movie theater or other form of entertainment. There, gamers seek high scores on more than 100 video games and pinball machines, including classics such as Donkey Kong and Galaga , as well as newer titles like Tekken 6 .
"We don't sell food. There are no gimmicks. We just have arcade games," said co-owner Jason Wilson, 33, himself a national-level gamer.
Home games dominateActually, it's not surprising that Nashville has a lone arcade — but that the city even has one at all.
Since the zenith of popularity of arcades in the early 1980s, the number of locations has declined sharply, as has the number of arcade machines. The machine count has dwindled from 1.5 million in the early 1980s to 328,000 in 2007, according to the latest industry analysis.
Revenue collapsed from $4.4 billion in 1982 to $904 million in 2007, according to the latest data from the American Amusement Machine Association.
At one point in the 1980s, gross sales in the arcade business outstripped the movie box office.
Most of Nashville's shopping centers lost their arcades years ago, though, and the one at RiverGate Mall closed earlier this year. Opry Mills has an arcade in the Dave & Buster's restaurant.
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